HID Shootout - Nov 2016

stollman · Nov 11, 2016

I recently had a chance to review the Henlin SL-3570 HID Spotlight.
It has two modes: 35W & 70W.
Some of you might recognize the design.

I put it up against some of my other HID's:
* Fire-Foxes FF4
* Generic Ebay 85W
* Home-Made 100W
* Sunca CS-220S

For comparison purposes, I also included the specs of other HID Lights that are known for their high quality.

It's a 13 minute video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbbT4vFO0Dg

XeRay · Nov 11, 2016

We still have the XeVision XeRay XVLX-70 (50/70W) and XVLX-50 (35/50W) both assembled in USA using our proprietary ballast/igniter electronics package, while the Lemax is assembled in the Czech Republic.
Note: The Henlin is currently made in China not Taiwan, the company owner is based in Taiwan but it's components and assembly are all accomplished in China.
The originals back 10+ years ago were totally Taiwanese, but that all changed about 8 or so years ago.

stollman · Nov 13, 2016

Based on XeRay's comments, I wanted to double check my facts in the video.

Henlin confirmed all their lights are manufactured in Taiwan.
SEARCH LIGHT TAIWAN CO.,LTD (Factory)

4FL., NO.18, Lane83,Sec2,Jungshing Road, Wugu Shiang, Taipei Heien 248, Taiwan

http://www.search-light.tw

PolarLi · Nov 14, 2016

Nice video, always fun to see comparisons. Thanks for posting!

XeRay · Nov 14, 2016

stollman said:
Based on XeRay's comments, I wanted to double check my facts in the video.

Henlin confirmed all their lights are manufactured in Taiwan.
SEARCH LIGHT TAIWAN CO.,LTD (Factory)

4FL., NO.18, Lane83,Sec2,Jungshing Road, Wugu Shiang, Taipei Heien 248, Taiwan

http://www.search-light.tw

You might want to look at this link for them and their China factory, about 100 miles South from Shanghai. With labor costs and all component costs much higher in Taiwan than China, they moved the manufacturing there about 9 years ago.
There is little chance they would have reversed that decision since those factors have not changed. There is a quality perception about China vs Taiwan that would make it beneficial to claim made in Taiwan when they have offices there as well.

http://henlin.en.alibaba.com/contactinfo.html

http://henlin.en.alibaba.com/company_profile.html

Dnuts · Jan 7, 2017

Thanks for the video, I'm toying around with purchasing a HID light and it was good to see some of the options out there.

I really like the design of the Henlin, and after looking into it more it seems that there was another light made by XeVision with the same design, is that the Henlin's predecessor you mention in your video? Any idea if XeVision still makes that light, I didn't see it on their site but would prefer to buy USA-made if possible.

Do the Henlin folks sell single lights or do you usually need to acquire these via a group buy?

thanks

XeRay · Jan 9, 2017

Dnuts said:
Thanks for the video, I'm toying around with purchasing a HID light and it was good to see some of the options out there.

I really like the design of the Henlin, and after looking into it more it seems that there was another light made by XeVision with the same design, is that the Henlin's predecessor you mention in your video? Any idea if XeVision still makes that light, I didn't see it on their site but would prefer to buy USA-made if possible.

Do the Henlin folks sell single lights or do you usually need to acquire these via a group buy?

thanks

We used their housing and battery pack up until about 2008 or 2009, we put our own ballast and German quality bulbs in ours. Theirs always used a cheap Chinese bulb. We quit because they kept making changes that were not backward compatible, especially the battery charge circuit contained in the light. They would not support the prior iterations, each time they made a change. They were always shopping for a cheap charge PCB every time they needed a new production run. We refused to continue with that nightmare, they could not be depended upon as a long term partner. They made a reasonably good product, its just their thinking processes when making any changes were not acceptable to us, it made it very difficult to support the longer term serviceability, 100% in our lap. They also never consulted with their bigger customers about changes as well.
Again, for the price-point its a good buy, just could not make it work any more, with our company Philosophy of long term customer product satisfaction, including warranty and after warranty service.

Polarion-Sparetech2 · Jan 17, 2017

XeRay said:
We used their housing and battery pack up until about 2008 or 2009, we put our own ballast and German quality bulbs in ours. Theirs always used a cheap Chinese bulb. We quit because they kept making changes that were not backward compatible, especially the battery charge circuit contained in the light. They would not support the prior iterations, each time they made a change. They were always shopping for a cheap charge PCB every time they needed a new production run. We refused to continue with that nightmare, they could not be depended upon as a long term partner. They made a reasonably good product, its just their thinking processes when making any changes were not acceptable to us, it made it very difficult to support the longer term serviceability, 100% in our lap. They also never consulted with their bigger customers about changes as well.
Again, for the price-point its a good buy, just could not make it work any more, with our company Philosophy of long term customer product satisfaction, including warranty and after warranty service.

Amen to your progressive outlook. Polarion seconds you. We recently dealt with a PH50 customer whose light overheated (keeping it lit inside a thermal blanket was not a good idea!). Even though the light was 8 years old, we had no problem swapping the entire lens assembly, the bulb and wire harness. We did not need to swap the ballast but it was available.

HID Shootout - Nov 2016

stollman

Enlightened

XeRay

Flashlight Enthusiast

stollman

Enlightened

PolarLi

Enlightened

XeRay

Flashlight Enthusiast

Dnuts

Newly Enlightened

XeRay

Flashlight Enthusiast

Polarion-Sparetech2

Newly Enlightened

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