Novatac EDC 120P vs HDS EDC B42XR-Seoul (pic heavy)

Arrived from lighthound today and on the whole very pleased:thumbsup:
Great tint and beam quality, but doesn't appear to throw as far as the smooth reflector in the HDS(expected). Tint basically matches my VO-seoul binned HDS B42xr. Still prefer the heavier knurling and darker/better anodizing of the original HDS, there are some missing spots that reflect light in the knurling of the novatac body. Too soon to comment on the interface, but will be easier to program since i have a B42(250 click thing). I do like the look of switching up the bezel rings.
Appears to be a great option(that is available now), but still interested to see what the creator of the HDS is working on.

Cheers!


EDIT: new clip pic added in post #9
Beam on the Novatac is about the same as 2 layers of writeright stick-on +the the smooth reflector of the HDS.

color neutralized in photoshop in this first pic for true representation(at least on my monitor).
















The bezel rings are interchangeable


Novatac on left-B42XR-Seoul on right

How did you get the pocket clip on the tailcap like that? I thought it could only go under the bezel ring. Does the tailcap seperate there?

ufmace said:

How did you get the pocket clip on the tailcap like that? I thought it could only go under the bezel ring. Does the tailcap seperate there?

Click to expand...

That is the proper clip placement using the instructions from the novatac site.

The other method you see is a modification to carry the light bezel up.

RickyT said:

That is the proper clip placement using the instructions from the novatac site.

The other method you see is a modification to carry the light bezel up.

Click to expand...

What instructions? The only instructions I can see on their site is a PDF duplicate of the paper instruction manual I got with the light. Neither one makes any mention whatsoever of the clip.

Novatac really needs to do something about that clip.

HDS looks so much better.

ufmace said:

What instructions? The only instructions I can see on their site is a PDF duplicate of the paper instruction manual I got with the light. Neither one makes any mention whatsoever of the clip.

Click to expand...

Figured it out, duh. The end of the tailcap unscrews at that joint too. It's just like the main connection at the top of the tailcap, though the male threads are on the center section on both sides.

I suppose this would also make it easier to build alternate battery tubes. The switch mechanism can be interchanged too, so all that you would need is a solid tube with threads and finishing, and the spring that goes inside.

ufmace said:

Figured it out, duh. The end of the tailcap unscrews at that joint too. It's just like the main connection at the top of the tailcap, though the male threads are on the center section on both sides.

I suppose this would also make it easier to build alternate battery tubes. The switch mechanism can be interchanged too, so all that you would need is a solid tube with threads and finishing, and the spring that goes inside.

Click to expand...

were these made in china./no what you have here is the novatac" boys".back of ,this is not HDS its a novatac.I will give a true comparision.dont worry.regards

How'd you get the bezel off? Mine wont come off. OTOH, there is almost no gap between the body and bezel on mine.

Mine came off with no effort:shrug:.
No loctite or any other substance.
A slate mcluxIII-pd TI bezel(with no loctite or anything)I got off BST would only come off after a few cycles in the freezer and boiling water:devilafter amazing frustration).

BTW, The beam on my novatac matches my 2 slate mclux-PD VO seoul lights almost exactly.

AND after reading, the clip attached to the bezel is much more useful, if not perfect. here is a pic.

ufmace said:

What instructions? The only instructions I can see on their site is a PDF duplicate of the paper instruction manual I got with the light. Neither one makes any mention whatsoever of the clip.

Click to expand...

I guess they have them kinda hidden. Click the news link and scroll to the August 3 entry.

cave dave said:

How'd you get the bezel off? Mine wont come off. OTOH, there is almost no gap between the body and bezel on mine.

Click to expand...

I used a shoe for mine. I found an old pair of dress shoes that I never really wore that have flat rubber soles. Pressing the bezel against the rubber got enough grip to turn it.

Pumaman said:

AND after reading, the clip attached to the bezel is much more useful, if not perfect. take a look.

Click to expand...

That's how I had mine at first. But one of my beefs with the HDS and other bezel-up lights is all of the dust and debris that gets on the lens after just a few hours. I've wanted to try bezel-down for a while and see how it works.

I guess that's the nice thing about the Novatac - either way works fine. I guess you could even put the clip going either way on the middle connection between the tube and the lamp assembly.

Pumaman said:

The bezel rings are interchangeable

Click to expand...

Are the reflectors as well?

RickyT said:

I guess they have them kinda hidden. Click the news link and scroll to the August 3 entry.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I found it. They could sure use a little better placement, though, like maybe in the manual. And maybe even mention that it can go on either way. Oh well, it's a brand new product.

I've been out in the 88 F Deg heat (at 9pm) comparing my Seoul mod B42XR with my Novatac 120P. Other than the heat and mosquitoes it was a good night. There were several deer in the yard which made a nice brown on dead grass tgt to shoot at. Also heat lightning in the clouds was very cool. I would have stayed out longer to watch the lightning if it wasn't for the biting insects.

Bounce tests reveal my SSC HDS to be ever so slightly brighter on max, noticeable but barely. Lets call it 130lm. The 21lm setting now puts out visibly more light than the 42lm on the Nova, lets call that 50lm.

Outside the variations were unnoticable. Both beams were virtually identical. The slight warmer tint on the NovaTac may have had a slight edge for dear spotting.

I reconfigured my Nova to 42,60,85,120lm for testing purposes. The 120 and 85 were slightly different but not as much as one would expect and deer recognition was not vastly improved. The 40 and 60 could barely be told apart. No difference in deer recognition.

gorgeous pics :twothumbs:twothumbs:twothumbs

Hello,

I am fairly new here, but my Seol mod HDS to me puts out a very noticeable difference over my new NovaTac's. So far I have compared two of the Nova's against two of the Seol's HDS's. In both tests outside and long distances the Seol's out preformed the NovaTac's. Not very scientific I agreee, just from my sight and a friends. In some ways I am disappointed, I purchased 4 of the NovaTac's thinking they would be better in the throw department.

Thanks,

Rick





Rick

Hey Puma,

Great pics, thanks for the comparison!

WOW, I just noticed the emmiter looks different on my 120P.:thinking:
Beam and tint are great, yours just looks cooler.

wolverine1 said:

Hello,

I am fairly new here, but my Seol mod HDS to me puts out a very noticeable difference over my new NovaTac's. So far I have compared two of the Nova's against two of the Seol's HDS's. In both tests outside and long distances the Seol's out preformed the NovaTac's. Not very scientific I agreee, just from my sight and a friends. In some ways I am disappointed, I purchased 4 of the NovaTac's thinking they would be better in the throw department.

Thanks,

Rick




Rick

Click to expand...

you might want to check total brightness between the HDS and Novatac by doing a ceiling bounce test instead of an outdoor throw test.
the HDS will throw further mainly due to its smooth reflector but looking at Pumaman's beamshots, the Novatacs seem to have more light in the spill area.