Why I'd Pick A Stinger Flashlight For Patrol

I haven't been all that active with this forum lately, but I do still check in here from time to time. As a retired suburban police officer/deputy sheriff turned law enforcement officer in post-retirement quasi federal slot, I am still on a number of forums and get various police magazines. Sometimes, when I run across an article on a police forum or in a magazine, I will post it here for members enjoyment. I do, personally, own an older Streamlight Stinger with a TerraLUX upgrade and work issued me a Streamlight Stinger LED flashlight. I will be the first to admit that the Streamlight Stinger is not the best flashlight that you can buy. On the other hand, it is also not the worst flashlight, either. As I have posted here in the past, many members here know what is best for law enforcement officers with regards to illumination products.

We, as coppers, see similar advice given for other tools of the trade. For example, I have carried a Glock pistol, of one model or another, for the past 20 years. Some firearms buffs will point out that we really should be carrying something else. While that very well may be, I am basically told, as a condition of my employment, that I can carry any sidearm I want, as long as it is a Glock 21SF.

So, to, it goes with motor vehicles. I have been assigned Chevrolet Caprices, Impalas, Ford CVPI, Taurus, Dodge Stratus, Dodge Caravan, etc. over the years, depending on the assignment. Again, car buffs know what is best for us and often suggest to us that we really ought to be driving.

So, with that in mind, I post the URL below and the article. Personally, I do prefer LED over incandescent. I prefer rechargeable over non-rechargeable. Also, I prefer charging in a cradle over other methods for police work. Yeah, I get that removing the batteries and charging in a stand alone charger is probably the better way to go for purists. However, for most coppers, a rechargeable LED with a cradle charger mounted in the vehicle is mighty nice. Perhaps the future will bring more lights, similar to the Pelican 8060, that charge in a cradle , but also can use regular batteries.

Jim

http://www.policeone.com/police-pro...-Why-Id-pick-a-Stinger-flashlight-for-patrol/

During my career, Streamlight Stingers changed how we patrolled and trained, and given my choice of flashlight for patrol, I'd pick a Stinger every time. The Stinger is the perfect-sized torch for a primary light. It's small enough for the patrol officer to keep it on the belt all the time, even when seated in a vehicle.

When an officer needs to manipulate something with a gun in the hand (change magazine, open door), pocket-sized lights were dangled from a cord or strap, with the light flipped out of the way. This meant there was an interruption in light downrange. Meanwhile, techniques with a full-sized light were always cumbersome.

With the Stinger, we trained officers to pin it under the "primary" arm. The officer completed the task and then untucked the light. The length and circumference of the Stinger body is perfect for this technique. It doesn't get in the way of a magazine change, and we learned that the arm tuck also put the spillbeam in a perfect place while writing a ticket. The Stinger literally improved officer safety because the gun was always in the hand and the beam was pointed toward the potential threat.


The Stinger has had a long history with law enforcement. For me, it's a Stinger every time.
New LED Stingers
As LED technology developed, Stingers understandably started coming out in LED versions. The Stinger Classic LED (756662) has the same feel as the original, with a much better Ni-Cd A runtime of 6.75 hours on low power. The torch now puts out 390 lumens/13200 candela on the highest setting. Part of the lens is frosted, throwing a soft-edged floodlight-style beam. Because it uses a C4 LED, it is inherently stronger and the lens/reflector is much more robust than the original.

Streamlight has produced the Stinger DS (Dual Switch) version for a few years. This is similar to the original form factor, with all of the new features plus a tail switch.

What are the new features? Take any later model Stinger. Press the switch once and you get a high beam. Click it twice rapidly and it becomes a strobe. Hold it down and it dims. One can release the switch at the desired brightness. It always defaults to traffic-stop bright when it goes from off to on. Tail switches do the same thing. The switches have a consistent feel and a repeatable, tactical grip; without the need to index with a thumb or finger, a user can turn it on even when wearing gloves.

Here's the confusing part: There is a Stinger DS LED HP (Dual Switch, LED, High Power, 75863) with 350 lumens/56,000 candela and a Stinger DS LED HL (Dual Switch LED High Lumen 75464) with 640 lumens/22,000 candela output. They all take the same chargers, and all Stinger DS models will fit the same accessories. All Stinger Classic models will fit the same accessories. Which one is the one for you?

Choosing Your Stingers
Using the light with the greatest output may sound like the best strategy, but it is better to go with the intended purpose of the light.

