HDS Systems EDC # 17

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880arm - I thoroughly enjoyed reading your review. Thanks. It is neat to see a review of a higher end light. They don't show up very much.

Hogokansatskan - Thanks for the videos. I'm looking forward to more. And thanks for keeping them to the point! I do dislike the tutorial videos that are 10 minutes long. It makes it easier when they are to the point IMHO.
 
Hogokansatsukan said:
I had this idea a year or so ago. I wanted to have a custom run of copper or brass HDS lights made, have my logo engraved on the bezel, make them all Hi CRI, and sell them with a nice leather holster that holds a spare battery...
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Sounds good and you know they'd sell. In my case a very durable alloy like TelCu would really hit the mark!
Vlk said:
I think, it is either aluminum or titanium.
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No, he stated very clearly that he wanted to do copper or brass, but you're right that they've only been done in aluminum and titanium so far.
 
880arm said:
I'm still a relative newbie to the HDS discussions around here but I recently had the privilege to review a special light, a custom EDC Rotary with the Nichia 219B emitter that was provided by OVEREADY...
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Hey Jim! Thanks for yet another awesome review!

Hogokansatsukan said:
Here are a couple of very informal (just like me) instructional videos..
1. How to do a factory reset: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y440J_SJFb0
2. Enabling customization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDztt9V00S4
More to come later...
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Thank you, Dan, for the videos! I just received my Custom EDC Executive (CExN170LsBsbB123FCds). Don't know if it has been mentioned, but the flashlight manual is 14 pages stuffed full of information (And the summary card is a handy inclusion) :twothumbs.
Loving the programming options! :thumbsup:
 
Ok, I couldn't take it any longer!!! I'm in!
Just payed the admission fee to get into the club. With the fresh run of Custom Rotary Flat Tail Nichia 219B's, Oveready accepted my dues. Not a minute too soon, I must add! Only 1 more left after I placed my order. This is my 1st HDS. I am excited I made the deadline and got what I wanted. However, I think I would have settled with a flat clicky, if I couldn't have gotten the rotary. There may not be any if those left by now. I haven't checked back....
*edit, just checked & there's more in stock now! Hmmm, maybe they just had so many in the system? Maybe they were just messin' with DB?!?! At any rate, that's good news! I didn't want anyone to think I lied..lol. When I first saw them, they were 9 ..by the time I checked out, only 2 left. Sorry 'bout that, thought they went really fast!

A big thank you to 880arm(Jim), for answering some ?'s I had and for the review of this light. He has the best review site on the web! I've used his reviews and info, a ton, to help me with my disease.
I've not had it long, but I've got it bad!!!
Looking forward to my first HDS! YeeeeHaw!

DB
 
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I also jumped on the Oveready thing after reading Jim's review. Problem is, I ALREADY have a standard 250 coming today. So now I'll have two. But the 219B was hard to pass up. I noticed DB had a pending FS ad up, I've got the feeling I'll be doing the same soon. You're a bad influence Jim.

Has anyone compared the tint on a standard 250 vs the 219B? I'm wondering which I'll keep.
 
Thanks guys for the comments on the review. I was more than a little nervous about reviewing a light that has such a strong following and was afraid I would leave out some important detail or, even worse, get something completely wrong. This was the longest review I have ever written and I still didn't talk about all the details that impressed me about the HDS. However, I knew I would be reviewing the EDC Tactical soon so I figured I could save a few of them for that one!

46Alpha said:
. . . You're a bad influence Jim. . .
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Oh that's the least I can do after the way everyone on here has influenced me over the years! :broke:

I was asked which I prefer, the 219B 170 or the 250, and it's hard to say. Truthfully, the 219B may have ruined me as I have used it so much that other lights don't look quite "right" now. The 250 Tactical I received does have a cool white tint but it's not "too cool" by any means, at least to me. The "best" one will probably depend a lot on what you expect and how you plan to use the light.
 
Very nice review, Jim. The runtime graph is very telling of the step-down battery saving feature.
 
880arm said:
I'm still a relative newbie to the HDS discussions around here but I recently had the privilege to review a special light, a custom EDC Rotary with the Nichia 219B emitter that was provided by OVEREADY. This was my first experience with an HDS and I have come away very impressed. Most people reading this thread already know a lot of what makes these lights special so I won't bore you with all the details, I will just try to highlight a few of the things that really stood out to me. If you want to see the long version, you can read the review here.

To begin with, the design is simply great. Small enough to be easily carried but just large enough to be used effectively. There's a lot of times I don't like small lights because I tend to "lose" them in my hand but I had no such problem with the Rotary. The 1" diameter is comfortable to hold and the narrow waist and plentiful knurling provide a nice grip, no matter how the light is held.
:wave:
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but why custom from Oveready? HDS provides this customization (N-170) on its website.


