They can exceed HID in all areas. But quality and marketing are what gives LED a bad name.
i 100% concur with that statement. The market is flooded between good and bad LEDs. I had a friend who bought an LED purely based on the claimed coverage area alone, that was the only research. The light sucked ass and now he's bitter.
I think one must go by an actual Apogee (the only brand meter i've seen used in reviews) reading, the spectrum analysis, the brand name of LEDs, etc... There are a lot of factors if one chooses to go off-brand. But IMO while HTG might have a very good line, it is way overpriced, as well as blackDog. I think
SpiderFarmer,
BestVA, and
Mars Hydro offer some great mid-line items without having to worry about research into quality.
and yes, the LEDs i got, I got specifically for flower, as they have a great red/far red spectrum for the price.
I might come to the same conclusion for Veg about MH, but I haven't gotten there yet.