Customer Reviews

Streamlight 78014 Ultra Stinger Xenon Rechargeable Flashlight with Charger, Anodized Black

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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The Streamlight Ultra Stinger™ Rechargable flashlight ROCKS!!!

I am a gadget nut, and I have a very large number of flashlights. IMHO, there is no better all-around flashlight than Streamlight's Ultra Stinger.

It truly is amazing how bright and light-weight this flashlight is. It puts out up to 75,000 candlepower yet weighs only 1.1 pounds. Not only is it bright, but you can focus the light to a small, penetrating beam that can be seen for miles.

Don't let the light weight fool you, however. This flashlight feels rock-solid in your hand, and it can take a licking. I take mine running almost every night, and have dropped it on the pavement more than a few times, and it just keeps going.

The Ultra Stinger is also durable and reliable. I've had my current model for over two years now, and the battery is still fine. I did have to replace the light bulb once, but that's not bad considering how many hours it's been in use and how many times I've recharged it.

The only flashlight that even compares to the Ultra Stinger is the SureFire 10X Dominator™. The Dominator weighs only 1.25 lbs and has a two-lamp assembly that allows you to run it at 60 lumens (roughly 36,000 CP by my calculations, about half the output of the Ultra Stinger) for up to 3 hours, or at an incredibly bright 500 lumens for up to 20 minutes. Yes, 500 lumens (or roughly 300,000 CP) is 4X brighter than the Ultra Stinger, but the light is UNFOCUSED, so the brightness is lost over any real distance as the light diffuses. When you factor in the ridiculously high price of the Dominator (the best price I could find on the Internet was $360!), you can see why I recommend the Streamlight as the overall champion. The Dominator is a great flashlight in its own right, of course, so probably the best idea is to get both.

I have several other flashlights from Streamlight, and they are all very well-made. Nevertheless, whenever I want a nice bright flashlight, I always go for my Ultra Stinger. My only serious question about it is, how can Streamlight make the Ultra Stinger so bright and light-weight, while their other models don't even come close? The brightest flashlight in the SL- series is the SL-35, which weighs 2.8 pounds (almost 3X more than the Ultra Stinger) and puts out up to 40,000 CP (Slightly more than half that of the Ultra Stinger). Plus, it's more expensive! The MSPR on the SL-35 is $229.95 vs. $174.95 for the Ultra Stinger. That math doesn't add up.

Other unbelievable examples: Streamlight's 3.3 pound 8-Watt Vulcan™ spotlight can generate up to 50,000 CP, and the 7.4 pound 20-Watt Litebox™ spotlight can kick out up to 70,000 CP. How is it even remotely possible that the Ultra Stinger, weighing in at 1.1 pounds and sporting a 10-Watt bulb, can out-shine these oversized hogs? The obvious answer is "runtime" - the Litebox™ can run at 20 Watts for up to 3.5 hours compared to a 1 hour runtime for the Ultra Stinger. Who cares - I'll take the Ultra Stinger every time!

Streamlight should take their older lights off the market and replace them or update them with the better technology found in the Ultra Stinger, like they did with the new Stinger HP. The Stinger HP weighs 12.2 ounces and kicks out 40,000 CP. Plus, the beam can be focused, while the SL- series is "pre-focused".

I'm sure that Streamlight is on the case -- the HP models are nice, and I really like the Pro Polymer LED lights, too. I just wish that they could come out with an affordable competitor to the $1,800 Maxabeam 6 million CP spotlight.

BUY THIS FLASHLIGHT -- YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID!!!

I'm pretty picky. I spend a lot of time researching my gadget and tool purchases, and I'm very demanding and critical of flaws in the things I buy. When I tell you that this is the best flashlight you will find anywhere, just trust me. I own one, I have given them as gifts, and I have used mine in a variety of different settings.

From its extremely solid feel to its flawless performance, the Stinger delivers. The light is very bright. The adjustability of the light cone works very well, and the action of the switch mechanism and the adjustment are so tight and smooth. The body is finely knurled and is a pleasure to hold, and there is a great balance to the overall tool.

The recharging unit is well designed. Full recharge takes very little time and I like knowing that my main flashlight is always where it's supposed to be and fully charged when I need it.

My favorite use of the flashlight: I have dogs that sleep in their kennels at night. Sometimes they bark and wake me up. I reach for the Stinger and shine it at them through the window. Instant quiet! The light is so brilliant it just stuns them into muteness I guess.

You cannot go wrong with this item.

