Streamlight has launched a new USB-C rechargeable LED flashlight, MegaStream.
The new Streamlight MegaStream flashlight has a compact design and delivers up to 1800 lumens. It’s powered by a replaceable 3500 mAh Li-ion battery (SL-B34).
It features built-in USB-C charging that’s protected by a sliding head, and the battery also has a built-in USB-C charging port.
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The push-button tailcap allows for both momentary and constant operation.
Brightness modes include high, medium, and low, with a max beam distance of 322 meters (~1056 feet). Runtime ranges from 2 hours on high to 13 hours on low.
The housing is made from Type II Mil-Spec anodized aluminum alloy, and the lens is unbreakable polycarbonate. The MegaStream is waterproof to 1 meter for 30 seconds, with an IPX7 rating, and was impact resistance tested to 2 meters.
MegaStream Specs
- 5.3″ length
- 1.1″ body diameter
- 5.4 oz weight (with battery)
- 3 operating modes
- high: 1800 lumens, 26K candela
- medium: 500 lumens, 7.2K candela
- low: 150 lumens, 2.1K candela
- Runtime
- high: 2 hours
- med: 3.5 hours
- low: 13 hours
- IPX7 waterproof rating
- 2-meter impact resistance tested
- On-board USB-C charging with LED status indicator
- Fully recharged in 5 hours
At this time it’s only available in black. It ships with a pocket clip, battery, and USB-C charging cord.
MSRP: $148
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Discussion
It’s great to see Streamlight launch new USB-C flashlights with replaceable rechargeable batteries. Hopefully they turn their attention to their smaller EDC lights next, such as the MicroStream and Stylus Pro.
Streamlight says the battery is “self-keying” to “ensure proper alignment of the charging port.”
You charge the included battery inside or outside the flashlight. At this time it’s not clear whether the flashlight will work with other batteries beyond the included and replaceable SL-B34.
Jared
Good to see an update from Streamlight. That brand is often a bit pricey for the specs – but this doesn’t seem so far out of the norm.
Wayne R.
Photo-wise, this looks proportional to the single-AAA model, but it’s not even close dimensionally.
The charging is through the housing directly into the cell then, if I get this right…
dcoleman88
I have a couple of the Stylus Pro lights that have a similar charging scheme only using USB-micro. If these were updated to USB-C they would make a great light even better. I try not to buy anything rechargeable if it doesn’t use USB-C charging. I don’t understand why manufacturers have not moved to standardize on USB-C charging for all rechargeable devices.
Matthew
They are trying to burn through their stock of the older USB ports before switching , seen it happen with another company before they finally finished off their stock and rolled out the usb-c charging
Haven’t seen the rechargeable stylist pro myself yet, will have to look into them. Use a 2 AAA version myself. Thanks for mentioning them
Blocky
Any word on the CRI and temp?
JR Ramos
They have a video on YouTube and it’s a cold white emitter with the bluish tint (in 2025…ugh) and I’d guess it’s a standard CRI around the normal 80 or so (there are very very few cold white emitters that are higher or high CRI but they do exist…generally in the flat csp packages).
Matt_T
Plastic lens on a $150 light? And the clip doesn’t appear to be reversible/ballcapable.
Based on a quick web search the 1INR19/71 battery appears to be an 18650 with USB charging grafted on the end. And it’s keyed so a regular 18650 might not work in the light.
JR Ramos
It’s a TIR lens, so it’s going to be plastic and you really don’t want to stack on a glass lens over the top of those. You can, but you will lose 3% to 5% (sometimes more) lumens and may introduce aberrations into the light beam as even AR lenses will still back scatter some photons right back into the TIR. Early on when TIR was being experimented with and becoming more popular, people/manufacturers put glass lenses over them and results were spotty – enough that many just omit the glass these days. Some triple and quad TIRs do much better with thin glass (not as durable but still scratch protective) such as Carclo and to some extent Ledil. The newer China-made TIR lenses are not so good overall but they are becoming the norm now unfortunately and I’d bet a dollar that’s what Streamlight is using.
Might take a little hunting for the right size grabber but I’m sure you could find a dual clip to fit this light. Olight has many available and there are lots of others out there, too.
