Novatac 120T or EDC Executive 120-E

I have gone through a ton of CR123 lights and it seems that I miss my Novatac 120-T the most. I have never tried any of the RA lights and since they were both made by the same guy, I am very interested in the RA Light line. Should I pull the trigger on the Novatac that I love and trust or should I try the RA line?

The only real difference, to me, anyway, between Ra and Novatac is the efficiency. The Novatacs appear to be well built, well liked lights, but the Ra has double the run time on high, than the Novatacs. So, from an expense point of view, all other things being equal, the Ra would be cheaper to own in the long run.

My $0.02... And remember, the dollar is weak, so my advice isn't worth much.

I'm also a fan of Novatac, but try the Ra Lights. I would recommend the 170 lumens model with the narrow beam if you can afford that model.

You'll get a higher output and more efficient light that has a UCL instead of a plastic lens.

There are however a couple of things I like better about Novatac over the Ra Clicky.
1. Smaller size
2. No holes in the body (removeable clip)

I have a HDS System Ultimate 60, a Novatac 120T, and a HDS System Ra Clicky 170T.

I'd highly recommend the Ra Clicky. It feels more solid, and is far more efficient. Further, the Ra Clicky line is fully customizable- you can easily set it up any way you like.

The Ra Clicky is slightly more narrow and is a little longer than the Novatac, which is something I prefer as it fits in my hand better.

Both are good lights, but I'd argue that the Ra Clicky is the more modern light, and more bang for the buck.

Between the Ra and the Novatac IMO we have two almost perfect lights. If the Novatac was a little more efficient and had a brighter high with just a bit more throw it would be great. But the Ra is brighter and out throws it in the 140 or above tactical model (with the Osram golden dragon emitter). However that emitter or at least the ones coming from Ra seems prone to a greenish tint around the hotspot with a violet halo further out in the spill. And after 4 Ra lights I've had I have yet to get one that is completely 'right' without any problem (mechanical and electronic problems as well as tint). All 5 Novatacs I've had were fine with the exception of one which had a bad circuit and was promptly swapped (I had the new one even before I sent back the bad one) by Lighthound. One other Novatac has a slightly odd tint but the rest range from very acceptable to having one of the best tints of any lights I have. I'm also having trouble trying to carry the longer Ra in my key pocket (Levi's). It's just a tiny bit too long for comfort whereas the Novatac is acceptable.

I really wish the Ra was 100% right as I'd rather carry it than the Novatac but so far it seems to have more than it's share of troubles. My latest one has crooked engraving on the bezel and has had intermittent lockups when I put the Ra Executive tailcap and switch on it as well as a tint I consider too green. At a $189 it should not have these problems IMO. The new Novatac Storm that has just finally started showing up and I've seen for as low as $61 from a dealer that I believe will finally have them in a few days. This is less than 1/3 the price of the 170 Ra so it's not a hard decision if you are tight on funds. To be fair the Ra EDC at $99 is a nice deal but will only hold the 120 Lumen setting for 10 seconds before dropping back to a lower level (85 Lumen?) The new NT Storm has been cracked with the 250 click backdoor so it can be turned into the programmable model too (info thanks to Kid9p). While I am thankful for all that Henry has done in creating great lights I really wish he could get a handle on quality control in the Ra lights and would also find a better emitter for throw that will have a good tint too.

Get both, but compare the EDC 120 with the NT 85.

I believe the output and run times are very similar, on high, not sure about lower levels. The Ra's 120 lumen burst level is for 10 seconds, then goes to 85. Price-wise, Lighthound has a good deal on the NT 85.

The NT 120 and Clicky 140 have similar max outputs, (120 vs. 100) again, not counting the burst... but the NT has about half as much run time on max.

Get both, sell the one you don't prefer, but I think that you'd end up keeping the Ra if you could only have one.

One more thing, you can specify a narrower beam (Tactical) with the EDC. The wide beam (Executive) will be more similar to the NT beam.

With the easter egg mod any NT can be programmed just like a Ra. The UI for both is obviously created by the same brain...just look at the pdf manuals on line.

I'm not sure whether Novatac is really that much less efficient.

An 120p with new and efficient LED should easily get the 100lm on level 21(formerly 85lm) where the max could then be considered as burst (which would probably be anywhere from 140-180lm)

The runtime on the new 100lm level should not be that much shorter than a Ra on 100lm.

sigsour said:

I have gone through a ton of CR123 lights and it seems that I miss my Novatac 120-T the most. I have never tried any of the RA lights and since they were both made by the same guy, I am very interested in the RA Light line. Should I pull the trigger on the Novatac that I love and trust or should I try the RA line?

Click to expand...

I've never owned an RA light but have many others including 2 120ts. I love the NT 120t. Direct access to customized brightness levels, easy upgrade of the LED, and great in hand feel. It's a tough quality light IMHO. At $90 half of an RA, well that's a plus. Not sure if the RA is 2x better to warrant 2x the price.

Bud

While the Novatac is an excellent light, I prefer the RA for the reasons stated above!

My K2 modded 120P is brighter and has slightly more throw than my Ra 140 Tactical. You may wish to consider the 120 modded, by you or someone else. With the K2 TFFC TVOD the tint is slightly warm which is nice.

I think the Novatac comes in as a superior overall package when compared to the Ra.

I think of the class of programmable 123A lights (Novatac, Ra, Arc6) as the talented generalists of the flashlight world. There are lights that will outperform those in a narrow sense, say throw for example, but there are darned few lights that are capable of the versatility and total performance envelope of these lights. Of that class, I rank the K2-120P as tops.

Later,
HB