Streamlight Twin Task 1L xenon/LEDs

This is my first incandescent light in a long while (other than purchases for LED conversions).

It really is a Hybrid - a Xenon incandescent bulb for a hi-beam, and 3 white 5mm LEDs for longer runtimes - all powered by a single 3.0V CR123A Lithium battery.



The first click on the light side-switch turns the light on - this could be the xenon or LEDs depending on the last state the light was turned off. Second click turns the light off - third click turns light on with the other light "bulb" active. Fourth click turns light off -and the light alternates between xenon and LED in this way.

This light's color is supposed to be "titanium" as designated by Streamlight - but it is very silver in reality - no hint of gray at all - but because of the machining and knurling it is very attractive in alumium silver.

Advertised runtimes are
1.5 hours on Xenon
and
9.5 hours on LEDs

Size



Heads -


Twin Task 1L head is focussable for the xenon - but not for the LEDs

I was advised by LightHound (where I bought this) - that this light probably would blow if used with a 3.6V rechargeable Li-Ion RCR123 - so be warned.

Twin Task 1L on Xenon vs. Scorpion xenon 2x CR123

The Twin Task 1L on xenon Hi-beam is obviously not as bright as the fabulous Streamlight Scorpion xenon 2x CR123 (new bulb new batteries)

Compared to a 2AA Mini Mag on standard krypton bulb and alkaline AA


Visually the Twin Task 1L on its xenon Hi-beam seemed about the same level as a good 1 watt Luxeon -

Twin Task 1L xenon vs. S1801 1w Luxeon 1xCR123


vs. Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium) (fresh alkaline AA)


These beamshots seem to refute this - but indoors I seem to see about as well on the Twin Task 1L on xenon as these two very good 1watt Luxeon-I LED lights - and to me it still seems as bright even after these beamshots.

How about the LED performance? -
the light that it is most like is the Nite-Ize drop-in for 2AA MiniMag

Twin Task 1L LEDs vs. Nite-Ize LED Drop-in for MiniMag 2AA


Twin Task 1L LEDs vs. 0.5w 1AA - AdvancedMart LED-005S


Twin Task 1L LED vs. MJLED drop-in for MiniMag 2AA (gen2 my #2)


Twin Task 1L xenon vs. MJLED drop-in for MiniMag 2AA (gen2 my #2)


out of interest I compared this with my first gen2 MJLED with yellow-green tint -


The bemshots seem to show the MJLEDs at about the same brightness as the Twin Task 1L on xenon Hi-beam - but in real-life indoors I really feel the Twin Task 1L on xenon is noticably brighter - or at least I see a lot more/better.

Another great comparison from UnknownVT.

The StreamLight Twin Task 1L was one of my first flashaholic purposes and yes, I did blow the incandescent bulb by sticking in a rechargeable CR123 (my dumbness entirely to blame there). Gladly, though, the 3 LEDs still work great.

I'd characterize the LEDs on mine to have more of a bluish tint than I think shows in Vincent's beamshots, but the beam is very smooth from hotspot to spill. My model was black anodized, and despite some rough treatment at times, I'm surprised at how few dings it shows.

It's not my favorite light to use, but I find myself grabbing it when I need a loaner light or something not too powerful for close situations.

LowWorm said:

I did blow the incandescent bulb by sticking in a rechargeable CR123 (my dumbness entirely to blame there). Gladly, though, the 3 LEDs still work great.

Click to expand...

Lighthound sells replacement bulbs if you are interested.

A thought just came to my mind. Would the strion bulb fit the TT 1L?
It could then be used with a li-ion cell and would be much brighter. LowWorm, could you try and check the current to the LED's with a li-ion cell?

Chrisse

UnknownVT, what a fabulous review! Thanks so much for sharing your work! The beamshot pics are awesome! I have an SL TL-3 on order from Amazon. Now I guess I will have to order the Twin Task, too.



:wow:

i have try the strion bulb in the TT 1L but is too bright and the runtime is too short, i have also try the bulb of the TT 3AA but is dim like the standard 1L bulb so... i have found the right compromise : the bulb of the TT 3C that give a really good white output for 30 minutes or more

for the leds is a risk to use them with a R123A, i have modified them for run more safely with a simple resistor on the circuit board. really i have also changed them with green ones for the use in the night (really usefull)

chrisse242 said:

A thought just came to my mind. Would the strion bulb fit the TT 1L?
It could then be used with a li-ion cell and would be much brighter. LowWorm, could you try and check the current to the LED's with a li-ion cell?

Chrisse

Click to expand...

I'll see if I can...currently, I can't even locate the light itself, but if I find it, I'll give that a go.

Nice beam shots as usual.
Keep up the good work.

Great review. I've had the Twin Task 2L for about 3 years and it's also a decent light.

I have been lurking around for awhile and finally have something to contribute.
I puffed my incan with a rechargeable too. A rayovac high intensity 3aa/3aaa fits. I found it at wallyworld, its not as big as the original but it works fine with the 3.6v rechargeable. It actually draws less then the leds do when using the rechargeable, but it has more thro.

The rayovac replacement doesn't perform like the streamlite bulb but it is an alternative when using the rechargeable.

Here are some numbers:
The package reads, T3AAA 3.6v 0.3a 1.08w

Protected cell 4.1v at rest
rayo incan .35a
led .53a

Unprotected cell 4.2v at rest
rayo incan .35a
led .57a

Primary Duracell 3.2v at rest
rayo incan .29a
led .22a
Streamlite incan 1.03a (much brighter)

BTW, unknownVT, thanks for all you great posts and info.

Great review, thanks Vincent!

I have a TT 3C UV, it's a very nice light. I like the build quality and feel of it, and the incan output is fine, if not remarkable.

There are 2 small things I'd change if I could. One is the really cheap looking plastic lens. It's not just the fact that it's plastic, but it really does look cheap on mine, including moulding irregularities around the edges and a sort of "misty" look to it already, the opposite of ultra-clear... The Lexan lens in my SF G2 is in another league entirely. Sadly the SL lens appears to be glued firmly in place, and I couldn't see any replacements listed at flashlightlens.com.

The other thing is the switching. I'd like to be able to select the mode I want (incan, 3 LED, 6 LED) without having to switch through the other options also.

Minor quibbles though, they're a good value light IMHO.

Andrew

LowWorm wrote: "I'd characterize the LEDs on mine to have more of a bluish tint than I think shows in Vincent's beamshots, but the beam is very smooth from hotspot to spill."

Thank you so much for your kind words.

I agree -
on the 3 LEDs the hotspot center seems quite blue to me too - it is pretty obvious when using the light in the daytime (! :huh: - I guess only flashaholics do this ) or shone some distance away like across a room.
There is a more neutral/warm/brown surround to the hotspot.

I first tried to show this by comparing to the obviously blue tinted
Nuwai TM-310H 0.5watt 1AAA


The Nuwai TM-310H 1/2watt does show a side-spill quite a bit bluer.

But this really shows some of the limitations of these beamshots - the central hotspots are so bright compared to the side-spill - taking an "optimized" photo of two beams - grossly over-exposes the hotspot - even on -2 Stops underexposed.

So I tried to show the hotspot only of the 3LEDs of the Twin Task 1L -
I had to zoom all the way in and use Spot metering to get these shots -
Twin Task 1L - 3 LEDs hotspot only


The normal metered exposure shows the light kind of like it really is - but the -2 Stops underexposed (with Sopt metering) does show up the blue quite well - and this is kind of like seeing the beam shone at a distance.

I deliberately left the yellow Post-It in the photo - as it kind of gives some more indication to the tint. One can ignore it and just look at the hotspot on the white paper.