A Quick Guide to Choosing the Right Light

Streamlight makes serious lighting tools for a wide variety of applications. We also make it easy to select the light that’s best for your specific needs. Just think about how you will use the light and consider these basic questions:

BATTERY TYPE?

Over the life of a light, traditional batteries are more costly than rechargeables if your light gets frequent use. If you keep your rechargeable light in its charger when not in use, it’s always ready and fully-charged when you need it. However, it’s easier to replace disposable batteries in the field when the batteries run out.

SAFETY RATING?

It’s important to know if you’ll be working in a hazardous environment and exactly what type of hazards may be present. Some flashlights can be very dangerous in certain environments. The information on page 10 will help you choose a light that’s both safe and effective for your needs.

DISPOSABLE OR RECHARGEABLE?

Disposable batteries, either alkaline or lithium, have excellent storage life, 7 and 10 years respectively. They generally offer longer runtimes for a given bulb power and are typically lower in initial purchase price and easier to keep spares on hand. Their operating costs are considerably higher than rechargeables (see chart) and they are seldom as bright. Lithium cells have high energy density, but are even more costly than alkaline.

Rechargeable flashlights using nickel cadmium, lead acid or lithium ion batteries feature extraordinarily low operating expense and are well suited for frequent use. They can often support a brighter bulb or LED and store conveniently in custom charger holders. Their initial purchase price is higher and they self discharge at a higher rate when in storage.

LIGHT MEASUREMENT?

We recommend that a user consider two light measurement factors when choosing a portable light:

1. TOTAL LIGHT OUTPUT — Lumens is a good measure of the overall visible light energy. It may be the total light coming from a bare bulb or the actual measured system output of the lighting device. It is largely a function of the light power of the bulb or LED. Lumens do not indicate how bright a target will appear. We use an integrating sphere to measure lumens.

2. PEAK CENTRAL INTENSITY — The brightest spot of a focused beam expressed in Candela. It is a function of the bulb and the effectiveness of the reflector in producing a focused beam. It yields a good representation of the tightness of the focus and the apparent brightness of the light on target at distance. We use a photometer, usually 100 feet away, to measure Peak Central Intensity.

Light output is also affected by the kind of bulb or LED that’s in your light. Here’s a rundown of your choices:

INCANDESCENT — Streamlight uses premium gas-filled lamps for high performance. Both xenon and halogen lamps provide high output for their size and a white, natural-appearing light. Halogen lamps“blacken” less as they age and may have longer life than xenon. Both require periodic replacement and can fail on extreme impact. They are easily focused — most powerful, highest performance, top choice for long distances.

LEDs (LIGHT EMITTING DIODES) — Solid-state construction. Very durable and long-lived — up to 100,000 hours. Do not require periodic replacement. Soft focus, short range. Good for close work. Typically much less power than incandescent lamp, but can give extremely long (100’s of hours) runtimes at low illumination levels.

SUPER HIGH-FLUX LED — Reliability of an LED with the performance of an incandescent. Extremely durable, lasting 10,000 to 50,000 hours.

COMBINATION LED/INCANDESCENT — Streamlight’s exclusive patented LED/Xenon combination lights combine the long running times and durability of LEDs with the brightness of an incandescent. Arguably the best of both worlds.

C4 TECHNOLOGY LED — The latest LED technology uses a new diode chip and Streamlight’s innovative use of reflectors to magnify, direct, and intensify the light beam. You get all the benefits of an LED with an intense beam that in many cases exceeds the brightness of an incandescent.

HID LIGHTS (HIGH INTENSITY DISCHARGE) — HID Lights feature rugged high pressure plasma arc lamps that generate more lumens per watt than LEDs or incandescent lamps. These lights can produce thousands of lumens.

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