im digging that k9.3 setup too, although I don't know about the e21a, I think the 2000k would be a really nice contrast!
if you do go with a kr4, let me know I'll ship you one of those Ti tubes for the cost of shipping. I have 2 extra and only use one of them on the black one kr4.
im still debating my selection of light to accompany this mystical led. I think I'm back at d4, sand, warm white switch. But the dt8 keeps calling me.... and the gray kr4 does too.. man.. this is tough.
dude, you just convinced me i need this led. At the same time you scared me, as I have faced this turning point on my collecting before- where I get that new LED that has me selling half my collection because I realize I need all my Favorite lights to have this led in it. Although I feel like this emitter is a little to rare to do this with. So that's good lol.
Well I can tell you that at least this LED will be totally worth it. I have not regretted going team rosy for a second.
I’ve never had nichia led’s before - might stick some of these in a D4SV2, anybody done that yet?
Yeah. Hank probably can’t do e21a secondaries.
PM incoming Artie.
Thank you, I hadn’t considered it from such a point of view so you may have sold me! What do you think from Hank will get the best out of this emitter? Another D4V2? I don’t really need anything so it will just be a showpiece and occasional edc. Maybe I will take the leap with the 4500K if it’s the one to get and would be like owning a piece of flashlight history lol.
Hello, all! Y’all sold me on the 4500k too. I just purchased my first Hank light! A D4V2 in all copper, with an amber backlight, and quad 219b 4500k’s. I’m so freakin’ excited, it’s going to be really hard to wait for it to come in the mail.
Been lurking for awhile now and have been putting off ordering my first Hank light for awhile now. I’ve been very indecisive because I’ve been foolishly trying to figure out what would be “the perfect Hank light if I only ever buy one”, which is silly, because I know myself better than that. There will be more to come.
My name is Ryan and I’m from Texas. I don’t know if an introduction is customary here like it is over in LPF. My hyperfocus recently shifted from lasers to flashlights, so after hanging out with the good folks on LPF for awhile and purchasing a couple of incredible lasers from Sanwu and another one on BS&T from a really cool and capable laser maker in Vietnam, I started obsessing about flashlights. Lasers are a new love for me, flashlights are not. But even though I’ve loved my flashlights since I was a kid and always had a little incandescent mini-mag on me, I never bought any lights that were just really cool until now. As far as EDC as an adult, I started with a Streamlight Microstream, which, to be honest, still gets some time in the pocket because it’s tiny, weighs nothing, and I don’t mind if it gets lost or broken. That thing combined with a Benchmade Bugout is pretty much unnoticeable in the pocket, and doesn’t even weigh down loose pockets of thin shorts. Then awhile back I got a copper Olight i5T EOS because I wanted a AA light for work, because I am a wildland firefighter, among other things, and there is ALWAYS AA batteries around in that line of work. I lost that light and recently bought an aluminum one for work and a brass one because it looked shiny, and I also purchased a copper mini warrior from Olight, which I really like, except I don’t care at all for the tint and coolness of the emitter. But that’s Olight for you. I also recently purchased an Acebeam H17 with 3x 219C’s in 5000k for around the house, and that’s a pretty fun little headlamp. In addition, I recently convinced our district to get us Acebeam H30’s and T36’s. I wanted to get us zebralights, but when factoring in the entire context, the Acebeams just made more sense.
But now, now I have purchased a Hank light. My first. And as luck would have it, with the legendary Nichia 219B’s.
We’ll see how long it is before I can’t wait any longer and order a DT8 as well, lol. I really want some 219B’s in 3500k.
Nice light! Welcome to BLF!! We are very informal here, but an intro is fine, we'll take it!
You certainly started out with a winner, D4V2 in full copper w/219b's is certainly a flagship of Hank's. Don't worry if it gets hot quick - it's gonna happen. The copper is so conductive of heat, the heat goes almost instantly to your hand on turbo, but that's a good thing for the LED's because the heat is pulled away from them quickly. so if you wear gloves and let it rip, only thing to worry about is the battery, but still over heat protection will kick in, and the battery can handle up to 80C or so, so should be good.
