Ok so, I just wanna be sure about this. Northern lights x big bud. Outdoors. Ya wanna wait till all the little white hairs have become little red hairs, and all the buds are nice and sticky with little crystals, right? Also, is there any big dangerous whatevers that might happen from letting it go "too long" by a few days. I'd post a pic but can't take one at the moment. Last time I chopped I think I went too early. Got anxious, and got bunk. So yeah. All red hairs and big juicy crystals, then chop and hang it up, right?
It will help to get a high power magnifying glass to look at your trichomes - hairs turning red are somewhat of an indicator of ripeness, but the trichomes are the real ticket in determining when to harvest. Much info around the forum on harvest, good pics of trichomes, when to harvest for what kind of high you want and etc... Good luck!