Solarforce M8 Arrived: First Impressions

My Solarforce M8 arrived today (great service from Lighthound, by the way) and I wanted to share my impressions since I haven't seen much about this light. There won't be any photos, as I've only had the light for about an hour and it's still way too bright out for any outdoor beamshots.

Included was: the head, body, an extension tube, two spare O-rings, a nice lanyard, two tailcaps (a tactical tailcap and a multi-mode tailcap), a spare tailcap cover, a glow-in-the-dark tailcap cover, and an instruction sheet.

The overall quality is really nice. Threads are nicely cut; no cross-threading issues anywhere. No missing or chipped anodizing. Nice, thick O-rings everywhere they should be. All male threads were lubed up. The tailcap housings are exactly the same; the only difference is which screw-in switch you have installed. They're swappable, and the tailcap covers fit either one. I have the glow-in-the-dark cover installed on the AI tailcap and the stock black one on the tactical, just to tell the difference (like I said, the tailcaps themselves are identical).

Just as an aside, neither the head or tailcap are swappable with the Solarforce Skyline I (the only other Solarforce I have; still waiting on my Masterpiece Pro-2).

As far as brightness, it's bright. As advertised, with two 18650s, with the AI tailcap it's 720 lumens and with the tactical tailcap it's 750 lumens. I can't tell any difference between the two.
Using one 18650 gives the same output (to my eyes) as two CR123As. That would be 500 advertised lumens. No idea if it can use four CR123As instead of two 18650s.
EDITED to add: no-go with four CR123As (either switch). It didn't fry the LED, switch, or ruin the batteries; the light simply wouldn't turn on. Then tried with one 18650, then two CR123As, then two 18650s and all is well.

The light isn't as bright as my JetBeam BC40 or Thrunite Catapult, but it has everything else beat. The hotspot is nice and tight with good spill. I'm really anxious to get this thing out at night (I have access to a 190-yard field) and see how far it throws.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the M8. Is it a light worthy of the $100 price? I'll say yes. Unless something happens that shows otherwise, it's a great value. If this were marked "Fenix" or JetBeam" it would cost $150+

Great product. Stay tuned for results of my outdoor throw comparisons.
(See Post #2 of this thread.)

UPDATE:

After taking the lights out, I'm very satisfied with the M8. I took the Solarforce Skyline I with two CR123s, the JetBeam BC40 with four CR123s, the Thrunite Catapult XM-L modded by Vinh to be direct drive with one 18650, and the Solarforce M8 with both two 18650s and one 18650. Here be the results...

The Skyline I threw the farthest, but was also the least bright. It's a pencil beam that goes forever.
The M8 with two 18650s went just as far (I only had 190 yards to work with) but was considerably brighter than the Skyline. Great throw with lots of flood.
The Catapult went as far as the Skyline and M8 (on two 18650s), and had about the same output as the M8, but the M8 has both a wider hotspot and a wider spill beam.
The M8 with one 18650 (and also, with two CR123s) went just as far, but lost some output. It was noticeably dimmer than the Catapult, whereas with two 18650s it was definitely brighter than the Catapult.
The BC40 reached the 190 yard mark, but was significantly dimmer than the others (except the Skyline). This is more of a search light than a dedicated thrower, but still held its own.

Verdict?
The Catapult with one 18650 was almost the same as the M8 with two 18650s. The M8 is just a tad brighter; you wouldn't know unless you were looking for it. However, the area covered is much more noticeable; in both the hotspot and the spill beam, the M8 wins. Remember, the M8 is using twice the batteries that the Catapult is (Vinh advised me not to use two 18650s in the modded Catapult, so I'm not). So, to sum up, the Solarforce M8 is definitely up there with the throwers. Definitely worth the money. Definitely a cool toy.