HDS Twisty is here!

[BytorJr]

I've been watching this thread now for a while. I've got to say a few things.

I was a little shocked at the "low-tech" approach Henry took. However, in reviewing my U60GT and Novatac 120P, I can say that I don't see THAT much difference in 60lm vs 120lm. It wasn't Earth shattering for me. That said, I do like the 120lm, but the GT has superior tint.

Now, will 100lm (real) suffice? Yes!! Did I expect more. Certainly. Disappointed in max high lumens? Kind of. So, now I'm going to be a total hypocrite. I find that my HDS and Novatac probably spend most of their time set to somewhere along the lines of 0.3 - 1 lm, 15-25lm, and max (with the Novatac also having a strobe). So in reality the settings Henry chose are what I've found to be useful myself. I just would have liked high to be a little higher.

On to the twist. This was shocking! However, I have a few twisties (a P1 Fenix that died and was losing light output from the first time it stayed on longer than 20 minutes at a time), an Orb Raw & Wee, and a Pierce M10i. For EDC, I think I actually prefer the twisty. With good threads, they are simple to turn. Keep in mind too that none of the lights I have that are twisties have really good knurling like Henry's does, nor do they have the surface area on the part that one is most likely to turn...thus Henry's light has more torque (in a sense) that can be delivered with less effort.

Am I going to buy one...well, I'll wait and see. Not because of the light, but because I'm rebuilding a race engine right now and that's gotta take priority.

Overall, I think this will be a fine light, with high quality and a lot easier to use than a lot of non-twisty people would think.

 

[PhantomPhoton]

I've been watching this thread too. I'm not sure if I"ll buy one or not. Do I want one? Of course! But I'll wait for some reviews before I make a decision. Furthermore I can't decide if I want the 100 Lumens with low white or 70 lumens with low red. Definitely need reviews before I make a decision on this one. Everything looks great, sounds great; (yea a bit disappointed at only 100 out the front lumens) but usefulness will ultimately decide whether or not I should buy one.

 

[RGB_LED]

Looks like a PD and a Lion Cub and a HDS had a lil hanky panky.... I want one!

love both my LionCub and HDS U60 XRGT - I think you're bang-on about the looks of the light!

But, I had to scratch my head on this one... Things I like: the tough design, crenalated bezel, regulated, 3 levels including a very low. Dislikes: max 100 lm, the size of the bezel (thickness), twisty.

I have several 2xCR123 lights that I have taken night riding / camping, etc. Do they have multi-levels? Yes. Are they over 100 lm? Yup. Are they rugged? Perhaps. But, they have never failed me - yet. I have dropped some from a height of about 3 ft onto a concrete / tile floor without a scratch, I have endo'd on my bike with the light hanging onto the handlebars and they've still worked. How much more rugged will this be in comparison?

Everyone has their own needs and opinions and, generally speaking, I tend to like clickies more than twisties (altho I'm starting to warm up to the Z H50-Q5) but I can't believe I'm saying this... for the price, I would choose another light.

 

[joema]

...I don't see THAT much difference in 60lm vs 120lm....will 100lm (real) suffice? Yes!!...Disappointed in max high lumens? Kind of...

I think you answered your own question. If you can't visually see a huge difference between 60 and 120 lumens, the visual difference between 100 vs 120 lumens would be almost imperceptible. Yet the shortened battery life to reach 120 lumens would be significant.

 

[AZLight]

I have several 2xCR123 lights that I have taken night riding / camping, etc. Do they have multi-levels? Yes. Are they over 100 lm? Yup. Are they rugged? Perhaps. But, they have never failed me - yet. I have dropped some from a height of about 3 ft onto a concrete / tile floor without a scratch, I have endo'd on my bike with the light hanging onto the handlebars and they've still worked. How much more rugged will this be in comparison?

Your lights more than likely will not survive mounted on a firearms. Surefire is making a killing with their weapon mounted lights for a reason.

 

[alanagnostic]

I have been waiting for this light for a long time. I have 3 other HDS EDC's and they're my favorite lights bar none.

I was a little disappointed when I first saw and read about the Twisty. I was expecting a clickie and about 120 lumens for high, but the more I think about this light the more I like it. I've always thought the weakest part of the original EDC's was the clickies. No matter how well you make them I think they will eventually fail (assuming you use your light quite a bit). Now that issue is solved with the Twisty.

I also was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to program this new light. But I realized that once I programmed my EDC's I never reprogrammed them. As long as Henry does a good job (and I trust him to do this) of choosing the levels, I'm good to go. I also thought that the new light should have 4 levels, but I realized that I only thought this because his old EDC's had 4 levels. Really, I just didn't want 2 levels. I know a lot of members here are OK with 2 levels of light, but I prefer at least 3 levels to choose from.

