Which HDS or Other Superlight?

My BD is a mo. away and I've sufficiently softened up my S.O. to the point she won't complain too much if I get a good (expensive?) light. The most I've spent on a light, so far, is $98 but I'm wondering if an HDS or other CPF manufacturing member's model might be better.

I want a single 123 cell, very small, multiple level, rugged light...and who doesn't? Although four levels is plenty, I'm wondering if the programmable HDS might be better for my needs. The question is the low end. The Basic has a minimum 10 lumen low but I'd like to go way low to 1 - 3 lumens then aprox 10, 20, 60, for example.

Yesterday I was using my Q-III and needed a little more light so I'm guessing the 60 lumen output, although not considerably brighter, may suit my needs better than the 42 lumen HDS.

What other lights might fit my requirements and what's their price?

Thanks, CPFers, for your help.

AFAIK the spacing is 42 - 10 - 2.5 - 0.3 lumens in the case of the EDC Basic 42. I find that spacing perfect for my needs. The low setting is just right when I'm out in the woods and my eyes are dark adapted and at night when I need to go to the bathroom or whatever.

Hans

If you want a lot of options incorporated in your light IMHO you can forget mechanical switching like in the McLuxIII-PD and need a UI-controlled light.
Now ... if you want it to run on a CR123 primary cell, want it small and rugged ... the HDS seems a prime choice.
But I have to admit that I am not the expert when it comes to UI-controlled lights.
bernie

HDS all the way!! I've got the Basic 60 and it covers all the bases- and works with rechargables to boot.

I think you'll find the .3 lumen low to be just about right for a low mode. In terms of the 42 vs 60, the 42 has better battery life on high and is cheaper.

With the 60, for most purposes the extra brightness won't matter/be noticable, but you WILL be able to see that much farther away or in that much more detail if using the light at a distance. For my purposes, I don't use the high mode that often, but when I do, I want it to be bright!

It really depends on your needs and how much you want to spend (although this should be secondary to getting what you truly want). You can't go wrong with any of the HDS series.

I just got the Basic 42 and love it. I think the primary setting of 10 lumens is perfect for 90% of the time. I choose the 42 because of the battery life and I thought the price was reasonable. The only problem I have is I can't stop playing with it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

Now I understand - the "primary" level is presumed to be the most used one, not the lowest. Yes, .3 - 2.5 - 10 - high, seems darned near perfect and the 20 extra levels of fine tuning in the Ultimate may not be worth the extra $$ for me. If I were rolling in money, I'd go whole hog and get the U60XR.

Now I've got to decide whether the extra 18 lumens of the B60 would be useful...I'm leaning in that direction but none are for sale at this time anyway. The HDS site claims longer RT at lower settings for the 60, due to the LED being more efficient. Is that correct?

Battery Station has the Basic 42 in stock. I ordered mine last Monday and had it Thursday. It comes with 10 free batteries also. Can't beat it.

jayflash,

you are correct. The HDS 60 runs longer on 42 Lumens (level 2) than the HDS 42 does (on level 1). Get the HDS 60 and the Ultimate version, if you can. You will not regret it, the additional features don't get in the way.

-Connor

[ QUOTE ]
Connor said: Get the HDS 60 and the Ultimate version, if you can. You will not regret it, the additional features don't get in the way.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're right, they don't. OTOH the Basic 42 is probably the most bang for the buck - and it does virtually everything I expect from an EDC light. The longer runtime of the HDS 60 is nice, but then I always carry some spares anyway. And taking into account that all HDS lights run really well on Li-Ion rechargeables I personally don't worry too much about the somewhat shorter runtime.

That said - I'm not sure which one I'll get next. The Ultimate 60 sure is a very nice toy ... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Hans

I'm getting very tempted to buy an HDS EDC. Probably a 60.

I'm a little unclear on how valuable the Ultimate features would be. If there is already a thread discussing this can someone point me there please?

Also, I'm normally not real picky about color as long as it's pretty white and doesn't make me ill /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif , but if I'm gonna spend this kind of money I want to at least consider the GT. Any views on that?
Thanks.

I my be wrong but I haven't seen anyone complain about the tint of any of the EDC lights. GT or otherwise. I have a non GT light and am very happy with the tint.

Basic 60. best of the best.VDG

Hey Jay, keep in mind that the QIII has a reflector that is more flood oriented than the HDS so if you needed more light to see a bit further the 42 lumen hds model will throw further than the QIII. Also keep in mind that the hotspot of the HDS is smaller and has a greater contrast with it's sidespill than the qIII. If most of your light usage is under 20 feet (or so) you may find the greater contrast distracting and want to spread out the hotspot with one of AW's diffusing lenses or diffusion film. In this scenario you'll need the extra lumens when throw is needed. It also seems like when you really need throw, you REALLY need throw. Situations like a lost pet or nightime trespassers require a light with some reach and not having any will make your wonder about how well you spent your light budget.

One more thing, there are alot of good lights made by members here but HDS is really the only light of it's caliber for the price. HDS has a huge advantage in quality and design by virtue of the volume produced. The low volume lights are very nice and better than 99% of whats out there but as a EDC user I would keep my eyes on HDS and maybe surefire. Once you've got your pocket filled with one of these the low run lights are very nice to 'feed the addiction' /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

Thank you for the good replies and information. You Guys have helped to fill in some of the blanks.

xochi, thanks for your thoughts on beam type and product value.