My customization from HDS is quite similar to yours (N-170, black bezel, flash tail, rotary), except that the lens is sapphire. But I am still waiting for the parcel.
 
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Yessir, as has been stated already, that's a very good review. Man, I love your white out background photos. And those comparison beam shots are just awesome - SO helpful, and they reveal just how beautiful the tint / CRI is on that 219 equipped light.

I had already fallen prey to the siren song of the 'new' HDS lights and ordered an EDC LE with the 219 emitter, black bezel and raised button. I, too, have been spoiled by the tint of Don's 119V and the various 219 lights. Seeing this review and seeing stock available at Oveready makes me 'twitch' about picking up a flush button rotary, but I'll hold off until my light from Henry arrives.

My collection has often had multiple HDS lights - always impressive in terms of build quality and interface. The old GD emitter was not my cup of tea, and the XPG is really nice but the 219/119 Nichias are what really appeal to me. No doubt this new light will be the one that hits all the right marks!

Thanks all for the comments/impressions/reviews/photos. Really helpful. Great thread. I'm not nearly as active as I used to be and this thread and all the excitement over the new HDS lights has put some fun back into flashaholism

:)
 
rickyro said:
but why custom from Oveready? HDS provides this customization (N-170) on its website.


My customization from HDS is quite similar to yours (N-170, black bezel, flash tail, rotary), except that the lens is sapphire. But I am still waiting for the parcel.
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I don't think that it is an Oveready Custom version, more so that Oveready is selling the 170N which is a HDS Custom order light. I was a little confused at first until I read 880arm's review of the light and then it clicked for me.

To find out that Henry is using a 219B is great to see. I've always felt that Henry was too slow embracing new LED technology and to see him taking to the Nichia 219B so quickly is nice.

880arm - thank you for your review, I enjoyed reading through your thoughts on this light. Like you I didn't care for the 219A HiCRI led for the same reason as you. For a 4500K led it appeared less neutral that it was and had way to much of a rosy overcast to it. I've tried a 219B swapped into a few lights and I like the tint of the LED a lot. Much more neutral than it's K temp would lead you to believe. It can appear a bit green when directly compared side-to-side with a neutral XP-G2 in the 4000-4500K range, but when look at it by itself it is quite pleasing - whites still appear white without appearing to having a brownish cast to them yet the overall tint it definitely on the neutral side.

I think people should also note that 880arm also has a Max Output chart posted on his review site of the light running a AW16340 IMR cell. That you can get over a full hour on high (burst enabled) is great.

I definitely want to pick one of these up but I am torn between Rotary and Clicky. Decisions, decisions, decisions...........
 
Dan - I am curious why you grabbed a raised button versus a flush one?

I've always swayed towards the flush one so I can have tail stand, so I am intrigued by the benefit of a raised button.
 
Nice pics Mike - now I have to try that out. Is that a true Moddoo clip or the HDS version (it looks like a true Moddoo clip - I have one and LOVE IT!) Can you share what size o-ring you used in there?
 
Thanks Sean! It's a Moddoo. I tried an HDS version and it was too long! Does not fit as bezel up configuration. The o-ring is a glow ring from Sigman on the Marketplace. I have no idea on the exact size. I think it's the 19 or 22mm. They are nice and fat and help fill the gap created by the clip. That and they glow!

:)
 
880arm said:
I'm still a relative newbie to the HDS discussions around here but I recently had the privilege to review a special light, a custom EDC Rotary with the Nichia 219B emitter that was provided by OVEREADY. This was my first experience with an HDS and I have come away very impressed. Most people reading this thread already know a lot of what makes these lights special so I won't bore you with all the details, I will just try to highlight a few of the things that really stood out to me. If you want to see the long version, you can read the review here.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the review :).
It's nice to see that the light performance hasn't changed much when comparing it to the previous model (found a review of the R1s 200 here :http://archive.light-reviews.com/hds_systems_edc-r1s-200/)
I'd be really interested in comparing the rotary against a clicky, to see if the current draw from the knob on the rotary is negligible or not.
Do you gain anything by choosing the clicky over the rotary (except for the sturdier tailcap) ?
 
So - in my ongoing quest to determine if I should buy a Rotary or a Clicky 170n I came up with an idea. On the HDS site Henry sells accessory 123 battery tubes with switches for both the Clicky and Rotary lights.

I can't imagine that simply putting a Rotary 123 battery tube onto a Clicky light would make it suddenly behave like a Rotary - the firmware has to be programmed differently. But, what about putting a Clicky 123 battery tube onto a Rotary body?

Anyone ever tried this?

I'm going to give it a shot later on and see what happens.
 
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