Welcome PineyTinecones,
Allow me to second Tom E in that your purchase of a D4v2 in copper with 219B’s is incredible. That’s a light I’ve only dreamt about. I can’t believe Hank finally pulled it off. Sadly, even though I wish I could have exactly that light, I HAD to go with the D18 in all 219B’s, that’s just too hard to pass up.
Plus, the most beautiful copper light to me is still the Fireflies E07 and that one already came in 219B’s. So in my case, If I got the D4v2, it would still be in second place to me and I would still be EDCing my Copper E07 anyway.
It’s the D18 in 219B’s that’s the monster in the room for Hank lights. That will absolutely fill 18 Nichia 219B- sized holes in my heart. No light I have in 219B exceeds 7000lumen (which is still out of this world). But now in a shocking turn of events, my new D18 will produce 10,000 FREAKIN Lumen of 219B immaculatness. I simply do not have the willpower to pass that up, I am just a man after all.
I have no clue how long Hank will have these LED’s. But if he still has them on my next purchase. I may not have the power to resist exactly the light you bought. Rest assured you made THEE perfect choice. Actually, you seriously got to BLF at the absolute most perfect time you lucky bastard. 
These LED’s in Hanks hands in this quantity is unprecedented. I hope you enjoy.
Please enjoy your time here, PineyTinecones!
I went with the DT8 in cyan, with 219b 4500k.
The DT8 is ideal for carrying God-tint emitters in a non-mule config. The added max output is extremely nice for lower-output emitters like E21a and 219b.
Welcome to BLF PineyTinecones! You’ve ordered an awesome flashlight. The Nichia 219B sw45k LEDs are one of my favorites.
I ordered a D4v2 (Al) with sw35. I have lights with sw30, sw40 and sw45k as well as E21A in 2000K, 2200K, 3500K and 4500K. I even have a K9.3 with sw40 on Ch1 and sw30 on Ch2 (one of my favorite lights!). Just need to try some sw35 to round out the collection.
I don’t particularly care too much for the sw45k. I find it to be a bit too cool for my tastes (typically measures around 4800K). Also, while I appreciate a nice negative Duv, the sw45k is a bit too much of a good thing. I find it even washes out some muted greens to a more grayish tone. I actually prefer the E21A 4500K to the sw45k.
The exception would be the new E07x. I suspect they might actually be using sw45 rather than sw45k unless they are using a wildly different tint bin than what I’m familiar with. They are a bit warmer and far less pink (but still pleasantly rosy) than my other sw45k lights (including my OG E07). I quite enjoy it.
This is great info for me to read, thank you Rayoui. i am still debating what I am going to get. As certain as i was about just getting sw45k, last night when i was about to order 2-3 lights with sw45k, i thought a couple things:
i'm still worried its too cool
maybe ill just get 1 d4 in Al and check out this emitter before ordering 3 lights with it
i think i need to a sw35/sw45k mix, maybe
and, what about FireFlies? both of the lights i have are also available in sw45k D220 (thats what it says on their site), maybe i should read what thats all about
so.. i still have not ordered. i know i will probably really like sw45k, but my other concern is if i order- 1 light in sw45k, 1 light in sw35, and 1 light with a mix - im worried im going to like one of them drastically more than the other 2. and selling them wouldn't be a problem, but regretting i didn't order all 3 of them the same way would be a problem, for me because at that point it'll be to late to order them again. i guess there is no way for me to know until i order them.
Thank y’all for the warm salutations, as well as the endorsements for my choice in light! That really feels good to hear all that. I’m exceedingly confident now in my decision. I appreciate it, everyone.
@Tom E, thanks for the heads up about the heat. Knowing what to expect makes a big difference.
@Lojik, wow, that Fireflies E07 really is beautiful. I didn’t know there was a 21700 option like that available. I’m a big fan of 21700’s. That extra capacity is noice.
And I was thinking that same thing! It seems like I got really lucky and my adhd hyperfocus shifted to flashlights (and specifically Hank lights) and I stumbled across the right BLF thread at just the right time. That never happens to me! Very fortuitous.
