My first modded light MH20 by Vinh beam shots

So after my Fenix LD20 was the victim of a Duracell homicide I went researching a suitable replacement. The torch bug hit and I've been on the forum everyday since.

The short story is I decided on the Nitecore MH20 for the form factor, convenience of on board USB charging, power capacity of a single 18650, and ability of Vinh to mod into a bit of a thrower with his XML2 U3 PDTc emitter. For those of you like me who are clueless until educated this is a cool emitter from CREE that once de-domed takes on another life with a more focussed beam. It turns this rather tiny light into a combination flood/throw pocket powerhouse as far as I can tell. It's a tad bit to the green tint side (de-Doming does this) but I'm still evaluating. Outdoors it's unnoticeable.

Nice beamshots!

If you find you can't stand the green, one option is to have the emitter replaced with an XPL HI (assuming it's possible to fit an XP noctigon in there). The XPL HI is basically an XML2 die in an XPG sized package with a flat dome. Beam pattern and output looks just like a dedomed XML2 and has 95% of a dedomed emitter's throw.

The main advantage of XPL HI is it has perfect tint... zero green. XPL HI tint looks just as good as the tint on a domed emitter and is FAR superior to the tint of any dedomed emitter.

Congrats! I too, am a huge fan of the xml2. As impressive as the new xpl-hi may be, I haven't had the chance to play with one yet. Smaller die = more throw but I know in my few xml2 mods, I like and appreciate the wall of light and the throw they offer. Color rendition it's nothing to scoff at either.

Sorry for your loss. :naughty:

But, I see you are well healed now. The Vinh has hooked you up. Great pics.

FRITZHID said:

...As impressive as the new xpl-hi may be, I haven't had the chance to play with one yet. Smaller die = more throw ...

Click to expand...

Actually the die on the XPL HI is exactly the same size as the die on an XML2. The difference is in the dome and packaging, not the die.

Fireclaw18 said:

Actually the die on the XPL HI is exactly the same size as the die on an XML2. The difference is in the dome and packaging, not the die.

Click to expand...

Ah, well then... I guess I'm confused cause I dedome all my single emitter lights anyway, and as far as packaging..... Who cares? I can fabricate any substrate I need. I'm wondering why they now claim it's "HI" vs the xml2s we've used and loved.

FRITZHID said:

Ah, well then... I guess I'm confused cause I dedome all my single emitter lights anyway, and as far as packaging..... Who cares? I can fabricate any substrate I need. I'm wondering why they now claim it's "HI" vs the xml2s we've used and loved.

Click to expand...

XPL is basically an XML2 die inside an XPG sized package. Output and beam pattern is basically the same as an XML2.
XPL HI is an XPL with a completely flat dome. Think of it as a "factory dedomed" XPL.

However, because the dome isn't actually completely gone, intensity and total lumens in an XPL HI is about 5% less than a dedomed XPL or dedomed XML2. On the other hand, XPL HI makes up for this with absolutely perfect tint... far better than even the very best dedomes. The only way to obtain such perfect tint is to have carefully applied phosphor that's optimized for the type of dome on the die. This level of optimization can only be done at CREE's factory and is beyond the capability of any modder.

The "HI" stands for "High Intensity". Since the XPL HI is basically a factory dedomed emitter, it has twice the throw of a domed XPL or XML2, though just like a home-dedomed emitter, total lumens are less without the full dome.

there goes the neighborhood!

Has the spill brightness on your mh20vn significantly reduced to compensate for more throw??.Also Has the spill diameter increased??.I was planning to mod my mh20 with an xpl.Now trying to figure out whether I need xpl hi or the normal xpl or just dedome my existing xml2(but this would bring a greenish tint.