-
You must be a Supporting Member to participate in the Candle Power Forums Marketplace.
You can become a Supporting Member.
The Haiku: why I personally feel the 3S lights have surpassed the PD lights
- Thread starter js
- Start date
Help Support Candle Power Flashlight Forum
js
Flashlight Enthusiast
So I thought I'd post my further experience in regards to the 3S vs. PD lights. It seems since I re-acquired an LS20 that I have re-trodden the exact same ground that I covered back when I first got my Haiku!
At first, as I posted, I was really really happy to have an LS20 again, and I EDC'd it for a number of weeks and admired and played with it regularly. But then, gradually, over time, I just stopped using it that much and mostly used my Haiku because, well, for all the reasons that I talk about in the first post of this thread!
I understand--I really really do--why people love the PD lights, and I felt strongly enough about it that I spent a lot of money to own one again. But, once again, I'm back in the same position of rarely using my LS20. My Haiku is my workhorse light. It is awesome, practical, convenient, and the High CRI LED in mine throws such a beautiful light. Nostalgia and regret and love of the Piston-Drive concept are what prompted me to buy an LS20 again, but it is still my considered opinion that the new lights have surpassed the PD lights. Just my personal opinion. YMMV!
At first, as I posted, I was really really happy to have an LS20 again, and I EDC'd it for a number of weeks and admired and played with it regularly. But then, gradually, over time, I just stopped using it that much and mostly used my Haiku because, well, for all the reasons that I talk about in the first post of this thread!
I understand--I really really do--why people love the PD lights, and I felt strongly enough about it that I spent a lot of money to own one again. But, once again, I'm back in the same position of rarely using my LS20. My Haiku is my workhorse light. It is awesome, practical, convenient, and the High CRI LED in mine throws such a beautiful light. Nostalgia and regret and love of the Piston-Drive concept are what prompted me to buy an LS20 again, but it is still my considered opinion that the new lights have surpassed the PD lights. Just my personal opinion. YMMV!
experimentjon
Newly Enlightened
My first "nice" flashlight was a Nitecore D10 with PD. Everyone on CPF said how great it was. It never worked that well for me...maybe I had weak thumbs, maybe I used the wrong lube on the piston, maybe I needed more than 2 modes in my life. But once I found the 4Sevens Quark and the multi-mode interfaces, I was hooked and would never go back.
Eventually, as all roads do in the flashlight hobby, I was led to the McGizmo Haiku--back then, only available with the 3S engine. And that was awesome. Who needs a moonlight or a super-high turbo when you can have 3 perfectly spaced levels? Well...as it happens, I did move on to more advanced LEs after a long hiatus from flashlights. But always with a similar momentary / cycling, with click on interface. The gas pedal switches like the Surefire LX2 never quite did it for me. This was all back in the 2010s.
As part of my renewed interest in lights, I recently finally acquired a McLux III PD. And yes, the 2S - high / low 2 mode limit is certainly a step backward from having anywhere from 3-6 modes in modern lights. And certainly, the high is more like the medium on other modern LE setups. But there's something so intuitive about half press for low, full-press for high. After so many years of a Haiku-like interface, it's refreshing to have something vintage and simple.
Yes. The Haiku (especially now with the Hive) is certainly the objectively better light. But today, where globalization has allowed any variety of overseas lights to be technically superior to our high-priced customs--and your phone flashlight is probably the one you carry with you the most--there's just something so pleasant about this vintage piece of technology that was cutting edge in the mid 2000s.
Eventually, as all roads do in the flashlight hobby, I was led to the McGizmo Haiku--back then, only available with the 3S engine. And that was awesome. Who needs a moonlight or a super-high turbo when you can have 3 perfectly spaced levels? Well...as it happens, I did move on to more advanced LEs after a long hiatus from flashlights. But always with a similar momentary / cycling, with click on interface. The gas pedal switches like the Surefire LX2 never quite did it for me. This was all back in the 2010s.
As part of my renewed interest in lights, I recently finally acquired a McLux III PD. And yes, the 2S - high / low 2 mode limit is certainly a step backward from having anywhere from 3-6 modes in modern lights. And certainly, the high is more like the medium on other modern LE setups. But there's something so intuitive about half press for low, full-press for high. After so many years of a Haiku-like interface, it's refreshing to have something vintage and simple.
Yes. The Haiku (especially now with the Hive) is certainly the objectively better light. But today, where globalization has allowed any variety of overseas lights to be technically superior to our high-priced customs--and your phone flashlight is probably the one you carry with you the most--there's just something so pleasant about this vintage piece of technology that was cutting edge in the mid 2000s.