Matt_T
Thanks for the explanation. TIR is new to me. FWIW I don’t require a glass lens on EDC/work lights because of scratches. Every plastic lens I’ve owned ended up getting fogged by solvents.
And yes it should be possible to find a dual clip that’d work with this light. But for a light that’s very expensive for what it is why bother?
JR Ramos
Good point about solvents. All of these are flavors of polycarbonate so they’re somewhat resistant to oils and a lot of things but plenty of things will also eat them.
TIR is pretty neat…basically a more exact way of shaping the light source into a beam you want. It’s “total internal reflection”…fiber optics are doing that as a basic part of how they work. Metal reflectors require a lot of math and testing and high quality & repeatable machining, plus quality VPD for the coating. TIR is easier and you can do more. There are some tradeoffs with each. The devil in the details is getting a good optics supplier. Many of the cheap china lenses are just cast while the better ones (UK, Finland, and even China) are vacuum formed for greater clarity and no internal defects. A good reflector that is installed and aligned perfectly with a given LED is a great thing…still a place for them.
For the solvents, this light probably makes it very difficult or impossible to add a glass lens in front of the optic yourself. Other lights with a more traditional assembly, you could buy a thin lens for cheap and add that (might have to remove an o-ring or hunt for a thinner one or carefully apply some silicone to seal). Looks like this one is pressed from the inside so you’d have to be able to pull the driver and board out without damaging them and…can be a real pita if it’s not destructive in the process. A cheap but good other-brand light will let you do this easy peasy and give the same or better performance.
Marc Cohen
I’ve always wondered if having the USB-C connector and any needed electronics in the battery would mean that there is less battery and hence less holding ability (sorry I guess that’s MAH).
Marc
JR Ramos
Generally no but possibly yes. It just depends on how they design things. The cells themselves are standard factory cells and then they tack on extras or modify them how they see fit. So if you add a protection circuit and/or a charging port/circuit onto a battery then it grows in length…you can take it that way and extend the body of the light to accommodate but then you may be stuck with “proprietary” longer cells and normal factory spec cells may be too short to work (depends). It’s been done a few times where somehow a short cell was sourced, things added onto it, and it kept pretty close to factory specs for the standard cell length – that is very uncommon though. There are a few ways to go about things. Generally a lot of people dislike these “special” cells but as they became more popular in mainstream brand designs it’s less painful to have a choice of cells and such (although always more expensive than just using normal factory cells and often with other limitations). There’s really not much benefit except to the manufacturer who may get more battery sales, especially if they design it such that people really have to buy theirs, or if they fool enough people into believing that it’s necessary to stay brand-matched. A lot of the mainstream light manufacturers like to play the same games as power tool manufacturers…..
eddiesky
Can we get a link on the page, Stuart? https://www.streamlight.com/products/detail/megastream-usb
JR Ramos
You can get a non-graphic-image glimpse of the light in their YouTube video as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdCCmLOZ16U
John
Maybe I’m just especially cheap, but I can’t do $150 for a flashlight that uses non-standard batteries. I’m happy with my old Anker from Amazon that was cheaper and uses standard 18650 cells. I hope the CRI and temp options are at least on the high end to justify that price.
John
LC90 for $33 on Amazon. Adjustable range and impressively bright. Lights up my entire valley at night, pretty helpful to keep an eye on the dog.
Jack
That is MSRP. One vendor who lists the Megastream for sale, BrightGuy, has it posted with a street price of $82.
notinuse
$150 for a flashlight. I guess I’m out of touch.
S
Steamlight generally runs higher than other brands, same as snap on wrenches.
They’re generally perceived as more durable and work-oriented flashlights, many times carrying certifications for rescue or underground mine operations that most other lights don’t have, which is where a lot of their price gets justified. I don’t believe this light has either of those certifications, but the brand having the certifications raises their overall costs across all products. Testing isn’t cheap.
They’re also generally later to the market with new features than other brands, for better or worse.
Overall, $150 for a small pocketable flashlight is on the upper spectrum of cost, but it’s not unreasonable. Other brands are mostly in the $40-80 range for lights with similar features and outputs.
other brands $150-ish offering in that size category generally gets into boutique finishes, or obscene ‘bragging rights’ outputs with miniscule run times. Aka, nothing a non flashlight person would ever buy.
notinuse
I have Streamlight flashlights that I purchased for $30. They use a AAA cell, but I guess I’m not a “flashlight” person.
