Assuming you’re actually getting some benefit by spending more (not always the case):
-More efficient and/or generally better designed driver
-Better quality control
-Higher grade components
-More intuitive/reliable physical design (potted driver, nice threads that are smooth and don’t crossthread or get easily damaged, Type III anodizing)
-More “boutique/enthusiast” options
Moonlight;-)
Generalization and certainly not correct in that some very nice expensive powerful lights don’t have nor need moonlight. Just my experience that the best general purpose lights I own all have really useful moonlight mode(s) and the cheap ones don’t.
For me, the main difference seems to be temperature regulation. More of a safety feature imo.
Well put
Agreed
I noticed this as well, probably 10 years ago a friend had a 2AA fenix light the modes and design were obviously well thought out. But you also needed to know how to use it, you needed the read the manual to know everything which is not a bad thing but does make it harder to loan someone a light (not that i would loan an expensive light, too may bad experiences there, i have a disposable for loaning).
Indeed, in the early years we could not even convince manufacturers to hide or get rid of strobe and SOS.
The hobby has come a long way in the past decade and the lines between budget and high end are not as far as they used to be.
Agreed.
What is HDS there are several mentions in this thread today but i am unfamiliar with it.
Elmer Fudd agrees :money_mouth_face:
Can you elaborate on this?
I like moonlight but almost no one does it well.
Frankly i want a light where i choose the level of each mode (and no mode memory). Without having to tear apart the driver or buy some programmer that i need to jury rig.
I have a custom made light where i picked 4 modes at the exact level i wanted, its awesome!
HDS Systems is a small American company in Arizona. I believe two employees total who assemble and calibrate their lights by hand. Their quality control and customer support is superb. The designs are not flashy, but they are about as close to bullet proof as you can get. Extremely programmable and have a stepped rotary version as well that maintains maintains all of the programmability. Worth checking out, but definitely not budget in price.
Better specced and/or quality chips (there was a spate of crappy 7135s that were dying quickly out there for a while), wire and solder that can easily handle the current, thicker/lower resistance springs, reflector with better machining/no debris or smudges/proper focusing and texture for the emitter being used. Also better “tint bins” of LEDs, the wildly different bins of SST-20 out there are a great example of this - some companies made sure to get the rosier ones whenever possible. Steel bezels for more durability on the head end, and anodizing type/quality could really fall under this heading too.
I hadn’t heard of them before but they seem to do great work.
And i like how they explain how everything works, i like learning the details about how things work :sunglasses:
Interesting.
So more expensive parts and better QC?
Ideally, yes! Like any generalization there are exceptions all the time though haha
The details are… fuzzy due to everything being proprietary but some brands like Surefire have the R&D money (or HDS that probably paid the same toll in time from development>release instead) to test for and make design changes meant to really increase resistance to shock and other potential damage too. That doesn’t mean a $15 Convoy with double springs won’t handle the same abuse, but in theory those design aspects give a better chance of standing up to greater stresses.
for some lights ujust pay for the brand but it doesnt mean they are that much better then any decent budget light.
Most of the “expensive” lights I have purchased have been from Peak. The lights I purchased were designed, manufactured and assembled in the US. I had the choice of optics, leds, metals and UI. Their potting technique is second to none. I also was able to speak to the owner/manufacturer on a daily basis. Most of the lights were in the $50-$100 range if that is the definition of expensive. It really depends on what is important to you and these thing are to me.
I have many budget lights from Thrunite, Sofirn and others and they are nice functional lights but not in the league with the Peaks.
Now titanium light is another story.
The main difference is you wandered onto this web site and got sucked into buying a flashlight that is brighter than you need with features you will never use except as a party trick .
You would be surprised, more lumens has its uses.
What i have learned at BLF has come in handy at my job, i am more prepared for emergencies (form lighting to electricity), i have helped others with flashlights, i’ve even had medical uses for my lights.
My most expensive lights have by far the lowest output of anything I own or has been recently released though lol, and with a few exceptions (like GIGA-output, multi cell lights and customs that are triple/quad hotrods) that really holds true for the whole market. Lumens are cheap, it’s everything else that you really have to shell out for.
People buy “toys” that they have little use for all the time, and flashlights that aren’t being used as some essential tool which doesn’t exceed the exact minimum specs for practical use are still fun!
Peak seems nice but seems to only work with AA or AAA.
I agree that most people don’t need crazy turbo but I disagree that no one needs it. Just because you don’t personally have a use-case for high lumen modes doesn’t mean others don’t. I grew up using shitty incandescent lights on the farm and I would definitely have had a use for momentary 5000 lumens when looking for cows in the pasture for instance. You could save yourself a lot of walking by having a powerful enough light to see the other end of the pasture.