Well I Just Ordered An Elektro Lumens ST90 Search&Rescue Extreme Flashlight

Well most bulb life for HID’s is around 2000 hrs or so, but turning one on and off for short uses probably does decrease the life to much shorter than the 2000hr avg. They get very hot and will melt a lot of stuff from the bulb heat so you have to watch where you put them or store them in once hot. Turning one on and back on once hot I read that it is very hard on the bulb and will shorten its life. True they will out last a halogen bulb, but won’t come close to the life of an LED. Some will have a safety feature preventing you from turning the light back on until it has time to cool back down. I’m not saying they can’t be durable, but I don’t think they are as durable as an LED. And then you have to worry about the ballast if it goes bad. And a lot of HID bulbs are 6000k bulbs and are so blinding that you really can’t make out objects from the blinding hotspot. I’m sure they are cool for the wow factor of throw, but I’m sticking to LED technology for now.

I don’t understand the part where you said ‘and then you have to worry about the ballast if it goes bad’. The bulb is attached to the ballast. It’s just one unit. When replacing the bulb, you effectively replace the ballast too. And it’s around $30 to $40 for a new one.
Just tailstand the light if you don’t want it to melt anything.
And again, it’s easy and cheap to replace the 6000k bulb with a 4300k bulb. The 6000k isn’t even blinding, it’s dimmer than the 4300k bulb, unless you look directly into it then it’s a different story. The 4300k hotspot will only blind you if you shine it at a reflective object close to you or on a white object close to you.

Honestly, an LED may be more durable, but for what? Are you going to be dropping your lights from higher than 2 meters? That’s taller than 6 feet.

But as I said before, a HID is entirely dependent on the intended use. If you see 2100’s pictures of his tk70 vs his 65W eBay HID you will realise it’s only meant for outdoors. LED lights are still entirely satisfactory for outdoor use, but if you want something a little more, you’ll want to go HID without breaking the bank.

Ok I see your point. And maybe one day I will try a HID. My understanding is the 4300K bulb tint is more lighter in color like natural sunlight.

6000k is a more pure white colour. 4300k is indeed like natural sunlight.

6000k is a bit blueish. 5000k is considered as pure white. 4300k has slight yellow tint.

Oh, I always thought a U2 was 6000k, and those are really pure white.

U2 is brightness bin, doesn't tell what color temp it has.

There’s only one tint for the U2, and I was using it for comparison’s sake.

NEVER push on a HID bulb. It breaks easily.

There is def more than 1 tint, I've seen 1A, 1C and 1D.

EDIT: XM-L spec sheet has

0A, 0B, 0C, 0D, 0R, 0S, 0T, 0U, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1R, 1S, 1T, 1U, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2R, 2S, 2T, 2U, 3A, 3B, 3R, 3S

and those are 5000-7000K. Most common tint is probably 1A which is around 6500K.

Still waiting for beamshots. My X6 gets as hot as my 85W HID. Having owned HID headlights on my car for 4 years. I’m know they last longer then incandescence bulbs. The wear and tear, isn’t a factor considering they’re only 40 bucks a ballast on aliexpress. Not sure why some BLF is so ANTI-HID. Anyway this thread is about the Elektro Lumen’s ST90 Search & Rescue. Pics or it didn’t happen!

Still waiting on Wayne to get reflectors, He gets them from a guy in the northeast where Sandy hit so he said there could be a delay.

Where did you get yours? Thinking of getting one but not sure which is legit.

Been wanting a compact handheld HID light for the longest of times but with a lot of super thrower led configurations coming out recently, i've held back just on the sidelines. Once the compact hand held form factor gets more affordable, I'll get one strictly for outdoor use. I do second your opinion on HID headlights lasting quite long as I too had and currently own a vehicle with HID headlights. Not one pipsqueak from them even when using them as Daytime Running Lights for most of the winter season (2002 Nissan Maxima Se 6spd (came with HID's as standard) bought new and sold to brother after paid off and original lights still work.... 2005 Infiniti G35 with about 140k miles and lights still work... myself the original owner).... In contrast, my friend's 2002 BMW 328ci with incans has had to have it's bulbs replaced every 18 months (bulb goes bad and dies out). I'm pretty sure there are other factors out there or I've been blessed but HID's aren't so bad.

This ST-90 definitely is a beast in the looks, hardware, and illumination department. I wish I had a lathe and the more technical know-how to custom build one of my own.

Here: Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com

Wayne just replied to me via email and told me the reflectors came in today and that he might get my light shipped out today. I am excited.

I can’t wait to get this one.

I hope it’s as bad as I have heard it is.

Well I’ll be glad when Wayne ships this light to me. I still can’t track it. He told me it was shipping today. I already got a tracking # from the 10th. But still it apparently hasn’t shipped yet. I guess I’ll wait some more.

The good folks at USPS Tracking have had beans in their ears since Saturday, you should see an update tonight or tomorrow. Post pics!!

Wayne tells me its for sure going out in the morning. He said he has been very busy with other lights. So I understand that. Thanks Wayne.

I ordered an ST90 at around the same time. Got the tracking number on the 10th and still no update. I wouldn’t worry too much. This is my second ST90 that I’ve ordered from Wayne (I love the first one so much that I couldn’t pass up on a second one at the sale price! :heart_eyes: ), and while it may take a bit longer than ordering lights from other places, this ones well worth the wait in my humble opinion :bigsmile: