Ultrastinger Concern *Update*

I just recieved my ultrastinger in the mail the other day, charged it up and brought it to work last night for it's first tour of Duty. The size and brightness are perfect for patrol. I was showing to one of my buddies and I dropped it. It probably fell a total of two feet and hit the front edge. The bulb blew out. My question is this: Are the ultrastinger bulbs extra sensitive to any impact? The reason I'm concerned is that I need it for police work and it's going to take some falls. Did I waste my $75 for this as a duty light? I've seen Magchargers dropped, thrown, and put through hell and than light up again. I'm hoping the bulbs generally take a little more than that little drop. Anyone have any input? Thanks

Re: Ultrastinger Concern

I'm not kidding, smack it around a bit, that usually cures mine and a few co-workers. Otherwise, send it back. They are a good customer service company.
A few light taps to the head against your hand should do.

Re: Ultrastinger Concern

I'm thinking that you just had a weak bulb. Try the suggestion of smacking it a few times, but it's probably dead. With as many of the bulbs as they make, you're sure to see some that aren't up to the normal standard. I'm sure that every light maker has sent some bulbs that blow much faster, or are less durable than they are supposed to be.

Thanks to Unicorn, I E-mailed SL about my problem and their customer service dept. replied to me promptly and said it It was odd that it happened and are sending me a replacement bulb. That's what I call great customer service.

I have an old Stinger HP that I have dropped several times. It is around 5 years old and still on the original bulb. I don't use it near the amount of time an officer would but it does get regular use.

Drew

I have had my UltraStinger for 1 year now and have dropped it twice with 2 good dings to show for it and never a moments flaw in performance.

you may want to look at the tigerlight. it has a shock protection.
here you see a video of a very impressiv durability test of the tigerlight

I'd say you got a bad bulb, too. I've (ab)used an Ultrastinger for quite some time without a problem, it's a very nice and solid light.

Up until I invented the TigerLight I used the Stinger and found that when the light is on it tends to blow when it hits the ground. This is not really all that uncommon with high intensity incan lights. I have broken dozens of the Stinger lamps in training sesions, I am much more careful on the street. The TigerLight has a shock dampener and lamps sometimes break when it hits the ground, although the dampener does limit the breakage significantly. In any case Streamlight is a great company they will take care you.


Stay Safe

I have an ultra stinger for 4 years now, gets used every night walking the dog. In that time it's been dropped 2 or 3 times onto concrete or blacktop with dings to show for it but no blown bulbs or other problems.
When I first got the ultra stinger I did not like the rings in the head (I did not realize I was not buying a flawless surefire beam). I contacted sl and they immediatly sent out a replacement head which turned out to be about the same as the one that came with the light.-- I realized then that there was nothing wrong with my original head, it was just different than what I was expecting. Anyway that's great customer service. And the light has been excellent, easily getting the attention of drivers that might have done some damage if they werent almost stopped dead in their tracks by that beam.

Make sure the bulb 'module' isn't unseated. I've had a US since they came out and I've only replaced the bulb because I wondered if it had lost its luster. It wasn't any whiter. I have burned up a switch (old style that was appearently known for having high resistance) but that was after instant flashing a 35w 6v bulb with a fresh GP NIMH stick I use. (The better battery pack made a noticable difference than the stocker in regard to whiteness of the bulb.)