Streamlight 74778 Strion LED HL 615-Lumen Recahrgeable Professional Flashlight with 120V/100V/12V DC Piggyback Charger, Black

Really bright and worth the money used for hunting

I've owned a number of "professional" flashlights over the years. My fascination with these products started while I was involved as a Sheriff's deputy in search and rescue at night on partially frozen lakes. What a difference a decent light makes for your own safety and finding what you're looking for!Hand-held flashlights have certainly come a long way since the days of the incandescent bulb and the much improved Xenon bulbs. LED's are the way to go (although HID has applications in certain applications requiring extraordinary power). This light is the latest edition of the duty light being carried by many professional users that like the Streamlight brand. It represents a substantial upgrade over the Streamlight Stinger product line in that the Strion product line uses Lithium Ion battery technology instead of the Nickle Metal Hydride technology used in the Stinger. The result is higher energy density which translates into more or longer light production for a given battery weight. L-Ion batteries also perform better at extremely low temperatures and don't self-discharge anywhere nearly as fast as most NiMiH batteries. So if you're leaving it off the charger for an extended period you're more likely to have a useable light 3 months later. The other important feature of this light is a newer generation of LED that produces 500 lumens on the highest of the 3 settings. This flashlight puts out more light than the headlights on my first car I bought back in the 70's. The beam is a moderately wide spot with a fair amount of light spillage outside the central beam. I find it a very useful pattern as it can be used to search out to 200 - 300 feet while spilling enough light so you can see where you're about to put your feet as you walk along with the central beam pointed forward. The tailcap switch works well once you get used to it. You can use the switch for a moment with a half-press or lock it on with a full press. It even has a strobe feature if you quickly double-click the tailswitch. It's a curiosity for me, but might be useful in certain law-enforcement situations.Unlike the old days where you had to remove the flashlight from your belt holster loop in order to sit in a vehicle, this light is small enough to stay in the holster. Yet it provides much more light than my first Xenon Streamlight. You can even carry it in a normal pants or jacket pocket. Size matters and this is the flashlight I use the most. (By the way, a holster is NOT included. I bought one from NiteIze that works fairly well.)The light comes with a nice secure snap-in AC/DC charger too. It's great if you don't want to fiddle with plugging in USB cables or need to mount in in a car/boat/ATV and not worry about it flying out of the charger when you hit a bump or jump a wave.

Love this light, put the charging cradle in my truck and it has proven itself as one of the most useful flashlights I own. Perfect throw distance to spot channel markers out of a boat at a comfortable distance when hunting, stands out as a reliable light in any weather. I have not noticed and adverse effects on my truck battery from the charger cradle and I’ve had it for 11 months. Light does get warm during use at the head but that’s to be expected from a high output light. I really like the tail cap switch and the small size. Battery recharges extremely fast on the 12V DC charger. Flashing LED charge indicator does not mess with my vision at night while driving and the charger installs easily. My favorite feature is that it is always ready to be used, no worrying about batteries since it is always on the charger in my truck. Overall would absolutely spend hard earned money on it again and if I break it I will absolutely be buying another!

Good product

I have multiple Streamlight products, so I had high expectations for the Strion rechargable LED, and I am not disappointed. The flashlight is extremely bright for its size and fits perfectly in your hand. The button cap controls are intuitive and easy to operate (I can't say this for some other brands of tactical-style flashlights I own). My only complaints are minor ones:First, I was really looking forward to having the car charger, so that the flashlight could be recharged on camping trips. I was disappointed to find, however, that using the car charging cord requires the use of the charging bracket, which I intend to mount to the wall in the laundry room. I guess I was expecting that it would be a cord capable of clipping onto the light and charging it independent of the wall charger. I will look into getting a second wall bracket so I can utilize the car charger separately.My other observation is really minor, and that is about the way the bracket mounts to the wall. Given the force it takes to pull the flashlight from the bracket, I want to make sure the screws hit a stud in the wall. The bracket, however, is made such that the screws are on the horizontal axis (if you mount it so the flashlight lens is up, as they recommend) not the vertical axis, so that it would be easy to screw into a single stud. Additionally the holes are too far apart for the two screws to hit one stud. It is a minor annoyance for me, and perhaps there is a compelling reason why it is designed that way, but it's one of those things that leaves me scratching my head.All that being said, however, this light and its accessories are extremely well made, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.Updated note: So I guess I should have done more research to know exactly what I was getting (but this was an Amazon "lighting deal" so I still came out OK price-wise). I now see that this flashlight is available in a different set, which includes the two charger cords and two holders. The regular price on Amazon for this option seems to be better than if you purchase the second base separately. Still very happy with my purchase, however.