If you generally patrol in an area where you need to project a beam at a distance, consider the Stinger DS LED HP. It was designed to throw as far as 473 meters. The beam is concentrated and abrupt and the spillbeam isn't particularly soft, which creates harsh shadows. Rural patrollers, SAR members, and officers assigned to a specific area like a train yard or transit area would like this light.

It is not recommended for officers whose assignment includes a lot of residential searching. Trust me, this beam reflects back at you on a white interior wall.

For general patrol where tactical advantage on traffic stops is critical, the Stinger DS HL is for you. This light will still reach out but it can light up a car interior at a good distance like no other product. I would use this light for any type of search.

For all mounted, two-wheeled, special assignments, and investigations, the Stinger Classic is the one.

The Stinger has had a long history with law enforcement. For me, it's a Stinger every time.


About the author
Lindsey Bertomen is a retired police officer and retired military small arms trainer. He teaches criminal justice at Hartnell College in Salinas, California. He has a BS in Criminal Justice and an MS in Online Teaching and Learning. Lindsey has taught shooting techniques for over a decade. His articles on firearms tactics have appeared in print for over a decade. Lindsey enjoys competing in shooting sports, running, and cycling events.

Lindsey, what a great post. A thorough and concise explanation of why the Stinger continues to be a favorite light for professionals. Thanks for the insight.

Great Post, and I agree with many of your points.
but I disagree about the Stinger, I had one (an incandescent Stinger XT) and it is eclipsed by many newer smaller lights.
As a standardized choice to outfit a whole department, it makes sense though, along with the pelican offering.

I also don't like multi stage lights for duty use, i like my light to be on full power every time I press the button (I will make an exception for Surefires dead simple A2/LX2/M3LT two stage "pushy/twisty" because the low stage effectively dissapears when you are under stress (you know when your brain stops thinking "if I press gently I get a little bit of light" and instead starts with "urgh, mongo need light now" and you just mash the button down)

If I were still doing security work my choice would be a bored Surefire 9P with a Moddoo Triple (I currently have a 1000 lumen version of this running AW 18500 cells) - it runs for an hour, the same length of time as the old Incan Stingers

Its slightly smaller and lighter than the stinger, although its very bright, the beam is very floody so it doesn't throw all that far, and isnt blinding on a white wall, but allows you to see a very wide are very quickly (this point was illustrated to a few local police last week, they were out searching for escapees from an immigration detention centre, and we're looking at little spots of brush with their Pelican 7960s, my 9P was illuminating wide sections of bush land, and out to a similar distance)

I can easily drop 2 or 4 spare 18500 cells in my pocket if I'm out of the car for a long time.
It's not possible with my Moddoo lamp unit, but other lower power led dropins (malkoff etc) can also be run on 3xCR123 - which means you can have a spare set of cells sitting on your duty belt for 10 years and they should still work, or you can pick some up in a supermarket if you need to.
I would add a small backup flashlight (E1B, LX2 etc) to the Duty Belt too, and also add a bigger "thrower" to really reach out when working in open areas where I need the reach.

This is a similar system to what I used when I was doing security patrols, I had a 6P as a backup, the stinger (and later a Pila GL3XR and Inova T4) as a belt light, then a Pelican M11, then Magcharger as a powerful thrower/thumper.

What a great post. As a fellow Leo, all of your points are ones that I've encountered and do. Sadly, my dept has a 6" max length requirement for metal lights so we are issued the Pelican 7060. Even a polystinger is not authorized. If I could carry a stinger as a primary I definitely would.

Fantastic post.

I think I would at least give some consideration to a Steamlight Strion LED HL in that case. It is just under six inches.

Nice post, I'm interested to know if anyone rates the LED stingers?

There is a really big advantage for lights that have the batteries charged outside the light, or that have that option. IF you carry a second battery, you can extend your time you can have light. This might be more important in some areas and seasons than others. We have almost 16 hours of night in the winter in WA. Having another battery could be useful on a long search in darkened woods.
Streamlight does make a double charger for just this reason. It holds the light and charges the battery in that, and holds/charges a second battery as well.

I've sold a lot of the smaller Surefires to some of the local cops when I was working in a gun store. A few of the R1s also. About the same size as a Stinger with greater output.... not a thrower, but floody ffor a nice wide visibility. Brighter and more throw than the incandescent Stinger though, so a good 75-100 yard light. The cost of course is a bit high for many indivduals and most departments.

