What makes HDS lights so good? Low lumens & quite expensive for their size.

Oztorchfreak

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I just wanted to know why these fairly expensive little flashlights have a lot of followers, that love this brand.

Are they just well designed or are they as strong as a tank.

Is it the Interface?

They are all small in comparison to where the other major brands are heading and that is bigger, more lumens and more throw.

None of the HDS models seem to go over 200 lumens.

Is this purely an EDC oriented Company?

What is the deal with HDS flashlights?
 

jalal20

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we get this question a lot in here and you I myself asked that question and never got to understand what it means to have this light until I bought my first rotary.
Out of the top of my mind
1-Indestructible, Literally it can't be destroyed by usual usage.
2-Has great run times which answers your Lumens question. Its only capable of 200 max because the concern is to have the light run as much as possible with a decent amount of light.
3-Potted electronics which usually means that it would be one of the rare lights that would work in case of an EMP pulse hit :devil:. Off course it can also mean that you can use regular or rechargeable batteries in it as well.
4-It has one of the finest and most user friendly UI and form factors in the market.

I so regret trading my Rotary and not I have a 170E on the way and have asked for a notification as soon as the rotaries are back in stock :)
 

Oztorchfreak

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we get this question a lot in here and you I myself asked that question and never got to understand what it means to have this light until I bought my first rotary.
Out of the top of my mind
1-Indestructible, Literally it can't be destroyed by usual usage.
2-Has great run times which answers your Lumens question. Its only capable of 200 max because the concern is to have the light run as much as possible with a decent amount of light.
3-Potted electronics which usually means that it would be one of the rare lights that would work in case of an EMP pulse hit :devil:. Off course it can also mean that you can use regular or rechargeable batteries in it as well.
4-It has one of the finest and most user friendly UI and form factors in the market.

I so regret trading my Rotary and not I have a 170E on the way and have asked for a notification as soon as the rotaries are back in stock :)

You sound like you are well and truly hooked on HDS flashlights.

Do you keep other bigger lights or throwers as well?

And do you just keep the HDS as your EDC?
 

jalal20

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I am just a humble flashaholic :), I currently have a haiku and a Maelstrom X10. I sold most of my lights since I wasn't using them, like my Mule and Makai. Also my Macs XML 18650 and Macs Ti XML and Macs Al SST50 among others that just turned into shelf queens. Currently I have a Ti+, HDS 170, TM11 and a TCR1 on route to me. The TCR1 should be shipped any time today and the others should arrive this week. Out of all of those my Mcgizmo and HDS are my absolute favorite. I sold my S18 last week because it was too big for my use and I preferred the X10 which to my eyes is pretty similar on medium to long range.

EDIT: Oh and I think that I won't be letting my Haiku loose its EDC status :)

You sound like you are well and truly hooked on HDS flashlights.

Do you keep other bigger lights or throwers as well?

And do you just keep the HDS as your EDC?
 

Oztorchfreak

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I am just a humble flashaholic :), I currently have a haiku and a Maelstrom X10. I sold most of my lights since I wasn't using them, like my Mule and Makai. Also my Macs XML 18650 and Macs Ti XML and Macs Al SST50 among others that just turned into shelf queens. Currently I have a Ti+, HDS 170, TM11 and a TCR1 on route to me. The TCR1 should be shipped any time today and the others should arrive this week. Out of all of those my Mcgizmo and HDS are my absolute favorite. I sold my S18 last week because it was too big for my use and I preferred the X10 which to my eyes is pretty similar on medium to long range.

EDIT: Oh and I think that I won't be letting my Haiku loose its EDC status :)


I was just reading up on HDS systems stuff on their homepage.

There are lights named rotary that seem to still have a single button interface.

What is going on here?
 

jalal20

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Yeah the rotary has a single button but its tailcap rotates in change the levels and you can also preset levels using the clicky, its like having a clicky and a rotary
check this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiUwj6l1SCo


I was just reading up on HDS systems stuff on their homepage.

There are lights named rotary that seem to still have a single button interface.

What is going on here?
 

jalal20

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The rotary is very nice but the clicky is not too shabby also. it depends on personal preferences but infinitely brightness control lights are very popular these days. I have to of them on the way :)

I think I got it wrong about the interface.

Do you prefer the rotary control ring or the clickie type interface?
 

Oztorchfreak

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The Rotary control ring seems to have been taken off the list of products now.

Were there some problems with it?

They all use a Clickie interface by the look of it.
 

jalal20

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The Rotary control ring seems to have been taken off the list of products now.

