EagleTac introduced a remarkable flashlight in the last few months aimed directly at the law enforcement community. If you're familiar with what sort of lights the lion's share of police and security officers carry in the US, you'll know Streamlight is at the top of the list. From the Stinger line to the Strion, Streamlight has been delivering exceptional quality products that you can trust to work in worst of scenarios. Although feature by feature, Streamlight products tend to provide less than the Chinese brand alternative, this keeps with their philosophy of keeping it simple. As a huge fan of both my Streamlight DS LED HL and the Eagletac GX30L2DR, I thought it would be worth writing a review on both lights from the perspective of someone who works in security and works alongside plenty of LEOs.
Stinger on the left, GX30L2DR on the right.
The Beam
Although both lights may appear somewhat similar, they have vastly different technology behind the hood. For starters, the Stinger appears to have a Cree XM-L2 U2 while the EagTac has the newer Cree XP-L HI. Because the XP-L is de-domed, it has a smaller form factor and enables the EagTac to throw its beam a significantly farther distance despite the smaller diameter head. The EagTac is rated to throw 486 meters (while I can attest to), while the Stinger is rated at only 297 meters. At 59,100 candella, there's no getting around it -- the EagTac is obviously the brighter and more blinding than the Stinger which is rated at only 22,000 candella. While the beam of the EagTac is rated at 1250 ANSI FL-1 lumens, the diffuser led array will up total output to about 2000 lumens (which I'll discuss later), while the Stinger only puts out a max of 640 lumens. Because of the tight focus on the EagTac, the hotspot is smaller than the Stinger HL. It should be noted that Streamlight's Stinger HP would likely be a better beam comparison, but even given the numbers put out by the HP model, the EagTac still has the Stinger beat. So what does all this equate to in real world usability? First off, the HL has both a larger hotspot and a significantly larger beam spill. I can see the Stinger's beam being a better choice if I needed to catch the attention of motorists on a multilane road or lighting up a wide area simultaneously. The tint on the two is also very different. I'd consider both to be between Neutral and Cool White. The Stinger's hotspot is slightly warmer, followed by a slightly blueish-purple spill. The hotspot on the EagTac is cooler while the spill is a very sharp white-green-blue mix. None of this should discourage you from these lights; the tint on both is very well done, artifact free, and simply blinding. The transition between the hotspot to the spill is done very well on both, particularly the EagTac. In terms of lighting up a car, the Stinger will light up a wider area while the EagTac can punch through dark tint a lot better. The EagTac appears to be circuit regulated as there's no PMW present to my eyes. The Stinger is clearly PMW regulated, with PMW becoming apparent in the medium and low mode. The EagTac still turns on right away, but it lacks the quick tactility of the Stinger (which I'll discuss later). The strobe on both are effectively disorienting. The Stinger strobes at a constant slower rate while the EagTac has a two stage strobe. For whatever reason, the Stinger seems to dial the right frequency and disorients me a lot more and a lot faster than the EagTac.
GX30L2DR on High (spot beam only - 1250 ANSI-FL-1 lumens):
Stinger LED DS HL on High (640 ANSI FL-1 lumens):
In short, when it comes to the beam, the EagTac has the Stinger beat. That's not to say the Stinger's beam is mediocre. The Stinger has a useful beam, but it's clearly left in the shadows when compared to the EagTac.
Features & Usability
The Stinger is simple and straightforward. It has 4 modes: a high, medium, low, and strobe. The High will always come on first. To switch to the lower outputs, you press and hold the power button for roughly 2 seconds as it cycles through the outputs. To activate strobe, you double press the power button in any mode or from off. There's no ten-tap programmability, there are no other features. This is all you get on the Stinger. For some, this might be a heaven-sent. For others, it could leave them wanting more. The EagTac has two buttons of different sizes next to each other. The larger black button will take you to full brightness. It is not a traditional forward clicky that allows for momentary presses, although holding the button down for more than a second and then letting go will turn the light off, acting as a momentary press. For true tactical use, the Stinger's clicky is obviously the better choice because it allows for true momentary presses. The Stinger's clicky is so responsive, you can actuate the clicky to your liking and even create your own strobe. The clickies on the EagTac are stiff yet reassuring. The smaller white button on the EagTac is used to change modes. It can also turn the light on from off to the lowest output. I won't bore you with the details but the setup and interplay between the two buttons is very logical and welcoming for most uses. However, it is definitely not something you can understand right off the bat without a user manual, and it is not very well geared towards the tactical crowd.
