Original HDS EDC = Coolest Ever

[TedTheLed]

Im a paid and waitin customer for the hds high cri, and the to follow 2 aa battery tube..
I went to led because you never have to replace them, (do many people remember Incan BULBS? drop your light, and oops, time to replace, if you have the right one..I gathered a collection of old bulbs in a lure box, so I'd never be without..then the batteries would die...)
And now you guys replace the "bulbs" more often than I did! oh the irony.
The next step, now that the bulbs last forever, obviously, is to never need to replace, or charge, the batteries!

[Jeff S.]

I think I have a bunch of spare windows at home, PM me your address and I'll send you a replacement.

Wow, that's really cool. I appreciate the offer!! Unfortunately the bezel is so badly damaged that it has been stacked into place (the internal bezel and the outside of the flashlight's body have been crushed inward together). The end of the light is no longer perfectly circular, hence why the lens cracked. No fret- not only does it add tremendous character, but the crack hardly shows up in actual use.

[Roccomo]

I liked the EDC, for form factor, better than what HDS is making now. Sold all mine, haven't really missed them, and I don't own any of the newest HDS lights though I know they're awesome. I do have a Twisty and it's great. McGizmo gets most all of the pocket time since the EDC's went.

[F250XLT]

Wow, that's really cool. I appreciate the offer!! Unfortunately the bezel is so badly damaged that it has been stacked into place (the internal bezel and the outside of the flashlight's body have been crushed inward together). The end of the light is no longer perfectly circular, hence why the lens cracked. No fret- not only does it add tremendous character, but the crack hardly shows up in actual use.

No worries, just let me know if you are even in the need.

[lightplay22]

No derail intended, but a quick question. Who can I get to update the LED in my and a friend of mine's U60GT's?

My two B42's were updated years ago by milky and I carry one of them every day every where. Simply love the unbeatable functionality of this light.

Thanks!

[F250XLT]

No derail intended, but a quick question. Who can I get to update the LED in my and a friend of mine's U60GT's?

My two B42's were updated years ago by milky and I carry one of them every day every where. Simply love the unbeatable functionality of this light.

Thanks!

Contact DatiLED or Tekno_Cowboy

[CarpentryHero]

Jake_Royston and Think2X have been modding hds as well

[lightplay22]

Thanks so much for the info and long live the HDS EDC"s.

[F250XLT]

Love RPM bezels...








wvaltakis2 anodizing...

[CarpentryHero]

The blue clip and bezel are sexy

[John_Galt]

Now I'm reeeaaallly regretting selling mine...

[notsofast]

I liked mine, loved the beam but the switch was way too stiff. Was that common with these?

[derfyled]

Let's add a rare member to the family picture...

[F250XLT]

I liked mine, loved the beam but the switch was way too stiff. Was that common with these?

It's an electronic switch, how could it be stiff? Perhaps the rubber boot was dried out?

[F250XLT]

Let's add a rare member to the family picture...

Send it my way when you grow tired of it, I wish I hadn't sold mine.

[bansuri]

Definitely a wonderful light, the size and shape are great, it's just a timeless beauty.
I only use the Basic60 around the house though, mainly for these 2 reasons:
1. I'd hate to lose it!
2. On high it draws 2.0 Amps at the battery, my 120 EDC draws 1.6 on Burst, then steps down to ~700mA. I have to choose circuit efficiency when I'm away from the house.

I'm always swapping around emitters on these lights and haven't seen a difference at the battery with emitters.
The Basic looks ok with an XM-L but I prefer the beam profile that it's putting out with a Nichia 219, brighter hotspot but still has that great spill.
The more efficient driver of the modern HDS gives much better runtime any way you look at it. It's cool in it's own way, sturdy as heck, and will definitely "get you home", but if I had my way it would be just a tad shorter.

I'm probably gonna put a Nichia 219 in the EDC 120 eventually, so I'll post pics of Basic60@2.0A vs EDC 120@1.6A/700mA.
After those tests I will 200-click my HIGH setting down 1 level and report back with how that changes the demand on the battery.

[Trevtrain]

There seem to be a lot of comments in here about people seeking 2AA and 18650 bodies - or regretting letting them go.

I've looked at the HDS site a few times in recent months and noticed that 17670 and 2xAA bodies are still listed as options but always "out of stock".

Without a laborious search through past threads, can anyone tell me if there is a back-story to this? A lot of you good folk here seem to know the history of this company pretty well judging by your posts. Are the alternative tubes just no longer made? No plans to make them again?

The lack of an alternative to CR123 is a major block for me as I hate primaries (CR123 are hard to get and expensive here in Australia) and the runtimes on RCRs would be pretty poor. On the other hand, I have a good stock of Eneloops and MAHA C9000. (plus a solar charger setup for camping)

What's the story anyone?

