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What should i get? HD45? or 27LT?

Alin10123

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 14, 2004
Messages
1,281
Location
Atlanta, Ga.
Hey guys,
This will be my 2nd purchase of a mcgizmo creation.
I'll be using this light for my final walkaround at night in a warehouse after lights out. It'll be used just before i lockup at night. The wareahouse isn't huge. But when the lights are out it's dark nonetheless. There are certain parts with a slight bit of ambient lighting. (for legal reasons). But the main pretty dark.

The HD45 seems like a good light but it seems pretty big though. Plus I dont see a clip or anything, so pocket or even pants carry is probably too bulky. But it's still a consideration. I feel that the 27lt would probably be a nicer fit for me. Of course then there's the issue of the 3 watt of the 5 watt. I know the 3 watt throws better and the 5 watt has more light, but how much more light does the 5 watt produce and how much throw do you loose? I've never had a 5 watt LED before. So i've got no idea.

Any help on suggestions is appreciated. Feel free to ask me anything else you need me to in order to give a better recommendation. I'm leaning towards the 3 watt 27lt but i'd like to get your opions first.

Also, if i use a 17670 rechargeable instead of 2 primary cells, how much runtime do i loose?

Thanks in advance!
 

yaesumofo

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Joined
Jul 21, 2003
Messages
3,701
Location
Eastern Pacific, LAX DM03 sw actual
The question is what are your needs?
Do you want throw? or do you want wall of light?
Both of these lights are designed for throw.
a LUX V emitter creates a wider maybe thicker is a better description of the beam.
for example if you take a mag reflector and put a lux III in it you get a tight beam like a light saber and long throw. Stick a lux V in the same reflector and you get a similar beam but the beam is thicker and the hotspot is wider.
Anyway I cant speak for the HD45. But I do own a 27LT. If your needs include owning a real utility flashlight with plenty of runtime and lots of brightness then the 27lt is a good choice.
here is mine:
thebeef.jpg


Notice that Titanium bezel?
I made those. it really adds a whole bunch to the looks of the light. The light as it comes doesn't need this enhancement. it comes as a totally heavy duty light out of the box.
I carry my 27lt in my bailout bag. All ways at the ready. This is one light I know I can rely on totally under any conditions including lots of water. Yaesumofo
 

lrp

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 16, 2003
Messages
1,095
I can't speak about the HD 45, but I own a 27LT and it is really a very, very, nice light, both in the build department and as a user it is awesome. I hardly ever use the high, as the low beam meets almost all of my needs. I sold my SF L2 because the 27LT has two more useful beams imo and is built better, I had John Willis make me a holster for it as I carry it quite a bit, have also carried it in my jeans pocket. Really can't wait for another run of the Ti bezels as they really add a bit more protection and besides that they just look good! Since the 45 is more powerful than the 27 you may be just fine with the 27LT imo. It is my favorite light but I use the PD more.
 

Alin10123

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 14, 2004
Messages
1,281
Location
Atlanta, Ga.
yaesumofo said:
The question is what are your needs?
Do you want throw? or do you want wall of light?
Both of these lights are designed for throw.
a LUX V emitter creates a wider maybe thicker is a better description of the beam.
for example if you take a mag reflector and put a lux III in it you get a tight beam like a light saber and long throw. Stick a lux V in the same reflector and you get a similar beam but the beam is thicker and the hotspot is wider.
Anyway I cant speak for the HD45. But I do own a 27LT. If your needs include owning a real utility flashlight with plenty of runtime and lots of brightness then the 27lt is a good choice.
here is mine:

Notice that Titanium bezel?
I made those. it really adds a whole bunch to the looks of the light. The light as it comes doesn't need this enhancement. it comes as a totally heavy duty light out of the box.
I carry my 27lt in my bailout bag. All ways at the ready. This is one light I know I can rely on totally under any conditions including lots of water. Yaesumofo

Well, i'm not quite sure which will be better in my situation. the wall of light or more throw. this light will be used for a final walkaround a dark warehouse that may have a little ambient light in some corners but that's about it. Occassionally it may be used to check out a noise or something in the back of the building. There is a street light in the corner but the back of the building isn't that well lit.

Hench my dilemma. If i knew which would be better for the situation, then i'd better be able to choose. Maybe some night shift security guards of LE officers can check in? Based on what i've read, i think people like "3rd_shift" who works night shift has complained about certain earlier drop in magmod replacements that give 3 LED's but lack any amount of real throw.

I've never had a light that's a huge wal of light before. So i woudln't know. With this "huge wall of light". If i were to shine the light down an aisle a couple hundred feet long, would i be able to clearly illuminate the end and things around it?

