Streamlight Ultrastinger LED Initial Impressions (pics)

As soon as I removed the Ultrastinger from it's box, the first thing that came out my mouth was "damn, that's heavy." It's got a nice heft to it, although it's likely too heavy for duty belt carry.

Here's a beamshot to give you an impression of the range. Excuse my camera phones inability to take a quality photo in the dark...





Ultrastinger LED on High (1100 lumens, 510 meter throw)...



Eagletac GX30L2DR on High (1700 lumens, 480 meter throw) for comparison...




The hotspot on the Ultrastinger is larger than the GX30L2DR's. However, at long distances, the GX30L2DR has noticeably better peripheral illumination. From the naked eye, throw is equal between the two, although the Ultrastinger's more focused beam and lack of a diffuser head makes it easier to see things out at a distance. The tint on the Ultrastinger is cool white, on par with the Strion LED HL, while the GX30L2DR has a more neutral white tint.

GX30L2DR on the left, Ultrastinger on the right.



I'm liking the Ultrastinger. The button and overall build is what you'd expect from Streamlight. I'm very pleased, especially considering the Ultrastinger can be had with the charger for roughly $100 on eBay right now.

Interesting observation: the lens on the Ultrastinger is the same as the lens on the Survivor series made for firefighters.

Thanks for the write up. Would you say the beam is more in line with the original led stinger with no spill at distance? I'm rocking the Strion HL which I love for the bigger hot spot. I wanted the Ultra to compliment it but don't really want a dedicated thrower as my main light.

Thanks for the pix n words.

My incan strion just showed up today (a week early) so I'm all excited...
Nothing like yours and 930's mind you, but still a really nice little light.

CDP930 said:

Thanks for the write up. Would you say the beam is more in line with the original led stinger with no spill at distance? I'm rocking the Strion HL which I love for the bigger hot spot. I wanted the Ultra to compliment it but don't really want a dedicated thrower as my main light.

Click to expand...

So I have the Stinger LED HL and the hotspot size on it is equal to the Ultrastinger LED. The Stinger HL has a wider spill angle than the Ultrastinger, and the spill is noticeably brighter. Between the standard Stinger, Ultrastinger, and Strion HL, I would personally go with the Strion HL as a primary light. The beam tint on the Strion HL is the coolest white of the three. It's obviously the smallest. It casts a much wider hotspot as you mentioned but it retains the fantastically wide spill angle as on the Stinger HL (and possibly standard Stinger). At distances less than 100', it is definitely a better option over the much larger Stinger, which doesn't offer any noticeable gains. The Ultrastinger might be overkill -- at less than 6" from the head, you can make out the "blank spot" of the LED when you get an LED light too close to a surface, and even in the low mode, it is way too bright to do anything up close. This makes the Ultrastinger impractical as an everyday light in my opinion, without taking into consideration it's sheer bulk.

Here is a comparison in beams between the Strion HL, Stinger HL, and Eagtac GX30L2DR I did a few days ago.

bykfixer said:

Thanks for the pix n words.

My incan strion just showed up today (a week early) so I'm all excited...
Nothing like yours and 930's mind you, but still a really nice little light.

Click to expand...

Great, I hope it serves you well!

Wife sees the Strion and says "I thought you weren't going to buy that one."...looking all disappointed like... I say "no that was the Stinger." So she smiled again...
Has me thinking maybe she bought me that Stinger HL I had in my hands at a store recently for Christmas. (crossing fingers)

bykfixer said:

Wife sees the Strion and says "I thought you weren't going to buy that one."...looking all disappointed like... I say "no that was the Stinger." So she smiled again...
Has me thinking maybe she bought me that Stinger HL I had in my hands at a store recently for Christmas. (crossing fingers)

Click to expand...

Hahaha if it is, you'll be very pleased. It's a great utility light that I like to hold even when I don't need it, just because of how it feels in the hand.

I'll know in 15 days!!