Ra Clicky Part 9

[m16a]

I understand what you're saying but I still am wondering what the color of each of these lights will be like. I also have one question to simplify all of my others.

Answering questions is a specialty of CPF members! :thumbsup:

Will any of the Ra lights be better than most off the shelf harware store flashlights for looking at the ground at your feet and making sure you don't step on snakes or poison ivy? Can someone give me an idea of the difference in divergence when you are holding the light say 4 feet above the ground and aiming it directly down? What is the diameter of the lighted area or a narrow vs wide Ra light?

The Ra will provide a brighter light for a longer period of time than any hardware store light, it will also provide a lower level general usage light for a really long amount of time, and it will provide an even lower low for night time usage for a REALLY long time. All that a quite a bit more in a smaller package than any of the so called hardware store lights. Not to mention the RaLights are also worlds apparent in toughness and will withstand practically all abuse thrown at them in any kind of usage, unlike a cheap light that will most likely fail after a drop or two.

The major difference with the narrow and wide beam Clickies lies in the hotspot. The spill is practically the same with both beam types, but the hotspot on the narrow beam contains a lot more light focused in the center in a smaller area, making it appear brighter. The wider beam will appear not as bright, because the hotspot is spread wider, and can illuminate larger portions of area on the hotspot alone. I am not experienced enough with both models (I only own a wide beam Clicky) to help with how it will react close range, but perhaps based on that info you can see which works best for you.

Also i would assume that few of you would use a maximum setting for a walk through the woods, right? I just can't imagine what such a bright light would look like up close.

Very true. That much light to dark adapted eyes at a close range is quite painful. It will benefit you a lot to use a lower level that will provide useful illumination AND longer runtimes. The maximum setting is usually only used when you need a very brief burst of a lot of light to see something a good distance away.

Does the 170 Model have a Blueish tint?
I think I like the idea of the 170 (as long as it is not blueish). From my understanding the 170 is more efficent than a 120 can someone confirm that.

From what I have heard and seen, the GDP emitter that the 170 model uses can tend to have a slight purplish hue to the edge of the sidespill, but the GDP based Clickies I have seen generally don't have any blue at all. As for efficiency, the 170 will certainly be far more efficient.

Thanks

I can already tell that this forum is perfect for a nit picker like myself.

We are here to only enhance that nit pickiness! :devil:

Good luck in your search carter! :thumbsup:

M16a

 

[callmaster]

What is GDP? If I was to get the GT would the light be closer to white rather than a blue tint? I don't really like the blue tint look of some LEDs but would be fine with a pure white. What is best for accurate color rendition? Is it the GT or the warm white?

GT is closer to white but it's not a cool white. I don't know, mine appears a tad bit warmer than the 170s/200s cool white. Accurate color rendition, the GT does better I believe. At least, that's from comparing my 140CEgt, 170Cn and 200Cn in the jungle.

And what about this Warm white model? What are people saying about it?

People are loving it. The emitter is up to 120 on burst now. Slightly higher than the 100 but I personally wouldn't pay for the 120. I'm waiting for a 200 or so lumen version.

In general I am just really confused about what I want.

Tons of threads on these here forums for you to make your mind up. There will be alot of negative feedback and alot of positive feedback. It's up to you to make your mind up before making the purchase. I personally have 3, soon 4 Clickies. Best light I have so far and I have a few power houses.

It seems like most members are recomending the Narrow Beam while others seem to say that a wider beam would be better for my EDC and genral use. I really have no plans to use this flashlight to blind people when breaching a room so I wonder if I really would benifit from such a hotspot.

Narrow beam does well for alot of outdoor activity. The hotspot is brighter and the side split is decent. If you only plan to do work indoors and require a wider spread, then go for the wide beam. All round, the narrow beam would suit your purpose better.

You can blind a person easily with both narrow and wide, so it doesn't make a difference here in that regards.

Also does anyone else have thoughts about the Ti Bezel? It woulds like it is not a great add for an EDC light, but I do love Ti. Not enough however to get a solid Ti Ra (too pricey for me)

If you're a Ti junky, then by all means go for the Ti Bezel. I personally haven't been too concerned about that. I have the regular SS bezel and that does fine. I do plan to get the solid Ti Clicky because it's going to be one of a kind and I don't see it becoming a regular model for sale. Like I said, best light in the world. Only thing that would stop me from getting it would be the lack of funds, and not the light's quality, etc.

