HDS high CRI lights - Poll: will you ever go back?

Of those that own HDS flash lights with over 90 High CRI (color Rendering Index)

  • In the future I would only purchase HDS flashlights that are over 90 high CRI

    Votes: 15 68.2%
  • In the future I would purchase HDS flash lights with less than 90 high CRI

    Votes: 8 36.4%

  • Total voters
    22
  • Poll closed .

RCS1300

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 31, 2012
Messages
1,339
Location
Stamford, CT
For HDS flash light owners, once you have experienced a HDS flash light in over 90 high CRI (Color Rendering Index) do you think you would purchase another HDS flash light that is not over 90 High CRI?
 
Last edited:

moltenmag

Enlightened
Joined
May 31, 2017
Messages
581
Good Questio. Yes. I currently am EDCing an old school RA Clicky which has the Golden Dragon 170 emitter. I value this emitter because I want a light that can throw for tactical use... beamshot and pic :)

25arhpt.jpg


200p8u8.jpg
 

ven

Flashaholic
Joined
Oct 17, 2013
Messages
22,533
Location
Manchester UK
I cant really vote, for me colour temp and tint is far more important than CRI. I would of course prefer 90+ cri and a nice temp/tint more than 80 CRI and nice temp tint. But i would still buy an 80CRI HDS, providing it was 4000-5000k and nice on the eye. So i would tick both as an option if i could.
 

scout24

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 23, 2008
Messages
8,869
Location
Penn's Woods
Love both my 200lm hcri's. Also love my 3000k. No cool white HDS here. That said, there ARE pleasant non-hcri's that I enjoy using. Just don't have a 325...
 

Modernflame

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 27, 2017
Messages
4,383
Location
Dirty Dirty South
I spent more time considering this than is probably healthy. My first instinct was something like "never say never," but in the end I voted for high CRI only. A standard CRI light will potentially be much brighter. While that may sound like fun, this hypothetical future HDS might also run hot.

I hate lights that run hot.

If I'm living within a 200 lumen budget anyway, I'd like for those lumens to be high CRI. The Nichia fitted HDS flashlights of recent release have been a paradigm shift for me.
 

Random Dan

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 30, 2012
Messages
1,371
I spent more time considering this than is probably healthy. My first instinct was something like "never say never," but in the end I voted for high CRI only. A standard CRI light will potentially be much brighter. While that may sound like fun, this hypothetical future HDS might also run hot.

I hate lights that run hot.

If I'm living within a 200 lumen budget anyway, I'd like for those lumens to be high CRI. The Nichia fitted HDS flashlights of recent release have been a paradigm shift for me.

At the same current level, hi CRI emitters will generally run hotter and provide less lumens vs cool white (ceteris paribus).

I don't see myself going back to cool white, but I'm totally fine with less than 90cri if there are other advantages. I've advocated for the medium CRI XP-L hi 4000K several times.
 

emarkd

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 16, 2014
Messages
1,193
Location
Georgia, USA
Yeah 80 is usually my "personal minimum" too. I usually prefer 90+ CRI emitters, the more the merrier, but I can enjoy some 80's. 70 CRI is usually not something I enjoy very much anymore.
 

Hogokansatsukan

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 14, 2006
Messages
5,243
Location
Tucson
While I love my hiCRI, a nice brighter light in the stable can also be a good thing.
Yes, I closed a previous thread because there were very few there making comments who seemed to understand binning and color temp.
I felt a little like when I drive my MUTT around and everyone in a Jeep waves at me, and I think to myself, "you have no idea you are waving at a Ford, do you?"

CRI is important, but binning (color temp and how close to the black body) the emitter is producing is just as important.

Would I go for an XP-L2 in the 5000k range close to the black body that kicked out 375-400 lumens? I'm not talking a horrid green or angry blue tint, but a nice binned emitter. You know, an emitter like the other guys DON'T use. Yep. I would go for that.

It doesn't mean I would get rid of my hiCRI lights by any means, but would simply add to the tools I already have.
 

INFRNL

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 7, 2012
Messages
2,971
Location
Bottom Of Pikes Peak
I voted that i would buy a non hicri.
While i love my hicri they still do not render all colors accurately.

