Streamlight SL-35x vs UltraStinger Why is Ultrastinger Rated with more Candlepower?

The Streamlight SL-35x has a:
"Nickel-cadmium 6 Volt, 2.4 amp hour, ½ D; rechargeable up to 1,000 times"
and a lamp of:
"20 watt, hard glass halogen pre-focused in spun reflector"
yet the candlepower is:
"Up to 40,000 pre-focused"

The Streamlight UltraStinger has a:
"Nickle-cadmium 6 Volt, 1.8 amp hour, sub-C; rechargeable up to 1,000 times."
and a lamp of:
" 6.3 Volt, 10 watt, xenon-halogen gas filled bi-pin. "
but the candlepower is:
"Up to 75,000"

(All quotes from the Streamline web site.) http://www.streamlight.com/

So the SL-35x has a slightly "bigger" battery with a more powerful bulb, but the UltraStinger has more Candlepower?

Has anyone compared the two? It seems to me that the bigger battery with the bigger bulb should be brighter?

Also, I have read some people hinting about new upgrades to the 2002 line. Anyone know when they will be released?

Thanks,

(I did search before posting this, and did not find any answers)

Re: Streamlight SL-35x vs UltraStinger Why is Ultrastinger Rated with more Candlepower?

UltraStinger has a tighter spot; thus, the "density" of the light, i.e. the candlepower rating is higher.

Re: Streamlight SL-35x vs UltraStinger Why is Ultrastinger Rated with more Candlepower?

Following up on mad_scientist's simple and elegant explanation: "candlepower" is a very misleading term. A manufacturer can select a portion of the beam, perhaps a tiny area in the very center, or the entire beam diameter if it is very small, measure that and call it "the candlepower rating". Thus, you could have a big, powerful but dispersed light that puts out oodles of lumens absolutely humbled by a much less powerful light with all its light crammed into a tiny tight little beam.

For example: let's say you have a mega lamp that puts out an amount of light we can call "100". Another light puts out "10". If the 100 light's beam has a 10 FOOT diameter at 20 feat, and the 10 light's beam has a 10 INCH diameter at 20 feet, you can imagine how a manufacturer can claim that his 10 inch light has more candlepower that the 10 footer.

If you have a focusable flashlight you can demonstrate this very easily. Focus it down to its smallest diameter. Notice the bright whiteness of that small diameter beam. Then open up the beam til it's very wide (with that dread hole in the middle).Notice how dim any given portion is. The same amount of light is now dispersed over a greater area.
Of course the manufacturer will post a measurement taken from the more tightly focused beam.

I like to think in terms of

1) the total AMOUNT of light

2) how FOCUSED, or conversely, how DISPERSED the beam is

Anyway, you get the idea.

Brightnorm

Re: Streamlight SL-35x vs UltraStinger Why is Ultrastinger Rated with more Candlepower?

Thanks!

There are some nice, polite, helpful people on this forum!

I am new here, but I hang out at some other forums where I am one of the "experienced people", and some times things get very heated.

Then you get new commers that ask questions without first doing a search or reading any posts.

Then you get cranky "old timers" that answer every question with "DO A SEARCH FIRST!" and flame everyone that types in all caps!

Right now, in my search for a brighter bigger, cleaner flashlight beam, I have it narrowed down to about 4 options:

1. Buy a LEDCORP Professional Series III and put it in my Maglight and see how it looks. (40 bucks, if I like it, I have to buy 2). It sounds like this would give me a lot of nice even, pure light up close, but not give me a long beam.

2. Place a $ 50.00 or so order with Carley and buy two aluminum reflectors, and get some Halogen, frosted coated lamps for my Maglight.

3. Just buy some Halogen bulbs from one of the online bulb speciality places. (cheapest solution!)

4. Go for broke and buy 2 Streamlight lights, and one charger. (based on my weight and large spot requirements, the SL-35x sounds like a better light for my needs.

Just FYI, I need the lights on a daily basis to walk my dog in an un-lit park at night, and to double as weights for my hands (hence the reason for wanting a slighter "heaver" light). Most of the time, if a person was carrying 2 lights for an hour or two, they would want a lighter light! Too bright, and it could hurt my dog's eyes (A very active wonderful 8 month old Jack Russell Terrier that tears up this park with her 13 pounds of excitement every night!)

OH, and I do have a 3,000,000 rechargable Optronics spotlight to satisfy my need for the ultimate bright spotlight! (We use that when we "loose" a ball!)

Man I wish this place was around way back when, when I was a boy scout! Then we had a flood this spring at the Hospital where I work, and we were without ANY Power at all for about 3 days, and then it took about 12 days to get complete power restored, and I had to live with my flashlights for almost two weeks, and depend on them. I re-discovered my enjoyment using flashlights!

Thanks again!

Re: Streamlight SL-35x vs UltraStinger Why is Ultrastinger Rated with more Candlepower?

I wouldn't recommend getting the LEDCORP bulb, since it is pricey, but provides no other features than an incandescent, other than being failure-proof.

If you want to order from Carley, look into their XenonStar series. They do quite good with MagLites. Carley's PR-base bulbs are the only good ones on the market (to my knowledge).

If you want to buy two Streamlights, I would recommend one of them being an UltraStinger (I'm considering getting one myself), since most of people prefer it over the other Stingers for its relatively compact size and high output. It has a good beam with adjustable focus (SL-35x is non-adjustable).


...to satisfy my need for the ultimate bright spotlight!
To satisfy your need for the ultimate bright spotlight you would have to shell out several grand for PlasmaBeam.

Re: Streamlight SL-35x vs UltraStinger Why is Ultrastinger Rated with more Candlepower?

The Plasma Beam! 7 million candle power!

Yea, but will it fit on my keychain!?!?!?

I forgot a couple of options on my post above:

5. I might consider using NiMH batteries in my 3D and using a 2D halogen PR bulb.

6. As I seem to enjoy this, I might do more than one option, as I seem to enjoy this, and I will not look at the results as a success or a failure, but rather as the end result of a recreational activity.

ALSO, I think I would NOT get the SL-35x, but rather the SL-20X because it is more the size and shape of a 3D light. If I need more power, I can put the SL-35x bulb in the SL-20x (with the understanding that I will get reduced battery time).

MAD_SCIENTIST, question for you. From what I am reading above, the UltraStinger is brighter, but with a narrower focus, and I think that I would prefer a larger hot spot at a closer range (say 100-300 feet, maybe sometimes a little more).

I also might wait and see what the 2002 new products will be from Streamlight and Sure Fire. I read somewhere on this forum that SureFire might offer a 3D sized rechargable light in 2002.

However, that is an idea to consider, get one SL-20x and one UltraStinger. I have distance and a wide flood.

Thanks.

Re: Streamlight SL-35x vs UltraStinger Why is Ultrastinger Rated with more Candlepower?

As I said, UltraStinger has adjustable focus: wide flood to tight spot.

SF will produce a light of the size of 3D Mag only after hell freezes over.