# Review of Tactical HID 26W HID



## HKJ (Nov 30, 2009)

[SIZE=+3]Tactical HID 26W HID[/SIZE]



















Tactical HID, a flashlight importer and shop, has developed their own HID light. This light it is a 26 watt single level HID (*High-intensity discharge) light with a build in battery gauge, or rather two battery gauges, because the gauge is mounted on the battery and the light is supplied with two batteries. The two batteries are different size, one short and one long battery, this makes it possible to use the light in two configurations, either optimized for size or optimized for runtime. 













The light arrives in a case with foam inserts to protect the light and keep all the different parts together. The case has a simple combination lock, making it possible to keep small children away from the light.






The contents of the case is much more interesting, there is the HID light and a extender for the light, a short and a long battery, a charger for 110/220 volt, a car charger and a manual for the combination lock. There is also supposed to be a manual for the light, but it is missing (This might have happen during custom inspection). But it contains no spare o-rings.
I got the manual from Tactical HID when I asked, it contains specifications and instruction for the light and a 1 year warranty.












Looking at the front of the light, the OP (Orange Peel) reflector can be seen and the HID bulb. The OP reflector has a rather heavy texture, that gives a very smooth beam, but reduces the throw. This type of bulb does not have a tiny wire in it, but the current will leap from one electrode to the other, making a glow. To start and control this process the light has a hidden circuit (ballast) behind the bulb.






Around the head is the stainless steel bezel, this gives a good protection for the glass and finish of the light, if the front hits something. Just behind the SS bezel are some flat surfaces, they work as anti roll.









The head with the reflector can be turned to adjust focus of the light, the two pictures show the limits of the focus adjustment. The heat sink for the ballast can also be seen, that is the area with fins, just behind the focus adjustment part.






On the body there is some knurling, it is a rather mild knurling, not a sharp one, but the shape of the light will prevent the hand sliding off the light.






At the end of the body tube, there are threads and an o-ring. The treads are rather fine for this big light, but they work well. 






Looking into the body tube shows 3 concentric rings and a center point, this is the connection from the battery. The center point is the plus connection and one of the rings is the minus connection.






The end of the body tube does not necessary means the tailcap, this light includes an extender, that must be used for the long battery. It is just a tube with threads at both ends and a o-ring.









After the body tube and the optional extender, the tailcap is reached, this tailcap is a bit special, it does not have any switch in it, only a big hole where the switch is supposed to be located. The switch is part of the battery pack and when the pack is mounted in the light, the shape of the tailcap makes it a recessed switch, making it possible for the light to tail stand.












Here the tailcap is shown without battery, with battery and with a battery that is turned on (and nearly empty).






This light, like most HID lights, includes a battery or rather two batteries, a short and a long. The batteries are shown together with a 18650 battery. 












The front of the battery is protected with a rubber cover, this prevent the two terminals from being shorted. This rubber cover has to be removed before the battery can be loaded into the light. Besides the power connection to the flashlight, the front of the battery also has some other features.













The battery charge port is placed on the front and can be used both with or without the rubber cover. The light is supplied with two chargers, one for 100-240 AC volt with US style plug, the other for car use (Plug diameter: 20-25mm).






The other feature on the front of the battery pack is some white leds, i.e. the battery pack has a build in flashlight. This is not a high power light and the power consumption is low enough to use it, even when the battery is incapable of powering the HID lamp. This makes it the perfect flashlight for locating the next battery pack. The light output is lower then a Fenix E01 flashlight.









The other end of the battery pack contains the power switch, when turned on, the terminals on the front has power. Around the switch is a battery gauge, it has 4 leds and the number of led lit indicates the charge on the battery (The gauge is calibrated for a battery mounted in the light with the light on). There is an o-ring around the switch, this secures that the back of the light is weatherprof, when the battery pack is mounted in the light.

There is some inconsistency in the documentation and labeling of the chargers and the battery, the car charger is marked 12.6 volt output, the mains charger is marked 12.8 volt ouput, the batteries are marked max. 12.63 volt and the manual says max. 12.83 volt. A fully charged battery measures 12.7 volt.














Here is a size comparison to some well known lights, first Maglite 3D and 2D, then the 26W and last a JetBeam M1X and RRT-1.



[SIZE=+2]Technical specification and measurements[/SIZE]

The official specification for the light are:

Bulb Type: High Intensity Discharge (HID)
Power: 26 Watts
Lumens: 1,800 (bulb lumens)
Color Temperature: 4300K
Battery: Lithium-ion, short battery: 2200mah & long battery: 4400mah


Measured size and weight:
Diameter: 46.1 mm to 88 mm, reflector inner diameter: 74 mm
Length: 250 mm with short battery, 320 mm with long battery
Weight: 1080 gram with short battery, 1380 gram with long battery, 520 gram for long battery and extender tube (i.e. light with both batteries is 1600 gram).