If I were to have these 3 options what would you all recomend and why.
140GT (wide beam)
170 (Narrow beam)
120 Warm White (Narrow Beam pattern)

I'd recommend getting em all. You can never have too many clickies. But if you had to go with one, I'd choose the 170Cn. Brighter max, longer runtimes on max, more efficient emitter all round and about the same price compared to the 140GT? I'm not too sure, I bought all my lights before the massive drops.

I like the sound of the 170 model but am worried that when walking in the dark I might rather a more spead beam. I feel like a concentrated hotspot so close to me be might make visibility difficult. Since you all are the experts I want to ask you which of the 3 models listed above would you use (if you had all 3) for this task:

170 isn't going to be a spread beam. Some people say they have difficulty with the narrow beam, but I haven't had any. I use all my clickies everyday for everything.

Walk 3 minutes through a lightly wooded area than lets say you were going to check the tire pressure of a truck in the dark right after that walk. Lets also say that you had a friend with you and your light was the only flashlight. So basically you need enough light and spead for both people you also need to use the light for close up readings. What light is best for this type of activity?

Both types of beams would work well for those activities. The narrow beam might have a tighter hotspot, but if you feel it's too bright on max. There's always a lower setting that'll help.

Also I know now that I will be getting a custom light with
Exec
Flush mounted clicker
All parts black (maybe I will try Tan anodiing in the future)
Gold ano really looks tan so that is what I wam talking about, but that might look ugly I'm also considering red ano.
And am still undecided about a steel vs a Ti Bezel.
Of course I still have no clue about which type of LED to put inside it.

Stop making your life so complicated and over thinking this. If you find yourself getting confused over the amount of raw data on the light, go with the production models and avoid custom configurations. I personally prefer the Executive model with the standard SS bezel (140,170,200, etc)

I do agree that I will buy future lights, I know that this is just the start of the road, but I also think that this will be my first and only nice light for a while. Money is in short supply and I would rather get my deam light the first time than buy 3 in the process of finding out what my dream light is.
Thanks

I thought the same. I've been purchasing lights from Henry since his U42 versions and everytime I get one I say it's the best and it'll be the only light for a while. I end up getting 3-5 lights of the same/similar version.

It's an addiction, the lights are so good. There might be flaws, but nothing that can't be fixed. Henry's a great fella to deal with and I have no issues with him whatsoever. The Ra Clicky would be the best purchase you've ever made. I'm not saying you will like it, some just don't like it but there's always the option of selling it close to the price you paid on the marketplace.

All in all, compared to any other light you might buy from any store, online site, etc. The Ra Clicky comes close to the perfect light. At least it has for me.[/quote]

Will any of the Ra lights be better than most off the shelf harware store flashlights for looking at the ground at your feet and making sure you don't step on snakes or poison ivy?

A $10 light will be good enough for looking at the ground at your feet most times. But the Ra Clicky with the modes of brightness, toughness will enable you to see the snake, and protect yourself against it :nana:

Can someone give me an idea of the difference in divergence when you are holding the light say 4 feet above the ground and aiming it directly down? What is the diameter of the lighted area or a narrow vs wide Ra light?

I'll leave this one for the members who have taken beam shots and have the info. I don't go around measuring diameters of the beam.

Also i would assume that few of you would use a maximum setting for a walk through the woods, right? I just can't imagine what such a bright light would look like up close.

Maximum brightness is great for certain purposes. But a walk through the woods? I was in a jungle area last Saturday and I didn't have the light on maximum brightness. The first or second level was enough. But it was extremely dark in there, so even the lowest mode would have lighted up the place pretty well. The narrow version was preferable to the wide beam for that (for a little throw, walking through the trails, etc)

Does the 170 Model have a Blueish tint?
I think I like the idea of the 170 (as long as it is not blueish). From my understanding the 170 is more efficent than a 120 can someone confirm that.

My 170 has no blueish tint. If it does, I haven't noticed it. It's a cool white. 170 is definitely more efficient on maximum compared to a 120 on maximum. Go figure, it's all to do with the emitter, hence the higher price on the item.

 

[cave dave]

Carter

1.) There is a reason this thread is up to part 9, there are many factors to consider. All your questions could be answered by starting at part 1 and reading the thousands of posts up to this point. To answer all your questions over again would take another 9 threads. 😛

2) There is also a reason the people knowledgeable enough to answer your questions all own multiple Ra lights. I own 3 plus an HDS EDC (precursor) and each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

I personally bought a 170cn and 100WW at the same time with the intention of selling the one I liked the least. It took me 4 months of actually owning the lights and using them to decide which one was "better" for my personal uses, and those two models are the least alike. Somewhere I posted the results. The 170cn won. I still own the 100ww though and actually use it way more often. :thinking:

PS: I think every Ra owner should read Henry's whitepaper first.

