Haiku vs Lunasol??

[yaesumofo]

I have been away from the scenD for a while and haven't been paying attention.
I see that don has a "new" light and wanted to see how you guys feel about these two side by side???


I have a spare Lunasol 20 and was thinking of "converting" it to a Haiku.

There is no doubt that I love my lunasols. The wide and tight light from them is terrific.
I have been EDC'ing one of my lunasol20's since the day I got it.
I wonder if the extra brightness of the Haiku is a good trade off???
Thoughts

Yaesumofo

 

[Tim W]

...wanted to see how you guys feel about these two side by side???

I wonder if the extra brightness of the Haiku is a good trade off???

I've got both, in addition to a Ti PD-s. All - in - all, I still think the PD-s is my favorite, mainly since I just prefer the PD design to the clickie switch.

The biggest difference, IMO, between the LS20 and the Haiku, is that with the LS's flood beam, it is not really that useful to me past about 8-10' even in very dark areas (on low). To my eyes, at least, the reflectored beam is more useful.

On the higher level(s), the Haiku that I have has a much whiter tint vs. my LS20. Although it does not make much if any difference in what you can see with it, the blueish tint on my LS20 is quite noticeable.

90% of the time, the Haiku's medium level is quite sufficient for me and is visually (to me, at any rate) only slightly - maybe 20-25% less bright than the LS20 or PD-s on high. The highest level is quite noticeably brighter than either the LS20 or the PD-s.

Long story short, I guess I really don't care which of the three I grab, they are all here to stay!!

Tim

 

[scout24]

I also own both, and recently sold a PD-S. I agree with Tim that the tint on the Haiku is whiter than my LS 20, only really noticeable if I have the two side by side. Three level Haiku is nice, but if I need more light than the LS 20, I probably need more than the Haiku as well. Sometimes I will grab the Haiku during the day, when the low flood will probably not be as needed, but if I know I will be out after dark, the LS 20 is the one in my pocket. The old adage of "buy both" is always a good one... If you need the throw and a bit more brightness, or if tint is very important, try the Haiku. If you like the utility of the LS20, stay with that. Also, there have been one or two LS20's in the B/S/T recently with a bump in power and /or a swap in both the nichias and the "main gun" LED, so it may be worth contacting one of our talented modders for some work, and staying with the platform and utility you are familiar with and like. My two cents... Also, search "Lunasol Eclipse" and see what Don may have planned for us next... :thumbsup:

 

[Scottiver]

Yo Mofo, long time since i've seen you around here. I have all three lights too and I much prefer my Haiku to my LS20. MUCH nicer tint and beam in my opinion. I use my Haiku every night and my LS20 sits in the safe, not that it's not a great light, I just prefer the others.
The Haiku is the best clicky that i've ever come across. The UI is seemless.
As a true McGizmo afficionado you owe it to yourself to get yourself one.
:twothumbs

 

[jblackwood]

deleted

 

[nfetterly]

Well - I'd never compared mine beside each other - my preference was the LS20 because I like the low flood (no hot spot) and the PD action.

I did a comparison of the Sundrop XR-U beam profile (no hot spot) versus other McGizmos - but I did not have my LS20 & Haiku then as they were off at Matt's playing dress-up for holesters.

I did have a Haiku earlier, but sold it (along with some cash to me) for a Ti 2-pak McClicky that I use on my milky E1B creemator head. I later bought a Bead Blast Haiku that arrived after the LS20 went off to Matt's (I've had them back for about 2 weeks). While the LS20 & Haiku were at Matt's I got to like the action of the McClicky Pak - so took more of a shine to the Haiku when it came back.

So - today I compared the tints of the LS20 & the Haiku. Much prefer the Haiku - if you are after a low flood which is really nice for some things like reading motor nameplates then the LS20 is certainly superior with no hotspot.

If you get a Haiku - consider the BB (Bead Blast) - very nice, although the head of the Haiku in general is very nice. Also, the LE unscrews in a similar fashion to the EN Mules from the head - so you can do thinks use the Sundrop XR-U head with it's large lens with the LE from the Haiku (focused, no hotspot). Of course if you get the BB Haiku then there is a bit of a contrast (versus saying mis-match) if you do this.