One of the features the EagTac boasts is it's diffuser head LED array in addition to the XP-L spot LED. The LED diffuser array is a set of small leds that surround the head of the light that can provide a separate (4-800) lumens of diffused output.
Diffuser head only on low (8 lumens)...
It should be noted that taking photos of the full 820 lumen mode is challenging considering all you get is a ball of light on camera. You can be left to imagine the possibilities this diffuser head provides. With that said, it does introduce some problems. On high output spot only, a lot of the light coming out of the XP-L will leak in through the white diffuser head and affect your night vision, making it somewhat difficult seeing things at a distance. You can alleviate this by cupping your hands over the diffuser head, but I don't see that as being a good alternative when needing to use the high output for prolonged periods as the EagTac puts out a discernible amount of heat around the head. Speaking of which, the EagTac does a good job of controlling the heat this light puts out. Placing your hand in front of the light on high will actually make you uncomfortable after about 10 seconds -- I wouldn't be surprised if you could burn through electrical tape with this thing. There's also something to be said about durability, which I'll discuss in the next section.
The EagTac has more features. But do you really need them? Maybe you value the simple nature of the Stinger. It's for this reason that I say it's a draw when it comes to features. The Stinger offers better responsiveness for those who are looking for a more tactical light. So if you're in law enforcement, the Stinger probably has all you need and does a very good job with the little things that it does. That's not to say if you can get over the learning curve, the EagTac offers a host of welcome and simply badass features.
Durability & Reliability
This is usually the defining moment for the Chinese brand. Let's get this one thing straight: if there's something Streamlight can show for, it's their durability and reliability. Despite all the features and the latest tech they miss out on in their products, they can withstand a beating, which is what you'd expect given the price, and if your unit doesn't, they have a warranty first responders across the US have trusted for years. This measure is arguably the most important, and leaves all other considerations irrelevant for the law enforcement crowd. If the competition can't withstand a 12 hour shift in a car in the blistering Summer heat, be thrown around on a daily basis, used as a makeshift baton when it's all you have in your hand, or take a hard fall on concrete, then it just doesn't matter how cool of a light it is. It doesn't matter when your life depends on it. We know the Stinger's history, but what about the EagleTac's?
I haven't done any torture testing but I have dropped the EagTac on it's head twice while the light was on at about 4 feet high. It managed to take very small scratches to the diffuser but it stayed on and continues to work fine. I can't say confidently that it would do the same had I thrown the light or used it often as a striking tool. This might be why: The EagTac has a glass lens, while the Stinger has a polycarbonate lens. The polycarbonate lens will take a lot more to shatter but it is slightly easier to scratch. The Stinger feels a lot more durable than the EagTac, and it comes with a rubber ring you can place around the head. The EagTac has a more dense feel, yet it's smaller and feels more likely to get damaged on falls than the Stinger. About two months into owning the EagTac, it stopped turning on out of the blue. After sending it in for repair, the issue was the oem battery in my unit was too short. The battery was replaced and it's been working fine since. The Stinger has had two problems in my less than 1 month ownership. The tail clicky falsely registers my pressing and holding to switch modes as a double click and it wrongly switches into strobe. The other problem is actually with the AC charger; the charging led won't flash to tell me it's been fully charged. Both are minor problems. I haven't taken them in to get fixed yet, but I don't suppose it would be difficult getting them fixed.
When it comes to durability and reliability, it seems like the Stinger is still king despite the minor issues I've had with mine.
Value
So which of these is the better value? They're both roughly the same price. If you value the added functionality of the EagTac, the GX30L2DR is the better value. But considering the Stinger line tends to hold it's value well, overall cost of ownership could be lower with the Stinger. For someone who needs a light with a reputation of reliability, the Stinger would perhaps be a better value proposition. For this reason, I'd say it's a draw on value.
