In praise of my ultimate EDC combo: HDS + Thors Hammer. . .

I wanted to take a minute to share some of my thoughts about my EDC combo for the last ~5yrs, an HDS RA Clicky high CRI + a Thors Hammer customer leather light + spare cell holster. I'm a long-time CPF member, but have spent most of my time here lurking, rather than sharing my feelings about the lights I use. Seems there are so many folks here (luckily for us lurkers!) love to share their experiences/reviews/information/photos/etc. and I often finish reading a thread only to think, "well, that's that!" Recent events though, have made me think maybe I should chime in with my personal story, in case its of use to one of you!

I've had a thing for LED lights since I first saw the Inova X5 for sale on the Broad Arrow military wristwatch site. I thought it was just gorgeous & had to have one. Several friends got them as well. Went through a lot of lights from Fenix, NiteCore, Surefire, Malkoff & other "CPF favorites" before finally plunking down for an HDS high CRI. I'm a mechanic, and being able to accurately judge color can be really important when diagnosing fluid leaks, the condition of aged components, etc. It was immediately apparent that the light's flexibility, efficiency & ruggedness were head & shoulders above anything else I'd seen/used. I quickly ditched my other lights (last one was a Nitecore EX10 that I'd had to buy multiples of due to really poor dealer AND manufacturer support, and finally gave up on keeping in service) and ordered a Thor's Hammer holster for the HDS. This combo has worked with me, without failure, for the last 5+ years. We aren't talking about bedside stand & occasional dog walking, we're talking about real work, constant use & abuse, and drops/bumps/chemicals/submersion/etc. Whats more, the sense of pride I have in both items is something I've talked up to pretty much every technician I've worked with over this same period. Some of them (most of them?) think I'm a total kook, but, to me, the kind of tool fits right alongside my Snap-On, Stahlwille, Hazet and other premium tools. Heck, in nearly every way they SURPASS these legendary tool brands offering a level of personalized & professional service I've found in few other things. . .

On to the events that inspired me to post! A month or two back I noticed some weirdness from my HDS light. Seemed I was feeding it batteries a little too often, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen it step down. I mentioned this, via e-mail, to Henry & he offered to check out the light for me. I set about choosing an inexpensive light to do backup duty for the time I'd be without my HDS, and this is where I started to really think about just HOW MUCH the HDS light means to me! I honestly couldn't find anything on any of the tool trucks, at any price, that I liked enough to use, even for a little while. I did grab a ProTac AAA that I like pretty well, but just can't deal with the horrible low mode PWM or harsh tint. I ordered a Tool Ti from Amazon (didn't know about the group buy & was in a bit of a hurry) and once that arrived I decided I'd make do with that as an EDC I could keep in my uniform shirt pocket. Sent the HDS light off & was shocked to hear back from Henry MUCH quicker than I'd expected. He was able to verify my complaint, but was not able to repair the light. This was a bummer as the light had developed a really nice patina, lots of bumps & scrapes, but smoothed over from constant touch & holster carry. On the bright side (nyuk-nyuk) I was offered a current-spec high CRI light, de-tuned to the same output as my old light, and I jumped at it. Again, I was shocked at how quickly the light was built & shipped. I've now got it in hand, and I can say, after a few hours of playing around, its nicer in essentially every possible way!!! How many things can you say that about!? Nearly every great design seems to reach an apex & further attempts to refine & improve the design yield compromises or unseen consequences. Not so here! The light feels better built, from the new ACME threads to the revised reflector mounting, etc. The beam is smoother in its transition & offers what seems like a perfect mix of hotspot & spill. Though its the same emitter as my Tool Ti (219B), the HDS has a lovely/soft rose tint that's honestly the best I've seen. Even the UI has been improved!!! 4-clicks to turn off the locator beacon so my Wife doesn't get mad at the movies!? Wow. . .I'm floored. The HDS is hands-down one of the best things I've ever spent money on. I'm proud to be an owner, and proud to share the lights with others, even if it means ignoring their chuckles (some people just don't get how rare & special something like this is).

Oh, and Thor's Hammer? Just got an e-mail back from Dan with shipping info so I can have the holster freshened up, how can you beat that!?

TL;DR - HDS & Thor's Hammer FTW. Thanks guys.