[derfyled]

There seem to be a lot of comments in here about people seeking 2AA and 18650 bodies - or regretting letting them go.

I've looked at the HDS site a few times in recent months and noticed that 17670 and 2xAA bodies are still listed as options but always "out of stock".

Without a laborious search through past threads, can anyone tell me if there is a back-story to this? A lot of you good folk here seem to know the history of this company pretty well judging by your posts. Are the alternative tubes just no longer made? No plans to make them again?

The lack of an alternative to CR123 is a major block for me as I hate primaries (CR123 are hard to get and expensive here in Australia) and the runtimes on RCRs would be pretty poor. On the other hand, I have a good stock of Eneloops and MAHA C9000. (plus a solar charger setup for camping)

What's the story anyone?

There is 3 generation of HDS EDC.

1) the original HDS EDC (the subject of this thread) ( produced around 2005-2008)

2) the RA era (now known as the ''legacy'' series) ( produced around 2009-2010)

3) the new HDS EDC series (known as the ACME thread new lights) ( produced around 2010-2012)

I might be wrong about the dates but that's what I can remember...


For the original series, about 50 18650 and 2xAA tubes were produced. As far as I know, these numbers have never been confirmed. They are very rare these days... 17670 tubes are very common, inexpensive and easily available.

For the legacy series, I don't know how many 17670 were produced but not a lot. Rumors says there is around 50 2xAA tube floating around. No 18650 tube were ever produced for that series.

I'm not sure if any 17670 were ever produced for the ACME thread lights.


If you are not a primary fan, you could consider RCR123 (rechargeable). HDS lights are fully compatible with RCR and its the best low cost option. You can even buy a solar charger for them.

[John_Galt]

For the legacy clickys, 100 2aa battery tubes were supposed to be produced. Of those, reportedly only 23 pAssed Henry's quality control inspection. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one, and I am NOT letting it go anytime soon. I'm sure the others who have these rare and functional tubes feel the same.

[derfyled]

For the legacy clickys, 100 2aa battery tubes were supposed to be produced. Of those, reportedly only 23 pAssed Henry's quality control inspection. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one, and I am NOT letting it go anytime soon. I'm sure the others who have these rare and functional tubes feel the same.

Same here, the offer would need to be really good to let it go...

[Trevtrain]

If you are not a primary fan, you could consider RCR123 (rechargeable). HDS lights are fully compatible with RCR and its the best low cost option. You can even buy a solar charger for them.

Thanks for the info folks.
Actually I have recently bought a solar folder from cottonpickers along with some of his chargers. Very nice products.

I just thought the runtime might be a bit short on RCRs but I guess it's easy enough to carry several. Has anyone had issues fitting protected cells into the HDS lights or is there enough clearance?

[derfyled]

Thanks for the info folks.
Actually I have recently bought a solar folder from cottonpickers along with some of his chargers. Very nice products.

I just thought the runtime might be a bit short on RCRs but I guess it's easy enough to carry several. Has anyone had issues fitting protected cells into the HDS lights or is there enough clearance?

No problem at all with AW cells, Battery Station RCR and some protected Ultrafire (which I don't recommend...).

[cave dave]

HDS still keeps legacy info up on the website for past products:

http://www.hdssystems.com/?id=LegacyProducts

[kaichu dento]

I just thought the runtime might be a bit short on RCRs but I guess it's easy enough to carry several. Has anyone had issues fitting protected cells into the HDS lights or is there enough clearance?

I guess that would depend on which levels you use and for how long but I tend to go weeks on a charge and yes, the protected cells all fit very easily and the only bad news from here is that the 18350's won't fit.

[cave dave]

I just thought the runtime might be a bit short on RCRs but I guess it's easy enough to carry several. Has anyone had issues fitting protected cells into the HDS lights or is there enough clearance?

On the highest setting I got 82min for Primary vs 63 min for an AW RCR123, before the first stepdown. The other advantage of the primary is that there are many hours at lower settings (6hr at 9lm in my testing) while the RCR is pretty much kaput after the first stepdown.

However I'd rather go outside with a fully charged RCR than a primary of unknown remaining capacity, so I always use RCR's with a primary as backup in my backpack , and sometimes another RCR.

[Trevtrain]

On the highest setting I got 82min for Primary vs 63 min for an AW RCR123, before the first stepdown. The other advantage of the primary is that there are many hours at lower settings (6hr at 9lm in my testing) while the RCR is pretty much kaput after the first stepdown.

However I'd rather go outside with a fully charged RCR than a primary of unknown remaining capacity, so I always use RCR's with a primary as backup in my backpack , and sometimes another RCR.