Ultimate 60...

Of course there is my normal use mode, but its also nice to be able to "tune" it for a particular situation...like the 2 or 3 lowest levels set up fairly low so as not to destroy my night vision and yet provide variable amounts of light. Then there is the FF...(Fun Factor of this light).

I first bought a Basic 60GT, and with some encouragement from another CPF member, I decided to sell the Basic, and buy an Ultimate.

I bought an Ultimate 42, but I did have a day to compare the two lights before I shipped the Basic 60 GT to it's new owner.

Tint: The GT was only slightly better than the non GT Ultimate 42. I had been impressed with the tint of the Basic 60 GT, until I got the Ultimate 42. The difference could only be seen in direct comparison on a white wall.

Brightness: The 60 lumen model isn't really much brighter than the 42 lumen model, despite what the numbers might say.

You eyes don't respond to light in a linear manner; it takes about a 50% to 75% increase in light output to really see the difference. The difference between the 60 and 42 lumen models are not really significant. Yes the 60 lumen is brighter, but in practical use, I think would yield only a small increase in throw. Compared side by side on a white wall, the 60 lumen is brighter. If you turn on first one, and then the other, without knowing which is which, it's hard to tell which one is individually brighter.

Also: at 42 lumens, a CR123 will run about 60 minutes.
at 60 lumens, the same CR123 will run only 20 minutes.

You pay a lot in battery power for a relatively small increase in visible output.

Ultimate vs. Basic. No comparison. The Ultimate has SO MANY features the Basic doesn't have. One is the switch lock, which prevent the Ultimate from accidentally turning on. Three momentary modes. Complete programibily of the 4 levels. Only my maximum level is still set as it came from the factory; I changed the other three to levels which I find more useful to me. IMHO, 0.3 lumens is too low to be useful. An Arc AAA produces 10 times that level. I found it too dim for practical use for me. My lowest level is set at approx. 1 lumen.

So, as you might see, I think the Ultimate 42 is by far the best bang for the buck.

By all means, buy an Ultimate, either 42 or 60 lumens. You WILL appreciate the vast number of available programmable features the Ultimate HDS EDC has.

The HDS EDC Basic IS a nice light, but it is really limited compared to the Ultimate model.

--------------------
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
Why? Aren't there enough bad ones to go around?

Thanks Luxman and TRC for your perspectives. I was really leaning toward the basic just because I only thought about the flashing modes and felt I could do without them. But I like the idea of the programmable levels a lot. And the lock-out sounds good too. I intend for this to be an EDC in my pocket so it will likely be always locked out.

How easy is it to turn on if it's been locked out?

BTW, thanks to jayflash too for letting me horn in on your thread. I hope you are benefitting from the extra info as well.

It's extremely easy to lock and unlock.

To Lock: from off: 3 quick 'clicks' of the switch. You can then verify the switch lock is on by pressing the button after about 1 second. You get a quick double flash, to let you know the light is locked. Nice feature!

To Unlock: 3 quick 'clicks' of the switch. It's that simple.

When you get an Ultimate, it will take some time to learn the programming steps. Not a lot of time, but there is a learning curve.

One thing I didn't really think was made clear in the directions is that you HAVE to turn off the 'force' setting to reset the 4 programmable light levels. The instructions say you 'may have to disable the force setting'.

Also: when you are in the set-up menu, and you get to a feature you which to toggle, you just press and hold the button for 2 seconds. I don't think that was made clear in the instructions either; it took me awhile to figure that out.

You will have to enable the lock feature to use it.

I went with the Basic mode initially because when I downloaded the PDF file of instructions for the Ultimate, it seems extremely complicated. It really isn't, once you spend some time learning the way to program it. It really is worth the extra money to have access to all the programmable features. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I've had an EDC Ultimate 60 for a while, but just now decided to experiment with the options menu. I wanted to get the lock-out working, and was a bit frustrated that I seemed to be unable to do so.

Finally, after more trial & error I found that manual lock-out works only if the 'Automatic Button Lock' option is enabled. The manual doesn't explicitly state that; based on the wording in the manual I assumed that this option controlled only the automatic locking, and that manual locking would always be available. Guess not.

Or is there some way to enable manual lockout without also enabling the automatic lockout after 5 minutes of inactivity?

Welcome to this thread, drizzle, no need to be concerned, in fact, I believe it's encouraged to utilize existing threads on a subject. BTW, your's is a perfect user name for the NW USA.

I'm usually a "value" buyer rather than getting the ultimate. In this case I'm wondering if the extra features of the "U" model may actually be a better value. I might just make use of the fine tuning ability which would make the light more useful and, therefore, a better value even though at a greater first cost. Decisions, decisions.

I know I could be very happy with the B42. I'm trying to guess whether a U60 would be worth $60 more.

Are the B60 settings .3 - 2.5 - 10 or 42 then 60 last? I'm confused about the second brightest seting on the B60.

Again, thanks for all the detailed responses & happy Independence Day everybody!