Conclusion
These are two stellar lights. Believe me when I say you can't go wrong with either. In fact, if it's within your budget, I'd even say you should buy both if you're in law enforcement or security. Otherwise, if you don't need a tactical oriented light with a history of reliability and durability, the EagTac gives you so much more in such a smaller package. As it stands, I can't quite say the GX30L2DR has dethroned the Stinger. I can, however, say that the GX30L2DR is perhaps the best Chinese brand alternative to the Stinger. If you don't plan on throwing your flashlight around, the GX30L2DR will likely be the best $145 you've ever spent on a flashlight.
Stinger on the left, GX30L2DR on the right.
The Beam
Although both lights may appear somewhat similar, they have vastly different technology behind the hood. For starters, the Stinger appears to have a Cree XM-L2 U2 while the EagTac has the newer Cree XP-L HI. Because the XP-L is de-domed, it has a smaller form factor and enables the EagTac to throw its beam a significantly farther distance despite the smaller diameter head. The EagTac is rated to throw 486 meters (while I can attest to), while the Stinger is rated at only 297 meters. At 59,100 candella, there's no getting around it -- the EagTac is obviously the brighter and more blinding than the Stinger which is rated at only 22,000 candella. While the beam of the EagTac is rated at 1250 ANSI FL-1 lumens, the diffuser led array will up total output to about 2000 lumens (which I'll discuss later), while the Stinger only puts out a max of 640 lumens. Because of the tight focus on the EagTac, the hotspot is smaller than the Stinger HL. It should be noted that Streamlight's Stinger HP would likely be a better beam comparison, but even given the numbers put out by the HP model, the EagTac still has the Stinger beat. So what does all this equate to in real world usability? First off, the HL has both a larger hotspot and a significantly larger beam spill. I can see the Stinger's beam being a better choice if I needed to catch the attention of motorists on a multilane road or lighting up a wide area simultaneously. The tint on the two is also very different. I'd consider both to be between Neutral and Cool White. The Stinger's hotspot is slightly warmer, followed by a slightly blueish-purple spill. The hotspot on the EagTac is cooler while the spill is a very sharp white-green-blue mix. None of this should discourage you from these lights; the tint on both is very well done, artifact free, and simply blinding. The transition between the hotspot to the spill is done very well on both, particularly the EagTac. In terms of lighting up a car, the Stinger will light up a wider area while the EagTac can punch through dark tint a lot better. The EagTac appears to be circuit regulated as there's no PMW present to my eyes. The Stinger is clearly PMW regulated, with PMW becoming apparent in the medium and low mode. The EagTac still turns on right away, but it lacks the quick tactility of the Stinger (which I'll discuss later). The strobe on both are effectively disorienting. The Stinger strobes at a constant slower rate while the EagTac has a two stage strobe. For whatever reason, the Stinger seems to dial the right frequency and disorients me a lot more and a lot faster than the EagTac.
GX30L2DR on High (spot beam only - 1250 ANSI-FL-1 lumens):
Stinger LED DS HL on High (640 ANSI FL-1 lumens):
In short, when it comes to the beam, the EagTac has the Stinger beat. That's not to say the Stinger's beam is mediocre. The Stinger has a useful beam, but it's clearly left in the shadows when compared to the EagTac.
Features & Usability
The Stinger is simple and straightforward. It has 4 modes: a high, medium, low, and strobe. The High will always come on first. To switch to the lower outputs, you press and hold the power button for roughly 2 seconds as it cycles through the outputs. To activate strobe, you double press the power button in any mode or from off. There's no ten-tap programmability, there are no other features. This is all you get on the Stinger. For some, this might be a heaven-sent. For others, it could leave them wanting more. The EagTac has two buttons of different sizes next to each other. The larger black button will take you to full brightness. It is not a traditional forward clicky that allows for momentary presses, although holding the button down for more than a second and then letting go will turn the light off, acting as a momentary press. For true tactical use, the Stinger's clicky is obviously the better choice because it allows for true momentary presses. The Stinger's clicky is so responsive, you can actuate the clicky to your liking and even create your own strobe. The clickies on the EagTac are stiff yet reassuring. The smaller white button on the EagTac is used to change modes. It can also turn the light on from off to the lowest output. I won't bore you with the details but the setup and interplay between the two buttons is very logical and welcoming for most uses. However, it is definitely not something you can understand right off the bat without a user manual, and it is not very well geared towards the tactical crowd.
One of the features the EagTac boasts is it's diffuser head LED array in addition to the XP-L spot LED. The LED diffuser array is a set of small leds that surround the head of the light that can provide a separate (4-800) lumens of diffused output.
