How much abuse can the Streamlight 4AA Luxeon take?

My primary usage is urban exploration and the scene is full of cement and metal floors and height. There is often a lot of climbing and such and things get dropped.

Its been dropped a few times on a slab of concrete from 5-6' height and boy it is LOUD. Everytime it got dropped, it was turned on. So far, no damage whatsoever, but given my usage a 50' drop down the silo and onto the cement isn't unlikely.

Anyone manage to break theirs yet? If so, how?

If I remember correctly, JTICE experienced some "hard use" with his SL 4AA ProPo Lux and wrote about it sometime ago.

Personally, have never dropped mine—yet! :huh:

Well I heard that since it has a combination of a propolymer body and a LED lamp it is almost indestructable!

I'd think most any problem that didn't destroy the light completely could be easily remedied..

I've dropped mine ~15' onto gravel with no problems. Lots of drops from 3-6' onto concrete and linoleum and some softer stuff with no problems. Once tossed the light ~50 feet to a friend........who didn't catch it. Slammed into the side of my truck, no damage to either. Is there a reason a lanyard isn't appropriate?


Cheers. :buddies:

The worst I've done to mine is a 10' drop onto concrete. No big deal, I guess. It seems quite resilient.

CHC said:

If I remember correctly, JTICE experienced some "hard use" with his SL 4AA ProPo Lux and wrote about it sometime ago.

Personally, have never dropped mine—yet! :huh:

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I have 3 so far, and have taken them Caving. ... ... ... nuff said. :devil:

I only had a little problem with one of the switches, but after clicking it about 30 times in a row, its went away for good.

~John

If you drop anything, including yourself, 50' onto concrete, something is liable to break. If you're concerned about breaking your flashlight from such a drop, you can always take measures that will help minimize it like using the lanyard that is included with the light. I doubt that it would matter what material the flashlight might be constructed from as I'm sure a 50 ft drop to concrete with an aluminum flashlight will probably cause as much if not more damage than to a polymer one. In any case, if you drop a light that far, consider it lost unless you know for sure (not think that you know) that it is safe to go down and get it. Don't know what they do in Oregon, but many fire departments will send you a bill for rescues that are the result of acts of stupidity, and it's not cheap if you consider all the people involved (usually in the 5 digit range, or more).

EDITJust to clarify. The "acts of stupidity" that I quoted above aren't necessarily acts that stupid people might do, but rather acts that are the direct result of willful negligence (such as ignoring or defying posted signs), or as the result of criminal acts (like trespassing, burglary, auto theft, etc.)

Handlobraesing said:

but given my usage a 50' drop down the silo and onto the cement isn't unlikely.

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Handlobraesing said:

. . .given my usage a 50' drop down the silo and onto the cement isn't unlikely.

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Well, that Streamlight 4AA ProPolymer Luxeon does have a lanyard for "securing" on your person. One could also secure another stronger lanyard for that "just in case" scenario.

I dont think there is a light that could take a big fall better than this, considering it is plastic.

-david

Okay—I tell you what. I'll drop test it tomorrow since I am working off of a skylift and am 50 feet up. What do you say? Will report my findings and observations tomorrow. The only one (1) Streamlight 4AA ProPolymer Luxeon I have is basically brand new and has been "babied" since getting it. Funny, more so than my Chromie McLux.III.PD! :huh:

What do you all say?


By-The-Way: I don't have any digital camera. Only the crappy one on my mobile which doesn't "put out" nicely. :thumbsdow

Plastic lights seem to take damage like nothing. They can take anything a HA3 light can take and more.

:lolsign: You are nuts, CHC.

Just remember, as Craig always says, it's in the name of science.

Sheesh, my tax dollars hard at work :lolsign:

And are you going to file a claim for the light as being damage "on the job"?

And I really do hope that you're kidding. While I know you can always get another, and I know your employer is bulging in profits and can pay you a handsome salary (I'm lying here, folks :; ), I'm not sure what might be achieved by sacrificing your light in a scenario that is most likely going to damage it.

Um... I might have a camera you could borrow ...

Actually this is not as foolish an act as it may sound. If I may quote a portion of Streamlight's warranty

Streamlight said:

"We will repair, replace or refund the purchase price, at our option, of any Streamlight product that does not work or that you manage to break for as long as you own it."

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CHC said:

Okay—I tell you what. I'll drop test it tomorrow since I am working off of a skylift and am 50 feet up. What do you say? Will report my findings and observations tomorrow. The only one (1) Streamlight 4AA ProPolymer Luxeon I have is basically brand new and has been "babied" since getting it. Funny, more so than my Chromie McLux.III.PD! :huh:

What do you all say?


By-The-Way: I don't have any digital camera. Only the crappy one on my mobile which doesn't "put out" nicely. :thumbsdow

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CHC said:

Okay—I tell you what. I'll drop test it tomorrow since I am working off of a skylift and am 50 feet up. What do you say? Will report my findings and observations tomorrow. The only one (1) Streamlight 4AA ProPolymer Luxeon I have is basically brand new and has been "babied" since getting it. Funny, more so than my Chromie McLux.III.PD! :huh:

What do you all say?


By-The-Way: I don't have any digital camera. Only the crappy one on my mobile which doesn't "put out" nicely. :thumbsdow

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Warranty repair here we go.

"We will repair, replace or refund the purchase price, at our option, of any Streamlight product that does not work or that you manage to break as for as long as you own it. Of couse, this limited lifetime warranty excludes abuse, batteries and bulbs"

"I dropped it".. is that an abuse? :-D

Yes really I'm going to "just do it" tomorrow! :huh: Wondering also if I should let one of the VTA bus run it over since it'll be in the garage and they come in and out fairly regularly? :thinking: I'm sure doing THAT would render the SL 4AA ProPo Lux an immediate death by bus!

Streamlight said:

We will repair, replace or refund. . .at our option, of any Streamlight product that. . .you manage to break for as long as you own it.

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Interesting. . .:naughty:

Well if you really want to do it, you might want to leave out the lamp module since that is the most expensive part, the bezel and body are cheaper to replace.

If you're going to submit it for warranty, I suppose it really doesn't matter. But don't try and take it to Summit, they will only work on the rechargeable lights that are used by the local agencies. Don't know if Markell in Santa Rosa does warranty on consumer level products, so you might have to send it back east.

But you're one crazy and wild guy

CHC said:

Yes really I'm going to "just do it" tomorrow! :huh: Wondering also if I should let one of the VTA bus run it over since it'll be in the garage and they come in and out fairly regularly? :thinking: I'm sure doing THAT would render the SL 4AA ProPo Lux an immediate death by bus!


Interesting. . .:naughty:

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Well, truthfully, I will not return or file for warranty on a product that was deliberately abused and "destroyed" if you will. If it somehow fails tomorrow, then I'll just purchase another one. But not after reporting back here of course.

Kryosphinx said:

Plastic lights seem to take damage like nothing. They can take anything a HA3 light can take and more.

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except maybe a small bullet . Metal lights can also take a little more preasure ( ex: getting run over by a car).

-David

Yes - drop the light fully assembled with Alkie batteries. Yes, most definitely do it and report. My suggestion is to drop it as many times as it takes to cause a failure.

It would be cool if you could take a picture after each drop - until failure. We should have a lot more of this type of testing. If our group doesn't take things to the extreme - who will?