Worth upgrading old Streamlights ?
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archimedes
Flashaholic
Timothybil
Flashlight Enthusiast
Lumens Factory has a few emitter upgrades for some of the Streamlight lights.
archimedes
Flashaholic
Certainly, cheers !
archimedes
Flashaholic
I think @bykfixer is a Streamlight expert here ... he'll probably drop in soon :shrug:
Expert? Nah, not really. But I did have a Streamlight with me when I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express one time.
Unfortunately Streamlight did/does proprietary parts and pieces so without using a Dremel or other tools they don't lego like some other brands. Another unfortunate aspect is they don't even cross pollinate within their own brand for the most part.
So with that said, I'm not familiar with the Task Light. The Stinger LED Dual Switch has no upgrade parts available. Lumens Factory has parts for the Stinger and Stinger XT but not the Ultra. And if you can find them anymore TerraLux used to make a Strion upgrade that nearly tripled the output using a proprietary head assembly. But they were made in about 2014-ish. Amazon may still have some.
The lights were great in their day. Many are still in service like the Stinger DS and Ultra.
Wish I could be more help.
Unfortunately Streamlight did/does proprietary parts and pieces so without using a Dremel or other tools they don't lego like some other brands. Another unfortunate aspect is they don't even cross pollinate within their own brand for the most part.
So with that said, I'm not familiar with the Task Light. The Stinger LED Dual Switch has no upgrade parts available. Lumens Factory has parts for the Stinger and Stinger XT but not the Ultra. And if you can find them anymore TerraLux used to make a Strion upgrade that nearly tripled the output using a proprietary head assembly. But they were made in about 2014-ish. Amazon may still have some.
The lights were great in their day. Many are still in service like the Stinger DS and Ultra.
Wish I could be more help.
Worth Upgrading Old Streamlights ?
I am a retired cop-type. I only mention that because I have used a few Streamlights in my life. Mainly the SL-20 and SL-35 back in the day. Some of us liked to pop in the SL-35 modul3 in the SL-20 for a brighter light, but it came at the trad off of shorter run time.
As Streamlight Stingers became more common, I eventually had some of those. A "mod" I did back the day was to get a couple of custom battery sticks for the Streamlight Stinger that allowed it to sue the Ultrastinger bulb. Again, more lumens, in a somewhat compact light and shorter run time.
My first couple of excursions into LED lights weren't great, but they were learning experiences! One went into either a Mag-Lite or Kel-Lite. With time, some of the LEDs starting burning out.
Even more recently I bought an LED module for an older Streamlight Stinger incandescent light. It may have been a Terralux. It doesn't have great throw, but for the money it allows me to get some more life out of an old Streamlight Stinger that probably wouldn't get used at all. I also bought a Ni-Mh stick to replace the old, worn out NiCad stick.
Some time back and old friend of mine offered me has old Streamlight Stinger LED. He told me that it would also need a new battery stick. While I wasn't looking for any additional lights, free is free. It, too, now has a brand new NiMh battery stick.
When I look at the cost of the various modifications that can be done with your lights, my personal opinion is that money can be better elsewhere. It took me a while to switch to 18650 batteries and stand alone chargers. Because of my background, I was sort of stuck on lights that charged in a cradle. I do still think they make sense for many/most folks in public safety, however.
To truly and accurately answer your question, however, I would have to know what your newer lights are. Anyway, in my way of thinking, I would put money into keeping these running with good quality batteries, but I probably wouldn't put any money into modifications, unless you just want to do it for the sake of doing it.
Hi! I'm looking for some input on these old Streamlights. I used to be a dealer so I bought these back in the day and I'm wondering if there's anything I can do that's cost efficient to bring them up to par with my newer lights.
I am a retired cop-type. I only mention that because I have used a few Streamlights in my life. Mainly the SL-20 and SL-35 back in the day. Some of us liked to pop in the SL-35 modul3 in the SL-20 for a brighter light, but it came at the trad off of shorter run time.
