Not a lot of Streamlight love? Why?

Hey guys, new here but love collecting flashlights. Is it just me or is there not much Streamlight love on here, just wondering.

Thanks

Streamlight makes solid, reliable lights (in general). But nothing truly exciting or extraordinarily exceptional to capture the imagination of the average flashaholic. It's true that Streamlight topics on CPF do tend to be very few and far between. Doesn't mean the brand isn't worth considering. It also doesn't help that their whole "C4 LED" thing is marketing BS.

Also . . . :welcome:

One of my favorite AAA lights is a microstream......as mentioned above nothing fancy,but it is a good little thrower.

I carry the Streamlight Poly Stinger DS LED as my duty light, its a solid light,. But like the others said theirs nothing really "crazy" about them.

Streamlight is the main brand of light we use at work. I am talking about 16 people. Maybe 18-20 Stinger original lights, and 3 or four Dual switch stinger LED lights. I can tell you this- the lights are built well, and streamlight customer service/repair dept. is great. That being said, those of us that still have the original Incandescent Stingers are carrying "yellow" beam lights. Boy are they dim- and that used to be a super bright light. I have sent many lights back to Streamlight because of switch failures. It never takes Streamlight long to replace the switch and get it back to us, and they have usually put in a new lens as well. Our only cost was to send the light back for repair!
For a few years I had a ProTac 2L, whch was a really nice light. Now its lost someplace. I still have a PolyTac LED, that is a nice light, but my Fenix E15, LD22 and PD32 lights are brighter! One other thing about Streamlight CS. When I got my Strion LED light, I didnt think it was running as long as it should on the highest setting. I talked with a CS person and we decided to send the light back to have them check it. They ran checks on the light, ran tests with the battery, checked the actual brightness of the beam as well. They sent it back and the light was in spec., but how many other companies would have done that? All that said- Man am I getting hooked on Fenix

My first serious light was a Streamlight Scorpion. It was a good light for a good price. I used it for years before giving it to a relative who developed a need for a good light.

I picked up a couple of Batonlights when they came out. I really like the basic idea, but wish they did not say "Batonlight" on the side. One of the two developed switch issues. Given the positive comments above about Streamlight service, I am kicking myself for not having contacted them about the issue.

I currently have two Streamlight TLR-1's. One of them is mounted on a rifle, and works quite well for that purpose. I have also found that it works quite well on a pistol. The other is for my wife's home defense pistol. No issues with either.

Overall, I agree with the above: solid lights at decent prices.

Streamlight makes excellent duty lights. They go thru extensive testing. But they don't make very good edc lights, hence they don't get discussed much. The Strion LED looks interesting, but has no low-low, or I'd probably pick one up.

Great duty lights.
Not so great edc lights.

Most new CPF members are here looking for the brightest lights they can show off with. That means the latest LEDs and batteries. But they are general purpose.

For special applications such as hazardous locations, you can NOT use a general purpose flashlight. Your flashlight must be proven to NOT be able to start an explosion. The certification must be done by an approved laboratory, a very expensive and time consuming process. There is a long time before the next model is released. As a result the hazardous locations and Fire/Rescue lights do not have a 'flavor of the month' release schedule. So there are few new threads about them.

Streamlight tends to design their lights for a specific purpose. Such as:
Law Enforcement
Fire/Rescue
Industrial
Military
Sporting Goods
Auto/Hardware
The 1st 4 on the list are sold through the appropriate channels.
For example Fire/Rescue through outfits that sell firemen's hats, boots and other firefighting gear.
Law enforcement through suppliers of police gear. With boots, handcuffs etc.
Military directly to the armed forces. They need a NSN (Nato Stock Number) before they can sell. Surefire, Streamlight, even Maglite can supply NSN numbers for military approved flashlights.