Great story .... Thanks for posting

d_rasp said:

I wanted to take a minute to share some of my thoughts about my EDC combo for the last ~5yrs, an HDS RA Clicky high CRI + a Thors Hammer customer leather light + spare cell holster.
...
4-clicks to turn off the locator beacon so my Wife doesn't get mad at the movies!? Wow. . .I'm floored.
...
Though its the same emitter as my Tool Ti (219B), the HDS has a lovely/soft rose tint that's honestly the best I've seen.
...
Just got an e-mail back from Dan with shipping info so I can have the holster freshened up, how can you beat that!?

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great testimonials for a mechanics light and holster. like you Im a huge fan of the N219b and I have a TiTool with Nichia.

if possible, could you show the two beams side by side for tint comparison?
btw, is your new (congratulations!) HDS silent, or does it whine? :devilsee first pic below)

Besides making great holsters, It has recently resurfaced that Dan is also a brilliant claymation satirist, with a mastery of innuendo

Hogokansatsukan said:

Shorty turns himself on and starts to kill that cell slowly... he he he. He may not be a Milkey Candle, but he knows how to kill a cell.

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And then I wondered, what IS a Milkey Candle? Fortunately, my GoogleFu was Strong, click the pic if interested in a brief history lesson:


ps, some say Pics or it didnt happen, but I believe you and would still like pics ,-)

Great story! My HDS whines on the lower modes, but not the higher.

Great read. Thanks for posting.

Hah! Had no clue about the whine. Sure enough, I can hear her singing softly when I hold her to my ear in moonlight mode! Or is that my imagination? Thought I could hear it last night, maybe I was just feeling lonely!?

Great story , thanks for posting....................i will be looking forward to more posts now

I bought my HDS Clicky in Nov of 2010. My version was at the tail end of the High CRI Clicky versions. None were easy to find and Henry didn't have a ETA of lights to dealers. I found one on Oveready and boom, I gets a great light.

My beginnings are almost the same as Rasp with a Inova 5x as a first light. My Inova had blue LEDs, and at the time I was not impressed with the CR123 batteries. I left the Inova and went for several AA lights, as I was a NiMH junkie. I finally got the nerve to purchase my HDS. I found my receipt not too long ago and realized that I spent $170 or so at the time. Cheap compared to the HDS today! Well my HDS has finally ruined me, especially with using some IMR batteries. I have used the same rechargeable for 3 years now, no more primaries for me. The size of the HDS, the tint of the LED, and adding IMR batteries has made a most perfect light for me. I have been RUINED. It has caused me to leave the forums for a long time. I come on once in ahwile, but I feel that most of the new lights these days are no great improvement over my HDS. I have no reason to buy anything new. I did get a new Armytek headlamp that is FANTASTIC, but that isn't a hand held flashlight. I still want a Malkoff, but again, my HDS is just as good as a Malkoff. I have lost my HDS a few times which made me RACE to the Malkoff site, but I found my Clicky before I have ever made another purchase.

Ruined (or "roont" if you like SK), is what I am. My interest is GONE from all of these other products. I cannot buy anything else unless it has the same qualities of my HDS, which is real hard to beat.

Now I shall go back to the LED page and not read all of the threads there because in 5+ years nothing has come out as a game changer. Which is fine for me.

^ Well put!!! My experience has been the same. It's not that I'm not open to a light coming along and doing a better job than my HDS, it's just that, to my knowledge, no such light exists. Not even close actually. . .

I had a similar experience with guitar gear, though I spent a LOT more time, money & energy finding my end points. I can say with confidence that between my '66 Deluxe Reverb & my '69 Super, if I'm sounding bad, it's not my gears fault.

d_rasp said:

^ Well put!!! My experience has been the same. It's not that I'm not open to a light coming along and doing a better job than my HDS, it's just that, to my knowledge, no such light exists. Not even close actually. . .

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Technically some of the current lights do a better job in relation to output, including the new HDS and Malkoff lights. Everything is getting brighter. Efficiency is getting better. It is impressive to see what kind of output comes out of these single battery lights, that and the runtime, which has probably doubled if not tripled compared to my 100lumen HDS. Yet, output does not make me swoon. Brighter is not always better.

Gaffle said:

.... Yet, output does not make me swoon. Brighter is not always better.

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[emoji106] ...

I briefly had a Nitecore MH20 & though there is a "wow" to throwing 1k lumens out of an EDC sized light, there were a ton of little gripes that made me ditch the light after a week. Not even close in terms of a whole package, you know? For me, to even compete w/ the HDS, any newcomer would have to offer the same flexibility/programmability in the UI, and the same incredible attention to building a light that can REALLY take hits w/ compromising operability. I could see being happy with a Zebra if I had to, but it wouldn't un-seat the HDS. Especially when taking the rest of the light into consideration.