The urge for a Novatac is growing, but which one?

MacTech

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I've been fighting it off, but I feel my resistance dropping to terminally low levels, especially with the "stimulus package" tax rebate thingy on the way, it's pretty much a given that at some point within the next two weeks, I may be ordering a Novatac, the A2 can't stave off my urges much longer

the only question is, which one?

the 85P from Lighthound, or the 120P from yourcornerstore dot com?

I've had great results with Lighthound, and I've spoken with the owner of YCS on the phone, and he seems to be a nice guy, and a fellow New Englander (he lives in NH, yet he has his inventory drop shipped from a big warehouse in California)
shipping times/costs are roughly equivalent, so it basically comes down to;

85P or 120P?
Black or Olive?

I've read that the older stock models (85P) are easier to mod with a glass lens and/or trit bezel, the 120P has red Loctite holding the bezel closed, and I've read that the black ano shows wear a little more readily than the Olive, and that the 85P has a bit more runtime on Max than the 120P...

I really like the idea of programmability, and the RCR123a support, my current Pocket Rocket is a SF E1L-SR (Seoul P4 and McR reflector in a KL-1 head) I don't know the exact lumen output, but I think it's in the 90 lumen range, and it's sufficient for everyday use, and I prefer runtime over raw brightness anyway

What say the Novatac experts?
 

KeyGrip

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I'm no NovaTac expert, but when I get one I'm going to get an 85P. To me, the extra output does not justify the extra price.
 

HKJ

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I have the 120P and am very happy with it. I have no scratches on it yet.

I do not known if your can see any big difference between 85 and 120 lumens (except when directly compared), but I like a flashlight as bright as possible, when required.
 

Oddjob

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My 85P's bezel was secured with red loctite and it was really really hard to get off.
I know the early 120p and 85p models seem to have had the same emitters but just programmed differently so the 85p on max had the same runtime as the 120p at 85 lumens. The extra money for the lumens was worth it for some but not for others. I would say if there was a large price difference like say over $50.00 it would not be worth it for me. YMMV.
I don't know much about the latest models of Novatacs unfortunately.
 

chaoss

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I will suggest the 120p from YCS, the difference in price on the two (85p from LH & 120p from YCS) is nominal. I was in the same boat that you are and decided to go for the 120p.
Is 120 lumes that much brighter than 85? The answer is not much at all. I just wanted the brightest model available and the black finish was also important. There is slight wear on the finish, (bezel & clip) from edc.
I set my 120p @ .17, 42, 85 & 120 just to see for myself the difference between the two levels and it's noticeable but not great.
Pertaining to the bezels, it seems to be hit or miss on removal. Mine came off with no problem and others have stated that it won't move.

You won't regret buying either model.
 

sawlight

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Jan 2, 2007
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I would suggest the 120P, you can always program it to be de-tuned to the 85P levels, you cant do that with the 85P. That will also gain you run time.
It seems the knurling is beter on the black ones, my olive one is a bit slick IMO and a little grip would go a long way.
Either way, you are getting a VERY tough flashlight with what I think is a usable beam for EDC, I liken it to a SF E2E, and I doubt you are going to do anything to hurt it!
 

gadgetnerd

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I've 2 120Ps, the earlier olive models, and both were rebezeled and relensed without issue.

Can't speak for the other vendor but lighthound are always an absolute pleasure to do business with.

The extra 35 lumens will only really be noticeable outside when going for a bit of extra throw. I hardly ever use mine at max.

My advice: get an 85P and put the $ you save towards a Ra Twisty :devil:
 

xcel730

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Mar 21, 2008
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I went through the same thing as you went through. I had such a strong urge to get the Novatac despite the fact that there are brighter and more efficient flashlights out there. I'm glad that eventually I sucuumb to my temptation and bought the 120P. :nana:

I just got the 120P from YCS this past weekend and I love it. It wasn't loctite, so I was able to put the PEU stainless bezel on it easily.

I personally would get the 120p just because it's a tad more efficient than 85P. I set my primary at 60lms, secondary at 10lms, low at 1 lms, and high at 120lms. Most of the times, 60 lms is more than enough for what I need to do. I reserve the 120 lms for just in case.

It's a tough choice between black and olive. I got the 17670 battery tube from Lighthound and from what I hear, it's a closer match in color with the olive 120P. My 17670 tube looks funny on my black 120p ... so now I have to decide whether I want to buy another one in olive so I could use my tube :whistle:

Long story short, get the 120p ... between black and olive, that choice is up to you.
 

gorn

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I ordered a 120p from your corner store about 4 days ago. It arrived yesterday in the mail. All I can say about YCS is that they are great to do business with and the prices are hard to beat.

As for the 120p. I really had no interest in Novatec and they have been getting quite a bit of negatives posted about them. But I was bored and decided to go for it. Well, my 120p is flawless. It took a little bit to figure out the click push way of changing things around but it was worth the effort.

This is a great little light, at this point it is the king of my huge flashlight pile. I don't regret purchasing it at all.

Having posted this at the same time as the one right above me I read his post and checked my 120p. The bezel is not loctited on. I was able to remove it with my hands. So any upgrade will be real easy.
 
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nosuchagency

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Aug 11, 2006
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another :thumbsup: to your corner store. my 120p arrived in less than a week from the date ordered.
 
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