(Many companies claim their lights are used by the military. Maybe individual soldiers buy them but unit purchasing officers can only buy using NSNs. No NSN not an official military flashlight.)
(Tactical on ebay means the flashlight has a pointy bezel that you can poke someone with. Tactical on Streamlight means you can get a gun mount.)
(The easiest way to design a hazardous piece of equipment is to use 'intrinsically safe'. This limits the current to 1A. (SSCP7, SST50/90,XML are 3A, even XPG is 1.5A) So as long as a 1A drive can do the job there is no need to use the latest LEDs. It is possible to go above 1A by using 'explosion proof' design. But that requires meeting a whole lot of rules which ups the cost of certification.)

Since this thread is open, I figure I should put this here.

Two new LEDs being used in the Streamlight Stinger DS LED and the Strion LED.

About a month ago the Strion started shipping with a Cree XP-G LED with updated ANSI ratings. Which impressed me. But today, my light dealer showed me his new Stinger DS LED with a big sticker on the box "MORE OUTPUT! 350LUMENS!" so I figured it was equipped with an XML driven lightly. NOPE. XP-G2. I couldn't believe it.

Also, what a wonderful tint that came out of the end of that Stinger. Cool white but doesn't make you look dead when shown on skin. My only beef with the light is the same beef I have had with Streamlight (with the exception of their Knucklehead series), any mode lower than maximum output has very noticeable PWM.

If I weren't a tint snob that only uses Nichia 219's in everything I might have considered buying that Stinger LED.

Love does not correlate with popularity. Heck, most lights that I loved and love still don't have any popularity on the forum since the week after their debut.

I use Streamlight weaponlights but can't honestly say that I've ever owned one of their actual flashlights. The TLR-1, TLR-3, and TLR-4 are all good to go in my books. All have withstood incredible punishment with very hot handloads and keep ticking. If I weren't such a Surefire nut, I'd probably own a few of their "regular" lights.

I think it was an experience a while back, changing a flat on the side of the freeway at night when a local LEO showed up with a Strion that he had put into strobe mode to help divert traffic while I was working. I handed him my Thrunite Neutron 1C in strobe mode and told him to try it out and the difference was like night and day. I guess their lights never appealed to me because if I need something bombproof, I already have a ton of Surefires, and if I want a pocket rocket, I go with something cheap and bright - whatever the flavor of the month is.

LEDninja said:

Military directly to the armed forces. They need a NSN (Nato Stock Number) before they can sell. Surefire, Streamlight, even Maglite can supply NSN numbers for military approved flashlights.

(Many companies claim their lights are used by the military. Maybe individual soldiers buy them but unit purchasing officers can only buy using NSNs. No NSN not an official military flashlight.)
(Tactical on ebay means the flashlight has a pointy bezel that you can poke someone with. Tactical on Streamlight means you can get a gun mount.)

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NSN is "National Stock Number". Vendors are able to apply for NSNs so products can be included in the list, but I'm not sure what the screening/application process is.

Unit commanders have some discretionary funds with which to buy items. Although they have more funds available to purchase NSN items; the pricing is also different for items already in the inventory. Buying COTS (Commercial, Off the Shelf) means paying retail with a different fund account. I dabbled in US Army supply, so my knowledge is sketchy in some areas.

Completely agree on the commercial definition of "tactical" - quite often marketing hype, frequently involving Klingon bezels. The practical definition of "tactical" tends to vary wildly - and the subject has been heavily debated on a couple of threads here as well.

There was a push for "Army Authorized Gear" - as well as the authorized "Family of Flashlights". The last time I looked, that idea had been scrapped in favor of a piece of vaporware "flashlight for all occasions".

Brasso said:

Great duty lights. Not so great edc lights.

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Depends on how you carry SL as your EDC light. I adore the ability to mod the older versions of the Stylus Pro and MicroStream lights by replacing their heads with those from iTP A3, Fenix LOD, and 4Sevens Preon lights. These mods make fab EDC lights for me.

My first "real" EDC flashlight was a Streamlight TL-2 LED model.

Output wasn't bad, back then. So was runtime.

But soon I bought a SureFire C2 and tossed a P61 lamp into it. No comparison between the two. This was back when if you wanted runtime, you bought an LED. If you wanted something truly impressive, you had no choice but to buy the type of inca. lamps that SureFire and a handful of other companies were offering.

