|
The Scorpion LED is a high intensity LED flashlight
made by Streamlight.
It is designed for anyone who needs a very small but
extremely bright and lightweight flashlight. This is
the next generation of the venerable Scorpion with the
xenon bulb now replaced with a Luxeon LED and power
regulator circuit to provide constant brightness though
most of the battery life. Worry about bulb life no more,
as the LED never needs replacement and can withstand
impacts that will likely destroy the rest of the flashlight!
The body of the light is machined aluminum and is covered
with a black rubber sleeve to improve grip and weather
resistance. The head is anodized black and has a double
finned protruding ring which is machined flat on three
sizes to serve as an anti-roll device. The rubber coating
on the body is formed in such a way that it forms a
weather resistant seal against the inside of the head
of the light.
The Scorpion LED uses a shock resistant Luxeon LED
bulb to produce a very intense white light. This is
coupled with a textured reflector to reduce the rings
and distortions seen in the beams of common flashlights
and a power regulator to provide near constant brightness
during the useful battery life. Protecting the reflector
and LED is a recessed tempered glass lens. The beam
is permanently focused and the head is tightened down
against the body in normal use.
Output is in the form of a very smooth spot with a
bright corona and spillbeam. No focusing is possible
or necessary. Absolutely gorgeous and extremely useful
beam. The "white" output seems slightly on
the green side, but the ever-so-slight tint is not distracting
or predominant.
Beam at one meter at target center and at target edge
to show spillbeam.
Runtime Graph: Runtime is advertised as approximately
1¾ hours regulated output followed by 2 hours
diminishing. I must say that I am thoroughly surprised
by Streamlight's estimates of runtime because they are
wayyyy off. 1¾ hours regulated output? HA! Try
2½ hours! YEA, BABY! The runtime graph shows
that it actually ran much longer than Streamlight said
it should. It's really good to see that some manufacturers
are using conservative estimates for runtime instead
of the usual outrageous exaggerations that have become
commonplace.
Runtime
completed with included "Streamlight" batteries.
More information on runtime plots is available HERE.
A sepcial request was made to try out the Scorpion
LED with a Pila 168S rechargable cell, which can replace
two 123A cells in some lights. Overall output was reduced
by about 20% when using Pilas. Here is the runtime result:
Runtime
completed with included "Streamlight" batteries.
More information on runtime plots is available HERE.
The switch is hidden on the bottom of the light under
the rubber sleeve. Pressing in gently will turn the
light on momentarily. Pressing in harder will cause
the switch to "click" in place, leaving the
light on until the switch is pressed again.
Ergonomics: Easy to grip and handle, but constant-on
switch operation can be just a tiny bit difficult. Momentary
operation is quite easy, but you will need to push in
fairly hard to cause the light to click on or off. This
is best accomplished with the tip of the thumb or a
finger. Otherwise no ergonomic problems to note. The
rubber sleeve on the body is a great help in cold weather
for gripping the light.
Size compared to a common 2AA aluminum light
For batteries the Scorpion LED takes 2 123a lithium
batteries (included). To change them out simply unscrew
the head and drop out the old cells. Put in 2 new cells
negative first (positive up) and reattach the head fully
until snug.
What I Liked: Water resistant,
Tough/impact resistant, Regulated/good battery life,
Bright, Easy battery change, Lightweight
What I Didn't Like: Switch just a touch tough
to activate fully for constant on/off (just like the
original Scorpion), but not a serious issue.
Conclusions: Fantastic update to the venerable
Scorpion. Output is very good, no bulbs to blow - ever!
Longer runtime than the original xenon Scorpion, slightly
less output, but regulated for fairly constant illumination
during the useful life of the batteries. If you are
a dedicated Scorpion user and want to upgrade to LED,
or if you are just looking for an LED tactical-style
light, the Scorpion LED should be one that you place
on your list as a solid contender.
|