HID lights need some time to start up, this time is used to heat the gasses in the bulb. The timescale is in seconds.

Measuring the capacity of the two battery packs at a current draw of 2.6 A gives: Short 2.2 Ah, long 4.7 Ah. I.e. the long battery will have more than double the runtime. 






Using the short battery in the light, I get 47 minutes.






With the long battery I get 106 minutes runtime and then a flash each time the battery recovers.



[SIZE=+2]Comparison to other Flashlights[/SIZE]










I have selected two HID lights and 4 led light for comparison to this HID light, the lights are (Same sequence as picture): Tactical HID 26W, Microfire Warrior III, Titanium L35, Xtar D30 Howitzer, Fenix TK40, ThruNite Catapult, EagleTac M2XC4 (Warm).






Doing a ceiling bounce, the 26W is more powerful than all my led light, but cannot match 35W HID's.






Measuring lux at 4 meters, the 26W again surpasses all the led light, and again it cannot match the 35W HID lights.



[SIZE=+1]Beamprofile[/SIZE]
Tactical HID 26W HID, Microfire Warrior III, Titanium L35











Xtar D30 Howitzer, Fenix TK40, ThruNite Catapult











Eagletac M2XC4







[SIZE=+1]Beamprofile at reduced exposure[/SIZE]
Tactical HID 26W HID, Microfire Warrior III, Titanium L35











Xtar D30 Howitzer, Fenix TK40, ThruNite Catapult











Eagletac M2XC4







[SIZE=+1]Middel distance[/SIZE]
Tactical HID 26W HID, Microfire Warrior III, Titanium L35











Xtar D30 Howitzer, Fenix TK40, ThruNite Catapult











Eagletac M2XC4







[SIZE=+1]Long distance[/SIZE]
On these pictures I have aimed the lights at the tree, but all lights has a lot of spill on the grass (See the dark reference photo).

Tactical HID 26W HID, Microfire Warrior III, Titanium L35











Xtar D30 Howitzer, Fenix TK40, ThruNite Catapult











Eagletac M2XC4





Dark reference







[SIZE=+1]Tactical HID 26W HID[/SIZE]






















[SIZE=+1]Microfire Warrior III[/SIZE]





Other beamshots with this light: here, here and here.


















[SIZE=+1]Titanium L35[/SIZE]





Other beamshots with this light: here and here.


















[SIZE=+1]Xtar D30 Howitzer[/SIZE]





Other beamshots with this light: here. There is a Danish review here


















[SIZE=+1]Fenix TK40[/SIZE]





Other beamshots with this light: here ,here and here. There is a Danish review here



















[SIZE=+1]ThruNite Catapult[/SIZE]






















[SIZE=+1]EagleTac M2XC4[/SIZE]




















[SIZE=+2]Notes[/SIZE]

Tactical HID will be offering a smooth reflector for the light, to get increased throw. With the rather large reflector, this might give the light a good throw.

I got a discount on the 26W HID, on the condition that I did a review.*


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## tab665 (Nov 30, 2009)

great review man! ive been waiting for a review to come out since it was announced in the MP. im also rather inpressed with the L35.


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## Patriot (Nov 30, 2009)

One of the best reviews I've ever seen. 

I'm still absorbing everything though. Thanks for finally posting something about this night. I had hoped to purchase and review one of these for a while now but I've glad that you got to it first. My review wouldn't have compared to yours in the slightest.

:twothumbs


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## ANDREAS FERRARI (Nov 30, 2009)

Great review.Absolutely epic!!! :twothumbs


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## DM51 (Nov 30, 2009)

Very good review, with some extremely useful comparisons. Great photos, too.

Moving it to the Reviews section.


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## redflash (Nov 30, 2009)

:twothumbsThanks for doing this review. Been waiting a long time to see this one.


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## selfbuilt (Nov 30, 2009)

Wow, incredibly detailed review and round-up comparison HKJ.  Well done!

I was curious about this light, due to its form factor and size. Didn't realize they had an extended battery arrangement (although that's a good idea given the current draw).

Great work - keep it up! :thumbsup:


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## BlueBeam22 (Nov 30, 2009)

Awesome review, HKJ! It looks like an excellent light for general outdoor use, and great quality.


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## brightnorm (Nov 30, 2009)

Exceptionally fine review! 

This light looks very interesting, though I'm sorry you didn't have a Boxer for comparison. Despite its too-blue 6000K beam it is only 8" in length, weighs 19.5 oz and uses 3x18650's.

Thanks again for posting this.

Brightnorm


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## Phos4 (Nov 30, 2009)

how does this compare to my fenix e01?

ha ha ha


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## toby_pra (Dec 2, 2009)

Great beamshots!!!:twothumbs


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## nanotech17 (Dec 3, 2009)

That Titanium L35 is a real giant 
Nice review.


