Recently convinced my dad to buy his first Hanklight. I'm doing my part!
Recently convinced my dad to buy his first Hanklight. I'm doing my part!
After showing off my Copper D4v2 e17a 1850k "pocket candle" to him, he was sold immediately. He tends to dive into different hobbies head-first, so him buying two right off the bat is no surprise. Looks like he snapped one of his o-rings out of excitement. :DDD Sorry, no beamshots yet!
I'm just glad I could share the love of flashlights with someone who can appreciate it as much as I do. Big thanks to all you guys for being such a cool community!
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Woa, Hank's website is hella-confusing. For example, I managed to Google what 18350 and 18500 tubes are (if Hank offers an explanation, I couldn't find it), but what happens if you pick neither tube? Every flashlight has to have some sort of handle, surely.
Most of them are sized for 18650s by default, the shorter tubes are options for those that want a stubbier torch
Aah! Thank you.
He's definitely marketing to flashlight enthusiasts who want a semi-custom light built to their specs. If you have a use case in mind, people here can suggest specific builds for you.
I do, yes. I want to be able to see while in the woods at night, with high potential for rain and reasonable potential for mist/fog, and surrounded by other people.
So e.g. I need the light to be red, to mitigate ruining the night vision of those around me. And ideally I need a rougher grip, lest I drop it when wet.
Flashlight community standard advice is to use ultra-low white rather than red to preserve dark adaptation. If you do use red, it needs to be far red (over 650nm or so) to achieve the results you're hoping for. We also tend to suggest headlamps if you're in the woods and might drop things, or right-angle lights that can be use either handheld or as headlamps.
Some of the favorite right-angle lights are the Skilhunt H04 RC (Nichia 519A), Armytek Wizard Pro (Nichia 144A), Zebralight H600Fc, Skilhunt H150 (Nichia 519A), and Skilhunt H300 (Nichia 144A). The Zebralight and Armytek have the lowest low modes of these.
But if you do want something from Hank, first pick a host:
- D4v2 - sideswitch flashlight with an 18650 battery
- KR4 - a D4v2 with a tailswitch
- D4K - bigger (21700) battery
- DW4 - right-angle design
And a number of channels - you can choose to have just one type of main LEDs in the light, or two, or three.
- One - running four of the same kind of LED has advantages for output and efficiency. It's also the only option that offers the boost driver, which trades some maximum output for much better efficiency, and much higher *sustained *output than the default linear driver.
- Two - you could switch between red and white, warm and cool, flood and throw, etc...
- Three - D4K only - flood/throw/red, etc...
As for LED selection, I'll narrow it down to three and a half options for you:
- For general use, get the Nichia 519A. It has decent output and efficiency with excellent color rendering. You'll need to pick a color temperature. 4500K is like afternoon sunlight. 5700K is like midday sunlight on summer solstice at the equator. 2700K is like an incandescent bulb.
- With the 519A, you can choose to have the LEDs dedomed. This makes the beam a little more focused and gives it a more rosy looking tint as well as reducing the color temperature. 5700K becomes more like 4300K.
- SST-20 deep red - if you want red.
- W2 - poor color quality, but maximizes throw distance
The other options you can pick are cosmetic or ergonomic.