Streamlight Sidewinder Compact Has anyone seen it? or know who has it avail?

[Vinniec5]

Just taking a peek through Streamlights' catalog looking for new toys i cam across this http://www.streamlight.com/product/product.aspx?pid=166 I have the reg Sidewinder but this looks interesting and different not to mention it has twice the output as the reg sidewinderlovecpf. I wish Streamlight had online ordering, UPS would be dropping it at my house by CSAR as we speak and I'd be a little deeper in debt

 

[axd]

Indeed interesting. I'm waiting for a green LED variant.

• The clip looks like it cannot be removed, and a possible entry point for water
• The CR123 makes me less happy (even if it explains the higher output, I guess)
• Wonder if Streamlight tackled the LED artifacts

-alex-

 

[Nyctophiliac]

Nice find Vinnie. Looks like a great light - I LOVE lights with multiple colours. I think I'd wait for one that has green instead of IR though, same as axd.

I wonder how much they'll be?

 

[Vinniec5]

I have an message to Cust service at Streamlight to try to find out its availibilty, I'll keeo you guys informed when I hear from them. I do know it has a NSN Number and has been approved for use by PM CIE for individual use in the service. but not sure how avail it is here. I read about this light in Military News but they had no info or photos of it. Kind of reminds me of the pentagon mini crook-neck light they used to make (bright little light for only 1 AA battery) This one swivels.

 

[woodrow]

good find! thanks!

 

[Vinniec5]

Streamlight Cust Sales rep Jeanne emailed me this morning "The compact SideWinder will be going into full production the end of May or beginning of June. This light is wonderful and should be in your local stores by mid-Summer." Hold on guys its coming

 

[Burgess]

From Streamlight's webpage:


- One year limited warranty





This makes me sad.


_

 

[defloyd77]

That thing's weird looking. How many lumens?

 

[Vinniec5]

main C4 LED 45 Lumens on high

 

[defloyd77]

Hmm, change the IR to green and if they use the K2, I'd be interested.

 

[Viper715]

Bringing this one back from the dead. Anyone got their hands on this yet? Or what is the release date? Ive seen alot of places advertising it but only one even had a hint of a date and it says Monday the 13th of July. Any new insight on this little guy. It looks odd maybe a little underpowered but it would fit a perfect niche for me.I have been considering the original Sidewinder for some time but never did jump do to the size. but now with it smaller and running off of 123's it's closer.

 

[ZMZ67]

I am curious as well.Looking back at my Army days this seems like an ideal standard issue light.

 

[Viper715]

I emailed Brightguy last night. I got a response early this morning. The rep told me it is in stock and if ordered before 3 it would be on it's way. So I ordered it up along with the helmet mount. 2 day UPS I can't wait.

 

[axd]

I have the 2AA version and can change mode with one hand, but I have the impression that it is difficult to do while clipped on a helmet.

I emailed Streamlight about the choice of colours: why did they choose BLUE for, what were there criteria to select specific wavelengths? Never got an answer. I assume the green wavelength can be filtered away in NV devices, but still have no clue about what the blue colour is good for.

 

[Erzengel]

Hello,

if someone receives this light, it would be nice to find out whether it is possible to exchange one LED. I would prefer green instead of blue and have some soldering skills.

 

[Viper715]

Hello all, Update, Review is up here is the link.

I received the Sidewinder Compact today from Brightguy. Very fast shipping and good service by the way. I am going to do a little mini review in it's own post here tonight or more likely in the morning. I will say it is smaller than it's predecessor of course. It is a bit odd shaped but small enough that it doesn't bother me. I tried a RCR123 in it and all modes and functions work fine so that's a little bonus but I will most likely only run primaries in it for my own mental well being.

Erzengel; I'm not brave enough to take mine apart to play with the guts but it does look like it would be fairly simple to take it apart. There are only 4 screws seperating you from the inside. From there unsolder the one you want to toss and solder in a new more desirable color. I would like to change the IR for a green and maybe the Blue for a UV.

The main LED "the NEW C4 LED" ahh well it looks like a Cree XR-E to me maybe Q4 or Q5 WC to WD in tint. But I am no expert on emmitters but I've scene alot lately and it sure looks like a cree. It may be well known that C4 is Streamlight marketing lingo for Cree LED but not known to me. Being it is a cree I would love to throw a nice 5A or 5B neutral in there while the other emmiters are getting swapped. Any one up to the job of swapping those for me.

The beam of the main LED is full of typical artifact and Cree rings from a SMO reflctor but doesn't really bother me but if I end up having it played with anyway might as well swap out reflctors too. It has a nice hotspot about the same size as my E1B but it has a much more useable spill than my E1B.

Well that's some info I am going to start uploading some pictures and start my mini review. All in all a pretty good light at a good price,

Regards,
Vipe

 

[axd]

I would like to change the IR for a green and maybe the Blue for a UV.Vipe

That sounds like an excellent idea: white-red-greenish-UV Or replace green with orange for better map-reading? it seems to me that the greenish color is only useful for NV ops, if I understand well. I'm still looking for some good information on what wavelengths are suited for what kind of tasks...

 

[Erzengel]

I have read many times, that green is for NV ops because NV-equipment is more sensitive at the other end of the visible spectrum. In the German army we use flashlights for basic signalling (stop, go, ...) at night when we are not equipped with NV-Equipment. Therefore i need a green LED instead of the blue one. Some People say, that blue is very suitable to detect blood, but i don't know any details about that. UV is necessary for the people, who have to check IDs or bills marked with UV-reflective color.

Final conclusion: the right combination of colors depends on your job.

 

[Viper715]

I totally agree with the above statement. What colors you want depends on your needs.

 

[Erzengel]

I received mine yesterday. The blue light is labeled as "IR safe", so I suggest that it is very hard to detect the light of the blue LED with NV equipment.