0- I think you know about CRI - Color Rendering Index. Some companies have their High CRI LEDs available. but few high CRI LED lights are seen in the market. Ra lights, or someone else?
1- High CRI LEDs has a lower Lumens/Watt ratio than latest high power LEDs such as XP-G R5. And the max power is much lower too.
Right.
2- High CRI LEDs are more expensive.
Only if you look at them as a lumens per dollar light. If quality isn't that important to you (specifically the quality of rendering color accurately in this case), then there are plenty of other lights that are a better value in that case.
3- So, the reasonable way to use them is a floody EDC light, with one or more LEDs.
I only know of two "production lights" that use a high CRI, one uses a Seol (sp) and the other a Nichia. From what I understand, the emitters themselves are more expensive than the most current high output lights that put out more than twice the light. That cost is passed along to us, the consumer, if demand warrants it.
4- Will you spend more money to choose a high CRI LED EDC light with less lumens and shorter runtime?
That's the beauty of RA/HDS lights,they're guaranteed to run for an hour, even though they do produce less lumens, 100 lumens of Henry's light is comparable to about 120 lumens of other manufacturer's claims (I don't have a Sundrop, so I can't speak to that light).
5- Is high CRI LEDs really better than regular LEDs in a flashlight?
Better is a bad word to use when talking about flashlights since there are so many features and design cues. A better question might be "are high CRI-LEDs really better AT RENDERING COLOR than regular LEDs in a flashlight?" The answer to that question is yes. It's up to the user to determine their needs. Even Don McGizmo dubs his Sundrop an entry in a niche market. Yet I'm sure he sells enough of them to warrant keeping them in stock. If you're looking for a light that will throw really far w/o regard to color rendering, why would you spend ANY money on a light that has no hot spot/reflector/TIR optic in order to focus the light for throw? In that case, it's not a better flashlight for your needs.
In another case, would you whip out an aspheric light if you needed additional lighting at a photo shoot? Try it some time, you'll get uneven lighting, total washing out of your subject, and a myriad of other problems. I can't even use my high CRI RA Clicky for photography even though it IS billed as a wider beam. It's profile is totally different from the Sundrop and isn't really suited to it, but does that mean the Sundrop is a better light? Not for spotting at a medium distance. Not to mention, if I want strobe on a light, the Sundrop is miserable at that particular task as well (no strobe or momentary on it). Then again, the Sundrop does tailstand better than my RA Clicky . . . I could go on but I hope I've made my point.
I don't have a Sundrop only due to a lack of funds. If it seems like I'm downing it, I'm not. I love my LS20 and I've been wanting to add to my McGizmos but having trouble deciding between the Haiku and the Sundrop. That's for another thread, though. Please use better language when discussing merits of flashlight design.
Let's brainstorm it.
so CRI isnt
