Streamlight 4AA PP Luxeon VS Inova T3

What advantage (if any) does the Inova T3 have over the Streamlight 4AA PP Luxeon?

Hi Spin! You probably are in the SAME situation I was in.

Check out my thread (Its about the Inova T3 vs Streamlight 4aa PP lux):

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/103781

Hope you find your answer.

I am planning to buy the SL 4AA but I would probably end up buying both...:naughty: I think you should know about CPF's policy...Hahaz

Well, as I said in the other thread, the T3 has a lot larger hotspot but almost no spillbeam whil the Streamlight has a very narrow hotspot and a traditional spillbeam. I'm not overly excited about either light and I've sold both of mine.

The other big difference is the perception of quality. The Streamlight is a budget flashlight, plain and simple. If it works for you, great! If it makes you happy... great! But the T3 impresses as soon as you see it in the package. The finish is lovely... it just reeks of quality.

Of course, none of this matters if you don't like the beam it puts out. The T3 has the large hotspot with a very ugly series of rings. If it was more like the current KL1 with the hotspot, a sort of square corona and basically nothing else, I'd prefer that. I'm not a white wall hunter and I really only care about how the lights work in the real world. With the T3, if you are wanting to give someone a bit of light to work with without killing their night vision, it can be a challenge.

I hear that Inova is coming out with a reflectored version of the X0 which I will certainly pickup. We can only hope that, if that light is a success, they will offer reflectored versions of the T3 or X03 in addition to the current versions with the optic.

Certainly the SL PP4AA is one of the best deals for money going. Fantastic beam and hotspot (a bit small). It's such a good deal that I think everyone of us should get one, but I have to vote for the T3 because of its super quality construction. Its just plain nice. Some people do not like the beam of the Inova TIROS optics. I guess I can understand that. Its all a matter of personal preference, as well as, the intended use of the light. When in doubt, exercise the CPF rule.......buy both!

SL PP Lux is one of the best values I've ever seen. I have an Inova X0 and since the t3 has a similar optic I couldn't see owning one.

I guess it would lend itself to being carried a little easier than the SL....

I do know that the SL is much fatter than the T3. How big exactly are their hotspots exactly? Any measurements?

Metal vs Plastic?

nutz_about_lights said:

I do know that the SL is much fatter than the T3. How big exactly are their hotspots exactly? Any measurements?

Click to expand...

I no longer own either of them so I can't offer measurements, but the hotspot of the T3 is at least nine times that of the Streamligh... Maybe closer to 16. The Streamlight gets its great throw from how tightly it focuses that hotspot. I mean, consider this: the Streamlight puts out less overall light than the T3 but has more throw... and the T3 has very respectable throw. I'm just not enamored by either of the light overall. I tend to like lights with decent throw, large hotspots and usable and consistant spillbeams. And I tend not to like plastic lights in general. The Streamlight is prettty much all about throw and is plastic so, while it's an outstanding value, that rules it out for me. The T3 has a lovely large hotspot, but that ringy 'dim - bright - dim' spillbeam is unacceptable to me.

I know both lights have legions of fans and in the scheme of things, they are both very respectable lights... but as far as Luxeon lights go, they are quite dissimilar. Basically, I see both lights as a decent way to spend your money but I also see them both as lights that will be 'outgrown' by many once you find out what exactly what it is you are looking for.

Thanks cratz2! That was very informative.

I have always been wondering about the size of the two lights' hotspots. Now that you have clarified my doubts, I think maybe the T3 would be much better than the SL for close up/within a 10m radius work.

Keeping mind though, that the spillbeam of the Streamlight is much more useful than the spillbeam of the T3... In my opinion, choosing between these two lights is a 'lesser of two evils' situation. For a few $$$ more than the T3, you could have a Brinkmann Maxfire or a Surefire G2 with the Lux III BOG module... Large hotspot, beautiful spillbeam... Good runtime, smaller than either of the other lights... Can run on R123s or a single 17670 (or an 18650 for great runtime if you can tinker and solder a bit).

I have a Streamlight. I bought my dad a T3 for a birthday gift. In comparing the two lights, I've come to this conclusion:


1) I like the beam on the SL better. I like the slightly better throw and the very large spillbeam compared to a larger hotspot with no spillbeam on the T3. I find the SL's beam type more useful, personally.
2) I really like the build-quality/feel of the Inova. It has a very solid-feeling clickie switch and just feels like a well-made light.