ElectroAtletico
$150???
Are they aware of how many Braun/Kobalt/Husky flashlights, USB-C rechargeable, and of comparable capability are out there for 1/4th of that cost?
Only a goober autho tech going into a Tool Truck like a fool would purchase this overpriced chuck of cow manure.
PASS!!!!
JR Ramos
I’m sorry but this is a hard no and I don’t think I’d come close to recommending it for anyone. People do love this brand but frankly their lights are so grossly overpriced for what you get and they honestly are no better than much cheaper lights – truth. This is a $30 light, give or take a little. On their YouTube video they refuse to answer the questions people are asking about cost, battery compatibility, etc, but say that the light will start shipping in March.
The battery is sure a new take on proprietary. I’m assuming the “19/71” is taking a stab at the actual dimensions of the modified 18650 cell….seems about right for 6mm additional after tacking on the charging/protection circuit board and a new “keyed” button. It’ll be interesting to see just how that works and whether or not it really prohibits using a long or standard cell with a normal round button. If not, what a great pain in the butt. It’s a really poor way to go about “onboard” charging – not cost effective and really limits your ability to find new cells. Just use a normal cell with the port in the head of the light like everyone else that uses an exterior-accessible port. I wonder if the port/host interface will be susceptible to lint and dust if the head is open…likely so. Brightguy lists the battery (currently discounted) at $20 which is just obscene. They’re still just sharing graphic images instead of photographs except for a brief glimpse in the video, but it just looks like the flattened/notched button top is the only thing that’s special. Give me a normal system and save me some coins and give me greater convenience at no loss otherwise…sheesh.
The cold-cold white light here with the typical bluish tint….so many nicer choices these days and there are precious few times where that extra cold light is beneficial (but it can be). Cheap TIR lens, cheap tail spring (not sure about the head end)…give me a break. People were suggesting an $85 to $140 retail price. Really, for $30 you can get the same or for $60-$70 you can get a MUCH nicer light, probably with a UI and features that are “better” in most aspects. And it’ll generally have the same boilerplate water resistance and impact resistance…may or may not have the “warranty” depending on who you choose.
Sorry. These aren’t terrible lights but they aren’t great, either, but they are such a poor value that…just why. Riding on early police department preferences maybe? They’ve been far surpassed in quality, features, and pricing by a great many other brands both mainstream and enthusiast.
DRT42
I am with the “no” people. That price is insane for a flashlight.
Micheal
Steamlight are fine for Tactical light on my riffles. As a Work light, I will pass. Klein has far more useful Flashlights at 1/6th the price. I own 4 at this time, 2 being the Klein Tools 56412 Flood Light. Great Magnet, side LED and Glowing illumination.
When I was 5, cough cough, mid 70’s, Dad had me running electrical Cables under house and in ceils, in San Jose. When my daughter gave me the Klein Flood Light, I had wonderful flashbacks of Hot Dogs and Slushies with Dad. Dad ask, what’s so cool? I of course explained the wonderful Flash back.. He understood the Tool and the Memories very well, Made him very Happy. Just used it today, while repairing a 20yo LG Washer for mom.
Sal
I love Streamlights.
During Helene we had a month of no power.
I had USB Streamlights as well as battery powered.
After we got resettled I bought about half a dozen Battery Streamlights, no USB.
AAA battterh Streamlights were amazing when we had no power, keep it in your pocket or clip it on your hat. Run out of juice, throw a battery in.
The USB ones I could charge off my Milwaukee power source but that was a limited resource for me.
AAA batteries I had a ton, and it is way easier to throw in a new battery than wait to charge
timothy yowell
Looks good except I don’t like the fact that it takes 5 hours to charge for 2 hours of full power light. For $148 bucks it should at least be rapid charge ready.
BN
My current Streamlight is very bright, but turns on on the lowest setting by default. I prefer it to turn on on my choice of setting, especially for tactical purposes. What is the default brightness of this light when turned on?
Stuart
https://www.streamlight.com/docs/default-source/product-instructions/megastream_op.pdf
Looks like it might start on high mode, but it’s not clear. I’ll know for certain when I have the chance to test one maybe later this month.