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Reviewer's
Impressions:
The Streamlight ProPolymer 4-AA fits comfortably in the hand
and produces a very passable quantity of light. Brighter and
smaller than any of the other 7 white 5mm LED lights I have
reviewed, this could easily become my "general purpose"
LED light of choice. The fact that it runs on inexpensive
AA batteries is a bonus. If you look around, there are several
large retailers selling 40 AA alkaline batteries for $10,
sometimes 80 AA for $10. Although not quite as good as the
"big brand" alkalines, these third-party alkalines
often have 80-90 percent of the power of their "big brand"
competitors and are a great value for the money.
Fit and finish are quite good. There was a little rough spot
in the mold where the lanyard hole was located, but that was
easily fixed with a quick rub on a rough surface (concrete).
Otherwise the light had no noticeable surface, texture, or
fitting flaws.
The quality of the light appears to be quite good as well.
Good solid solder connections are used in the LED module of
the light. The LEDs are protected from too much voltage with
resistors. The entire light is quite durable, withstanding
the standard drops and tosses. The rubber bezel cover provides
a certain amount of protection from shock and the polymer
body absorbs some of the force of impacts.
Output was very good, coming in at ~150 lux at one meter.
This is about 25 more lux than any of the other 7 white 5mm
LED lights I've reviewed. Of course over time the light output
dims, but does not turn yellow like incandescent lights. You'll
probably want to change the batteries after 6-7 hours of use
(the point of 50% brightness output) but in a pinch it will
produce light for up to 155 hours or more. (SEE UPDATE BELOW!)
Beam quality was good, and fairly typical of white LEDs.
The beam was a bluish white flood of light in the direction
the torch was pointed. The center of the beam was brighter
and had a slightly more bluish tint than the rest of the beam.
Good for close to medium range tasks.
Water resistance is very good, being advertised as "waterproof".
The sink dunk test revealed no leakage. The light is not rated
for any particular depth and therefore should not be used
as a dive light.
Important things to note: The unit can be stood on its tail
end providing room lighting when reflecting the light off
of the ceiling. The tail pushbutton switch can be just slightly
awkward to press due to the "accidental activation"
protections - raised areas molded into the body (see tail
pic above). You have to reach over the raised tabs to turn
the light on or turn the light sideways for easy access to
the switch. This is only a minor inconvenience, and I would
much rather have those tabs there rather than risk dropping
the light on its switch and having it shut off and skitter
away from me in the dark.
Improvements: As I often say with LED lights; a regulator
circuit to provide constant brightness would be nice, but
would add significantly to the cost of the light.
+ + + Pluses: Waterproof, Tough/impact
resistant, Long battery life, Bright, Easy battery change,
Lightweight, Stands up, Hazardous location ratings, Protected
switch, Vented
- - - Minuses: No particular significant
minuses, Generally a very good little light for close to medium
range tasks, but not long range lighting tasks.
UPDATE JULY 2004: After hearing numerous complaints from
readers and users of this light I am downgrading the review
rating. This is because of multiple premature failures on
the part of the LED module. You may notice that the numbers
on the Throw vs. Output chart are pretty high for a light
with only 7 LEDs. That is because they are being driven with
so much current that the LEDs are overheating and many people
are experiencing premature failure of the LEDs. The symptoms
are usually a strobing of one or more of the LEDs. If this
happens to yours, contact Streamlight for replacement.
To avoid this condition I would recommend that
owners of this light either use a dummy cell and run it on
only 3 AA alkaline batteries (less light output is the result)
or run it for short periods only.
As an experiment I decided to run my sample
on 4 AA rechargable NiMH cells for a while and although the
module gets warm (and less light is produced) it does not
get anywhere near as hot as with 4AA alkaline cells. So my
observations suggest using 4 rechargable cells or only 3 alkaline
cells and a dummy cell in this light; NOT four alkaline cells
as recommended by the manufacturer.
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