what would be an upgrade from my HDS?

William_H

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May 12, 2006
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I'm carrying a little HDS 42GT right now and I was just wondering if with the new Cree LEDs that are all the rage right now if there's anything out there that would be a considerable improvement on my HDS?
 

conor

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May 22, 2006
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id like to see an easy cree into hds42

i have a hds as well lol
 

cabindriver

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Apr 3, 2003
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carlsjrman said:
something like this?

seoul mod
I agree completely. Rather than replace my U60 I am improving it. Actually I sent if off yesterday to have one of our fine members improve it for me. It's been difficult at times, but I have saved money since buying it because I don't think other lights come close. I know I won't hold out forever, but for the time being it's working.
 

rmcnelly

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Sep 19, 2005
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The seoul mod linked above was very easy, and my U60GT rocks with an AW U bin W0 SSC emitter. Just sand a little at a time off the small end of the reflector 'till you find the focus/beam shape you like.

I'm really impressed at the jump in light output, and the SSC I used is a great very white tint. I can imagine going from a 42GT to the SSC will be an incredible upgrade.
 

tsask

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Oct 6, 2005
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rmcnelly said:
The seoul mod linked above was very easy, and my U60GT rocks with an AW U bin W0 SSC emitter. Just sand a little at a time off the small end of the reflector 'till you find the focus/beam shape you like.

I'm really impressed at the jump in light output, and the SSC I used is a great very white tint. I can imagine going from a 42GT to the SSC will be an incredible upgrade.

Glad it worked out. I have been EDCing my XR 42 GT along with my Fenix L1DCE. The Fenix on a single AA is brighter. I carry the HDS for that guaranteed tint. If the SSC upgrade doesn't effect the beautiful GT, I could be due for an upgrade.
 
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cratz2

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Apr 6, 2003
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Central IN
I've carried a Basic42 for about a year. LOVE the constant output and the tint. I mostly use the primary and secondary settings as I usually have alarger light for when I need more serious output.

I saw the initial thread of Milky doing the mod and I was somewhat concerned about the tint as I really liked the tint of my stock 42GT. He put a USW0H in mine and I couldn't possibly be happier. I'd guess the output of the max level went up 50% or more, but more importantly to me, the secondary setting after the mod is almost as bright as the primary setting before the mod so instead of 6-8 hours of runtime at 10 lumens, now I have considerably more at maybe 8 lumens.

Plus, on primary and max, it has obviously more throw, yet at the same time, the hotspot is larger in diameter. You can either use the stock HDS reflector and use an SSC LED, or use a Q3 reflector and a Cree LED. I went with the SSC because I wanted to keep as much throw as possible and, again, I couldn't possibly be happier with the results.

Honestly, in my opinion, there is basically no direct competition with the HDS lights. The McGizmo lights are outstanding, but don't have as many levels of output. Being a single stage light, I wouldn't want to get any more brightness at the cost of less runtime on the max level either.

There are only ways I'd want to see the HDS improved... and one defies physics. I'd like it if the max, primary and secondary stayed as they are, but there was a switchable diffusion. Obviously, not possible. The other thing is I wish that an 18650 body was available for less than I paid for the entire light.
 

Oddjob

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Mar 24, 2006
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I had my HDS U60 XRGT modded with a SSC and I love it. I was initially worried about the tint because I had a XRGT but honestly I don't miss it at all. The increase in brightness is substantial. It was well worth having it done.

If you want to talk about upgrading to a different light then maybe wait and see what the new Novatac's will be like. From what I have read the U120 is going to be pretty cool and I think it would be a definite upgrade from an U60.
 

conor

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May 22, 2006
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I did a SSC today...took me about 15mins.... i havent sanded down the reflector yet....its much brighter.....
 
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