HDS Systems EDC # 16

[HighLumens]

I can't wait to see what "Advanced tactical interface - 2014 " mean.

250 lumens? Strange output, I thought the next model would have been a 240 lumens one, as written on the hds manual.

 

[Mgizler]

do they come out of the box with burst enabled or disabled? how can I tell?

If you go into the settings mode and click your way to the burst menu option. It will let you know if on or off. I do not remember if it is a blink sequence of a dim to bright etc.. Someone else might know for certain.

 

[P_A_S_1]

do they come out of the box with burst enabled or disabled? how can I tell?

The old manuals use to list the specifications, including the factory programing of the lights, on the last page, the new ones don't. Just put it on max, wait between 40-45 seconds, and look for the step-down. My Rotary came with the burst enabled. I believe all the lights have the burst enabled, that's how they claim the runtimes listed (it's also why burst was changed from 10 seconds to 40 seconds, to fit the ANSI criteria where light output is measured after 30 seconds).

 

[archimedes]

Remember that it may be surprisingly difficult to notice, however

 

[P_A_S_1]

Remember that it may be surprisingly difficult to notice, however

Doing a ceiling bounce in a relatively dark room it should be easy to see the drop.

 

[the.Mtn.Man]

"Advanced tactical interface", huh? So... any news on the 2AA Rotary battery tubes?

 

[Snareman]

Hopefully I will see Henry at SHOT and can get some info on it.

 

[P_A_S_1]

Hopefully I will see Henry at SHOT and can get some info on it.

Nice. If he has a Rotary clip on display post a pic.

 

[Snareman]

Nice. If he has a Rotary clip on display post a pic.

I will certainly be asking him about that since he told me they were coming out several years ago

 

[gst138]

Just a quick question, I am quite confused about these lights, currently I use a Surefire g2x pro as my duty light, I have various other lights including Nitecore, Fenix and Quark running from AA cells putting out about 120 lumens. I am interested in the HDS tactical 120. Is this going to blow me away with lumens in comparison to the other lights? Also is there a wait for the HDS light or is that only for the twisty and custom models. Any help would be gratefully received.

 

[kaichu dento]

The HDS lights are not for those looking to be blown away by high outputs, but rather for those interested in a very solid, working tool of a light that can do most any task you need out of a light, from very low levels to decent amount of light that I have used to drive down a deserted highway at 60 with.

The four levels the light is programmed with are a very decent balance, but can be additionally tweaked by the end user and it is a very durable light with a wide range of customization options in the UI.

There's a very good chance that some of your other lights will have a higher output, but there's also the possibility that you could fall in love with an HDS, and the best way to make that determination is probably to watch the MarketPlace for a used one that you can re-sell if it turns out not to be for you.

 

[doctordun]

I agree. Until I had the HDS I was a lumen junkie. I found that I did not hardly ever use the max lumen outputs of my lights.
Now I really love the UI and sophistication of the HDS. I have the Hi CRI 120 and almost always use 60 lumen or the 15 lumen output.
The full 120 is always there if I need it.

 

[the.Mtn.Man]

It's worth noting that Henry doesn't overrate his flashlights. If it says 120 lumens on the box then you get a guaranteed 120 lumens out of the business end since he tunes each light after assembly. See the following FAQ entry for more information:

http://hdssystems.com/Content/LightFaq/#Calibration

 

[HDS_Systems]

Tobrien,

Runtimes are quite specific to batteries and power draw. Per our FAQ and battery discussion, different batteries will provide "better" performance under different circumstances - not to mention how "old" the battery is. If you favor higher outputs, the AW orange (IMR) 123 batteries will outperform the black "protected' 123 batteries. If you favor lower output levels, the reverse is true. Unfortunately, there is no clear winner under all conditions. Each type of battery has its strengths and weaknesses.