As Streamlight Stingers became more common, I eventually had some of those. A "mod" I did back the day was to get a couple of custom battery sticks for the Streamlight Stinger that allowed it to sue the Ultrastinger bulb. Again, more lumens, in a somewhat compact light and shorter run time.
My first couple of excursions into LED lights weren't great, but they were learning experiences! One went into either a Mag-Lite or Kel-Lite. With time, some of the LEDs starting burning out.
Even more recently I bought an LED module for an older Streamlight Stinger incandescent light. It may have been a Terralux. It doesn't have great throw, but for the money it allows me to get some more life out of an old Streamlight Stinger that probably wouldn't get used at all. I also bought a Ni-Mh stick to replace the old, worn out NiCad stick.
Some time back and old friend of mine offered me has old Streamlight Stinger LED. He told me that it would also need a new battery stick. While I wasn't looking for any additional lights, free is free. It, too, now has a brand new NiMh battery stick.
When I look at the cost of the various modifications that can be done with your lights, my personal opinion is that money can be better elsewhere. It took me a while to switch to 18650 batteries and stand alone chargers. Because of my background, I was sort of stuck on lights that charged in a cradle. I do still think they make sense for many/most folks in public safety, however.
To truly and accurately answer your question, however, I would have to know what your newer lights are. Anyway, in my way of thinking, I would put money into keeping these running with good quality batteries, but I probably wouldn't put any money into modifications, unless you just want to do it for the sake of doing it.
archimedes
Flashaholic
Welp, that's more than I can say ... :tired:
Thanks for the shout out.
I learned early in my collector days that Streamlight is like Honda was with their Prelude. Assembled with parts and pieces that only fit that model. Lots of close but no cigars attempts were tried as my lego obsession began to expand beyond the P60 platform. Unlike the Honda Prelude, Streamlight has been able to keep a market share where Honda could not.
There was a time in early Streamlight days when everybody copied the minimag. So did Streamlight. But a little known patent by Maglite nearly sank Streamlight. The stamped bezel. Streamlight made a flashlight called the Excalibre that had a stamped bezel. That light cut into a market share largely owned by Maglite at the time. Tony Maglica waited until they began to get rich and successfully sued them for the patent infringement. Streamlight was done.
They had bought out Kel-Lite and were trying to compete with Maglite for the D sized cop lights as the Maglite began to show up in the hands of millions across the globe. But Streamlight had an ace card. The US government had contracted Streamlight to produce a light in the early 70's to mimic the sun for NASA. After the loss to Maglite it was time to cash in their ace in the hole. SureFire had gained a big contract with the US military for the 6P. Streamlight made their own version called the Scorpion. Still stinging from the Maglite loss and not wanting to lock horns with SureFire owner John Matthews (who also had ties to the US government through his laser gun sight technology), Streamlight built the Scorpion a lot different than the 6P. About the only thing they had in common was an alluminum chassis and 6 volt operating system.
They even had a differing method of lock out tailcap as PK had invented a plunger style. Pentagon made the fatal mistake of copying that without permission. The Streamlight version was a simple twist the threads a bit and circuit is cut that plagued many of their lights for years as a slight untighten of the tailcap meant unexpected darkness or inconsistant lighting. Thicker o'rings have now squashed that issue. Duh.
By now the SL20 was being purchased by police departments across America. They beat Maglite to the punch there. Magchargers never really caught on due to Streamlight pricing versus Maglite. SureFire was attempting to build rechargeable 6P style lights. Yet they were very long and their battery tech sucked. Streamlight devised the Strion based off the SL20 experience in battery technology. The rechargeable SureFires never really left the starting gate as police officers now carried a Strion for backup. Then came the Stinger. That one shut the door on nearly every competitor due to the C sized portability with SL20 brightness.
Along the way Streamlight has devised numerous niche lights for fire personnel, emt's and police. Their pistol mounted lights have also remained popular through the years through local, state and national contracts.
