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Reviewer's
Impressions:
Streamlight has a real winner with the TaskLight 3AA Luxeon.
It may seem a little long, taking 3 AA batteries, but the
beam is absolutely spectacular. This light is the Streamlight
entry into the growing Luxeon Star market and they've done
everything right to entice people to try out this new technology.
First, the body. Anodized thick aluminum to give it durability
and strength. Knurling along the entire body to give the user
good grip. Recessed lanyard attachment on the tailcap to allow
the light to stand on its end. Unscrew the tailcap to change
the batteries. Very good machining with no sharp edges or
rough spots.
In the bezel you will find a plastic lens protecting the
reflector and Luxeon Star LED. The bezel cap can be unscrewed
to reveal the LED itself, although there is no reason to do
this whatsoever. The bezel cap is sealed with an O-ring for
water resistance.
Unlike most Luxeon Star lights, this one utilizes a reflector
instead of the usual Luxeon Star collimator lens. They have
done an excellent job of matching the reflector to the LED
so that it produces a relatively tight and smooth beam. This
is a real step forward in demonstrating that the standard
LS optics are not a necessary component to make this LED really
work well in a flashlight.
The switch is recessed in a dimple to protect it from accidental
activation and it must be pressed in quite a way for the light
to be activated. I doubt you would have to worry about the
light activating in a pack or luggage by itself.
The use of the Luxeon Star has three primary advantages.
First, as the batteries are depleted the light does not change
to a yellowish color like an incandescent light. It remains
a nice clear white, it just gets dimmer. Second, you don't
have to worry about the bulb blowing on you if you drop it
on a cave floor. The Luxeon is essentially impervious to impacts
to the light body. Third, as the batteries run down, the Luxeon
actually becomes more efficient, allowing it to remain lit
at dim levels for a very long period of time. If you were
stuck in the dark with no other light, a little light is better
than none. So even with essentially dead batteries you will
have some light.
Overall quality of the light is very good. Output is solid
and clean, and it uses commonly available AA batteries. A
wrist lanyard is included and attached. The TaskLight Luxeon
could easily replace most incandescent general task lights.
A great little light.
+ + + Pluses: Water resistant, Tough/impact
resistant, Bright, Easy battery change, Lightweight, Stands
up, Bulb cannot blow, Keeps working even on nearly dead batteries.
- - - Minuses: A bit long
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