Diffuser head only on low (8 lumens)...
It should be noted that taking photos of the full 820 lumen mode is challenging considering all you get is a ball of light on camera. You can be left to imagine the possibilities this diffuser head provides. With that said, it does introduce some problems. On high output spot only, a lot of the light coming out of the XP-L will leak in through the white diffuser head and affect your night vision, making it somewhat difficult seeing things at a distance. You can alleviate this by cupping your hands over the diffuser head, but I don't see that as being a good alternative when needing to use the high output for prolonged periods as the EagTac puts out a discernible amount of heat around the head. Speaking of which, the EagTac does a good job of controlling the heat this light puts out. Placing your hand in front of the light on high will actually make you uncomfortable after about 10 seconds -- I wouldn't be surprised if you could burn through electrical tape with this thing. There's also something to be said about durability, which I'll discuss in the next section.
The EagTac has more features. But do you really need them? Maybe you value the simple nature of the Stinger. It's for this reason that I say it's a draw when it comes to features. The Stinger offers better responsiveness for those who are looking for a more tactical light. So if you're in law enforcement, the Stinger probably has all you need and does a very good job with the little things that it does. That's not to say if you can get over the learning curve, the EagTac offers a host of welcome and simply badass features.
Durability & Reliability
This is usually the defining moment for the Chinese brand. Let's get this one thing straight: if there's something Streamlight can show for, it's their durability and reliability. Despite all the features and the latest tech they miss out on in their products, they can withstand a beating, which is what you'd expect given the price, and if your unit doesn't, they have a warranty first responders across the US have trusted for years. This measure is arguably the most important, and leaves all other considerations irrelevant for the law enforcement crowd. If the competition can't withstand a 12 hour shift in a car in the blistering Summer heat, be thrown around on a daily basis, used as a makeshift baton when it's all you have in your hand, or take a hard fall on concrete, then it just doesn't matter how cool of a light it is. It doesn't matter when your life depends on it. We know the Stinger's history, but what about the EagleTac's?
I haven't done any torture testing but I have dropped the EagTac on it's head twice while the light was on at about 4 feet high. It managed to take very small scratches to the diffuser but it stayed on and continues to work fine. I can't say confidently that it would do the same had I thrown the light or used it often as a striking tool. This might be why: The EagTac has a glass lens, while the Stinger has a polycarbonate lens. The polycarbonate lens will take a lot more to shatter but it is slightly easier to scratch. The Stinger feels a lot more durable than the EagTac, and it comes with a rubber ring you can place around the head. The EagTac has a more dense feel, yet it's smaller and feels more likely to get damaged on falls than the Stinger. About two months into owning the EagTac, it stopped turning on out of the blue. After sending it in for repair, the issue was the oem battery in my unit was too short. The battery was replaced and it's been working fine since. The Stinger has had two problems in my less than 1 month ownership. The tail clicky falsely registers my pressing and holding to switch modes as a double click and it wrongly switches into strobe. The other problem is actually with the AC charger; the charging led won't flash to tell me it's been fully charged. Both are minor problems. I haven't taken them in to get fixed yet, but I don't suppose it would be difficult getting them fixed.
When it comes to durability and reliability, it seems like the Stinger is still king despite the minor issues I've had with mine.
Value
So which of these is the better value? They're both roughly the same price. If you value the added functionality of the EagTac, the GX30L2DR is the better value. But considering the Stinger line tends to hold it's value well, overall cost of ownership could be lower with the Stinger. For someone who needs a light with a reputation of reliability, the Stinger would perhaps be a better value proposition. For this reason, I'd say it's a draw on value.
Conclusion
These are two stellar lights. Believe me when I say you can't go wrong with either. In fact, if it's within your budget, I'd even say you should buy both if you're in law enforcement or security. Otherwise, if you don't need a tactical oriented light with a history of reliability and durability, the EagTac gives you so much more in such a smaller package. As it stands, I can't quite say the GX30L2DR has dethroned the Stinger. I can, however, say that the GX30L2DR is perhaps the best Chinese brand alternative to the Stinger. If you don't plan on throwing your flashlight around, the GX30L2DR will likely be the best $145 you've ever spent on a flashlight.
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