 

[carrot]

The real question to ask yourself, in my opinion, is do you like clickies? Because I don't like them for EDC and so the Lunasol is a better light than the Haiku, simply for that reason. I see the Haiku as a sort of step backwards as well due to the lack of dual beam modes.

 

[carrot]

Not that the Haiku is bad of course, but it is hard to beat the best (PD).

 

[McGizmo]

:wave: yaesumofo


Now that I carry a Sapphire on my person at all times, I have found that I gain more utility and versatility by clipping a SunDrop XR-U or Haiku on my waist than I get from the LunaSol. The choice of one over the other would depend on where I was going and what I planned to do. I realize that these comments and opinion expressed doesn't address your specific question because of the inclusion of yet an additional light.

If it were limited to either the Haiku or the LunaSol I personally would not find this an easy choice without some additional idea of where I was going to be and possibly doing. If I were to be in the company of others or out in the public, I would opt for the LunaSol because of its low flood. If I were out on my own, and away from the house, I would likely opt for the Haiku.

I have always been fond of clickie switches and PK used to call me McClickie because I hounded him so much for a clickie E-series years back. I have yet to have a McClickie switch fail in service but I don't claim this is not a possibility. It could happen. I have had numerous experiences where the battery has died on me and rarely in a situation where I had a spare right at hand. It's never been a big deal for me because this was not any mission critical situation. If it was, I would like to think I would be more prepared. :green: If I ever do have a McClickie switch fail on me, I will simply and easily replace it. I think the likelihood of this is so slim that were I in a mission critical situation, I would not deem it necessary to have a spare McClickie switch on hand; spare batteries yes.

I too am fond of the PD system and there is a certain elegance to its design and simplicity. It came about because of a need to provide two speed momentary activation. With newer converters, I can have three speed momentary activation with less effort and more utility from the McClickie. Where I still find utility in the PD is in the LunaSols and because it provides not only two speeds but from two different light sources with different beam distributions.

I personally find the LunaSol and Haiku superior to the PD-S and XR-19PD but this is opinion based on preference and typical usage. There are others with equally valid and differing opinions. I admit that my personal opinion is a strong driving force for my offerings and areas of interest.

 

[portagee slim]

McGizmo, I gotta say I prefer clickies. I usually don't have a spare hand to run a light. So for me, the combo of the day is a MULE, and a Haiku. Wish I could screw up the courage to take my High CRI MULE out of the house. Maybe I'll have some extra cash to get one of these X-RU to pair with my Haiku. And for the record, I worked inside a bridge, without any temporary lighting and had the batteries die. (This was pre CPF & McGizmo) It is the reason I carry a spare light and batteries, and a Photon just in case there is total catastrophy. I tape one inside my hardhat. That's my cactus and I'm stuck with it.

Drew

 

[fyrstormer]

The Lunasol is much better if you get a C-Pak to use it with, and I love my PD-S, but I have to say the light that's been spending the most time on my pocket is the Haiku. It's brighter than either the PD-S or the Lunasol, and it's so easy to cycle through the brightness modes, I almost don't miss having a twisty head to fiddle with endlessly. (my coworkers probably miss it even less. :duh2

 

[fyrstormer]

The real question to ask yourself, in my opinion, is do you like clickies? Because I don't like them for EDC and so the Lunasol is a better light than the Haiku, simply for that reason. I see the Haiku as a sort of step backwards as well due to the lack of dual beam modes.

That will be more true if/when Don releases the Eclipse (i.e. the Lunasol with multiple brightness modes on the throw emitter), but until then, I think the Haiku is his best (if not most unique) flashlight to date, because there just aren't that many times I'm looking at something less than arm's reach from my face, so the flood emitters are nice to have but not essential.

Personally, I'd like to see the Eclipse use a tiny Cree R2 instead of a Golden Dragon, and warmer 3mm flood emitters to match. (maybe even use more tiny R2s for the flood emitters, just run them at really low current.) The bluish tint of the original Lunasol is tolerable, but definitely not ideal. I just bought a new car, but I might have to pick up an Eclipse anyway if it had more neutral emitters.