I'm with Ven... Color temp and tint is more important to me. It just so happens that with HDS the color temps/tints i enjoy are hicri.

I have tried and previously owned both 250 and 325 but didn't like the colors

However i really enjoy my 3900k non hicri. It has great color and beam and still renders colors very well
 

RCS1300

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 31, 2012
Messages
1,339
Location
Stamford, CT
Great conversation. I never thought about the HDS flash light as a thrower. In my mind, the body shape of the light and size of the reflector says general purpose light, not thrower, to me. The HDS is an outstanding light for anything closer than 50 feet. 200 lumens is fine in my HDS general purpose flash light and I do not need more lumens at the cost of color rendering or excessive heat generation.

I have an excellent thrower light which is a Thrunite Catapult with a XM-L LED. That light throws a usable and very tight light beam over 100 yards away. It also has a reflector that is 3 inches deep and 2.25 inches wide and the light is 10 inches long. Unfortunately, it will not fit in my front pants pocket.
 
Last edited:

Modernflame

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 27, 2017
Messages
4,383
Location
Dirty Dirty South
Those of us who hang around down here in the HDS basement are probably tint snobs. I, for one, would have been unlikely to join this tribe if it weren't for all of the recent Nichia offerings. With that said, I have to wonder how well we represent the HDS customer base. After all, the brand was built on standard CRI emitters and there are surely a lot of customers who don't care about the LED as long as the flashlight works.
 

Cerealand

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 30, 2011
Messages
1,667
Many people are used to the standard cool white. Warm and neutral tints are just wrong for them
 

Hogokansatsukan

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 14, 2006
Messages
5,243
Location
Tucson
Those of us who hang around down here in the HDS basement are probably tint snobs. I, for one, would have been unlikely to join this tribe if it weren't for all of the recent Nichia offerings. With that said, I have to wonder how well we represent the HDS customer base. After all, the brand was built on standard CRI emitters and there are surely a lot of customers who don't care about the LED as long as the flashlight works.

Previously, it was about 80% of lights sold were custom lights. Recently, it has been about 95% mostly because of the new offerings. I'm not basing this on anything other than what I have been calibrating. Every light that goes out the door goes through my dirty grubby fat little fingers. This also includes the 325 lumen option.

CPFers are most definitely in the "tint snob" though I prefer to say "tint aware" category. A huge section of "flashaholics" though are still in the "I need a 500 Smith & Wesson for varmint hunting" category... i.e. lumens are everything... and of course, those are not HDS customers. We don't make firearms... yet.

HDS is a very odd company... with very odd folks working there. I would say the 325 is the HDS "Gateway drug". Folks hear about HDS, do some research, and pop for the hghest lumen count, which is still rather small compared to what is available out there even though we don't lie about output... if we did, we could have a 500 lumen light by now... or even brighter... but only in the minds of those who are unenlightened. I think we all go through that stage at first. Heck, I remember buying the "White Scorcher" bulb for my 6P that was... 120 lumens for 20 minutes on 2 primary CR123 batteries. As folks start to educate themselves (I know this sounds totally elightest and full of snobbery) I think they start to care more about CRI and tints, though tint is VERY subjective... and the beauty is in the cones of the beholder.

We still have a LOT of 325's going out the door, and fewer and fewer 250's.
 

KaIIe

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 1, 2017
Messages
17
Location
Germany
Mhhh normally not, but never say never. And it also depends on the purpose, for general purpose as an edc there is probably no way back for me. Tint snobbing for me started with the lumintop tool, zebra light sc62w &32w, Meteor Nichia aso. HDS finally pushed my need for high cri from ~85 to finally 96. But on the other hand there is my blueish e1d defender and my K40M with MT G2 and i really like both. I finally recognized that most important to me is how red things show up when I light them up. I don't know why, personnel preferences. A little blue and brown/yellow is ok, but I will never ever go again with green or purple tints, not even if it's only a little. This one of the reasons I completely broke up with zebra and olight, from my personel point of view the worst high cri lights I experienced.
 
Top