I still have that old SL. But it just doesn't get carried anymore. Now a days, instead of two CR123 cells for an hour of use, I can get the same level of output from the medium setting on my Maratac AAA model that runs off of one AAA battery, and for quite a bit longer than an hour.

I had a Streamlight Scorpion that I ran as a pizza delivery driver years ago, I dropped that thing so many times and it kept on kickin'. Pretty lovable to me!

BillSWPA said:

......I picked up a couple of Batonlights when they came out. I really like the basic idea, but wish they did not say "Batonlight" on the side....

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This was actually the reason I got into flashlights in the first place.
A couple of female friends and relatives carried kubotans, but being here in NY, kubotans can get you into trouble because they are a weapon.

The ladies concerned used to have their kubotans on their keychains, so they often dropped them on the counter when in a store etc, and it was only a matter of time before they caught a cop on a bad day and got into trouble.

A flashlight is primarily a flashlight, but could also be used as a kubotan, so it does the same thing but legally.
I don't really rate the kubotan as a weapon, but if they insisted on carrying one, then I thought that a suitably sized and shaped flashlight would be a safer option, so I did some research.
The Streamlight batonlight seemed to be an ideal solution to the problem, until I realized that it has 'Batonlight' written on the side, thus completely negating the whole reason for such a light's existence :shakehead

I believe the Batonlight has been discontinued now, and I wonder if they would have gotten better sales if they had not advertized the fact that it is a weapon in writing on the side of the light!

Of course, the happy side effect of all this is that as I was researching flashlights, I became interested in them myself

I saw a AAAA ('Stylus' maybe?) and liked the look of it, but when I saw the marketing description of what I knew was just a regular 5mm led, I became suspicious and passed it up.

It's a sad, sad day in the U.S. of A. when a female gets into trouble for having a stick on your keychain. I feel sorry for those that live in the former states of America.

I bought a Strion just because I wanted at least one good indandescent light and that was the model that offered the best output/runtime/size/rechargeable/price ratios (I know, pretty demanding, huh? To top that off, the bulbs are dirt cheap) It is still a great light, but a little big for EDC and has only one mode. For that reason it stays in the box as a collection item. Every now and then I use it to compare color rendition with new lights and it still can't be beat on that point. The day LED's have the same color rendition or better it will be on the marketplace, though.

i have to agree Streamlight CS is second to none. I have it made, as i live right right near Eagleville Pa. I can drive there and get the torch "reconditioned" to like new for 20 or 25 bucks. Last time i was there a little old lady helped me and i was in and out . They run a great operation and there CS is awesome:twothumbs.

jamesbeat said:

This was actually the reason I got into flashlights in the first place.
A couple of female friends and relatives carried kubotans, but being here in NY, kubotans can get you into trouble because they are a weapon.

The ladies concerned used to have their kubotans on their keychains, so they often dropped them on the counter when in a store etc, and it was only a matter of time before they caught a cop on a bad day and got into trouble.

A flashlight is primarily a flashlight, but could also be used as a kubotan, so it does the same thing but legally.
I don't really rate the kubotan as a weapon, but if they insisted on carrying one, then I thought that a suitably sized and shaped flashlight would be a safer option, so I did some research.
The Streamlight batonlight seemed to be an ideal solution to the problem, until I realized that it has 'Batonlight' written on the side, thus completely negating the whole reason for such a light's existence :shakehead

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M@glite will never admit this, but the reason why the 2AA Mini-Mag was first created wasn't to give the world a decent, travel-sized, flashlight that could be carried anywhere. Yeah, it's no accident that the light looks like a kubaton with a flashlight bezel at one end. It was done on purpose. Surprise, surprise . . . Turns out that they messed around and created a (for that time) quality flashlight that everyone started buying. M@glite very quietly and quickly decided to pretend it's popular flashlight design was just that. A harmless flashlight.

Tell your lady-friends to buy Mini-Mags. They completely fly under the radar, despite their origins.