 

[Brother Methias]

As a newby here who bought both I'll say I prefer the lunasol.. the plunger seems more refined than the clicky and is easier to use, the dual mode is super sweet, and the size/ aesthetics are a step better (to me..)

The Haiku on high is noticeably brighter than the lunasol 20 though..

 

[fyrstormer]

Don't get me wrong, I really like the PD switch, but I can see where Don is coming from when he says a forward clicky + a well-designed driver can give him the same momentary action the PD switch has plus latching without the use of electronics. I think Nitecore's PD switch is probably the ultimate iteration of the design, because it has momentary and latching functions and it uses the design in a way that makes it uniquely useful in explosive environments.

I was giving some thought to how the PD switch could be used in Gizmo(like) designs in the future, if for no other reason than because it's so compact, but then I compared a PD Pak to a Clicky Pak and realized the Clicky Pak is only 1/8" longer -- not nearly enough to justify the complex electronics needed to get Clicky Pak functionality in a PD Pak just for the reduction in size. You could just shave some off the end of the head/reflector if you really cared about every millimeter of length.

 

[Tim W]

... I think Nitecore's PD switch is probably the ultimate iteration of the design, because it has momentary and latching functions ...

I've gotta disagree with that. I've got an EX10, and while it is a very good little light, unless I'm a complete idiot, I just cannot get the momentary function to work correctly. I think most of my problems stem from the fact that you have to use a combination of half and full presses of the piston in momentary mode. Just not intuitive enough.:tinfoil:

On the other hand, in the "normal" mode, I find it quite user friendly.

 

[fyrstormer]

Yes, momentary only works if you have the head unscrewed partway and you press lightly on the piston. Personally, I think it should be set up so if you press-and-hold when the light is currently off it will act as a momentary switch, and if you press and let go quickly it will act as a latching switch. Currently press-and-hold while off does nothing, but press-and-hold while on adjusts the brightness.

 

[AlecGold]

To try to get back on topic, a bit at least, I've been considering a Haiku or LunaSol, but the Sundrop XR-U is that good that I don't need either one. That might seem a bit odd, but the reason behind it goes a bit like this: I EDC the Sundrop. This is bright enough to walk in the dark, but low enough to read a map, and I can write a note or read a book with it. So for all EDC-needs this is it. For me. When I go out and walk a bit I will take a SF M6 or a 6P+KT1.
so where is my need for a Haiku?
I like the light so much I might feel the urge to buy it anyway, but that is another question all together.

for Mofo, I would like to suggest the earlier given advice: do you like clickies or not?

 

[Codeman]

Yo, mo!

I completely bypassed the Lunasol and I'm glad I did. The Haiku, when combined with a Sundrop 3S, has turned out to be the perfect combo for me. Heck, the Haiku pretty much put my Ti-S27-Cx2 on the shelf and relegated my Ti-PD-S to house duty. It doesn't have quite the throw as the Ti-S27-Cx2, but it's close enough that the slightly better output on high and smaller form factor won a spot in my pocket. Plus, next to my MR-X, it almost nails the 6500K output of my Ideal-Lume bias light for my home theatre. I think I hit the proverbial jackpot on my Haiku.

 

[Kiessling]

The two lights are, despite the similarities, quite different.
The Haiku has the perfect McR-17/XR-E beam that is the best reflectored beam around I think, and it has a clickie whereas the LS offers a flood beam in additin to the high beam and has a different UI. The UI is a personal choice, and both light offer options as the Haiku is E-Series compatible and there is a C-Pack for the LS.
So there are options aplenty.

The Haiku is quite brighter than the LS on high, and it offers a better field of vision due to the cool beam spread.

I personally prefer the interface of the LS and the low flood, but I miss this perfect McR-17 Cree beam.

bernie

 

[jch79]

but I miss this perfect McR-17 Cree beam.

The LunaSol 27 has a McR-17 in it, McBK! And I know you wouldn't sell yours!

:thumbsup: john