PPS: I recommend buying a used one off BST, if you later want something different sell it at the same price you got it at.

 

[cave dave]

Does the 170 Model have a Blueish tint?
I think I like the idea of the 170 (as long as it is not blueish).

Reading the white paper linked above will help you understand this, but LED's are like apples on the same tree everyone is a bit different even though they are all apples. Comparing different emitter companies is like comparing different kinds of apples. Rome vs Fuji?

Just because callmaster's 170 isn't blue doesn't mean yours won't be. My 170 is yellow in the hotspot and transitions to purple at the edge of the spill. This transition seems to be common among the Golden Dragon LED being used in all the narrow model lights. The Wide model uses a SSC emitter which seems to be more consistent in tint across the beam, but it doesn't throw as far and on avg isn't capable of as high an efficiency, but there are large ranges on both. All LED's also have variations in Vf and Luminous flux as well which effects the efficiency. All manufactures have this problem BTW, Ra is just one of the few companies doing anything about it by analyzing every single LED they use and binning them into different lights and charging a premium for premium LED's.

From my understanding the 170 is more efficient than a 120 can someone confirm that.

The simple answer is that the 170 will produce 120lm for at least one hour. The 120 will produce 85lm for at least one hour. I think you can do the math on that.

The complex answer involves what "at least" means, many Ra light perform much better than that. The 120 models were selling so well that in some cases Henry had to use 140 capable emitters in the 120 models, hence runtimes much longer than the min hour spec. My personal 170 has an emitter "capable" of being a 200 model, but those didn't exist at the time, so I get an 82 min runtime at 120lm, instead of 60min at 140lm.

 

[Carter840]

Great this all helps slot. How can I get a 200cn model. I don't see those on the ra site? Also does anyone else have any more info on the SS bezel vs the Ti? Someone seemed to say that the Ti bezel was sharper and poked them more in their pocket if that is true it's a no go. They also said it looked the same which I find hard to believe as an engineer I've been trained to tell the diffference between metals and unless they both have a strange finish I would suspect that they look slightly different. Does anybody have a side by side of the different bezel?
Thanks

 

[matrixshaman]

Polished or machined Ti can look quite close to SS in some cases. I prefer SS for this bezel as it wont show wear as much. Ti is great but upon close inspection it shows the wear of EDC more than SS. Of course you can always clean it up or anodize it....

 

[Carter840]

Polished or machined Ti can look quite close to SS in some cases. I prefer SS for this bezel as it wont show wear as much. Ti is great but upon close inspection it shows the wear of EDC more than SS. Of course you can always clean it up or anodize it....

Thanks for the input. I really don't minf it geting scratched or beet up. I just don't want the bezel to be and sharper in my pocket. One person in this thread said that the Ti was less finished and sharper can anyone confirm this. I do plan to do ano in the future and match it with a Ti clip. I mihgt just get teh SS bezel and than order an extra Ti bezel. From my understanding you can only get your SS# on the bezel you get with your light so any extras I order would be blank? Is there a way to ask that both bezels get the engraving?

 

[liam_995]

Great this all helps slot. How can I get a 200cn model
Thanks

Let ME know when you find one...


:thinking:

 

[Dead_Nuts]

Carter840 -

I absolutely love my 140Cgt. The tint is a perfect white with neither warm or cool hues. I also have 2 170's and a 200 (there were only a few sold). One of my 170's has a noticeable purplish-blue tint; the other only looks cool when compared to the GT. The 200 is very nice -- just slightly on the cool side.

One of my Ra lights has a factory Ti bezel (in black). Another has a decrenulated Ti bezel. While I love the looks of the latter, it probably doesn't offer quite as much lens protection as the crenulated ones. The factory black one gets lost when mixed in with the other lights. The weight savings is inconsequential and, don't forget, Ti marks up (scratches, etc.) just as easily as SS.

 

[Moonshadow]

Am I right in understanding that the 170s and the 200 are the Cn models with Golden Dragons and the narrow beam ?

 

[Numbers]

I have been away for a while, and in all honesty I get interested again when SF introduces a new light and I have an LX2 on order.

