Novatac OR RA Clicky..What would you have?

[tx101]

Kamakazikev24,

I can assure you that the flashlight did not leave our facility in that condition. Where the damage was done is still a mystery. But as far as I can tell from examining the damage, it was intentional. The customer asked for and received a refund without any argument.

Is being able to know ahead of time what tint you will receive - in the case of the GT model - worth it? Is moving from 30 minutes runtime with overheating problems to an hour of runtime with no overheating problems worth it? (Most people are reporting 1.25 to 1.5 hours of actual runtime on a primary cell) Is having a military hard anodized finish instead of a cosmetic easily scratched Type 2 finish worth it? Is having a longer throwing beam - in the case of the narrower beam model - worth it? Is fully automatic battery chemistry detection worth it? Is having a nearly unbreakable and high efficiency scratch resistant glass lens instead of a scratch-prone plastic lens worth it? Is protecting the battery from damage under extreme conditions worth it? Are robust threads worth it? Are longer runtimes on the lower settings worth it? Is having a lower low and a higher high worth it? Is having a company with a long history of backing its products instead of a company that abandons support of a product line (it was inconvenient for them to continue supporting those products) worth it? I guess only you can decide if these things are of value to you.

Henry.

Henry ..... you just sold another Clicky :twothumbs
I have been sitting on the fence with the Clicky, now all I have to wait for
is them to be sold in the UK

 

[matrixshaman]

Neither for me.

Sold my Novatacs because of their quirkiness.

Between all the issues I had with my Ra Twisty's and the disappointing
pics and reports on the Ra Clicky's . . .

There's no Ra Clicky in my future.

Folks talk about the Ra Twisty being so tough, IMO it's far from it. The
design of the wires is a very weak link.

Here's a pic of the wire on one of my Twisty 120's. The light wasn't working
fresh out of the box from the dealer, opened it up and this is what I saw! :sick2:

Sorry to hear that - I've had lots of both since they first came out including the predecessor Arc4+ design and all have worked flawlessly with the exception of one NT with some minor issues that I got quickly exchanged. IMO Henry's designs are the most reliable and rugged designed lights on the planet and I own or have owned almost every brand and design of LED light you see on the forums here.

 

[grinsekatz]

Kamakazikev24,

I can assure you that the flashlight did not leave our facility in that condition. Where the damage was done is still a mystery. But as far as I can tell from examining the damage, it was intentional. The customer asked for and received a refund without any argument.

Is being able to know ahead of time what tint you will receive - in the case of the GT model - worth it? Is moving from 30 minutes runtime with overheating problems to an hour of runtime with no overheating problems worth it? (Most people are reporting 1.25 to 1.5 hours of actual runtime on a primary cell) Is having a military hard anodized finish instead of a cosmetic easily scratched Type 2 finish worth it? Is having a longer throwing beam - in the case of the narrower beam model - worth it? Is fully automatic battery chemistry detection worth it? Is having a nearly unbreakable and high efficiency scratch resistant glass lens instead of a scratch-prone plastic lens worth it? Is protecting the battery from damage under extreme conditions worth it? Are robust threads worth it? Are longer runtimes on the lower settings worth it? Is having a lower low and a higher high worth it? Is having a company with a long history of backing its products instead of a company that abandons support of a product line (it was inconvenient for them to continue supporting those products) worth it? I guess only you can decide if these things are of value to you.

Henry.

For me definitely YES!

Even though my 120-T needs some repair I have bought a 100-T as a second light and now I am waiting for the clicky - I just trust the Ra.

Alex

 

[Axion]

Ra clicky for me. I'm just waiting for either a 17670 or an 18650 battery tube.

 

[seery]

I can assure you that the flashlight did not leave our facility in that condition.

Where the damage was done is still a mystery. But as far as I can tell from examining the damage, it was intentional. The customer asked for and received a refund without any argument.

The above pictured wire, scratched lens, and scratched bezel do remain a mystery. Although my guess
would be that the poorly polished bezel with flat spots, the defective reflector, and anodizing issues were
somehow missed during the final QC check.

As soon as I received/opened the light from your dealer, my impression was that I did NOT receive a new
light. That's why I emailed the dealer and then phoned you, and yes you handled the situation in a very
professional manner as I have said many times here on the forums.

IMO the Twisty's I've owned receive a grade of C- while your customer service has always been an A+. :thumbsup:

 

[StandardBattery]

I'm not a fan-boy, but I'll tell you everything that Henry said defines Ra and his lights. He is not one for BS. I don't think his lights are perfect nor could they be, but Henry tries harder than anyone else. For many applications his lights are simply the best that are available.

It's too bad things did not work out with NT because they had the finacial backing that could have produced world class products for the long term. As it is Ra needed to start again... well not exactly again... just pick up where they had left off. That's partly why his lights are the best, it is because they are based on evolution, not some new or copycat flavor of the month.

So we all have to wait and some of us will nit-pick the prototype and the early revs... but in the end when the chips fall... we know the Cockroach, I mean Clicky, is going to go nicely in the pocket!

Party On Dudes!

 

[Kamakazikev24]

OK then Henry.....

You've just sold another RA Clicky.

Happy Xmas to me! (and to you all)

 

[seery]

To quote the manual: "Caution: do not continue tightening the battery compartment after the High setting turns on as this may damage the switch mechanism."Henry.