Thanks in advance everyone. I'm tempted to purchase both but it'll be too big of a chunk out of the pocketbook at the moment.
 

yaesumofo

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Joined
Jul 21, 2003
Messages
3,701
Location
Eastern Pacific, LAX DM03 sw actual
I would carry 2 lights. one for the long range work. (the 27LT will be fine for this) one for short range wall of light stuff.
If you are walking around work all night long you need run time too.
I would highly recomend a sureFire KL4 on what ever body you see fit to mount it to. The KL4 will give you a true wall of light which works for short range work. Don to my knowledge doesn't make anything which puts out a KL4 type of beam. To me having a long range kind of light like the 27 LT and or the HD45 Either will work fine for your long range work. Then a Short range light like a KL4 having these two lights with you at a wearhouse envirenment would work very well IMHO. Keep in mind there are a number of new flashlights with new emitters comming to market Don has 4 new cree vased lights comming up. These may be able to do well for your short range work with the right emitter reflector combination (cree and 19mm reflector) and a longet range unit (cree and 27mm reflector).

NOt to take you too far off target here but a 3d mag modded with a lux III (or K2)will work all night long and then some on a set of batteries. This is not true of any of these other lights. It sounds like you may need a light with really LONG runtime. Unfortunatly the amount of energy stored in a cr123 or Rcr 123 just doesn't compare with the amount of energy stored in a rechargable D cell. As cool as these lights are (HD45 and 27LT) they may not be the right light for the job. There is a (K2)drop in (from diamond) which gives the mag real long throw. One of those dropin's into a 3d mag and a UCL from flashlightlens, and you will have a great long throw light. The HD45 and 27LT will both work fine for your shorter range work coompared to the modded mags.

Remember longer throw requires larger reflectors.

Yaesumofo



Alin10123 said:
Well, i'm not quite sure which will be better in my situation. the wall of light or more throw. this light will be used for a final walkaround a dark warehouse that may have a little ambient light in some corners but that's about it. Occassionally it may be used to check out a noise or something in the back of the building. There is a street light in the corner but the back of the building isn't that well lit.

Hench my dilemma. If i knew which would be better for the situation, then i'd better be able to choose. Maybe some night shift security guards of LE officers can check in? Based on what i've read, i think people like "3rd_shift" who works night shift has complained about certain earlier drop in magmod replacements that give 3 LED's but lack any amount of real throw.

I've never had a light that's a huge wal of light before. So i woudln't know. With this "huge wall of light". If i were to shine the light down an aisle a couple hundred feet long, would i be able to clearly illuminate the end and things around it?

Thanks in advance everyone. I'm tempted to purchase both but it'll be too big of a chunk out of the pocketbook at the moment.
 

:)>

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Joined
Jan 5, 2006
Messages
2,792
Location
Tampa, Florida
To me, it comes down to what you can carry comfortably. I own 2 27LT's and 4 HD45's and I prefer my HD45's with the Lux V LED as they match the throw of my 27LT's but put out substantially more light.

I wouldn't consider the beam from the HD45's to be a wall of light in the same sense as the Surefire L4 or L2 because they reach out MUCH further than either of these lights. Like I mentioned earlier, the HD45's with the Lux V seem to reach out just as far as my Lux III lights but they have a brighter corona.

The HD45 can also accept 18650 batteries. Finally, if you are tint sensitive, and don't like to see any green then you probably want to steer toward the WW0T HD45's as they have a great looking white beam. I am no longer sensitive to the greener tints so to me, the tint of the emitter is not such a problem for me as it used to be (if it is green, that is).

Now, after that HD45 endorsement, I want to make sure that I add that there is no way you could go wrong with the 27LT Lux III lights. They are the most beautiful in my collection when they are adorned with the Ti-bezel that yaesumofo built. It really completes the light! The 27LT also has a window that will not scratch as easily as the polymer window in the HD45.

Finally, I think that you are on the right track with making another McGizmo purchase. I have not been as satisfied with any lights that I have owned the way that I have been satisfied with McGizmo's lights. The only others that I am even near as satisfied with are the HDS lights and Surefire's U2.

Happy purchasing.

-Goatee
 

Alin10123

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 14, 2004
Messages
1,281
Location
Atlanta, Ga.
yaesumofo said:
I would carry 2 lights. one for the long range work. (the 27LT will be fine for this) one for short range wall of light stuff.
If you are walking around work all night long you need run time too.
I would highly recomend a sureFire KL4 on what ever body you see fit to mount it to. The KL4 will give you a true wall of light which works for short range work. Don to my knowledge doesn't make anything which puts out a KL4 type of beam. To me having a long range kind of light like the 27 LT and or the HD45 Either will work fine for your long range work. Then a Short range light like a KL4 having these two lights with you at a wearhouse envirenment would work very well IMHO. Keep in mind there are a number of new flashlights with new emitters comming to market Don has 4 new cree vased lights comming up. These may be able to do well for your short range work with the right emitter reflector combination (cree and 19mm reflector) and a longet range unit (cree and 27mm reflector).