Thanks for that Dave,

An hour on high is reasonable - which HDS model was this with?
Re the stepdown, I take it then that the RCR discharge curve is fairly flat with a sharp drop when done (somewhat like a Ni-MH) where as the CR123 primary discharge curve is a little more like an alkaline?

[cave dave]

The runtime was from a legacy RA 170cn, but each light is tuned to the emitter so runtimes in indivdual lights can vary by quite a bit.

The HDS lights have flat regulation on any battery and the light monitors the battery voltage and drops down to a lower level when the battery level gets low. This is not gradual and is pretty easy to see when it happens giving you warning your battery is getting low. You should check out the manuals sometime.

[John_Galt]

Definitely a wonderful light, the size and shape are great, it's just a timeless beauty.
I only use the Basic60 around the house though, mainly for these 2 reasons:
1. I'd hate to lose it!
2. On high it draws 2.0 Amps at the battery, my 120 EDC draws 1.6 on Burst, then steps down to ~700mA. I have to choose circuit efficiency when I'm away from the house.

I'm always swapping around emitters on these lights and haven't seen a difference at the battery with emitters.
The Basic looks ok with an XM-L but I prefer the beam profile that it's putting out with a Nichia 219, brighter hotspot but still has that great spill.
The more efficient driver of the modern HDS gives much better runtime any way you look at it. It's cool in it's own way, sturdy as heck, and will definitely "get you home", but if I had my way it would be just a tad shorter.

I'm probably gonna put a Nichia 219 in the EDC 120 eventually, so I'll post pics of Basic60@2.0A vs EDC 120@1.6A/700mA.
After those tests I will 200-click my HIGH setting down 1 level and report back with how that changes the demand on the battery.

Two things: 1) if you're going to mod it, can you please do some current drawn vs current supplied [to the LED, both stock and post mod] on high, primary and ultralow?
and 2)Do the same for the EDC 120?

[bansuri]

Two things: 1) if you're going to mod it, can you please do some current drawn vs current supplied [to the LED, both stock and post mod] on high, primary and ultralow?
and 2)Do the same for the EDC 120?

John,
It will be a little bit before I get to the Acme 120EDC, but I was able to get readings off the Basic 60 with the Nichia 219 installed.
Readings were taken with a Craftsman DMM, model 982018, sort of a Fluke knock-off. I've tested it against a couple of DMMs and an analog at work and it is always right on. However, it's not a Fluke so that will disqualify these readings to many. Readings above 1A had to be read from the 20A setting, all others were taken in the mA range, 0-999.
Battery used was new Battery Station 123A.
The levels I use are not the factory default. Being that it is the Basic model I am unable to determine what level the output is, but a guru might be able to figure out the lumens output based on the current into the emitter. I do know that my lowest level is 1 or 2 clicks above the lowest output.
First number is at the emitter, second is at the battery.
HIGH. 900 - 2.0A
MED. 107 - 96
LOW. 8 - 9.8
VERY LOW. 0.8 - 1.4

I don't have much knowledge of the inner workings of drivers, but if my numbers are to be trusted the highest return on your battery investment occurs somewhere below maximum output. I can't explain why the output current on MED is higher than the input current, I checked it several times to resolve it but the readings came up the same.
The results absolutely reinforce how valuable an emitter upgrade can be in regard to battery life, especially on levels less than 100%, more lumens per watt = longer battery life at the same lumen output.
I'll post back when I complete the tests and mod on the Acme.

[F250XLT]

John,
It will be a little bit before I get to the Acme 120EDC, but I was able to get readings off the Basic 60 with the Nichia 219 installed.
Readings were taken with a Craftsman DMM, model 982018, sort of a Fluke knock-off. I've tested it against a couple of DMMs and an analog at work and it is always right on. However, it's not a Fluke so that will disqualify these readings to many. Readings above 1A had to be read from the 20A setting, all others were taken in the mA range, 0-999.
Battery used was new Battery Station 123A.
The levels I use are not the factory default. Being that it is the Basic model I am unable to determine what level the output is, but a guru might be able to figure out the lumens output based on the current into the emitter. I do know that my lowest level is 1 or 2 clicks above the lowest output.
First number is at the emitter, second is at the battery.
HIGH. 900 - 2.0A
MED. 107 - 96
LOW. 8 - 9.8
VERY LOW. 0.8 - 1.4

I don't have much knowledge of the inner workings of drivers, but if my numbers are to be trusted the highest return on your battery investment occurs somewhere below maximum output. I can't explain why the output current on MED is higher than the input current, I checked it several times to resolve it but the readings came up the same.
The results absolutely reinforce how valuable an emitter upgrade can be in regard to battery life, especially on levels less than 100%, more lumens per watt = longer battery life at the same lumen output.
I'll post back when I complete the tests and mod on the Acme.

Any chance you'd be willing to mod one of my B42's with a Nichia 219?