Bought my first Ra!!

[COAST]

Super excited!! But I don't really understand what makes them so good.... Anyone care to explain? I just don't really get it... :thinking: I bought it because everyone said it was a great light, but the didn't explain why. But of course, as a flashaholic I bought one within 5 minutes :laughing:. Thanks

Bought an Ra Clicky Executive 140 Lumen model.... Might change order to black stainless steel bezel, but whatever haha .

 

[ninemm]

I just got mine last Friday. What you need to do IMO is get into the customization menu and select what levels of light on which shortcut. It is awesome to be able to fine tune the lumens output to your needs.

 

[pjandyho]

Well, I am not so brave like you. I know nothing about Ra so I did my own reading first before coming to a decision to buy.

The first thing I did was read every single word in HDS' website. Yes, I thought I would like to understand what "The Man" have to say for himself, and by the time I finished reading everything in the website I am more than 50% sold on the Ra.

I next read through all the previous postings in CPF regarding the clicky just to find out what are the pros and cons, or to see if there are any reported problems. Through that I learned that Henry provides top-notch customer service, and I thought this is the company I want to give my money to.

So I got my first Ra clicky with guaranteed tint about a month or two ago and I must say I am very very impressed by it. I have no regret spending the money on it and I am in the midst of saving for another one in high CRI. Just had this craze about warm tinted LEDs now.

I would suggest you read up on HDS' webby to understand more. By understanding more, you would appreciate the Ra even more. Some of the things explained in the website can't really be seen in action. What is plainly visible is just the light emitted out the business end and the mode changing. But reading Henry's website allows me to understand how the light was built and what was built inside that we can't see. These are not something that we could explain easily to our non-flashaholic friends. Only flashaholic like us would understand why we paid for it.

Congrats on your purchase! :twothumbs

 

[J33psr0ck]

For me it was the warranty/after purchase support and quality of the build in general that got me interested, thanks to CPF. Then after talking to Henry at shot show and realizing that he is a local maker, I decided to give the Ra light a try. I don't have many lights. When I get a light, I shoot for quality and try to get it right the first time. I have been nothing but pleased with the light ever since and carry it daily.

 

[COAST]

Ok, thanks guys. Appreciate it!

 

[Henk_Lu]

I was one of the first to buy a Clicky late 2008, I studied it all and when I got my light, I was... disappointed! So much money for THAT, was my first reaction... :shakehead

Then I began playing around with the light, I enabled customization and programmed levels. The light got nicer and nicer, the more I played. Finally, I loved it and since then I got 3 more Clickys, the last one has yet to come, a GT with a 17670 compartment.

What's so great about it? It is rugged like a hammer, it has a perfect beam, with the customization almost everything can be programmed to your needs, the UI is intuitive, it takes and recognizes li-ions and so on. This light hasn't just been screwed together with some matching parts, it has been overthought in- and outside, it is an illumination tool that won't let you down! lovecpf

 

[antikythera]

Shameless self-plug!

I wrote a review a while back on my initial user-end impressions (not including all of the amazing internal features like shock resistance or potted electronics). I don't know if it will help, but here you go, anyway.

At least there are some fairly nice pictures, so if nothing else, you can enjoy those.

 

[COAST]

Thanks agian. I just changed my order to include the black stainless steel bezel

 

[Jeff S.]

For me, the Ra Clicky is the "do everything" flashlight. It is small enough to always have on my person (which I do), it is rated at 66-feet static, it is bright enough for all my applications, there is a premium of efficiency with these lights (backpacking trips), and the light is more durable than the abuse it could ever receive (which is a lot). Further, the UI is great. I have it set up relatively bright, but next week I'm going on a rock-climbing/backing-packing trip, and I can quickly and easily customize the levels just for the trip.

For me, I don't see the need for owning any other flashlight; just more Ra's (such as a HDS System headlamp!!!!!!!).

Lastly, Henry's customer service is great. I know he himself is a caver (and if I'm not mistaken he does exploratory/mapping caving), so he's not only an electrical genius, but he is somebody who puts equipment to use and abuse. This is an over-engineered flashlight: http://www.hdssystems.com/?id=ClickyDetails&model=Custom

 

[Brasso]

I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about it too. For a long time. I just didn't see what the deal was with such an expensive light at such a low lumen output. I finally decided to get one, mostly because they were offered in the high CRI and I really wanted to see what that was all about. So I got a high CRI Twisty. I immediately fell in love with it. It's still my favorite, although I've since ordered a 140gt Clicky which I keep as a backup duty light. They may not be the brightest lights out there, but the customization is great. The really strong points about them though is the flawless beam and the anvil like construction. They are simply very well made and thought out lights. My next one will be a high CRI Clicky. I love that high CRI.

 

[the.Mtn.Man]

Super excited!! But I don't really understand what makes them so good.... Anyone care to explain?

It baffles me that you're willing to spend that kind of money on a flashlight without having a good idea of exactly what you're buying.

 

[carrot]

If you have faith in your fellow CPFers, then it certainly does make sense. I have bought plenty of things on the words of fellow CPFers.

 

[zwerky]

If you have faith in your fellow CPFers, then it certainly does make sense. I have bought plenty of things on the words of fellow CPFers.

+1 totally.
i still consider myself a newbie and i bought 4 sevens, malkoff drop-ins, mac's sst-50 edc, and soon possibly an ra light all from word of mouth and recommendations from this forum. no regrets so far :twothumbs

 

[nbp]

Ra lights are awesome. For more information, check out the ~3000 posts in the 9 parts of the Ra clicky threads. A good place to start for anyone considering a Ra.

And yes, I too wondered about the buy before you read method.... :shrug:

 

[:)>]

HDS / Ra lights are the finest production lights produced and the Clicky is the finest light that I have ever owned.

There are some lights that have more aesthetic appeal or are more rare but there are no other lights that I have found that offers the ruggedness, flexibility, efficiency, water resistance, beam quality, customer support etc. etc. that HDS / Ra lights provide.

I completely trust them to perform when I need to use them.

Now they have a nice pocket clip also... a big and necessary improvement in my opinion.

 

[Thermion]

I received my first Ra last Thursday, a 140GT. I am really impressed with this light. I am now a fan, and will get another sometime in the future. IMO, you can't go wrong with these lights.:twothumbs

 

[WildChild]

You won't regret your purchase. I wasn't decided between the Clicky and the Arc6 for my first programmable flashlight but when I read about the problems Arc had recently, I decided to go with a high CRI Clicky. It doesn't feel like a toy, it feels like a tool! Even if it cost me over $200 since I'm in Canada (shipping cost), I don't feel I wasted my money.