NOt to take you too far off target here but a 3d mag modded with a lux III (or K2)will work all night long and then some on a set of batteries. This is not true of any of these other lights. It sounds like you may need a light with really LONG runtime. Unfortunatly the amount of energy stored in a cr123 or Rcr 123 just doesn't compare with the amount of energy stored in a rechargable D cell. As cool as these lights are (HD45 and 27LT) they may not be the right light for the job. There is a (K2)drop in (from diamond) which gives the mag real long throw. One of those dropin's into a 3d mag and a UCL from flashlightlens, and you will have a great long throw light. The HD45 and 27LT will both work fine for your shorter range work coompared to the modded mags.

Remember longer throw requires larger reflectors.

Yaesumofo

I'm not a security guard for that building. Simply the guy that will most likely be locking up most nights. So i wouldn't need a light that runs the entire night. Just maybe a few times during the day if the power goes out, or if there's a poorly lit corner, and then once during the night. Of course, the light will probably double as my EDC light as well. So no need for huge runtimes. I carried around before a PD and the runtime wasn't too bad for what it was. Any idea what the runtime is on a 17670 cell?
If i needed a throw monster i could purchase an elektrolumens K2 longthrow. but i dont think it's practical for my needs as the head seems realy large and i can't double that as my EDC light.
 

Alin10123

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Atlanta, Ga.
Also, regarding the newer cree lights. Don says in his availability thread that these are the only 2 versions of the light that he'll be selling. I'm assuming that means no cree version. I dunno. I'm so torn.
 

Alin10123

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Nov 14, 2004
Messages
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Location
Atlanta, Ga.
lrp said:
I can't speak about the HD 45, but I own a 27LT and it is really a very, very, nice light, both in the build department and as a user it is awesome. I hardly ever use the high, as the low beam meets almost all of my needs. I sold my SF L2 because the 27LT has two more useful beams imo and is built better, I had John Willis make me a holster for it as I carry it quite a bit, have also carried it in my jeans pocket. Really can't wait for another run of the Ti bezels as they really add a bit more protection and besides that they just look good! Since the 45 is more powerful than the 27 you may be just fine with the 27LT imo. It is my favorite light but I use the PD more.

lrp,
Do you have a 3 watt? or a 5 watt version?
 

Alin10123

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Messages
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Atlanta, Ga.
ok ok, hows about the best mix of throw, sidespill, and runtime? That would probably be the 3 watt if i'm not mistaken?
 

Chucula

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Jul 9, 2005
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168
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TX USA
sorry if this makes the decision harder, but the Sandwich Shoppe sells a 27LT with WWOT. Would that be the best for you?
 

fleegs

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Dec 13, 2003
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Indy
Personally, I would start off with the 27LT. See if it works for you. If not sell it and then get the HD45. I have owned both. I find myself using the 27LT more readily because it has a clip and is so much more comfortable to carry. I have owned the HD45 in both the 3W and 5W versions. I liked the HD45 5W better. That is because the reflector is so much bigger it makes the 5W throw like a 3 watt. However, in a 27mm reflector I prefer a 3W (27LT is a deeper reflector than I have experience with). I don't know how the 5W would perform but I still would pick the 3W due to runtime savings. Plus with the cree being available I see no reason to buy a 5W in a light this size. I would go with the more efficient cree. Unless the price dropped on the 5W lights.

I believe the 17670 battery would run just as long as two 123s. Either of these lights can also use two R123s. (Except for some of the very early designs, non DB converter I think).

Hope this helped.

Good luck,
rob
 

fnmag

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You should, without any reservation, purchase the 27LT with WWOT! For all the numerous reasons that I've listed for you in the PMs that were exchanged by us. Good luck and enjoy.
 

fleegs

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fnmag said:
You should, without any reservation, purchase the 27LT with WWOT! For all the numerous reasons that I've listed for you in the PMs that were exchanged by us. Good luck and enjoy.


What were the reasons?


rob
 

Alin10123

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Nov 14, 2004
Messages
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Atlanta, Ga.
fleegs said:
What were the reasons?


rob

You get decent throw with tons of sidespill and an overall brighter light. The 3watt just throws a tad bit further but is overall less brighter and isn't as bright. However, the 5 watt is brighter at the expense of a little bit of runtime though.
 
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