The last thing that helped me decide to probably get one of these is the black HA finish. I almost didn't buy his EDC's because they weren't black and I prefer black. I'm guessing this will become my new EDC because of its ruggedness and flexibility. I hope the reviews meet my expectations of this new jewel from Henry.

 

[Mark65]

I found out HDS Twisty series is quite efficient lights when I calculated real world output from specs.

We can get 500 Lumens, 1,000 Lumens or 1,000,000 Lumens IF battery power is unlimited.

But, obviously one CR123's energy is limited. And battery life will be much shorter if the battery had to supply high current. (Not linear at all.)

NovaTac 120 is 120 Lumens at brightest mode, runtime is 30 minutes.
HDS Twisty is 70-Tr/w is 70 Lumens at brightest mode, runtime is 60 minutes.
HDS 100-Tw is 100 Lumens at brightest mode, runtime is 60 minutes.

Therefore we can get lumens* minutes per one CR123 as

A : NovaTac 120 : 120Lm*30 minutes = 3,600 Lumens*minutes / CR123
B : HDS Twisty : 70-Tr/w : 70Lm*60 minutes = 4,200 Lumens*minutes / CR123
C : HDS 100-Tw : 100Lm*60 minutes = 6,000 Lumens* minutes / CR123

Ratio : A : 1.000 / B : 1.167 / C : 1.667

 

[souptree]

I have a U60XRGT. I think it may very well be the best designed light I've ever used. The only competition it has for my favorite light is a McGizmo PD. I love them pretty much equally.

Here's the thing. That U60 has about a zillion options. I can program the thing to make toast in the morning if I want it to. But I don't. I think it's PERFECT at the default settings. I do not feel any need to fix perfection.

Now we have a light in which those defaults are hard coded. I can't really say this bothers me much. Henry's choices in the past have seemed extremely well thought out, and actual usage in somewhat adverse conditions has reinforced this opinion over time. Lacking a specific need for changing settings, I am comfortable trusting the judgment of the Master, and the Master is not me.

What I do find to be a loss that's hard to swallow is the absence of momentary. I am tempted to get one of these, but I really question how much I'd use it over the U60 or a McGizmo PD, primarily because of the momentary. I want one, but I fear I'd pick it up less than the others. It seems the debate comes down to a choice between the ultra-low low vs. momentary. It's not a minor debate -- I consider those two features amongst the most important in a light. The ultra-low low is my single favorite thing about the U60, and the feature I most wish would be added to the PD series.

That said, this new HDS light certainly has it's place, and I could see it being very popular for a number of applications. While it did not initially jump out at me and say "Wow, this is a quantum leap in flashlight design", it is growing on me, the more I give my brain time to digest it. Simple, durable, intuitive on the outside, with the brain of an HDS on the inside. Yes, the appeal is growing....

 

[regulator]

Mark65,

I do not know how accurate your numbers are but it shows some of the benifits of a well engineered light vs a light that has just a high output rating.

There is a elegance to a well designed circuit that is very efficient. To me, this is more impressive than a light that has a large output rating but a poor runtime.

 

[Mark65]

Hi regulator,

Obviously, these numbers are based on spec sheets, and I ignored lumens after first step down.

I have to measure and take log of lumens on integration sphere, then integrate all numbers, in theory. ( I am really looking forward to have an opprtunity to do real world tests.)

But, I calculated as previous post because all 3 data should have been made by Henry. And all of his lights have had perfect flat regulation. Therefore I thought it make sense to show these numbers to have rough estimation of efficiency.

Also, I noticed 2 Watts energy consumption from one SF123 result approximately 70-75 minutes runtime. But 3 Watts energy consumption from one SF123 results approximately 30 minutes runtime.

And, ratio of LED' emission efficiency (Lumens / watt) drops at higher current.
For example, a 1.0A driven LED is approx twice as brighter than same LED at 350mA drive. But the LED required almost 3.3 times Wattage as most of CPFers knows.

Add to that, even twice of Lumens (Exp. 100Lm vs 200Lm) on SAME beam pattern will result only roghly 1.4 times distance vision. (I ignored brighter side spill might disturb dark adapted vision.)

