Husky 2D 4Watt LED REVIEW! Compared To Taskforce 2C

[JWP_EE]

Here is an earlier thread on this light with some more information.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=209624

 

[ace0001a]

Call around to make sure the store has them before you waste your time going on a wild goose chase. You can just call and give them the number and they will tell you if they have any in stock.

The item number is 626 731.

I did exactly that and still went on a short wild goose chase...I miss the days when Home Depot hired people who actually know something about and/or cared about the job.

 

[KD7EIR]

I did exactly that and still went on a short wild goose chase...I miss the days when Home Depot hired people who actually know something about and/or cared about the job.

The Home Depot in East Tucson has 3 of them in stock today.

I now have the Husky 2D and the Task Force 2C. Bought them both today. My Task Force 2C has the 7090B CREE in it.

The Husky is most definitely significantly brighter, and has a much tighter beam.

 

[INF]

I saw one in Tustin HD. Nicely centered. It is too bulky for me. I am using my new Duracell 80 Lumens Daylite more than my Tk recently.

 

[lumenal]

It is too bulky for me.

Same here. I've checked this light out at HD 3 times, but haven't bit.

The size and heft of this thing reminds me of an extention to my hydraulic floor jack... :green:

AdirondackDestroyer - great review and photos. That 16,130 Lux seems amazing...

 

[Hellbore]

Yeah it's bulky. This is actually a good thing for my Mom. I bought one for her and it has turned out perfect. She has arthritis in her hands and she has a hard time keeping a good grip on her Maglite. She also is not able to unscrew the tailcap, it's too smooth for her to get a grip on it.

The Husky light is fatter and she has an easier time keeping hold of it, but the big thing is, because of the large "feet" on the tailcap, she is able to unscrew it herself to change the batteries. She thought this was really cool.

She also noticed right away how well it can tailstand. Another thing she really likes is that with the crenelated bezel, you can tell if you accidentally left the light on when you set it down bezel-first. She accidentally leaves her Maglite on sometimes and doesn't know until the batteries are dead.

 

[KD7EIR]

My main comparison was to shine each light on a tree approximately 150 feet away. There is a set of electrical wires that run just in front of these trees. With the Husky I was able to easily distinguish the three separate wires, but with the Task Force I was unable to easily distinguish the wires from the background.

 

[KD7EIR]

While the Husky is definitely a lot larger than the Task Force, I do not find it that much more difficult to hold than the Task Force.

Personally I like the idea of owning each of these lights. The Task Force is great for when I need a light to carry without much bulk - it will be the light that my son carries for Halloween. The Husky is great for a light to keep by the door in the house.

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

Yeah it's bulky. This is actually a good thing for my Mom. I bought one for her and it has turned out perfect. She has arthritis in her hands and she has a hard time keeping a good grip on her Maglite. She also is not able to unscrew the tailcap, it's too smooth for her to get a grip on it.

The Husky light is fatter and she has an easier time keeping hold of it, but the big thing is, because of the large "feet" on the tailcap, she is able to unscrew it herself to change the batteries. She thought this was really cool.

She also noticed right away how well it can tailstand. Another thing she really likes is that with the crenelated bezel, you can tell if you accidentally left the light on when you set it down bezel-first. She accidentally leaves her Maglite on sometimes and doesn't know until the batteries are dead.

I never even thought about the feet on the tailcap being a plus because they make it easier to remove the tailcap for people with limited strength. The Husky tail stands better than any light I own. Unlike many lights that feel like they're seconds away from falling over, the Husky feels secure and very stable.
How does your mother like the output? Was she impressed with you gave it to her?

While the Husky is definitely a lot larger than the Task Force, I do not find it that much more difficult to hold than the Task Force.

Personally I like the idea of owning each of these lights. The Task Force is great for when I need a light to carry without much bulk - it will be the light that my son carries for Halloween. The Husky is great for a light to keep by the door in the house.

Both the Husky and the Taskforce are great lights for the money, and two of the best retail lights available. They are very different and each has their pros and cons. The Taskforce would be damn near perfect if it had a forward clickie, and the Husky would be even better if it had a lanyard attachment.

I forgot to mention that I won't be able to do any outdoor beamshots for at least a few days. We had a huge snow storm last night and it is unberably cold outside. I can do some direct white wall comparisons.

 

[Turbo DV8]

Yeah it's bulky. This is actually a good thing for my Mom. I bought one for her and it has turned out perfect. She has arthritis in her hands...

Since she has arthirits, what does she think about the switch? I bit and got one home tonight, and the first thing I noticed was how friggin' hard it is to fully click the switch on. Momentary is easy, but to click it takes much more pressure and depth than should be necessary. I practically have to dig the tip of my fingernail into the rubber switch cap to get it to click on. The second, third and fourth things I noticed about the light was the rings, rings and more rings in the beam. Yeah, it throws, but I don't know if I can forgive the beam, and I am not even a white wall hunter. And as if the rings beyond the hot spot were not bad enough, at distances beyond 12 feet, the hot spot has a dark ring inside it. It's bright in the center, then a dark ring, then bright again, then it goes to the spill, with all it's bright rings. Mine has a perfectly centered LED (the only one, out of six lights they had). Has anybody else noticed the dark ring within the hot spot?

 

[Hellbore]

Yeah she really likes the output, she has not mentioned the switch yet though.

The forward clickie on the Husky is definitely not as nice as say, the one on a Maglite.