The maximum power for our lights - over the last decade - has been limited to under 4 watts in order to achieve the required minimum runtime on the maximum setting using a single 123 battery. Depending on how you would like to define minimum runtime, it can be 25 minutes (first drop to 66% of initial), 1 hour (third drop to below 50%), 2 hours (seventh drop to below 10% - the ANSI FL-1 standard). As you can see, there is a 4:1 variation depending on your definition of runtime. We do our tests using Battery Station primary cells.

We are in the process of upgrading the product line and the web site. We hope to have it completed before we leave for SHOT Show. All existing orders will be upgraded to the newer items so people with existing orders don't need to be worried that they missed out.

Archimedes,

Burst only works when the maximum output is selected - since that is where the highest battery draw occurs and that is where the greatest benefits are achieved. The process is described in detail in the manual.

Oztorchfreak,

We are in the process of shipping the remaining back orders and hope to have them all out the door before we leave for SHOT Show this weekend. We are currently saying that new orders will be 4 to 6 weeks and hope to have that back to 0 weeks by March.

P_A_S_1,

The new Tactical light has a true tactical interface with a pure momentary. But it does much more than that. The new Tactical light has a whole new interface - quite different from the existing Clicky and Rotary interfaces - but retains similarities where appropriate. You can read about it when we get the web site updated later this week.

I will bring a prototype Rotary clip to SHOT Show. It is now in production.

The.Mtn.Man,

We will have a 17670 battery compartment at SHOT Show. The 2xAA battery compartment did not quite make it in time for SHOT Show, but it is in production.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the SHOT Show gathering. Or drop by our booth during the show.

Henry.

 

[KDM]

Thanks for the updates Henry. I look forward to the new products you are releasing.

 

[pjandyho]

I do hope someone could get some decent photos and videos over at the HDS booth this coming SHOT Show. Sounds exciting with all the new stuff. Thanks for the updates Henry!

 

[Snareman]

Thanks for the updates Henry. It sounds great on all fronts! I'll stop by and say hi next week.

 

[PoliceScannerMan]

Wow pure momentary tactical, interesting. Looking forward to all the details of all new products/interfaces/accessories.

 

[AnAppleSnail]

Hello Henry,
Thank you for a great update! I know we will all have boiling questions that will be answered at SHOT show. Mine is, "Will you have a 17670 Rotary body tube?" and "Will there be a Rotary clip?" Regards,

PS: This post and the changes to the FAQ on your site are a great sign for people who have asked for better reporting on how things are going. Here I am rereading HDSSystems.com again...

 

[tobrien]

oh this is so awesome! thank you for the response Henry, I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to 2014 on HDS stuff.

I wanted to say also that I truly appreciate your EDC's low battery warning tremendously. We had a pipe burst in the freezing cold yesterday here at my parents' house and I used my HDS non-stop (if I had to guess, there was probably 50% left in the Surefire CR123 primary I had in it at the time prior to starting the water removal process) and I kept going and going with my 140T (GDP emitter)

The blink and level drop (correct?) worked tremendously with my needs last night. If that light just started going downhill in output really fast I would've had to stop to get a new cell in there, but the very graceful low battery warning and behavior exceeded my expectations last night.

Your lights are truly an exemplary product. I was raving to my dad especially on how amazing well-built lights can be (neither my mom nor dad understand my flashlight fanaticism yet, and I'm 25 and getting my MBA, too, so I think I'm pretty sensible about stuff by now ). I think my dad was amazed by how bright my 140T remained even after a few low battery blinks I had observed in vacuuming up super-cold water, although he didn't say he was impressed, I'm pretty sure he was.

Thank you Henry, for this fine illumination tool (I put "tool" in bold because it's not really just some "toy").

Again, I look forward to 2014's HDS products. Thank you.

edit: another guess here, but I think I got another 45 minutes to 1 hour off of the ~50% capacity that was left in that SF primary. I have no real numbers for any off this, but I do believe the numbers that I have provided are pretty accurate.