But I see that the thread on the RA goes on for 9 parts so I thought I might do some research and get interested in one (I know HDS from the past had a great reputation). However a freind of mine, a non flashaholic, just took delivery of a 170 tactical RA and I must say that when I saw the beam I was taken aback. It was not well formed and has a very distinctive green tint. We compared the beam shape and tint to several of my old SF's and FOR ME the SF's beams are way nicer in form and tint.

I am not necessarily interested in a programmable light but 4 levels of light would be very nice, strobe for me is not necessary. The form factor of the RA is beautiful.

So, should I read all of the 9 parts and then make a decision or has my decision already been made because of the less than impressive (at least to me) beam I have seen first hand? Could something be wrong with my friends light?

 

[callmaster]

Am I right in understanding that the 170s and the 200 are the Cn models with Golden Dragons and the narrow beam ?

You are correct. Both models are narrow beams.

I have been away for a while, and in all honesty I get interested again when SF introduces a new light and I have an LX2 on order.

But I see that the thread on the RA goes on for 9 parts so I thought I might do some research and get interested in one (I know HDS from the past had a great reputation). However a freind of mine, a non flashaholic, just took delivery of a 170 tactical RA and I must say that when I saw the beam I was taken aback. It was not well formed and has a very distinctive green tint. We compared the beam shape and tint to several of my old SF's and FOR ME the SF's beams are way nicer in form and tint.

I am not necessarily interested in a programmable light but 4 levels of light would be very nice, strobe for me is not necessary. The form factor of the RA is beautiful.

So, should I read all of the 9 parts and then make a decision or has my decision already been made because of the less than impressive (at least to me) beam I have seen first hand? Could something be wrong with my friends light?

A green tint is pretty unusual I believe. The common tint is purplish for the 170Cn. Mine is a cool white with perfect white tint (lucky me).

All in all, the beam is very well formed and I see no problems. It could be an issue, I'd contact Henry and check it out. But I'd like to know what you mean by "not well formed"?

To decide on a purchase because of one bad light would be jumping the gun. No two emitters are the same, and the tint is lottery of course. I'm rather curious about the beam issue. It doesn't have a tight hotspot with a generous side spill?

Also, the Ra Lights are known for their programmable qualities, toughness, OTF lumen readings, etc. So if that's not a criteria in selection, then you might be interested in some other light with a basic 3 mode function.

 

[shutin]

Hi, I just became interested in getting an RA light yesterday and have been reading a lot of info but I still have some questions. My main question is this: Can you carry a Ra Clicky EDC/Executive (100mm length) in your coin pocket (the small one in front) on your jeans? I am currently EDC'ing a Lumapower Incendio (76mm x 21mm) comfortably in my jeans but I cannot tell if I could do the same with the current RA host body (100mm x 25mm). It appears the old Novatac almost matches my Incendio's dimensions and would work perfectly (not to mention having a decent clip), but I'd like to get something with a bit more punch than 80 lumens. They also only have tacticals with the extended button. Which leads me to...


I want the strobe, no doubt about that, but I also do not want a big fat "tactical" clicky button on the end, so my only choice is to get a custom tactical made with a flush button. Does anyone see any problem with that? I can't find many pictures or comments about the flush clicky ("Executive") button. Does it work well? Hard to push? Hard to hold in? It seems like the ability to tailstand is a crapshoot (not exactly a great selling point :duh2🙂 but I mainly want it so I don't keep setting off the torch in my pocket.

Thanks!

 

[shutin]

ATTN: NEW MEMBERS!!

 

[cave dave]

They also said it looked the same which I find hard to believe as an engineer I've been trained to tell the diffference between metals and unless they both have a strange finish I would suspect that they look slightly different. Does anybody have a side by side of the different bezel?
Thanks

Carter,
When I said they looked the same I meant the black AlTiN coating on a SS and Ti bezel are going to look the same, since at the time you said you wanted the black bezel. As far as the raw bezels you can tell that they are different but you'd be hard pressed to tell which one is which.

The Ti bezels are machined on the same equipment at the same factory, they should have identical machining.

I challenge you to pick out the ti bezels in this picture:

Yeah... you guys have seen my madness:laughing:

 

[StandardBattery]

...
I want the strobe, no doubt about that, but I also do not want a big fat "tactical" clicky button on the end, so my only choice is to get a custom tactical made with a flush button. Does anyone see any problem with that? I can't find many pictures or comments about the flush clicky ("Executive") button. Does it work well? Hard to push? Hard to hold in? It seems like the ability to tailstand is a crapshoot (not exactly a great selling point :duh2🙂 but I mainly want it so I don't keep setting off the torch in my pocket.