Verdict? I prefer the SL myself. However, I'm glad I bought the T3 for my dad because it is more "impressive" from an overall/build-quality standpoint.

A very well reasoned post mrdctaylor! Being another Texan I can see why!

My buddy has an X0-3 that we had out on a DARK night on a lake. It was in fact a somewhat better "thrower" than the SL, but SL ain't no slouch! I can see uses where the XO-3 might be better than the SL, but I'm quite glad I have the SL!!!

Yeah I do agree about what you guys said.

The Inova is better when boasting about a flashlight. Its has "nice finish, uses a lux III LED, has the tactical look and nice hotspot".

The SL is better when in real use. Good throw, nice spillbeam, lighter and more cost effective.

Is that right?

So I guess for Spin the answer to his post is to buy the SL? (If he is really planning for tough use and not have a shelf queen). For the latter, the T3 would be better right? :thinking:

Heck yah, brother. Texas born and raised (McGregor, TX to be exact...which is near Waco).

I have an XO3 too, which is virtually the same beam as the T3. I keep it in my truck. I like the fact that the lithium batts can take the Texas heat and cold.

Like I said before, I got the T3 for a gift for my dad since it looks more impressive. Also, I am a litter concerned about the useful life of the SL since the 1W Lux is being driven so hard. It may be a non-issue, but what the heck. Plus, I just wanted to see a T3 in person and buying one as a gift was a good excuse.

I wonder if Streamlight will ever make a metal version of their ProPoly 4AA or 3C Lux. I don't mind the plastic myself, but I think a metal version could be a big seller.

You can't beat the SL PP4AA for about $25 you get it delivered to your door and it even comes with batteries. Get the SL in black if you are worried about the plastic "look". I'm a newb on this forum and I went back and forth on which lights to buy. I picked the SL and the L1P and like them both. Heck, one of these days I might go crazy and buy a Surefire L4 or something like that.

mrdctaylor, I live about 250 miles north of Waco and it can't get all that cold down there

I went to Waco for boat races a couple years ago and if I remember right it's sort of flat out there. Also being a lot west and a bit north from me I'll bet you it gets good and cold over there!

I would admit for a WOW 'em light (in looks more than performance) the XO or T lights from Inova are cool.

For a WOW 'em light in performance the SL is good stuff!

On the DARK night I've already spoken of, I tried a fresh 2x123 P60 Brinkmann against a 4xAANimH SL and could see as much with the SL. When you consider the P60 will be dead in about an hour and the SL will still be as bright for about 4 hours, can you guess which one I choose?

I meant to reply to this thread earlier, but I forgot or something.

Anyway, I have an XO3 and a 4AA. My 4AA, despite Quickbeam's numbers and other various reports, does not out-throw my XO3. Lottery, I guess. The 4AA beam does have a VERY neutral white tint, which makes my XO3 look slightly yellow-green. Side by side the XO3 is appreciably brighter, at least in the hot spot, than the 4AA.

The 4AA, however, has a more useful beam, and overall output should be fairly close to the XO3. The corona is relatively narrow, but the spill is bright enough to be very useful when walking. The XO3 spill is very dim by comparison, but I find the big spot is better for medium-range spotting than narrower/dimmer spot from the 4AA.

Overall, I find myself going for the 4AA more often, because of the longer runtime and the more useful beam characteristics. It's a great deal for the price.

I'll post some beamshots in a second.

Okay, here we go. I am using a cheap camera now, as my "better" one broke just before Christmas. Please bear with me and try to ignore the noise.

Short distance:



Judging from the picture, it seems that the XO3 has more spill, but this is just reflected light. The camera does not open its aperture enough to capture the spill beam at this distance.

______

Close-up:



Here you can see the beam profile of each light. The SL has a fairly bright corona, while the Inova has almost none.

Very nice pictures there Ikonomi. :thanks:

The spec's of the streamlight state it has a better throw then the inova, yet Ikonomi's photograph shows the inova having an obvious brighter spot. I thought a brighter spot would mean better throw?

The Inova XO3, the T3's beautiful sister, is a lady with a man's punch.

73
dim