Solarforce L2 LED Drop-In Question

I'm very ignorant when it comes to "Drop-In's". I don't know what fits what or where to purchase one. I have the opportunity of acquiring a Solarforce L2 body. What do i look for when purchasing a drop-in? I assume there are low & high quality drop-in's? I will be using 2CR123 primary batteries. I basically want a very bright flood light with some throw. Between 200-400 lumens with a hi & low switch. I'll also accept a one mode 300 lumen drop-in. No strobe. I was told that i can only use a cree module with the above body.

Pretty much as long as it's a P60-sized drop in, you should be good to go. I have Solarforce lights with Cree and Seoul LEDs.

As far as specific suggestions, I have two Solarforce-branded modules and another on the way. I also have modules from Thrunite, Supasizefries and I'd absolutely throw Nailbender's name in the ring. The last two are forum members that are well-known for building great modules and you have full control over tint, number of modes etc... Modules will be around $50 or so. The Thrunite and Solarforce are great values, but a bit more limited in terms of options though they both make modules with 1 or 3 levels of output without strobe/SOS modes which I also dislike. These options will be closer to $25 shipped. All the current options should be over 200 lumens. XPGs aren't quite as bright as XMLs, but the XPGs usually have a smaller/more concentrated hotspot so they seem like they have more throw.

Lighthound has the Solarforce XM-L in stock. Very good drop-in, very good price. I've purchased three of them and I'm impressed with all of them.

For what it's worth... I have a few XM-L drop ins from Solarforce and I'm very happy with them, but I did notice that the 5 modes on high seem a little brighter than the single modes.

You should be fine with any of the dropins at solarforce-sales except for the Halogens. Just make sure it can take 6 volts for two CR123As. For mostly flood, an XM-L or SST would probably work best and an OP reflector also helps. I also highly recommend Nailbender drop-ins found here. You can choose your emitter, reflector, and driver. Solarforce and other P60 dropins at various sites are usually cheaper, though.

Also, if you're really really set on having a light that's mostly flood, check out the exceptional products made by Gene Malkoff (another member in good standing of this forum). There are lots of reviews of Malkoff Devices posted in these threads...just get a cup of coffee, use the search feature, and start reading. When your comfortable with your choice, let us know what you decide upon.

Oh, and remember Rule No.1: When in doubt, get both.

Just got my L2T hosts in today along with a 4.2V, single mode XML Solarforce dropin. This would not be safe for use on 2xCR123 cells, but it's pretty dang impressive on a single 18650 which will also provide longer runtime than would two primary CR123s. I specifically wanted a single mode drop-in for this light, but I also have a 5 mode, 6V XML Solarforce that is great. I'm just not crazy about the flashy modes. Comparing my two Solarforce modules, the 5 mode module on Max mode on two fresh CR123s doesn't seem to be quite as bright as the single mode on the 18650, but they are close enough that you'd never know the difference unless you were comparing them back to back.

My current take is this: if you want a single mode module and can live with using 18650s rather than primary CR123s, I can highly recommend the Solarforce. If you don't mind the flash strobe/SOS modes, I can recommend that Solarforce. If you want three modes (high, medium, low) and no flashy modes, the Thrunite XML or one of Nailbenders modules would be my suggestion. I could easily live with any of them, personally.