BuddTX
Flashlight Enthusiast
A good or a bad light depends upon who is using it.
I have a friend who rebuilds "totaled" mercedies and sometimes other cars. He has several acres where he works and keeps his salvaged cars. (Can't really call it a junk yard, although that is what it looks like, because when he is finished rebuilding a car, it is incredible!)
Anyway, we were talking about lights, and he wanted a light that he could cary with him, but mount on his head should he need his hands.
I showed him all the head mounted lights on www.brightguy.com, and he choose the Streamlight TopSpot 2. So I ordered it for him (some people are still afraid of ordering things on-line!)
If you are not familar with this light, it looks like a traditional hand held light, but the handle pivots apart and conceals a headband, and will slip over one's head.
I was kind of interested in seeing this light too. The only Streamlights that I have seen are the scorpion and various Stinger lights that LEO friends carry. Say what you want regarding Streamlight vs SureFire, but Streamlights have a very loyal and wide following among LEO's.
Before going into detail about the light, here is the "executive summary".
I thought it was just an ok, averagely built light, nothing great, nothing that I would expect from Streamlight. It DID, however, fit very comfortably and easily on my head.
HE however LOVED the light! After using it, he told me how bright the light was, he enjoyed how physically light it was, and the convienence of being able to put it on his head when needed but still be able to cary it in his hands for most of the time. He liked how the headlamp angle adjusted perfectly, and how long a distance the beam threw.
My first impression of the light was that it did not have that precision quality craftmanship to it. There was nothing wrong with the light, everything pivoted and worked the way it should, but it did not have that precision "nasa" feel to it. Other Streamlights that I have seen, such as the SL-20X and the Ultrastinger and the Scorpion ARE built like a RocketShip. Very sturdy, precision instruments.
The beam was about as oposite of a Surge or a Brinkmann Legend LX or an LED light as one could get. Picture scribbling random circular swirls on a white wall with a crayon for about 5 seconds and you will get an idea of what the beam looked like. I put some clear Contact paper over the lense, and that smoothed things out considerably. He liked that idea also, as it will protect the lense from scratches, and can be re-coated as needed. There was an adjustable focus (that seemed to be too loose) that did help things a bit, but still, lots of shadows and lines. As loose as the focus seemed, however, it stayed in place.
By mistake, I removed the screw cap for replacing the bulb thinking that it was the battery compartment. It took me a good 20-30 minutes to get the bulb and screw cap back in place.
So, in summary, while I think the concept of this light is very good, I did not like this light at all.
He, however, really like the light! I just ran into him again this morning, and he told me the more he uses this light, the more he likes it. AND he also has a new Surge and LX so he knows what a "good" beam of light looks like.
So, what's the saying, "One man's meat is another man's Poision!"
Or as Cicloll and Ebert say, "One Thumbs up, One Thumbs Down!"
Now I just purchased the Princton Tec Aurora, and I am going to let him borrow this light to see how he likes it. I think the P/T Aurora is one great head lamp, but I am betting he doesn't like it! I will post what he thinks later.
I have a friend who rebuilds "totaled" mercedies and sometimes other cars. He has several acres where he works and keeps his salvaged cars. (Can't really call it a junk yard, although that is what it looks like, because when he is finished rebuilding a car, it is incredible!)
Anyway, we were talking about lights, and he wanted a light that he could cary with him, but mount on his head should he need his hands.
I showed him all the head mounted lights on www.brightguy.com, and he choose the Streamlight TopSpot 2. So I ordered it for him (some people are still afraid of ordering things on-line!)
If you are not familar with this light, it looks like a traditional hand held light, but the handle pivots apart and conceals a headband, and will slip over one's head.
I was kind of interested in seeing this light too. The only Streamlights that I have seen are the scorpion and various Stinger lights that LEO friends carry. Say what you want regarding Streamlight vs SureFire, but Streamlights have a very loyal and wide following among LEO's.
Before going into detail about the light, here is the "executive summary".
I thought it was just an ok, averagely built light, nothing great, nothing that I would expect from Streamlight. It DID, however, fit very comfortably and easily on my head.
HE however LOVED the light! After using it, he told me how bright the light was, he enjoyed how physically light it was, and the convienence of being able to put it on his head when needed but still be able to cary it in his hands for most of the time. He liked how the headlamp angle adjusted perfectly, and how long a distance the beam threw.
My first impression of the light was that it did not have that precision quality craftmanship to it. There was nothing wrong with the light, everything pivoted and worked the way it should, but it did not have that precision "nasa" feel to it. Other Streamlights that I have seen, such as the SL-20X and the Ultrastinger and the Scorpion ARE built like a RocketShip. Very sturdy, precision instruments.
The beam was about as oposite of a Surge or a Brinkmann Legend LX or an LED light as one could get. Picture scribbling random circular swirls on a white wall with a crayon for about 5 seconds and you will get an idea of what the beam looked like. I put some clear Contact paper over the lense, and that smoothed things out considerably. He liked that idea also, as it will protect the lense from scratches, and can be re-coated as needed. There was an adjustable focus (that seemed to be too loose) that did help things a bit, but still, lots of shadows and lines. As loose as the focus seemed, however, it stayed in place.
By mistake, I removed the screw cap for replacing the bulb thinking that it was the battery compartment. It took me a good 20-30 minutes to get the bulb and screw cap back in place.
So, in summary, while I think the concept of this light is very good, I did not like this light at all.
He, however, really like the light! I just ran into him again this morning, and he told me the more he uses this light, the more he likes it. AND he also has a new Surge and LX so he knows what a "good" beam of light looks like.
So, what's the saying, "One man's meat is another man's Poision!"
Or as Cicloll and Ebert say, "One Thumbs up, One Thumbs Down!"
Now I just purchased the Princton Tec Aurora, and I am going to let him borrow this light to see how he likes it. I think the P/T Aurora is one great head lamp, but I am betting he doesn't like it! I will post what he thinks later.
