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Reviewer's
Impressions:
The Streamlight
NightFighter 2 appears to be in response to those who
wanted a few different features from those found in
the Streamlight Scorpion. This unit is all aluminum
with a pocket clip attached on the side and a grip ring
that allows from some specialized tactical grips used
by police and security personnel.
The body, made of anodized machined aluminum, is cut
with a shallow checkering to assist grip. The tailcap
has longitudinal grooves to facilitate twisting, as
does the focusing ring around the head of the light.
The polymer grip ring is infinitely adjustable and can
be slid up and down the body of the light by loosening
the set screw in the side of the ring. When tightening
the set screw, pressure is applied on the pocket clip
so the light is not marred by the screw. In the event
you would like to remove the pocket clip a spare lanyard
hole tab is included to take the place of the longer
metal clip. A hex wrench is also included. Be careful
removing the grip ring as there is a nut between the
ring and the clip that will drop out when the ring is
removed from the barrel of the light.
The reflector is made of aluminum with a brightly polished
coating or surface. There is a texture to the reflector
to help smooth out the beam produced by the lighting
element. The light includes a spare bulb inside the
head of the light. Remove the bezel cap and you will
see a silver button on the bottom of the lamp assembly.
Remove the silver button (don't lose it!) to reveal
the spare bulb. The lamp assembly can be removed from
its supporting spring and the bi-pin bulb pulled out
and replaced.
The switch is the standard "tactical" style
tailcap. Twist for constant on/off, push in on the button
on the end for momentary on, release the button and
it shuts off. Streamlight has made the momentary button
on the end flush with the rest of the tailcap so that
the light can be stood on its tail end and also to
help prevent accidental activation of the light. Although
the light does not have a lockout type tailcap, twisting
the tailcap backwards two full turns makes it very difficult
to activate the pushbutton switch by accident.
The light is sealed throughout with O-rings and plenty
of silicone grease to prevent the entry of water or
other elements of the environment.
The NightFighter uses lithium 123a batteries for power
and will run for about an hour on new batteries. The
beam can be focused from a tight spot to a wide flood.
In doing so, a circular "hole" develops in
the beam. This is pretty standard for adjustable lights.
These batteries are very expensive in retail stores
and instead should be purchased from an online retailer
like BatteryStation.com.
Included with the light is a good quality nylon lanyard
with a pair of spring stops for adjusting it to fit.
Since I am not in the police or security profession,
I'm not sure how effective the grip ring would be for
holding the light in a tactical type situation. I do
know that lights with similar grip rings have a protruding
momentary tailcap button so that, with your fingers
against the grip ring, squeezing the back end of the
light into your palm will turn the light on. Since the
momentary tailcap button on the NF-2 is flush, this
does not seem readily possible. It would be necessary
to turn the light on first by twisting the tailcap.
Personally, I removed the grip ring and use the light
as a great little compact super bright light. If you
want a very similar light but without the grip ring,
check out the Streamlight
Tactical Lights.
+ + + Pluses: Water resistant, Durable, Bright,
Easy battery change, Lightweight, Stands up
- - - Minuses: No significant faults.
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