"the N30 will only reach low lying clouds." Um, I can't think of any light I that I owned which could even accomplish that feat until I got into HID.
The other thing to consider is that "low flying clouds is a very general phase and one of the reasons that I don't like it (and I realize you were just quoting). If we're going to talk about performance differences let's establish at least some measurable relativity and make reference to distance in yards, meters or feet. With respect to the N30 it already blasts bright light well past 400 yards while the corona and spill of the N30 are far superior to the Ti Mega. I don't really believe that the average person really has a good handle on how far 400 or 500 yards actually is and how rarely even us light guru's get a chance to use or experiment with HID's at those distances. Many of us CPFers came from the LED arena and might be thinking "geez, even my DBS or Tiablo will shine 300 yards." Yes, they will but they're limited to around 260 lumens and the beam angle is so small that they're almost rendered useless for any task under 50 yards and not really all that bright over 150 yards. HID is a whole different game! The amount of light is spectacular and on the order of 1500% brighter than the most kick butt Q5 or R2 that you've ever seen.
Not to make the N30 into more than it really is or to bring the Polarion to a lesser level, but in many ways the N30 has a beam model much the same as the PH40/PH50. Obviously there is a difference in lumens but the beam shape and "usability" as BVH mentioned, is outstanding. In my humble opinion, the Costo/Harbor Freight (now the updated Ti Mega) is barely usable at all for most general lighting needs. I really consider the light a cheap alternative for someone with lots of acreage to sit on there back porch and light up their property boundary or spotlight wildlife. At 12.57 lbs, (heavier for the Ti Mega with larger battery) I certainly wouldn't walk anywhere with the darn thing, not that I couldn't, I just wouldn't want to since I have the N30 and other great lights. There is probably a real life difference of about 25% - 30% in throw between the N30 and the Ti Mega. As you may have guessed, that's not going to be the difference between lighting up "low" clouds or "high" clouds. Actually, you'll be fortunate to ever experience lighting up a cloud since it's not often that they get less that a couple thousand feet (700 yards) above ground level, at least out here in AZ.
One other thing to think about is that the 35W ballasts, like the one in the Ti Mega, are often a few watts short of an actual 35W. So in that respect the both lights are actually very close in overall lumen output, between 3000 and 3200 bulb lumens. That small difference doesn't add substantially to throw and thus the Ti Mega gets almost all of its throw advantage from the large reflector. The N30's small reflector distributes light very nicely and illuminates objects better within the eye's field of view.
