Customer Reviews

Streamlight 66318 MicroStream C4 LED Pen Flashlight

5 star:		(178)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I own many flashlights, and this is by far my favorite using a 1xAAA format. The brightness is exceptional for the size and weight. I believe the 20-lumen rating is accurate, by comparison with many other lights I own. I also own the larger 2xAAA version of this light (Streamlight Stylus Pro), and the microstream is almost identically bright. Of course, the 2xAAA version has longer battery life, by more than a factor of 2 because of circuit efficiency and battery-capacity variance with discharge rate.

The switch type is my favored "forward" clicky, which means you can push it slightly to get a momentary-on function. Some other lights use a "reverse" clicky, which doesn't turn on until you click and release.

The one thing I dislike about both of these lights is that the pocket clip rotates with the threaded end cap, badly scratching the finish when you remove the cap to replace the battery. You can avoid this by placing a piece of cloth between the clip and flashlight body before turning the cap, but you have to think of this before first disassembly or it's too late.

Also, the clip exerts enough sideways pressure on the light body that you must be very careful to avoid cross-threading when you reinstall the cap onto the body.

I've had this light for about a week. I bought it with the intention of leaving it in my backpack (a smaller replacement for an aging mini-maglite). Well, the maglite is still in my backpack- the streamlight stays in my pocket. It is small and lightweight enough to be carried un-obtrusively. I'm amazed at how bright it is, and everyone who has seen it has wanted one. Great product, great price.

Update- six months later- still love it, probably more now than when I wrote the initial review. I use this daily, for so many things it's really hard to describe how functional this light really is, it's great!

I really like this light. It is compact and can be worn in a front shirt pocket like a pen and has a "pen" clip for this.I actually wear it in the right corner of my back right pocket again taking advantage of the pen clip and it does not interfere with taking my wallet in or out.

It has a very, very bright white light which you can use with a momentary push of the on/off button on the end of the light (like a clip pen) or turn it on continuously by fully depressing the end of the pen.

It is a well tooled piece of equipment with a flat black metal finish that while not coarse is not slick either so is easily gripped and handled.

It uses a single AAA battery and has a reportedly long battery life.

I have not exhausted the first triple A battery yet despite using it often in the last month plus I have had it.

I really like it and plan to purchase one for both my son, daughter and father.

I bought many LED flashlights over the years, often skimping on the price and buying some knockoff from the E..y auction site only to have them die on me after a month or so. In the end, it cost me a lot more to buy cheap gear than to buy the right thing from the start.

This is a great little LED flashlight. It is BRIGHT, usable, solid
and good construction. You won't go search and rescue in the woods
with it but you will enjoy this one around the house or around the camp
when outdoors.

Note: it IS very bright and projects light at a surprisingly long distance. A month ago a transformer blew up in the electrical pole
over by my neighbor's house (The poles are in the back yard here).
When the electrical company came by, I just used my flashlight to show
them the busted transformer from the street (the next door house,
over the house at the end of their back yard which would be at least
100 feet from where I stood).

Highly recommended!
- Christian

Love it! I'm a nurse and it makes my neuro assessments much easier. The light it emits is bright and unlike any other penlights I've used. I felt totally pleased the other day when a doctor asked me if I had a penlight on me, proudly gave this one up and she and the team were so impressed, that they were asking to keep it. So for any of you medical providers out there don't hesitate to get it, you won't be disappointed.

I bought both Stream flashlight 66118 and 66318. Both are near perfect. To my requirements, they are perfect. I have been using both over a month, average 10 minutes per night, and the amount of light still brightens the path completely. 66118 has 24 Lumens of light power where 66318 has 20 lumens. But you cannot tell the difference in amount of light-clearly. 66118 runs on two AAA batteries and 66318 runs on one AAA battery. Streamlight 66318 is almost half the length of 66118, diameter is the same, light power is almost the same. 66118 comes with a holster, 66318 comes with a neck lace.
The manufacturing quality is perfect. Black aluminium. Over a month usage, I carry them everywhere in my pockets and no signs of deterioration on finish or color.
I highly recommend both any of these if the job is not extremely demanding. I am fully satisfied with Streamlights, especially 66318 since it is half the size, easier to cary in pockets, and with one AAA battery has almost the same light power as 66118.

I bought this light as a high quality disposable light. I have had many excellent lights (Surefire, Novatac, Fenix, Nitecore, customs, etc) but found that most are not a good value for basic use. It is also upsetting to lose a $100+ light. So this is where the Microstream comes in.

The Microstream produces more than enough light for normal use and has the familiar beam profile of small bright spot with dim side spill. It wont light up a street like some of the fancier lights, but it is supposed to be a (cheap) tool rather than toy. It is not great for reading a book (check out Zebralight if you want a headlamp for up close work), but it could definitely work. I see it as the kind of light you might take if you go for a walk or want to check if there are monsters behind the fridge, etc.

The body design is mediocre. As others mentioned, the clip rubs against the body when changing the battery. The button is mushy. You will crumple up (accordion style) the rubber covering the button in order to turn the light on because the button has to be pushed down deeply. I think the light would be a lot better (5 stars) if the button did not travel as far and had a stronger spring.

For the money, I think it is good light. Anything brighter is overkill for every day carry in my opinion (I carry a photon keychain light). I keep mine in the car.

If you are looking for a serious light for night work (or fun), you might want to check out the brands I listed.

What a shame...I like the flashlight but the pocket clip is not designed like the one in the photo. It's solid, no spaces to thread the lanyard through and no small ring to put through a keychain.

If you don't care about the lanyard but want a great tiny flashlight, then get this one. However the flashlight is so small that if you are prone to lose/drop things like I am then you will want a functional lanyard.

So back it goes, but if I see the proper one in a store I will buy it.

I have owned many LED lights over the years. A cool one comes out I buy it. I used to love the Stylus. I have several and even gave some as gifts. They have been out a while with not much change. I bought a MicroStream off a tool truck several months ago. I became very attached to it. Very bright and uses AAA batteries which are affordable and easy to find. The Stylus uses AAAA batteries which are a bit more costly and harder to find. The MicroStream is small and convenient. I work on cars and it is good for inspection and under dash work. Brightness is consistent throughout life of battery. It is a good idea to keep spare batteries handy as light will just go out. I recently lost my MicroStream and ordered another from Amazon. I also ordered a StylusPro. There are other LED lights that are brighter. I have a penlight rated at 1 watt. I have seen some rated at 3 watts. Higher output if you need it. They are more expensive to buy and operate as they go through batteries quicker. The MicroStream and StylusPro are rated at 1/2 watt. I am happy with the output for my needs. My only problem now is what to do with the several hundred dollars worth of LED lights I no longer use.

I have pretty much been carrying 2 flashlights recently. One is a Fenix LD10 for when I want a super-bright flashlight for long distances.

The other is this MicroStream. It's cheap, it's tiny, and it's bright enough to do things like read a license plate 30 feet away at night. The beam is about 3 times as bright as the best flashlights using a 5mm pre-focused LED, and the beam is smoother as well with no weird rings around the perimeter. The pocket clip is handy, and I keep it clipped to my pocket every day.

If you plan on using it for a long time between battery changes, you can either get the 2-battery version (called the "Stylus Pro" even though it is a longer version of this MicroStream, and not at all like the regular Stylus), or you can use a lithium battery in the MicroStream. Lithium batteries have longer life and can handle faster drain without overheating and wasting power.