Thanks!

There is no problem with that... BUT any model can strobe, these are programmable lights. The tactical models come preprogrammed with the settings that include strobe, however it can be removed, or it can be added to one of the levels in the EDC models. There is even more that that... but check the user guide.

 

[Numbers]

But I'd like to know what you mean by "not well formed"?

Perhaps not well formed was not the right choice of words. The form in terms of a nice circular outer ring or beam termination was fine, and the light did an excellent job of lighting up an entire room, lots of lumens.

But the character of the beam is not what I am used to. My better lights whether throw or flood transition from the "hot spot" or center to the outer edge of the beam with an all around even creamy white light, intensity of course diminishes as it moves out from the center and some of my lights have more of a hot spot than others. The transitions are even and consistent, actually beautiful.

Updated Monday July20:

The Ra beam I saw, did not have artifacts but neither was it smooth or clean. There was a smallish hot spot that was not cleanly defined; and then a definite large greenish ring around that, merging into the rest of the spill. Granted this was on a white wall 15 feet away. This updated description is my observation of the light without doing any side by side comparison to any other light. I guess it's acceptable (except for the green tint) if that is what one wants/expects in a beam pattern.

 

[cave dave]

My main question is this: Can you carry a Ra Clicky EDC/Executive (100mm length) in your coin pocket (the small one in front) on your jeans?

I would say no.

I want the strobe, no doubt about that, but I also do not want a big fat "tactical" clicky button on the end, so my only choice is to get a custom tactical made with a flush button.

Any Clicky can be reprogrammed to have the strobe come on at any one of the four preset levels. The only UI difference between the regular and tactical is the factory default settings, they can be reprogrammed to do the same things.

The tailcap and button has been recently changed so if you read the last few posts you will know about as much as anybody. I'm glad they changed the tailcap design to make it more reliable but a non-flush "flush" button is a downer. :thumbsdow

 

[shutin]

Ahh interesting! That's for informing me that strobe is available in the programming settings of all the models. I *had* read a bit of the manual before posting but I guess I missed that part.

I'm struggling to tell my brain that NO, the torch is not going to fit in my coin pocket, but it is not listening! Without that feature I can't really justify replacing my perfectly functional Lumapower Incendio (great light btw) which outputs 130lumens from a Q5. I have started looking at the Novatac's, whose size closely matches my Lumapower but these days you don't want to start going backwards in design.

Ugh, I am infatuated with the Ra Clicky but I just can't see myself carrying it daily in an already-cramped jeans pocket, especially with that clip. It's too bad that over the design cycle starting from ARc4's to Novatacs and now to the RA Clicky's it has got progressively longer 🙁

Word of advice to anyone else thinking of getting one-- check out the shipping prices among the various sites. Ralights.com will make you a custom one and not charge a fee to do so, but it's $15 to ship it! At least batterystation throws in like 5 batteries and a $5 battery carrier for just $6 shipping.

One last (well probably not the last) question: Regarding Titanium bezels. Unless you are a sailor I think you guys are wasting your money on Ti, but in this case, what good is *just* a Ti bezel? Either the whole host is corrosion-resistant Ti or it's not. It doesn't look any different as shown by pics.

MODS: sorry for my earlier double post, I wasn't aware of the post moderation for new members (obviously).

 

[mwaldron]

Polished or machined Ti can look quite close to SS in some cases. I prefer SS for this bezel as it wont show wear as much. Ti is great but upon close inspection it shows the wear of EDC more than SS. Of course you can always clean it up or anodize it....

I have a polished SS factory Ra Bezel, and a Titanium one. The difference is there, but it is hardly noticeable. I have a Seiko Titanium watch that i've worn every day of my life for the last 10 years, it does show an amazing amount of scratches, but after a certain point they blend together and the finish just looks a bit duller than it should be unless you inspect it closely. I'm told it re-polishes quite well, but I have never tried it.

Let ME know when you find one...
:thinking:

The 170's are easy to get directly from Ra's website, custom order When Henry has enough emitters tested that can do 200, he updates the custom order form and makes 200's available. You pretty much have to check back every day. If I had to guess, he's probably building up stock of the best emitters he can get to put into his forthcoming limited edition all-titanium clickies, so I wouldn't expect to see a 200 for a while.

Am I right in understanding that the 170s and the 200 are the Cn models with Golden Dragons and the narrow beam ?

Currently, all WW, 170's and 200's are GDP emitters with the 'narrower' beam pattern.