As a huge fan of Streamlight, I've been anxiously waiting to get my hands on the Stinger DS HL. Now that I've got it, I'm somewhat disappointed to find that in real world use, I see almost no difference in the output of the Stinger over the Protac HL. That's not to say the Protac has a bad beam -- in fact, I love the combination of throw and spill on the Protac HL. The Stinger just doesn't seem to add to the Protac's beam since lumen output appears the same (although on paper it's actually less) and the throw is virtually the same. I know I should have expected that since the numbers reflect my experience but the sheer size of the Stinger gave me a false hope, I guess. The Stinger is a nice light, nonetheless. It has a solidly constructed body with pushbuttons that have great responsiveness. But unfortunately it seems that durability and reliability is all this light has going for it. It takes 10 hours to charge the light fully while it only takes about an hour to charge the RCR123 batteries to use in the Protac for a similar runtime to the Stinger. The form factor is obviously another thing to consider. With a much larger head on the Stinger, the only added benefit here seems to be in the spill angle, which is huge on the Stinger and respectable on the Protac. The beam on the Stinger has a noticeably tighter hotspot and warmer tint, which adds to my disappointment since I'd much rather have a cool white tint on what's intended to be a law enforcement oriented flashlight. I should probably add that the Protac HL allows for Ten Tap programmability (which I've come to really value) while the Stinger does not. Oh and the low mode on the Stinger is way too bright to be considered a usable low mode.
As an aside, for roughly $140, there might be better options. At $145 there's the brand new Eagletac GX30L2DR that I also own. This light is phenomenally bright (1700 lumens plus an 800 lumen diffuser LED array), and throws an astonishing distance for such a small head (roughly 60,000 candella, ~460 meters). The Eagtac is reasonably durable, quality is exceptional, although reliability in my experience hasn't been too great since it recently wouldn't turn back on after I unscrewed the head. Maybe this is why none of my complains with the Streamlight really matter. It's a trusted brand. When you go for the switch, you know it'll work every time. Streamlight certainly isn't leading the way in innovation, but they've built a solid flashlight that does the job.
I'll probably keep the Stinger and sell my Strion HL. It's not a bad light, it just leaves you wanting so much more.
As an aside, for roughly $140, there might be better options. At $145 there's the brand new Eagletac GX30L2DR that I also own. This light is phenomenally bright (1700 lumens plus an 800 lumen diffuser LED array), and throws an astonishing distance for such a small head (roughly 60,000 candella, ~460 meters). The Eagtac is reasonably durable, quality is exceptional, although reliability in my experience hasn't been too great since it recently wouldn't turn back on after I unscrewed the head. Maybe this is why none of my complains with the Streamlight really matter. It's a trusted brand. When you go for the switch, you know it'll work every time. Streamlight certainly isn't leading the way in innovation, but they've built a solid flashlight that does the job.
I'll probably keep the Stinger and sell my Strion HL. It's not a bad light, it just leaves you wanting so much more.
