L4 w/ Pila or Strion???

Which do you think would make a better walking light, the L4 w/ Pila or the Strion?

Thanks,
Robert

Any answer I make will sound like a sales pitch....

But here goes, The L4 has the advantage of being able to use either 123s or the Pila batteries. The Strion costs less. The L4 is a Surefire, the Strion is not a Surefire.

Ok...I said my part. Sometimes I miss the days when my posts did not sound like a sales pitch.

Even though I sell Surefires, I would have to advise against the L4 for a walking light purpose. In my opinion, it runs too hot if you keep it on for a while like you would do whilst walking. I used mine with pilas and that's what happenned. Maybe it's different with 123A's, but that I don't know.

I recommend the L4. BTW, the Strion would probably get piping hot as well, if it is anything like a Pila light. The Strion certainly has a cost advantage (~$80 vs. $150-$180), & has better throw. The L4 is just so cool, has nice flood, and has options for batteries and packs. But the biggest factor is probably your personal preference for luxeons or xenon bulbs.

The Strion will probably run cooler than the L4 because it's an incandescent. That's why they can make powerful incandescent lights like the PT Surge out of plastic, but 5W LED lights are all metal.

The Strion is intended as a smaller replacement for the Stinger, which is definitely a use-it-every-night light popular with LEO's, security guards, etc.

The Strion's bulbs seem to be outlandishly expensive though. I wonder if you can use a Stinger bulb in a Strion. And maybe some of the modders will have LED mods for the Strion before long.

If you don't need a pocket sized light, you can of course consider a Stinger or Polystinger.

Advantage of Strion is that you don't need remove battery for recharge.

At southwestpublicsaftey(dot)com strion bulbs are $5.

Interesting, My L4 gets hot but never uncomfortably hot. Has anyones L4 been damaged by the heat. I Have used mine for 40 minutes at a time with no ill effects.

I have had mine turn off automatically. I guess it msut have been some heat protection circuitry.

I leave my L4 on till the battery (on Pila now, and CR123 before) dies all the time. It does get very hot if I don't hold on to it. I say the body is barely touchable after leaving it on the desk for like 20 minutes. But I haven't try that during summer yet, may be that's another story.

I just got my Strion today. It's every bit as bright as the Stinger I've used for years. It's been running for about 45 minutes straight. Nice and warm, not hot. The throw and side spill are equal to the Stinger. Stinger's beam quality is smoother due to the more aggressive stipple pattern of it's reflector. I think SL chose a softer pattern for the smaller Strion reflector to enable it to throw as well as the Stinger.
At work, I need a flashlight with 80+ lumens for chassis and engine compartment inspection. My friend's L4 is a better looking flashlight by far but doesn't come close to Stinger & Strion in light output. It's beam quality is much better although a bit too blueish. His Mclux PR-T 917 TWOJ on the L4 body has the whitest and best beam shape I've seen yet.
It all comes down to how and what you're using the light for. I use mine a lot every day and night so rechargeability is a must. The Stinger/Strion systems are as practical as it gets and believe it or not, I've never lost a bulb to burn out. Only shock from being dropped.
Brian

Can the Strion be focused tightly enough to outthrow the Stinger, and how long does it maintain steady brightness?

Brightnorm

I've had my L4 (and g2z with the 80 lumen lamp)with pilas for two weeks now, and all I can say is that it is great! My beam is pretty much white too...

I've noticed my L4 does get a little warm after a while, but when you say 'walking light,' do you only use it intermittently when required or will you run it for most of the time?

I have no experience with the strion...

After having my L4 on for 5+ minutes, the head is too hot to hold on to. But I still like it.

The Strion beam can be focused to a very narrow beam. Runtime, from mine, is 70+ minutes. I haven't had it shut off on me, yet...

--dan

For me the L4 is the perfect walking light. I use it very frequently at constant on for 1-1½ hours on Pilas, and it never gets very hot as long as I walk with it, thus the airflow cools it. I've used it for several months now and the output hasn't degraded at all, and is still as high as when the light was new. Mine runs about 55 min. on a Pila 168s, so I may have gotten a good emitter with low Vf. Snow white too BTW.

Jan

[ QUOTE ]
dano said:
The Strion beam can be focused to a very narrow beam. Runtime, from mine, is 70+ minutes. I haven't had it shut off on me, yet...

--dan

[/ QUOTE ]

Looks like I'll be selling my Stinger,

Brightnorm

I would give the Strion a try.

Bought two Strions last night. Can't wait to get my hands on them!

I am KEEPING my SL-20X AND Stinger!

ppmd

if you keep your hand around the head of the L4 (grab it with your last 2 fingers) then it doesnt get very hot as it is "liquid cooled" (the blood in your hand takes the heat away)
it makes a nice light in winter /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
i havent seen a strion yet - but the stinger is a great light, it seems to just keep working - only problem ive had with mine is when i havent charged it before work and it dies on me (but thats operator error not the torches fault)