So… I couldn’t bear it. This morning ordered a DT8 in dark gray, with a warm white backlight, and quad SW35’s. I asked Hank if he could tack it on to my first order and ship ’em together. ZeroAir did a review on a dark gray DT8 a couple of days ago that I found this morning, and those pictures in the review sealed the deal for me. Those things look so cool. I had to have one. Not only that, but I really like warm lights and my FOMO has been hard to silence. I really didn’t want to miss out on these 219b options. And until I read all the stuff y’all’ve been saying about the sw45k’s, I had intended to get the sw35’s. Now I’ll have both, and I won’t have to regret not pulling the trigger. It was definitely a splurge and not at all the responsible thing to do, but I am only a man after all. People don’t think it be like it is but it do.
Thanks again for the kind words, and thank you for the wealth of information worth digesting in this thread. Very edifying.
Oh crap, I do have a question, I almost forgot:
What kind of continuous discharge rate do I need in an 18650 for my new lights? I have 2x button tops that are 15A 3000mAh, and 2x flat tops that are 10A 3500mAh. Dang, and I just read that flat tops are required. So is 10A high enough drain, or do I need to order something else?
10A is more than enough for normal use. If you are going for absolute maximum brighness on short turbo bursts, you could use a higher amp cell like a VTC5 or 30Q, but your high capacity cells will work just fine. (Won’t make a difference with the 219b versions of Hank’s lights since the FET is disabled).
Thank you, @Rayoui! That’s good news. I hope I end up liking the sw45k more than you, and I hope we both thoroughly enjoy our new sw35!
I know this question has been asked plenty of times on Reddit and here as well, and I have been researching it thoroughly all last night, but I wanted to get y’alls opinion on it too:
If I were to get a KR1, which emitter do you think would serve me best for that host? Also, which one do y’all personally prefer? It wouldn’t be EDC, it would sit on the piece of furniture near the door that I use to take the dog out at night. 100 meters would be a common distance I would want to light up, but the ability to hit a good deal further than that too would be nice. I live out in the country and there’s a lot of critters out here. The only ones I really worry about with my small dog are owls, but I also like to see all the wildlife that always graces us with their presence at night. We have a few foxes, skunks, armadillos, possums, raccoons, deer, coyotes, Chuck-will’s-widow (my absolute favorite bird), as well as some wild cats of assorted sizes, from bobcat on up to mountain lion, although I’ve never personally seen a cougar. They’ve come around over the years though.
From what I’ve read, the W1 Osram emitter has the longest throw, and that’s what I picked for my KR1. The W2 is a bit brighter and has a wider, more useable hot spot but runs much hotter and doesn’t throw quite as far.
To your earlier question about the batteries: I only mostly use my 21700 light’s and buy way more of those batteries so I’m not too well-versed on the 18650 options. But, for my 4 emitter Fireflies PL47G2 (also 21700 yet super tiny) I use a 10A battery. I tried the Samsung 40T which is 25-ish Amps and that one tuned the LED’s purple which is very bad for the emitters. But that same battery on my 7-emitter Fireflies E07 works perfectly fine. So I’d say for a 4-emitter 219B light, stick to 10A. for the 7-8 Emitter 219B lights, the 20-25Amp batteries are usually what will give you full power. One of the things I’m not sure about is how Hank sets his up his lights so it’s entirely possible that 10A will work across the board based on what I think I’m hearing others say, but maybe not so much once the battery starts to discharge.
Now as for your KR1, I don’t have one and I haven’t seen one of these smaller throwers in person with an Osram, but I do know it gets much wider than the same emitter in a much throwier host like the K1. So maybe the Osram would be perfect for what you want. I was gonna suggest the SBT90.2 in that host. I don’t know if Hank does it but I’ve seen a few people have it so maybe he does. It gets hot and steps down fast, but for short bursts, you will love it for spotting animals at night and things like that. Maybe there are more efficient LED’s that throw almost as good and will do what you want, not too sure honestly. But I do know that the SBT90 is monster and would be pretty fun for what you want it for. I love going outside and blasting my SBT90.2 lights.
Maybe a D18 would work even better for outside late-night spotting, it’s a wall of light and should still work great at 100 yards or so. And it might come in handy in may other situations too, but thats a significantly larger light with 3 batteries.
Well let me not further complicate things for you, best of luck. I hope you find something that adds some fun to your walks.
Your analysis on tints and high CRI is definitely top notch! You explain it better than almost all of us do.