Well, I don't have pics right now, but as of last week it seemed to be a dead tie between my 3xAAA x2000 aspheric (DX sku.14230) running on a 17500 Li-ion (I picked the 3xAAA because it was the only x2000 with a twist-focus) and my Stanley 5W spotlight. They both lit up a building at 0.28 miles (500 yards), but didn't make it at 0.31 miles. But I suspect the x2000 only kept up because its high-contrast edge made it easier to tell lit vs. unlit (thanks to the high-ambient urban environment, unlit is
not invisible
), not because it actually matched the Stanley for throw.
I just finished modding the x2000 to take an 18650 Li-ion, and since it's still direct-drive (I don't think there's room to add a driver and still take a protected 18650), it should be (and indeed seems to be) somewhat overdriven and rather brighter than before. It runs at 1.9 A on a full 18650; the thermal path in the light isn't really impressive, but there's no angry blue after several 30-60 second runs, so I'm calling it good enough for a toy -- if I ever
need it to stay functional for a while, I'll load it with a 14670 (1.6A on a full cell) instead. I'm gonna take it for another spin sometime soon, and I'm sure it'll beat the Stanley fairly now. If/when I do burn up the stock emitter, I'll update it with an R2 and probably add a 7135 board, and either find some mechanical tweaks to make up the length, or (worst-case) consign it to unprotected cells only.