I will have to ask her if she has any trouble operating the switch. One thing I noticed though is that the switch on her light is easier to operate than on mine. On my light, the switch was easier when it was new and became harder to use after it got more use on it. It also seemed to get harder to use after I dropped it a couple times. So yeah, the switch is pretty rough, not very good at all. I just hope it doesn't wear out or something because you can't access it to replace it.

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

Yeah she really likes the output, she has not mentioned the switch yet though.

The forward clickie on the Husky is definitely not as nice as say, the one on a Maglite.

I will have to ask her if she has any trouble operating the switch. One thing I noticed though is that the switch on her light is easier to operate than on mine. On my light, the switch was easier when it was new and became harder to use after it got more use on it. It also seemed to get harder to use after I dropped it a couple times. So yeah, the switch is pretty rough, not very good at all. I just hope it doesn't wear out or something because you can't access it to replace it.

Of the three Husky's I have handled, one of them was rather easy to click and the other two required a good deal more pressure. Not enough that it would matter to an able adult, but I could see someone elderly having a hard time with them.

 

[Hellbore]

Of the three Husky's I have handled, one of them was rather easy to click and the other two required a good deal more pressure. Not enough that it would matter to an able adult, but I could see someone elderly having a hard time with them.

True true, fortunately for my Mom hers is one of the good ones, it's quite easy to operate.

Mine was never as easy as hers, even when new it felt like the guts of the switch were binding a little bit, and it got worse with more use. It feels almost like an issue of friction. I wonder if some silicone grease injected into a tiny pinhole in the rubber button cover would help? I could use one of the grease syringes I use to grease my fishing reels.

 

[LeeG]

I picked up one of these last night and just in a casual test it was brighter than my Mag 3 with malkoff dropin.

Ugly as sin though. It'd be a good self-defense item though - just shine a light on it and the ugliness would stop someone cold.

 

[H.I.D.]

Of the three Husky's I have handled, one of them was rather easy to click and the other two required a good deal more pressure. Not enough that it would matter to an able adult, but I could see someone elderly having a hard time with them.

My switch was hard as $@#!. So what I did was pull off the rubber cover, reach under it and pull out the plastic ring that is supposed to stiffen it. Replaced cover and ahhh, much better. :)

On another note, I actually like the design. Looks like one of those HID lights, you know something like a Boxer except with a silver head. It has a nice heft.

 

[BabyDoc]

The switch on my Husky 2D is a bit inconsistent in the momemtary mode. It doesn't always work right. On occasion, I will press down for momentary and nothing happens, or it flickers. Is my switch faulty? Yet it consistently clicks on and off with a moderate amount of pressure.

I would exchange the light because of the possible faulty switch, except I am otherwise happy with it. My LED is almost perfectly centered and the tint is a nice warm off white, almost yellow color. It does have the dark donut around the hot spot, and a couple of concentric yellow cree rings, but its beam looks better than some of the beam shots of other samples that have been posted here. It blows away my Fenix TK10 for throw and tightness of hotspot. This isn't too surprising considering the TK10 doesn't have a polished reflector, but considering the manufacturer lumen ratings are similar and the Husky is 1/3 the price of the TK10, the Husky is a real bargain.

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

The switch on my Husky 2D is a bit inconsistent in the momemtary mode. It doesn't always work right. On occasion, I will press down for momentary and nothing happens, or it flickers. Is my switch faulty? Yet it consistently clicks on and off with a moderate amount of pressure.

I would exchange the light because of the possible faulty switch, except I am otherwise happy with it. My LED is almost perfectly centered and the tint is a nice warm off white, almost yellow color. It does have the dark donut around the hot spot, and a couple of concentric yellow cree rings, but its beam looks better than some of the beam shots of other samples that have been posted here. It blows away my Fenix TK10 for throw and tightness of hotspot. This isn't too surprising considering the TK10 doesn't have a polished reflector, but considering the manufacturer lumen ratings are similar and the Husky is 1/3 the price of the TK10, the Husky is a real bargain.

None of three I have handled had any switch problems at all. I would return it for a replacement. Just make sure to pick one out with a nice centered emitter and you should be fine.

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

I was able to pick up a new silver cree version Task Force 2C. The first post has been updated with pictures comparing it to my original Task Force. Needless to say I am VERY disappointed with the results. :thumbsdow

 

[KD7EIR]

I have not noticed any problems with the switch on mine - it has been consistent since the day I bought it.

 

[HitecDrftr]

The hotspot on the Husky is much smaller/tighter than the Taskforce. If what you're looking for is flood then this light is not for you.
The Husky is truly massive! It makes the Taskforce feel really really small.

I'll take some outdoor shots tomorrow night as long as it's nice outside.

I took outdoor shots of the Husky 200 (thrower) vs. the Duracell Daylite 160 lumens (flooder) focusing 66 feet away at my shed doors. The spill from the Husky radiated laterally for about 32 feet on either side, and the spill went over my shed for another 164 feet! It is my favorite thrower because I only paid $26 after tax for it! The Daylite 160 is my favorite pocket (jacket) flooder, and I think you will see why in the pictures. The pics are here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=212205

One other observation I wanted to mention. When I pointed the Husky into the air on a practically clear night, I noticed that my beam actually narrows at some distance away, then gets slightly wider again. This suggests that there is some set focal distance (a not yet identified sweet spot distance) in which the beam will probably melt lead! Has anyone else noticed this?

Hitec