List Price: $119.95
Sale Price: $74.02
Today's Bonus: 38% Off
I use these at work in almost ever configuration from Pelican, Streamlight, and even Maglite in the distant past. Unless you are a diver, I can make honest recommendations. I am only going to talk about high output lights here, your $2 chinese LED light will get better battery life than any model I mention here, but these lights alow you to clearly read a 2" pressure guage in a dark room from 25 feet way, and keep that output for hours of constant use on a single set of batteries, or in this case, a single charge. If you like a plastic bodied light, the Pelican Stealthlite is the best output for the size in my opinion. I have used the battery model, the LED version of the battery model, and this rechargeable model all personally and for hours a day in the Enginerooms where I work. If you can not use an LED light because it is not bright enough for what you need, then the better choice in a rechargeable is the Streamlight Scorpion in the small metal body. I bought both this Stealthlite and a similar Scorpion the same week to use at work. After a month of use, I gave the Pelican to a co-worker and kept the Streamlight Scorpion for myself. A year later I am still carrying the Scorpion rechargeable on a daily basis. You are right to think that having a rechargeable high power light is a nice thing. All of my co-workers cary light also, each has a favorite brand, I used to love the big Pelicans, but the Stealthlite is eminently more pocketable and has surprisingly good output across its battery life. Although the Pelican Stealthlite is a great light in the regular battery version, and an even better light in the LED battery version(just my opinion), the rechargeable Stealthlite is not as strong as the normal version. The Scorpion does a better job of providing a real light in the rechargeable format. One word of caution, any of these rechargeables will have a dramatically shorter use period than a battery model. Even the Streamlight Scorpion LED rechargeable barely runs for two hours of constant use before the low voltage safety shuts the light off. The Scorpion LED rechargeable is a nightmare by the way. I own one of them also for work and although I still take it to use sometimes because I really like the color and clarity of the light, when it gets near it's stopping point the On/Off button(which is a circuit board) goes nuts and the only way to stop it cycling itself on and off is to remove the battery, all in all the circuit board switch is a dead liability. The Xenon version of the Scorpion has a normal switch and is a very powerful and small light that is, perfomance wise, as good a light as is available from anyone, and suffers only one dis-advantage due to being a rechargeable, that is that it will want recharging after every hours or two of constant use. This sounds like a radical restriction and it is, but the Pelican rechargeable has even worse battery die off than the Streamlight products. I keep a charger in my workshop, and plug the light in evertime I come out of the Engineroom for a break or whatever. With infrequent use, being on for only minutes at a time to look at something the Scorpion will last for days. But in a room where there is no other source of light, any of these rechargeables will necessitate that you leave every hour or so to change to a freshly charged light. If that is not possible, then get the Pelican Stealthlite LED model in the regular battery powered version for maybe three or four hours of constant output. Beyond that you can not get a small pocketable flashlight in this high output class that will last longer, a larger C or D cell light will be needed. None of these lights has a quality problem other than the LED Scorpion which is a design problem stemming from trying to find a way to cram in unnecessary features like programmed strobe function and variable output settings in the switch.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
For Pelican StealthLite Rechargeable 2450 w/ Xenon. Came with light, NiMH pack installed, and charger.Basics:
When I purchased this (beginning of 2011), it was the one of the cheapest rechargeable by Pelican.
That doesn't mean it was cheap for a flashlight or cheaply made. It's sturdy and as rugged as you would expect from looks and Pelican. This xenon bulb's color, to my eye, is a warm wight (3000K) comparable to the average incandescent.
Pro:
Recharge time seems quick (haven't timed it, it just hasn't been an issue)
Looks, feels good. Weight is great too. Lighter than a typical light of it's size.
Structurally well made.
Con:
Bulb light not as bright as expected, similar to say an older MagLite. Could be spectrum though and not lumens. While I didn't expect an LED level white, I did expect it to be a cooler white. See notes below.
This is minor and going to be hard to explain with words, but I'll try. When I took off the cap to examine the bulb and inside, the contact for the on/off switch got snagged. It was less than millimeter off where it should have been, and taking the cap pulled the contact to make it stay on. I didn't realize the problem until a bit later. However, it was easily fixable and did not cause any damage.
Bottomline: For a sturdy, rechargeable, and hand-held light, worth the cost. 3.75 Stars.
Notes (aka rambling and things you probably already know):
Majority of flashlight LEDs are normally white or blue and are considered a "cool" light. Yet it has higher kelin number (e.g. 6500K), which implies it's warmer than say incandescent (2500 to 3000K). If you didn't know already, by now you probably realize the "cool" refers to color and the naming convention comes more from color theory in art than say the temperature of hot metals.
Honestly, I rather more companies didn't offer cheap products to meet demand if it doesn't also meet expectations and standards. Basic LED lights powered by battery can be cheap (and still good) because the components are so cheap. When a rechargeable battery is involved, there is a threshold set by the materials themselves that has to be met. If the battery is cheap, either it can't put out the correct voltage (or light in this case) or it won't last for very long.
No comments:
Post a Comment