HDS Systems #23

[Mgizler]

The lowest level is enough light to get around in the middle of the night.

This is the exact reason why I love it. I know in the middle of the night when I wake up, and I grab my rotary, I can twist it all the way to come on in the lowest setting, without really even thinking about it. And the lowest setting is more than bright enough to get around when your eyes are fully adapted to nighttime.

 

[tech25]

I usually use my rotary low and make it higher as needed. My "double click" is set to approximately 60 lumens so I have long runtimes on 18500 and full brightness at anytime is just a press and hold away.

 

[cerbie]

The single emitter/deep reflector design matters too. 300 Lumens out of an HDS, Malkoff, Zebralight, Haiku, etc. is a lot more useful than 300 lumens out of a triple/quad emitter/TIR light.

It depends. But, if you don't have a lathe, the Carclo 20mm, Ledil 24mm, and a couple oldies that don't look right with modern emitters, are about it, for any small builder, DIYer, or company going for quick turn-arounds. TIRs tend to vary in performance much more across emitters than reflectors, and that goes extra for those common ones made from polycarbonate and acrylic (I'd love to see some made of better plastics, to reduce the tint shifting, and improve efficiency). The Carclo 10507, FI, with about any 3535 Cree or Nichia, creates a big spot, that drowns out any spill, and hides anything next to the edge of the spot. The same optic over a high intensity emitter, like an SST-20, or Flat White, OTOH, creates a rather nice, very usable, throwy beam, with a gentle fade out to the edge of the spill, the performance and quality of which would normally need a much bigger reflector than ~1" lights can hold.

 

[Mr. LED]

Rotary forever!

What can be seen by .02 lumen?
Steps 1-5 range from .02 - .10 lumen…does anyone use those steps?

these are the steps I use the most to preserve night vision, when it's too dark and I have adapted eyes, or when waking up in the middle of the night for bathroom trips. Totally useful, I wouldn't buy it if it didn't go this low.

 

[kaichu dento]

What can be seen by .02 lumen?
Steps 1-5 range from .02 - .10 lumen…does anyone use those steps?

I used to use them all the time at work and even though I don't use them anymore, I'm glad to have them in the eventuality that they become necessary again.

 

[kj2]

Here is my explanation. If it is correct I do not know. K&T are located somewhere in the EU. Therefore they must pay import tax, which is ~25% of the item value. Also they must pay 75$ for shipping.
At the end K&T will also have a financial gain at the end if they are selling a HDS. The exchange between USD and EUR is also different from the times the lase prices were calculated at K&T.
Years ago the rate was 1.25USD for 1€. Today we are more near at 1:1

The only point I do not know if K&T pays the same end customer price we all pay, or if there is a price table for reseller. My guess is there is only one price for all....

K&T is a 10min drive for me, so know where they're located. And yes, companies do have (slight)different rates then citizens.

 

[ilikeguns40]

I had my buddy smooth and polish my SS HDS clip

 

[ilikeguns40]

I received my EDC Custom Rotary. I knew it the moment I picked it up. this is a great light. I can't wait for night.View attachment 38287View attachment 38288View attachment 38289

What led did you get?

 

[alitd]

Looks like 219b 4k or 4.5k

 

[muichimon]

What led did you get?

This LED is 219B 4500k. I chose 4500k for HDS because I had 219B 4000k with other lights. Both are good colors.

 

[indigon]

Great choice, congrats on the new light! 👍

 

[ilikeguns40]

Finally arrived: NB45 Executive. So nice 👍🏻

 

[jon_slider]

Finally arrived: NB45 Executive. So nice 👍🏻

Congratulations!.. Great Daylight Photo, shows off the Host, and Really makes the tint look nice and pink on that grey background.. ;-)

 

[ilikeguns40]

Very nice Led Jon 👍🏻. Right up your alley

 

[desert.snake]

Finally arrived: NB45 Executive. So nice 👍🏻
View attachment 40147View attachment 40154

Very cool, congratulations!

Could you also, if it doesn't make it difficult for you, take a photo of the beam on some homogeneous surface? Maybe the same wall

 

[ilikeguns40]

Yup. Will do when I get home from work 👍🏻

 

[ilikeguns40]

Very cool, congratulations!

Could you also, if it doesn't make it difficult for you, take a photo of the beam on some homogeneous surface? Maybe the same wall

Phenomenal beam and tint. Absolutely no green and it's just simply amazing. My favorite led

 

[desert.snake]

I forgot, in version 2.17 (325 lm XP-L HD) the "True Momentary" option was declared? There is no dual flash in the options menu, but for 6 clicks from off it turns on. However, the interest is purely theoretical, since everything works and it suits me

View attachment 40465View attachment 40466View attachment 40467
Phenomenal beam and tint. Absolutely no green and it's just simply amazing. My favorite led

Thank you! I checked with a photo editor and it looks like the current reflectors work great with the 219b. Older ones sometimes gave out a small spot of a darker shade in the center of the hotspot, which drove me and a couple of friends crazy (we're white wall hunters so don't mind us)

 

[Lights and Guns]

Alright, I'm quite tempted to grab an HDS and see what I think of it.

question is, which one should i go with?

there are so many options I don't know where to start.

rotary or not?
which body type
which led

give me suggestions for the "best" possible build.
thanks.

 

[WarriorOfLight]

rotary or not?

rotary is the version that is sold most of. Hogo mentioned it is ~9 rotaries 1 Clicky ratio....

which body type

Long time ago I made a review of the regular Body types of the Rotary (CR123, 18650, 2xAA) in a german forum. Important the measurement is metric!

And a size compare with the Surefire Outdoorsman lights (2xAA, 2xCR123, 1xCR123)

which led

That is the most difficult question since there are mostly some preferences, like warm color, or a cooler color, ....

A lot people will say NB45, and I agree with them, NB45 is great. But I personally prefer the NB40 a bit more. But that does not mean NB45 is bad!

Only to give you a feeling about the colors here an old picture of a compare of HDS LED options taken in mid 2018:

The Nichia 219C and the currently offered 219B are somehow comparable. The 219B is mostly a bit more rosy due to the fact the white light has more red.

Here is a compare of NB30, NB35, NB40 and NB45 I took in September 2022 on request.

Also in this thread are some smaller light color compares of other members of the current LED options, but for this you must search for it on your own.