Were there some problems with it?

They all use a Clickie interface by the look of it.

What do u mean rotary control ring?
They all have the same design but the bottom of the rotatry's battery compartment is adjustable and its not distinguishable in looks unless you use them. There is a ring but its only for holding the light and nothing more


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Oztorchfreak

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What do u mean rotary control ring?
They all have the same design but the bottom of the rotatry's battery compartment is adjustable and its not distinguishable in looks unless you use them. There is a ring but its only for holding the light and nothing more


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I can now understand the working interface after reading the HDS material at the HDS website.

Do you like the rotary brightness level control or the clickie only?

It still does not look like enough light to do normal activities to me.

I carry an ITP A3 EOS Upgraded (3 level) pocket light 1 x AAA and it puts out 96 lumens.

Doubling that I can't see how it would be useful for military use especially.
 
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the.Mtn.Man

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It still does not look like enough light to do normal activities to me.
What kind of "normal activities" are you talking about? For everyday tasks, 40-lumens is generally more than sufficient, and more often than not you can do the job with less. Even a 100 lumen light is plenty to illuminate my entire 150x50 foot backyard. Unless you have a specialized task, 200 lumens is pretty much the practical maximum for most people, and even that will be way too bright a majority of the time.
 

Oztorchfreak

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What kind of "normal activities" are you talking about? For everyday tasks, 40-lumens is generally more than sufficient, and more often than not you can do the job with less. Even a 100 lumen light is plenty to illuminate my entire 150x50 foot backyard. Unless you have a specialized task, 200 lumens is pretty much the practical maximum for most people, and even that will be way too bright a majority of the time.

I will try my Maglite XL200 in the back yard tonight and see what I can see with it.

It is approximately 200 lumens.

Why then do people want more and more throw and lumens?

Is it a status thing to be on top of the big guns?
 

nbp

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Punch in "why do you guys like HDS so much?" in the Google bar at the top. There's a huge thread on this that has been going on awhile. You'll get some good info there and maybe this thread can be merged with it.
 

Gatsby

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I admit I don't own a current HDS light - I've owned a variety of Henry involved lights over the years - an Arc4+, and HDS B42 and U60, Novatac 85P and 120P (US made when Henry was still involved in the joint venture) and liked them all. I haven't gotten a current model because my modded Novatac 120P (K2 TFFC) is still such a great light I'm having trouble justifying the upgrade.

One thing I'll add is that, pretty much from the get go, one of the defining principles of the various lineage of Henry inspired lights is that you only use as much light as it necessary for the task at hand. The focus has never been on total output at the expense of efficiency. Now the UI is the real heart of all of them and it still is my favorite UI of all time. But the mimimum light necessary principle has guided much of the design elements as well.

I admit I like a flamethrower as much as the next guy but even back with my B42 and Arc4+ I found I rarely used high even at those modest lumens in an EDC light. My Novatac 120P on high is over 200 and I use level 1 and level 6 for 90% of my tasks and level 12 for 8%, level 21 2% if that. Knowing what I know now I might have just modded my 85P and been done with it as level 20 would have been plenty on high.

But all of this is EDC discussion - a light I have with me all the time. I have other lights for throw or higher output situations when needed.

As another aside, however, the two critiques I've had of the Arc/HDS/Novatac/Ra-HDS series of lights is that with the exception of the Arc4 they are resoundingly ugly lights - not a critical element but Henry definitely takes "function over form" to one end of the spectrum. The other is their size, which even in the more modest original HDS/Novatac size package pushed the envelope for pocket carry - and the current lights are headed somewhat in the wrong direction on that count for me (although the size does contribute to their sturdiness) but not enough to dissuage me from eventually picking up a rotary - mostly because I'm intrigued by that addition to the interface.
 

Oztorchfreak

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Punch in "why do you guys like HDS so much?" in the Google bar at the top. There's a huge thread on this that has been going on awhile. You'll get some good info there and maybe this thread can be merged with it.

I typed what you said about HDS into Google on CPF and there are many threads on this topic.

And from what I read Henry has been in business for some 28 years, so he must be doing something right.
 

Oztorchfreak

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To Gatsby,

Well said mate.

He must have his finger on the pulse and listen to what the needs of his customers are.

I had not taken much interest before in HDS because of the low lumen output mainly and the high prices for an EDC.


Cheers
 

nullity

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Henry also has some great reading material on his website.

His products are a reflection of his knowledge and commitment to quality.
 
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