Well, let me give it to you straight from a tanks perspective. I play a Jedi Guardian full tank spec. The other day I thought I would try and give Hard Mode Esseles a shot and well let me tell you even with mostly lvl 50 epics at 17k hp unbuffed I was getting owned. We could not even finish the first boss. I was told I need to have at a minimum full Champion gear, implants, and earring with 20k hp.
So now I am just working on finishing my Champion set via PvP as its easier and faster than running dailies IMO.
I think BioWare made a huge mistake with the itemization in Lvl 50 flashpoints. What they should have done is put gear in the Lvl 50 normal flashpoints and then progress to the hard modes. But as it is now if you gear up in the flashpoints the gear is not good enough for hard modes. Hell running normal Eternity Vault is easier than a hard mode flashpoint.