 

[liteboy]

I carry an EDC 60XRGT (in a custom Mattofthehide holester) every day. With that said, I am disappointed in the "twisty." Here are my reasons:

1. While many believe Henry has carefully thought out the brightness levels, everyone has different needs. Making them fixed will undoubtedly prevent some folks from adopting this light.
2. Making this light bulletproof serves the military market, not the common user like me. The EDC is already quite rugged. The weak point was the bezel and after replacing the stock one (I have PEU's), it becomes more than adequate for even rough use as a workhorse light. Now I wouldn't mild a bullet proof light myself, but not at the expense of making the light even bigger than the EDC, which in my opinion was already on the large size. The next generation of light should have become smaller, not larger.
3. like many have said already, make the light as bright as technically possible and let the user decide on runtime. this point mates well with a programmable light. some like bright-as-can-be without regard for runtime. others may want to conserve and that can be at their discretion with a programmable light.

Again, this is my opinion and I highly regard Henry's engineering prowess. I have been saving my money waiting for his next design. I will not order a Twisty just yet. I really hope he has other designs in the pipeline. For now, my money will be spent on a Novatac 120P .

 

[ampdude]

I like the body design better than the Novatac or old EDC, but I'm not sure about that SS bezel. I think I liked the old EDC bezel better. But maybe it will grow on me. I also prefer a natural HA finish to black HA.

 

[yaesumofo]

Something to consider her is the idea that the emitter ig going to be tuned to a MAX out of 100 lumens..I suspect that the emitter would be able to put out more light but operated more efficiently at a lower level than MAX.
this light is clearly over-designed over built and made for maximum efficiency. So not only will this light perform well in the near term it will perform well YEARS down the road. HDS clearly sees no utility in presenting consumers with a new light every week. Thank goodness.
One new light every 6 months or year is fine with me especially if they are designed to literally last a lifetime.

I look fowared to this one.
Yaesumofo

 

[:)>]

I gotta have one!

This light has been growing and growing on me since it was introduced. I am sold on the company producing it, the design, the user interface and now... even the looks of it are more than just acceptable to me.

I believe this light will truly satisfy the hard core user of flashlights as tools and it will underwhelm the casual flashlight collector (nothing wrong with being either kind of person by the way:twothumbs). There is nothing else like it on the market today; not from Surefire, Arc, McGizmo, Novatac or any other company. If you want the piece of mind of owning a light engineered for toughness, waterproofness, the best currently available efficiency with the ultra flat regulation then the HDS Twisty is the only place to go. This was a a smart direction to go in building a flashlight in today's market and unlike most other companies offering more of the same, HDS is offering something entirely new.

I gotta have it for the same reasons that I had to have Arc AAA-P lights. Simple, durable, waterproof, reliable... a light that I knew that I could count on when I needed it. I believe that it will have the same sort of appeal as the Arc AAA-P; I have seen numerous reports about the superiority of the Fenix E0's regulation and runtime, the L0D's performance etc. and I agree that they are fantastic lights and do some things better than the Arc but if I had to put only 1 light on my key chain, I would put the Arc on it because I know that it will work when I need it... the HDS appears to be that kind of light also.

Hard core light for hardcore environments.

 

[liteboy]

this light is clearly over-designed over built and made for maximum efficiency. So not only will this light perform well in the near term it will perform well YEARS down the road. HDS clearly sees no utility in presenting consumers with a new light every week. Thank goodness.
One new light every 6 months or year is fine with me especially if they are designed to literally last a lifetime.

Yaesumofo

As I said, I wouldn' mild having a light that is bullet proof as long as he design of such a light does not detract from its other attributes, like size and ease of use/carry. The best light is the one you have with you all the time.

Honestly, how many of us keep lights for a lifetime. With such rapid changes in LED technology, the lights I bought 2-3 years ago have become antiquated, despite being in excellent shape. ONly the minority of us have the ability or the desire to do an upgrade to an existing light. Case in point is the SPY 2005 which I spent in excess of $300 for. Now, to upgrade the circuitry and emitter, I have to spend close to $200 (or something in that ballpark). Most lights are not even upgradeable. So to overbuild a light for a lifetime of use IMO is pointless.

 

[StandardBattery]

I gotta have one!

This light has been growing and growing on me since it was introduced. I am sold on the company producing it, the design, the user interface and now...

I've moved more in the other direction, but maybe just from a practical standpoint. I have several lights an I don't really see how this light would be significantly better than my NovaTac 85p, or some of my other lights. However this is based on how much and how hard I use my lights. The integrated Red Led and the new twisty UI I would like to try, but I think I'll wait for a future model. With an 18650 tube, the light could have a lot more output and more runtime. So I'll watch for the new tube, and or model, that provides something I really need.

I think the light is excellent and if I had not decided to try the NovaTac, I would be in-line for this light. Of course everything is subject to the reviews, I don't really believe in Pre-order.

I'm still very much looking forward to more information and the reviews of this light.