I went to Lowe's this morning and purchased a 6PL. I shine it against the white wall and it is fine, but if you move the light within inches of the wall you see a donut hole, but from far away it is a solid beam, is that normal?
Very very normal. Enjoy your light, and if you want longer runtime but same brightness get a 1 cell extender from Lighthound. You can get the normal one or the detonator one.