Streamlight Inc. has been one of the most familiar names in law enforcement illumination for decades. This year Streamlight has just announced the release of the UltraStinger LED patrol flashlight. The UltraStinger features the latest in high-powered LED technology, providing an amazingly bright 1,100 lumens and 65,000 candela in a long-distance beam.
The UltraStinger becomes the most powerful model in the entire signature Stinger® family. From the Streamlight press release we read:
“The UltraStinger LED features a complete redesign of the original UltraStinger, including the latest in C4 LED technology for extreme brightness and an engineered optic that provides superior beam distance down range,” said Streamlight Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Michael F. Dineen. “It’s a tremendous tool for everything from patrol duty and other first responder applications to troubleshooting automotive problems or for a variety of industrial uses.”
Streamlight UltraStinger Specifications
- Material – 6000 series aircraft anodized aluminum
- Grip – Non-slip rubberized
- Overall Length – 11.82″
- Handle Width – 1.19″
- Bezel Width – 2.37″
- Weight – 19.9 oz.
- Lens – Unbreakable, scratch-resistant polycarbonate
- Light Type – C4 LED Technology
- Brightness Level – 1,100 lumens, 65,000 candela on high
- Brightness Settings – High/medium/low/strobe (factory default)
- Power Source – (5-cell), 6-Volt Ni-MH sub-C battery
- Rechargeable – Up to 1,000 times, works with all existing Stinger chargers
- Recharge Time – 10 hours on 100V, 120V, 230V or 240VAC, or 12VDC charge cords
- Durability – Impervious to shock, 50,000 hour lifetime run time
- Options – A 2.5 hour “Smart” 120V fast charger is available
- Water Resistance – IPX4 water-resistant
- Drop Resistance – Up to 3 meters
- Warranty – Limited lifetime
- MSRP – $201.00 to $261.00 depending on configuration
Streamlight UltraStinger LED Features
The new UltraStinger LED features an easy access, head-mounted pushbutton switch that is designed for extremely long life, and an O-ring sealed, unbreakable polycarbonate lens with scratch-resistant coating. Highly durable, the UltraStinger LED has a machined aluminum housing that is anodized against corrosion, both inside and out, and features both water and drop resistance ratings.
The new UltraStinger LED offers three microprocessor-controlled, variable intensity modes, including high, medium and low, plus the very important strobe mode. With the light on high, the beam delivers 1,100 lumens, 65,000 candela with a beam distance of 510 meters. The UltraStinger LED can maintain the high setting for 1.5 hours.
As a word of caution, the 1,100 lumens is definitely a fantastic brightness level. However, if misused, the officer runs a serious risk of “washing out” their own vision. High intensity light of that magnitude will reflect off of glass, metal, and even foliage. Though the illumination level is magnificent, there is a potential that the officer could inadvertently blind themselves, or destroy (wash out) their night vision to the point if they needed to go “lights out“, they would see black and be blinded from effective movement.
The medium light setting provides a very respectable 350 lumens, and 21,000 candela, with a beam distance of 290 meters. The run time for the medium setting is 4.5 hours, and could be an ideal setting for field searches or longer searches of complicated structures.
When the officers uses the low light setting, the beam produces 90 lumens, 5,000 candela beam with a beam out to a distance of 141 meters. On the low setting the UltraStinger has a run time of 16 hours. The “low” setting on the UltraStinger is actually a little disappointing for me.
There are many times when an officer simply needs a navigation light – something very low-powered, but just enough to see any terrain obstacles. A light low enough that it doesn’t immediately give away an officer’s location when powered up.
The UltraStinger LED low setting of 90 lumens is just too much in my opinion. I can remember just a few years ago when 90 lumens was one of the highest levels of light produced by LED flashlights, and there are still several lights on the market with 90 lumens as their highest light output. That amount of lumens was more than capable of illuminating threats in a manner that blinded and shielded the officer’s exact location.
The strobe setting uses an intermittent use of the high settings 1,100 lumens. While using the strobe function full-tim the UltraStinger LED offers a run time of 3.25 hours. The BlueSheepDog Crew has spoken often about the huge benefits of a strobe function on flashlights.
The strobe can be used just fine by officers navigating dark pathways, without providing a threat an exact location or proximity of the officers. In addition, when a threat is located, the strobe function does an outstanding job of interfering with the threat’s ability to focus, and again prevents a threat from identifying an exact location or distance of the officer – particularly if the light is held away from the body. This disruption of depth perception and location can provide the officer the fraction of a second advantage to succeed in a deadly force situation.
The UltraStinger LED has included the Ten-Tap programmable switch, which allows users to select from one of three different programs: high/medium/low/strobe (the factory default), high only without strobe; or high/medium/low without strobe. The customization feature of the UltraStinger is very attractive.
Available in black, the UltraStinger LED has an MSRP ranging from $201.00 to $261.00 depending on the configuration, and includes Streamlight’s Limited Lifetime Warranty.