Over at Amazon, this Streamlight 1x CR123A tactical LED flashlight (model 88030) is on sale for $32.38. You save a little more than $6 off its regular price of $38.80.
My sister called me up earlier, alerting me to the deal and asking if this would make a good gift for her husband’s brother in law. She’s still weighing options, but I told her that Streamlight is a very well respected brand that makes durable and reliable high performance LED flashlights. For the money, this looks to be a pretty decent flashlight.
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- Output: 110 lumens (high), 12 lumens (low)
- Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins (high), 14 hrs (low)
- Illumination range: 95 m (high), 30m (low)
- Center spot: 2250 cd (high), 225 cd (low)
- Waterproof rating: IPX7 (it can endure 30-minutes immersed in 1-meter of water)
- Multi-function push-button tailcap switch
- Comes with (1) CR123A lithium battery
Deal ends 3pm ET today (12/19/13) unless supplies run out sooner.
P.S. I ended up ordering one for my father. He really likes the Inova X5 I gave him a few years back, but I think the Protac and its clicky-switch might serve him better. I’ll of course have to test it out first.
Chris Fyfe
Good looking light . Streamlight makes good solid lites . I prefer to EDC single CR123 lights , small package , more than enuff light , good runtime . They are also safer , accidently mixing cells with different levels of charge can get quite nasty .
Chris
Stuart
I wouldn’t think a single-CR123A battery flashlight would be any safer than a double-CR123A model. My instinct is to always use batteries fresh out of packaging or ones that were used together in one light in another. Rather than rotate batteries between flashlights, I keep most of my lights equipped and ready to go.
Andrew
Have you ever tried the Fenix LD01?
It’s just about the smallest EDC flahlight you can get with 70-100 lumen output depending on which revision is available. It can be had for less than $30 from time to time.
Stuart
That model has crossed my radar before, but I haven’t tried it yet. I think I would be more inclined to use an LD12, which is an AA-powered model, rather than this AAA-powered one.
Overall I do like Fenix LED flashlights. I have an LD20, an E01, and an E05.
Andrew
Yeah, although the LD12 does add the nicer switch, you get a lot more additional heft & size for almost twice the price. The LD01 has the compactness going for it, and then the use of a AAA then makes it easier to clip onto thin/light fabrics or other locations because it’s lighter.
If I didn’t already have a cellphone, that I always carry, with a powerful easy to access led flash (Samsung Galaxy Nexus) I’d consider the E01 which is practically identical in size to the LD01. But for about $10 more I get to keep the same compact size and form factor, with a ton more useful light output and easy to buy and find batteries. On high, it still gets over an hour of runtime (Not that I’ve tested it) which is more than enough for my intended use.
For my intended EDC, I’d never consider CR123A batteries just because AA & AAA batteries are literally everywhere, and the primary battery I run in the flashlight is now an eneloop.
Anyways, TL:DR, I know lol.
Stuart
I too use Eneloops in my higher power AA and AAA flashlights, but there are times when CR123A is just more convenient to work with. It all comes down to user preference.
Dennis
I have this light, and I love it. Compact, great output, and it comes with a nice little sheath that tied into the MOLLE webbing on my bag very easily. Plus it has a strobe mode if you need to throw an impromptu rave.
Chris Fyfe
There have been a couple of incidents of high heat , and one of fire , from using mismatched CR123’s . Some of the cheap imported batts are somewhat notorious for it . Metal lights get hot , plastic bodied lights can catch fire . One reported case occured with a Radio Shack plastic bodied light , in a pilots Jep. case .
Chris
Stuart
Oh, I definitely don’t doubt that.
I only buy brand-name CR123 batteries, mainly Surefire, but would also trust Streamlight, Panasonic, Energizer, or Duracell batteries. Batteries used together stay together.
MarkT
I have been looking for a nice light like this at a good price. Even for ~ $38 it sounds like a good deal. Thanks!
Stuart
I started playing around with the one I intend to give my father. I like it, and might have to buy one for myself at the regular price as well.
Mike R
Not to spoil any surprises, but aren’t YOU your sister’s husband’s brother-in-law?
Stuart
My sister was specifically asking about a gift for her husband’s sister’s husband. So one of his other brother-in-laws.