I learned early in my collector days that Streamlight is like Honda was with their Prelude. Assembled with parts and pieces that only fit that model. Lots of close but no cigars attempts were tried as my lego obsession began to expand beyond the P60 platform. Unlike the Honda Prelude, Streamlight has been able to keep a market share where Honda could not.
There was a time in early Streamlight days when everybody copied the minimag. So did Streamlight. But a little known patent by Maglite nearly sank Streamlight. The stamped bezel. Streamlight made a flashlight called the Excalibre that had a stamped bezel. That light cut into a market share largely owned by Maglite at the time. Tony Maglica waited until they began to get rich and successfully sued them for the patent infringement. Streamlight was done.
They had bought out Kel-Lite and were trying to compete with Maglite for the D sized cop lights as the Maglite began to show up in the hands of millions across the globe. But Streamlight had an ace card. The US government had contracted Streamlight to produce a light in the early 70's to mimic the sun for NASA. After the loss to Maglite it was time to cash in their ace in the hole. SureFire had gained a big contract with the US military for the 6P. Streamlight made their own version called the Scorpion. Still stinging from the Maglite loss and not wanting to lock horns with SureFire owner John Matthews (who also had ties to the US government through his laser gun sight technology), Streamlight built the Scorpion a lot different than the 6P. About the only thing they had in common was an alluminum chassis and 6 volt operating system.
They even had a differing method of lock out tailcap as PK had invented a plunger style. Pentagon made the fatal mistake of copying that without permission. The Streamlight version was a simple twist the threads a bit and circuit is cut that plagued many of their lights for years as a slight untighten of the tailcap meant unexpected darkness or inconsistant lighting. Thicker o'rings have now squashed that issue. Duh.
By now the SL20 was being purchased by police departments across America. They beat Maglite to the punch there. Magchargers never really caught on due to Streamlight pricing versus Maglite. SureFire was attempting to build rechargeable 6P style lights. Yet they were very long and their battery tech sucked. Streamlight devised the Strion based off the SL20 experience in battery technology. The rechargeable SureFires never really left the starting gate as police officers now carried a Strion for backup. Then came the Stinger. That one shut the door on nearly every competitor due to the C sized portability with SL20 brightness.
Along the way Streamlight has devised numerous niche lights for fire personnel, emt's and police. Their pistol mounted lights have also remained popular through the years through local, state and national contracts.
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wow thank you guys thats a lot more info than i was planning on getting lol. i think, after reading your replies i will maybe see if i can find the led terralux for the stinger and just retire the others. That stinger hanging in the right place could def still serve a purpose. i just wasnt sure if i should try swapping drivers, modules, led's, etc. they were good lights in their day, but just dont measure up anymore. thanks again!
ChattanoogaPhil
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2016
- Messages
- 91
In 2017 for $115.69 delivered, I got the Stinger DS HPL 800 lumen with two charging wall cradles. It hangs by the back door, always where I need it and fully charged when I need it. Use it every evening, rain or dry. It is by far my most used flashlight.
If I was considering upgrading an older unit... by the time I fooled with another module, battery... then found out it doesn't work... I'd kick myself for not grabbing a new one for a hundred bucks.
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Mark at Lumens Factory has gone above and beyond to develop and bring to market Streamlight compatible LEDS.
I still get confused about posting links so... Lumensfactory.com website > Online shop> Lamp Module > Streamlight Compatible. Here you'll find upgrades with the makes and models listed.
R
I still get confused about posting links so... Lumensfactory.com website > Online shop> Lamp Module > Streamlight Compatible. Here you'll find upgrades with the makes and models listed.
R
xevious
Flashlight Enthusiast
If you think you'd feel good about keeping your old Streamlights working, then it would be worth some new drop-ins. But if you think you might like to check out newer designs and UI's, then I'd recommend upgrading just one and retiring the rest. It's pretty amazing how far the LED flashlight world has come over the last 10 years.
