Bad Luck With Streamlight Lately

Hi all!

I've been using Streamlight products for about 6 or 7 years, and I own about ten of their lights and have given many more as gifts. The lights have not given me much trouble until recently.

First, the switch on my Protac 2L went bad; just up and quit. Then the switch on my Protac 2AA started getting spotty and unreliable. Third, just yesterday, the switch on my Protac 1AA wouldn't work at all until I unscrewed it and screwed it back on a few times. Lastly, today I was using my Microstream USB to look around the basement, and after not even a minute on the lowest setting, it was almost too hot to hold!

Streamlight repaired my 2L and sent me a new switch for the 2AA. I haven't sent in the 1AA or the micro usb yet, and I'm wondering if I'll even bother. Has anyone else had the same bad luck I have had? I hope this isn't going to be the norm.

Should I start looking at other brands? I have a few Surefires that have never given me issues, and oddly enough, my old mag lites are still going strong after over a decade of hard use.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Sorry to learn of your troubles. I'm not too familiar with the brand, but I'd stop using that microstream USB immediately. Any time a light gets unnaturally hot, that's a signal that something's gone wrong with the battery. Could be potentially dangerous.

I'm pulling mine out as soon as i get home to see if i see what you're seeing. See ya later...

Nothing new. A few years ago I purchased Streamlight Juniors for my the lads at a previous place of work and we had 75% switch failure rate. Streamlight took care of it but then the replacement switches started to fail. We basically tossed the Juniors in the scrap metal bin. Replaced them with Pelican 2360's.

Nope. Can't say I've ever had a problem.

Had an issue with a charger frying and their CS was very good.

I should add that while Streamlight did fix the lights when I sent them in, their communication was poor and it took forever to get the fixed light back.

So now the question is should I go Surefire, Pelican, Fenix....?

Use this Streamlight every night... rain... whatever. No problems.

Only issues I've ever had with their lights were that the circuit would cut when the tailcap was hardly untightened. I just scuffed some coated threads and the issue was gone.

I experimented with little strips of foil at first and when I saw that worked I scuffed the first one or two threads so the thing could still have a lock out but not be so dang sensitive.

So far I haven't had any issues but I don't have a ton of Streamlight lights. My Microstream is maybe 5 years old and running just fine (although I had two- one got stolen). I've got two Stylus Pro 2xAAA lights and they're both fine so are. And my old Streamlight ARGO headlamp hasn't give me any issues, although to be fair it's not used a ton.

Honestly, sounds like an unfortunate run of bad luck. I have quite a few Streamlight models. Only one ever failed on me. A Nano. Wore it on my keychain on the outside, from a belt loop. Without me noticing, the head somehow unscrewed itself and the batteries fell out. I knew it has that issue. But every negative post I ever encountered said it happened when the light was worn inside a pocket.

Then there's their Night Fighter series of lights. But those are just very badly designed, and continue to be. Clearly made to take on SureFire's Z and C series of lights when the NF was first introduced. It was a miserable failure then, and continues to be. But in fairness, mine kept working reliably.... After I got rid of that idiotic clip & ring contraption. For awhile, it was the absolute smallest 2xCR123 light you could buy.

All my other Streamlights have proven incredibly headache-free.

My only issue with Microstreams is they keep developing legs and walking away.

I cannot seem to stop losing those things.

I feel for you.
I m lucky now cause I don't work around people who mess with my stuff. I don't like anything not living to be able to get up and relocate... same for pens, knives, and guns!!!

I have 2 x Protac 1AA lights that flicker like mad from nearly day 1 (tried everything to fix, including taking the switches out and cleaning them), but my Protac 1L and my Protac 1L-1AA have been reliable and rock solid.
Out 4 or so Microstreams, 1 came with a very bad LED (somewhat coated in a layer of something), otherwise they have been solid too.
Also have a Nano which on the first day on my keychain accidentally got scratched, then I noticed whenever a metal key touches that scratch it completes the circuit and inadvertently turns on, needless to say it came straight off of my keychain and the Fenix E01 went back on.

So in short, I want to like Streamlight, but I think their quality is hit or miss. I'd like to see them bring their manufacturing back to the US and charge a bit more, as there is no point making and selling rubbish.

I have to say that it was due to my disappointment with Stramlight's quality that I ended up purchasing a HDS and a Malkoff MDC SHO for my tac light, so my story ended happily.