Henry - I'm thinking out loud here, let me know what you think.

Two facts...

(1) Most people never read a manual.

(2) A manual almost never follows a product to the subsequent owners, it ends up lost or
in the trash.

Question is this...

Given the above, is there any way the design could have been such to prevent someone
with "heavy hands" or those lacking the manual to read the "warnings" from inadvertently
damaging their light?

The easy answer of course would be that common sense would tell us not to over tighten, as
damage to their light may result. But in the real world, the oversight of the obvious needs to
be taken in consideration on such designs.

Are you familiar with the motto of BONDHUS® Tool Company? . . . "GorillaProof!"

Not saying you need to redesign your tools to be "GorillaProof!", but you see where I'm going!

 

[paxxus]

Here's a pic of the wire on one of my Twisty 120's. The light wasn't working
fresh out of the box from the dealer, opened it up and this is what I saw! :sick2:

Imagining the forces needed to cause such damage, one wonders about the true nature of this particular customer. But hey, we already knew Henry is big in the caving community

 

[Kid9P]

Henry,

Will the production lights have a better anno job than the ones
that we are seeing now ?

Thank You

 

[LLCoolBeans]

Henry,

Will the production lights have a better anno job than the ones
that we are seeing now ?

Thank You

I know you are asking this question of Henry and not me, but I believe he already answered your question on the Clicky thread. Not trying to be disrespectful, just thought maybe you missed the post on the other thread.

Kid9P,

The reflections you see are caused by microscopic thin spots in the hard anodize. During the hard anodize process, a large amount of gas is evolved from the body of the flashlights. It is common to have a gas bubble form and become trapped within the groves that form the knurling. Although most such gas bubbles are eventually dislodged and have no net affect on the coating thickness on the sides of the grooves, there are some that remain long enough to cause a thin spot.

If you look at these spots under the microscope, you will see that they are only on the sides of the groove within the knurling and are very small - typically on the order of 1 to 2 mils (<0.04mm) in diameter. Since these spots are interior to the knurling, they have no net affect on the exposed surface. Most hard anodized products with deep knurling show these spots. Shallow knurling will generally not trap gas bubbles.

Our competition no longer uses functional Military Type III hard anodizing and has thus eliminated the problem. The scratch prone Type II anodizing produces a very nice cosmetic finish, does not have the problem with trapping gas bubbles and allows for decorative colors. But as some have discovered, it quickly scratches when you actually use the flashlight. But it looks very nice when you take it out of the box.

We think having a durable functional coating is better than a less expensive cosmetic coating that will not stand the test of time.

So, I believe the short answer to your question is no, but that is really a good thing.

 

[HDS_Systems]

Seery,

Lost manuals and pre-purchase customer education are why we publish the manuals as part of the product page.

But to answer your question, I strongly suspect that the person that did the damage did it intentionally - knowing full well what the results of the action would be. I have tightened the head down quite tight and never seen this kind of damage done.

Henry.

 

[Kid9P]

I know you are asking this question of Henry and not me, but I believe he already answered your question on the Clicky thread. Not trying to be disrespectful, just thought maybe you missed the post on the other thread.



So, I believe the short answer to your question is no, but that is really a good thing.

Thanks LL COOL BEANS :thumbsup:

I don't know how I overlooked Henry's post on that other thread


THANKS FOR THE INFO HENRY :thumbsup:

 

[Kamakazikev24]

A few things....
Firstly I have seen quite a few pics of this light but I think some pics were of the Pre-production models. Are there any on here of the production light both complete with carry clip and also broken down so we can see inside the head and all the components ect.
Also, and I may have missed this but what does RA stand for?!
I have a 140cgt on order, really looking forward to getting this one!

 

[LLCoolBeans]

A few things....
Firstly I have seen quite a few pics of this light but I think some pics were of the Pre-production models. Are there any on here of the production light both complete with carry clip and also broken down so we can see inside the head and all the components ect.

Pocket clips are not yet shipping. Henry thought rather than delay the release of the Clicky, It would be better to ship the lights without the pocket clips, then send out the clips later when they come in.

There are some photos on the Ra-Clicky thread, but not too many.

Also, and I may have missed this but what does RA stand for?!

I don't think its an acronym. I believe it's Ra as in the Egyptian sun god.

This guy...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra

 

[Kamakazikev24]

Thanks for clearing that one up LLCoolBeans

 

[182_blue]

i want a Ra clicky now, anywhere have any stock at all ?

 

[Kid9P]

I would love to see a beam shot of a RaClicky (Narrow Beam on BURST) vs Novatac on HIGH from about 10 feet away.....


ANYONE ??????????

 

[cslinger]

Frankly I own two HDS EDCs and two Novatacs and I am completely happy with all of them. I will likely also purchase a twisty and a clicky because I like Henry's work very much.

That being said based on my experience I think the Novatacs offer the better bang for the buck due to their mass production capabilities and even though they are likely inferior in some ways to the true HDS/RA products they certainly are not delicate or poor products.

As far as I am concerned anything Henry/HDS/RA had a hand in seems, in my experience, to be just about perfect for my uses. Hell I still think my U42 is supremely useful even with a "paltry" 42 lumen max.

 

[Kamakazikev24]

Are there any 'production' model pictures around yet?
Be great if they could be posted up.