When I was still out in the car most of the day for work I typically had two Streamlight Stingers with me. The county car had only one charger, though. Actually, as it turned out, that worked pretty well for me. I would just rotate the two Stingers through the charger.

I offer the following insight into an old post I just happened to find now.

I too would say this is a great post. You could see the writer of the article and the poster both have some experience with lights as a LEO tool. However, if I had to be critical, it sounds a bit like an advertisement for Streamlight.

After 30 years using lights in this capacity I would also go so far as to second the statement he made about Streamlight Stingers changing how we patrolled and trained because it was the Stinger that allowed a light small enough for permanent belt carry. But so much has changed in the last 10 years. Here is my personal, more balanced use of lights for Patrol.

Prior to the Stingers arrival LEO's had large incandescent rechargeable lights like the Magcharger and Streamlight SL-20/SL-20X or D battery Maglite's. There were no dedicated belt carry lights.

Mine was a Streamlight SL-20. After the Stinger came along I carried it on the belt and kept the
SL-20X as the larger primary/workhorse light. Grab the SL-20 when time permits for routine/planned calls and when you need to bail out of the car the Stinger was always on the belt. What I found most annoying about them then and now was trying to find that little button to turn the light on without looking at the light. I would constantly find myself rotating the light in my hand to index it to find that on/off button. And when either light was dead they were out of action recharging on the cradle. I then got a Surefire 6R for the belt to replace the Stinger. I liked the tailcap operation and could bring the light into action fast but it didn't seem as bright as the Stinger and the rechargeable battery didn't last as long. At the time, much better suited to plainclothes carry.

I kept the SL-20 and replaced the Stinger and Surefire 6R with a Surefire 8NX on my belt. The 8NX had much better ergo. It was about the same brightness as the Stinger and had a much better beam than the Stinger. You have to take out the 8NX battery to charge it so you always could swap in a fresh battery. Not so with the Stinger. When the Stinger is dead the whole light is out of action because it is on the charger unless you have bought and charged another battery. The Stinger on/off switch is on the body. The Surefire 8NX is on the tailcap with no clicky function. Quick to bring the light into action. I should note that Streamlight then came along with the Piggyback charger to charge the second battery while the light was being used helping to mitigate the light being down when the first battery was dead. Of course, I had to buy one of those too (Flashaholic content).

The LED changed LEO lighting in a big way. Smaller lights, more runtime and brighter light. For belt carry I put a Malkoff M61 SHO LED dropin into my Surefire 9P or 9Z which provided me with a light smaller than a Stinger but upgradeable, more flexible and brighter than the 350 lumens models (640 lumens now in new Stingers). You have the option of using two rechargeable protected 17500 li-ion batteries to power the light and then use 3 CR123 primaries when the rechargeable's run out. I have reservations about using li-on's on duty because when they run out they just shut off without warning. If you swap fresh cells each day you can use the rechargeables day in and day out which last much longer in the LED lights than the incandescent ones. When you get stuck on some extended shift, callout, area search, traffic collision or local disaster, you have comfort knowing the extra 123 batteries in your bag can be used to keep the same light running, in the same place on your belt in the same pouch. No new muscle memory to learn. A Surefire SC1 spares carrier with an extra bulb and 6 123 batteries in the carrier can be enough to carry you through a typical extended deployment.


The new upgraded C4 Stingers would be OK as my workhorse light but today IMHO are too large for the belt considering lights are smaller and more powerful than ever before. You have so many choices now. Small on the belt lights could be one of many different brands but for two cell lights I am partial to the Surefire Fury P2X 500 lumen offerings. For three cell lights I am partial to the Elzetta Charlie with the 900-lumen AVS/High Output Head or the 1000 lumen Surefire P3X Fury. For a larger rechargeable workhorse light I would have to first go with a Malkoff Hound Dog on two 18650's and/or 4x123 rather than a Stinger DS LED. Now after saying that, I still am heavily invested in Streamlight having numerous Stingers, chargers and a bunch of batteries. I have a couple of first generation incandescent Stingers, Stinger LED and Stinger LED DS models, some C4 generation 350 lumen Stinger LED's as well. None are the new 640 lumen models. I like they all use the same chargers and batteries. I like the DS models because I am partial to the tailcap on/off function. One of my main gripes is the on/off switches are hit or miss in the reliability department and many seem to need replacing too frequently.