With 600 lumens of blinding light, the ProTac HL is the brightest addition to the ProTac series. The ProTac HL offers the latest in power LED technology and three user selectable modes of operation: high/strobe/low, high only, or low/high. The combination of small size and output from the C4 LED result in one of the brightest tactical personal carry lights for its’ size. Packaged with a removable pocket clip and holster. Case made of 6000 series machined aircraft aluminum with anodized finish.
$ 72.40
Great light at a ground breaking price.,
First, I vacillated between 4 and 5 stars here. I’d give it 5 if it had every feature I wanted, but I’m also picking nits here.
I’ve only used this light a bit, but I wanted to report on it for those considering one. It’s been backordered for months, but did actually ship when the seller said it would.
The PT HL is a crazy bright light, at a price that beats similarly priced lights with lesser output. I have a Surefire GX2 Pro, which is a very good comparison, given they are at a similar price point (indeed the GX2’s are priced $15 higher than the PT HL!; bet that situation changes soon…). Both are similar in size and use two CR123A batteries, both have high/low output capabilities.
Some comparisons:
OUTPUT:
PT HL low/high 35/600 lumens, GX2 15/200
Both use LED’s; why anyone would buy an old-school bulb flashlight is beyond me unless you are incredibly cheap. Then why are you looking at this light? The ONE virtue of bulbs you don’t find in LED flashlights is, with a few exceptions, adjustable beam spread. But the efficiency and reliability of LED’s so far outweighs bulbs I don’t mind the tradeoff. Just be careful to pick the proper light for your application, which mainly means “how close is your work area?”
To Streamlight’s credit, the beam spread of the PT HL is actually a bit wider than the GX2. This is especially good for close work. Creating a pencil-thin beam is a good way to make your output figures look great by concentrating the light in one spot, but such a beam isn’t very practical unless you are trying to illuminate something hundreds of feet away.
I’ll also be interested to see if I find the slightly brighter low setting a good or bad thing.
So is 600 lumens bright? Why, yes it is! It isn’t mind-bogglingly brighter than 200 lumens (which is very bright mind you), but it is most certainly brighter.
BATTERY LIFE:
Streamlight also somewhat ‘fess’s up about the runtime one can expect when using the high output setting. Their literature states 1 hr 15min on high, 18h on low. But they also provide a graph of the high output as a function of runtime: by 45 minutes, you’ll be to half power, by 1.25hrs you’ll be to 60 lumens. Let’s call it about an hour on high. The GX2 is rated 2hrs high (2hrs until light drops below 50 lumens), 45 hrs on low, so both manufacturer”s are at least writing their specs in a similar manner.
Since I mostly use the low setting, I’m fine with the 18hrs. If you need to constantly use the high setting, you would probably be better off finding a light with greater battery capacity or rechargeability. But then you are talking about a physically larger light.
WATER RESISTANCE:
PT HL “IPX 7” waterproof, which translates to immersion in water up to 1 meter deep, GX2 is “water resistant”.
CONSTRUCTION:
PT HL machined aluminum in black, GX2 Nitrolon plastic in black and a few other colors. The aluminum light is very slightly heavier, but as tough as the Nitrolon seems, I think they would both survive similar abuse. One virtue of the Nitrolon is it’s non-conductivity, so if you are choosing a light for electrical work, plastic might be a deciding factor. Dropping a flashlight onto bus bars should not be an exciting experience.
SWITCH:
Both are operated via momentary/sustained pushbutton on tail. GX2 has low/high settings, PT HL has three different configurations you can program the button to: high-strobe-low, hi only, low-high. Not sure why they don’t give a couple more options, such as low-high-strobe. I don’t see myself using the strobe feature much except perhaps for long distance signaling. Normally I want the low-high behavior (like the GX2), but it would be nice to be able to get to the strobe if desired. Putting the strobe in the middle of the high-strobe-low program seems odd, but I’m not using it for tactical purposes. Perhaps it makes SWAT guys happy, but I don’t want to have to step through the strobe to get to the low & high settings that I’ll be using 98{660353129f8d892044c993645a1c75194301fec6786a7f617c15adde0b0011e9} of the time, and I rarely see myself wanting to start the light on high.
