how waterproof is the Streamlight 3N?

i got this toy recently and found it to be totally cool! only problem i have with it is that it rattles alot if you shake it side to side. standing them on their head, the 3N is like 1 - 1.5 cm shorter than my mini maglite. and the barrel diameter is almost the same as the mag. but when brightness counts at close range, this thing is better than my mag with a nexstar bulb. if i'd go on a night nike i'd probably carry both cause it couldn't compete with the mag when the range was needed. I love the push button tail but wonder how waterproof is it? there's an o ring on the head which i greased up with silicon.

I would assume it is rated like the others in the ProPolymer series, which is 200 feet.

Oh yeah and i found a fix for the rattling batteries, just wrap the middle battery 2-3 times with electrical tape. now the light feels really solid! i like it! i wonder how rechargables will handle in this since they have a more linear discharge rate right until the end when they drop suddenly. that way it'll feel more regulated.

I also have this light, and agree that I like it except for the rattling. Did you notice that the light flickered as the batteries moved around? For example, if you hold it steady and rotate it mine flickers, sometimes quite annoyingly.

Did wrapping the batteries in tape fix that too? I think it's related to the fact that the contact from the battery is just meeting a soft solder pad on the led module which in mine is getting quite a groove.

Thanks,
James

yeah james i read your review on this, but once you fix the rattling of the batteries with that tape fix, you will end up fixing the flickering too. since the battery contacts don't jostle around anymore i found it much more usable. even shaking it around side to side has not effect on it, so rotating isn't a problem anymore. Yeah i noticed there was quite a flickering problem before the fix but it's gone now. hey james did you test the waterproofness of the light? is the button switch the same as the propolymers which then it'll be the same waterproofing.

I wrapped the middle battery in electrical tape this afternoon and it feels like a whole different light. The flickering is indeed gone.

I Just ran it in the sink for a while and it doesn't appear to have any problems with a few inches of water anyway. I believe it is the same switch. At least the pictures look the same. The front of the light certainly seems like a good tight fit, the o-ring provides a smooth but tight fitting seal. It does sink though, not float, so don't drop it!

I'm much happier with it now! I'm going to go around and wrap everything else in the house with electrical tape and see what happens

glad to help out james! just easy on the tape ok? hahahaha! now would you carry this or a mini mag? i can't decide! but i really like the push button!

heh, you answered while I was playing in the sink

I would carry this as opposed to the mini-mag definitely. The LED's provide enough of a hot spot while still spilling enough light that I don't feel the need to focus it. I don't have a led modded mini-mag (yet so I don't know how that would hold up, but I like the LED's much better than the regular mag and like you say the tailswitch is terrific.

This also fits very well in my pocket.

i just confirmed with streamlight through email that it is waterproof to 200 ft which is like their propolymers like ratso said. Not a bad light for shallow diving!