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## vudoo (Jan 2, 2010)

Thank you for doing this comprehensive review!


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## Kiessling (Jan 3, 2010)

Very good review ! :thumbsup:
Thanx for your time and effort. 
bernie


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## Dioni (Jan 3, 2010)

Thanks for this great review!

Very nice pics!


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## Archie Cruz (Jan 3, 2010)

Did you manage to do a wide/spot focus wall beamshots to help us visualize this light's variable focus capability?


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## rickypanecatyl (Jun 30, 2010)

Were the beam shots taken at the wide or narrow focus? Is this the only HID with adjustable beam?


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## recDNA (Jul 27, 2010)

So what is the calculated lux at 1 m? I can't tell the exact 4 m value from the graph.


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## HKJ (Jul 27, 2010)

recDNA said:


> So what is the calculated lux at 1 m? I can't tell the exact 4 m value from the graph.



I have not published that value, but this light is not a thrower. The current model of the 26W has replaced the OP reflector with a smooth reflector and probably throws much better.


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## recDNA (Jul 27, 2010)

Ya, trying to decide whether to try one but nobody has the lux.


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## Fusion_m8 (Jul 28, 2010)

I'm saving up my pennies for one with the SMO reflector. Given that I was impressed with the brightness and throw of the Wolf-Eyes Boxer 24w even with its 6000K beam. I'm sure the 4300K Tactical HID 26W SMO will easily throw further and produce more lumens than the W.E Boxer 24w.




recDNA said:


> Ya, trying to decide whether to try one but nobody has the lux.


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## recDNA (Jul 29, 2010)

I wish someone would review it with the new smooth reflector. I'd buy one tomorrow if I new the lux at one meter is up to my needs as a long distance spotlight. I have no use for a flood and the AE 25 watt spotlight is too expensive.


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## Fusion_m8 (Jul 30, 2010)

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/192682

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/192653

Like I said, if the 26w 4300K HID with SMO can throw further and put out more lumens than the Boxer 24w, it'll be worth the US$274.


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## Misan (Jul 30, 2010)

Good job  great review :twothumbs impressive collection, well when you can see the comparison


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## Fusion_m8 (Apr 13, 2011)

This 26w is still on my wishlist even after purchasing the L35. After buying the L35, and seeing first hand what a 4300K, 3500lumen beam can do. I don't feel the urge to buy any of the so called "big-lumen" LED lights anymore. The thing holding me back are the proprietary battery packs of the 26w HID, just like the L35. If anything goes wrong it can be very costly to replace. Its good that the L35 and Battery Junction will be around for awhile. However, I'm not sure about how long Novae Products will be around. I'm not saying anything bad about Novae Products, far from it in fact, but sometimes with new companies we just don't know how long they are going to be in business and if spare parts or repairs are needed, I could be stuck with a $274 paperweight if the company no longer exists. In particular this 26w HID light started with the ORACLE brand, then became Tactical-HID and now its Novae Products. Does anyone else share my concern?


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## Patriot (May 4, 2011)

Fusion_m8 said:


> Does anyone else share my concern?




Sure, I think it's valid. Besides that point though, the 26W HID light has really come under attack lately, so to speak. Lights like the SR90 and TK70 are doing more than 'holding their own' against the 24-26W class of inexpensive lights. Heck, they're even giving the 35W Chinese generics a run for their money and coming out ahead. Having owned a few HID's and some new LEDs, I can tell you that I think you'll be much more impressed with a SR90 than the Tactical 26W. My SR90 has a more useful throw beam than my Microfire K3500 for example. Yes, it's still a proprietary battery pack but the price is reasonable and the Olight is very well established. I just don't think you'll be impressed with the 26W.


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## Fusion_m8 (May 7, 2011)

Hi Patriot:

You don't happen to be in SEAL Team 6 do you??? 

I've handled the SR90 a number of times in the last 6months. Victorian CPF members kiwiman3139 & leoht both have the SR90 and brought it to our CPF meets. I must say for single emitter LED lights, they have unbeatable performance in that class. However the massive size and cool white tint is less than desirable for me. The 26W HID appeals to me on 2 fronts: the tubular form and 4300K tint. I would have bought the 26w long ago if not for the DOA battery packs that some buyers received with their lights. Being in Australia, this would be an expensive headache as sending the DOA battery pack to USA for a warranty claim or repair will be an expensive option.


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## UHF (May 11, 2011)

That's excellent review, thank you. :naughty:


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## Graham Sylvia (Mar 10, 2012)

Best thing I have done in a long time. I should have been on CPF year's ago & not wasted a lot of money on crappy torch's. The review's on CPF cannot be beaten.


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