The Novatac P120 series light was designed by Henry S., the owner and engineer behind HDS Systems.

Henry has an excellent reputation and was a pioneer in LED portable lighting technology. See his early Action Light which employed cutting edge power regulation, LEDs and power source in a hugely rugged package, way before it became vogue.

At the time, Henry joined NovaTAC and brought his HDS EDC flashlight with him. With minor tweaks, it was produced as the NovaTAC P120.

It appears Henry and NovaTAC had a falling out at some point and Henry left to resume business under his own company. Henry is fairly consistently regarded as somewhat of an engineering perfectionist, and rumor suggests that perhaps the NovaTAC product wasn't quite up to his standards (tolerances, production, materials). In any case, the specifics are not known since nobody is talking.

Henry did another revision of his design and is now selling the lights under the brand name Ra Lights. His "Ra Clicky" is basically the evolution of what you see as the NovaTAC P120 (which was the evolution of the HDS EDC lights). He has made a fair number of improvements, esp. in the durability, even though the P120 was quite durable already.

His "Ra Twisty" model uses the same technology, but in an ultra rugged design. Note the use of a shock gasket in front, behind, and around the sides of the extra thick lens, in a stainless steel housing. This is about as sturdy as it gets.

In general, Henry's designs have always used very sophisticated power regulation. They do thermal regulation, rechargeable cell protection, etc. These are very sophisticated lights.

So to get back to your answer. In any form, Henry's designs, esp. the electronics are more sophisticated than the Fenix lights IMO.

OTOH, the Fenix lights represent a wonderful value. These are a LOT of bang for the buck. But they aren't close to the Henry designs in any number of ways.

My feeling is the NovaTAC lights are very good lights, but not as good as those that Henry is producing himself under the Ra name.

IIRC, Henry is currently planning a 2xAA battery pack for his Ra lights, but the ETA is unclear. Henry tends to want to get it right, and will delay the release of the product until it is "right".

Basically, you can't go wrong with any of these lights. The Fenix lights are a great value, and in a lot of ways, the NovaTAC lights are a great value in that they have Henry's engineering in less expensive form than from Henry's company. And Henry's lights from Ra represent pretty much the best lights you can get.

Right now, my EDC is an HDS Systems EDC Ultimate 85 with an 18650 lithium ion rechargeable battery pack and a 2x123A battery pack as a spare. Basically a light produced by Henry prior to his joining NovaTAC. It is an outstanding light.

This light has caused me to lose my upgraditis. But if I were to replace it now, it would be with a Ra Clicky and my backup light of preference would be a Ra Twisty.

I look forward to alternate battery packs for the Ra lights, but keep in mind that the Ra lights all are designed to support rechargeable batteries, and I've found the optimal carry situation is to use a rechargeable battery for normal use, and a primary battery as a backup.

-john