OTHER:
The PT HL comes with a nylon holster, the GX2 does not. Both provide an option for a lanyard, but both suffer the problem of the lanyard attachment point being part of either the pocket clip (standard with the PT HL), or a ring sandwiched between the body and tailcap of the GX2. If you find the pocket clip (like a ball point clip) on the PT HL annoying, you can remove it. Both types of clip don’t look like they would survive if you really yanked the lanyard. But if something is pulling the light that hard, maybe you don’t want the lanyard around your neck to be connected to the light anymore…
I also don’t see much in the way of other accessories for this light (yet). I’d like a red filter, which is available for…
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|K-9 Officer: Worth The Wait!,
As a K-9 Officer, I have owned and continue to own numerous Streamlight products. I currently carry both the Stinger DS LED and the Strion (backup), side by side, on my duty belt at all times. In days gone by, when deploying my K-9 Partner in a “bail out” setting, we would always reach for our large floor mounted rechargeable Maglight – all too often not having time to make the grab while in pursuit. In our area, I was one of the first to put a Stinger on my belt (early 90’s). I used to smile when I noticed other Officers carrying on their person, as well, as the years and technology increased. Today, the large Maglight has been long since retired and the two aforementioned lights are always w/ me in every deployment, w/ the DS drawn numerous times daily. The strobe feature does not deter from the dog’s focus whatsoever. Given the advent of the awaited ProTAC HL, which will illuminate even the smallest of hidden marijuana seeds under any vehicle’s seat, yet possesses a wider peripheral beam than the DS, I believe the Streamlight DS LED’s focal beam should assist in vehicle searches and the new PT HL should be utilized when light is necessary in the pursuit of hidden bad guys. Your thoughts? Congratulations Streamlight for thinking ahead of the curve…
Stay Safe,
Steve
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|Streamlight 600 lumens vs. Coast HP17 600 lumens,
So my Streamlight arrived today and I have been waiting for it to get dark since around noon time. Finally, I took it outside and started to torment my neighbors, excellent compact light. Notice I said compact and not pocket, yes there is a pocket clip but typical of Streamlight, the clip is placed so the head of the light would be down in your pocket. The head of this light is huge, too big to fit comfortably and not to mention it gets stuck in my jeans if I am brave enough to sit down on it. Guys, turn the clip around exposing the head in my pocket and it will speed the deployment as well.
This light is bright, not a pinpoint of light, but a nice medium flood of very bright light. The beam, directed across the street, lights up the entire side of the house (3 bedrooms and a garage) with clean and white usable light. In the distance I can light up trees on the other side of the lake. I can’t see a pine cone but I can see the canopy.
So I dragged out my COAST HP17, only because it is also 600 lumens. Now you can fight about the significant size difference. For those who are not familiar, the HP17 is the size and weight of a 3 “D” cell Maglite. So it is not a compact light but it is the same rated lumens, price, and my only other comparable light.
Well the light output of both lights performed the same; I could light up the house across the street, the canopy of the tree across the lake and generally irritate all those around me. But the Coast light has adjustable and locking “spot to flood” and it eats only “D” cells. So overall you get more usable light but in a much bigger package.
Who is the winner? It depends on your size needs and your feeding budget. For my duty belt, I want the Streamlight, for my glove box I want the Coast. Keep in mind the Streamlight will give you less than 90 minutes on High power. The Coast light is still on its original batteries that it arrived with 8 months ago. Feeding the Streamlight is $8-10, while the Coast is filled up for less than $5. Stranded on an island I’ll take the Coast because of the battery life and I can use it as a club.
Actually they are both winners, As much as I whine, I have never returned a flashlight and I’m not starting today!
Thanks for reading and I hope I made someone smile today!
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