Streamlight's UltraStinger is really in a niche by itself. Mag Light's rechargeables aren't as bright and SureFire's are much more expensive, so the UltraStringer is really made for someone desiring a quality light that won't break the bank.

Some of the nice features of this light: It's very lightweight, very bright (75,000 candlepower), run time is very good for this much light output. Well made, quality construction.

Some of the cons about this light: Plastic lens (seems only SureFire will give you a genuine Pyrex, glass lens these days) and the spot/flood range isn't really that much of a difference (Mag's spot/flood produces a SPOT or a FLOOD). The Streamlight has a very coarse adjustment range, really being all the same style output, with very LITTLE difference in the SPOT / FLOOD. This isn't as bad as it sounds as the light produced is a very good, pure white light, I'd just like to see more variation in the range, but I'm being picky here.

One thing's for certain; this light is much better than Mag's rechargeable and a lesser light than SureFire's 8 or 9N rechargeable. But, it's also half the price of the SureFire and 80% less than SureFire's 10-X. So, I've got to give it 5 stars for being a great value, occupying a market not really served by either Mag or SureFire.

If you're a contractor or home inspector, this light is THE value on the market in a bright, quality constructed rechargeable.

This is by far the best flashlight for any amount of money you can buy. I use mine in my business on a daily basis, as a home inspection. It's a tough and very bright flashlight. I've covered the handle in bright orange cloth tape to make it easier to locate if dropped and to insulate the handle on hot or cold days. I've had mine for three years now. I've replaced three bulbs. I use a belt loop to carry it and charge the light using the DC adapter in my truck. The company that makes the flashlight stands behind their products, with a life time warranty.

I've had a Streamlight UltraStinger for a little while now. Let me say that this is one, bright light!

+'s: BRIGHT, rechargeable, lightweight, adjustable beam from spotlight to floodlight, good quality/workmanship (not that cheap plastic stuff!), pushbutton switch (on/off/momentary on), up to 1 hour between charges, small diameter (easy for people with small hands to hold).

-'s: expensive, slightly long, charge time is long.

This flashlight is a little large to take with you when walking the dog, but it's not too bulky so you can bring it if you want.

This package from Amazon comes with both chargers (wall and car) so it's very convenient to throw it back in the charger when you are done using it. The charger is made so that you can place the flashlight into it by sliding it in from the top, or "snapping" it in from the front. A nice feature if you are limited on space when mounting the charger.

I have one in the car to read those street signs on those dark roads. Just as good as a Q-Beam spotlight, but smaller.

Would I get another one? Definitely! They are expensive, but you get what you pay for.

For comparison, I have an older Streamlight flashlight, the SL-35. It's big, heavy and is rated at 35,000 candlepower. This new Ultra Stinger is much smaller, lighter, (easier to handle and store)and brighter - 75,000 candlepower. I compared the two fully charged flashlights beam in the darkness and the results were dramatic. I thought mine was bright - the Ultra Singer was noticeably brighter. This "high beam" light will illuminate as far as you can/need to see. You could use it for self defense at night because of the "blinding" light. Because of its size & weight, this flashlight would be particularly suited for a woman as well.

Great light for it's size. Also owned many Surefire light. But Ultra Stinger Rechargeable is great at home so i don't have to use up my Cr123 battries on Surefire lights.

2010 Dec update.
The light still works, I don't use it often, bulb hasn't burn out yet, and haven't replace the battery.

I have had this flash light for a little over two years now. As for a one word description I would off the following: quality. The following are attributes of the Ultra Stinger that have impressed and surprised me. Since the flashlight is rechargeable I have not spent any money on batteries which is wonderful considering the flash light is much brighter than any other flashlight I've ever used. It is one of the lightest weight flashlights I have ever used (no 8-D-cell battery nonsense). The battery will last a little over an hour per full charge. Better yet when the battery is going to die the light doesn't slowly lose luminance and then fade out. It will deliver full power until the battery is used up and then it will dim swiftly, around 30-60 seconds until it will fully be out of battery. More importantly, in two years not once have I had to replace the light bulb, not once have I had to replace the rechargeable battery, and more impressive yet the battery hasn't noticeably lost any charge capacity. Also, the light is still perfectly in focus, even though I've dropped it about a dozen times, which I can not say for any of my Maglites.

As for cost, yes it is a more expensive flash light, but in the long run. If you add in the costs of batteries and light bulbs for a Maglite or something equivalent you will probably end up spending around $100(including the flashlight) over 2 years anyways; which is on average what Amazon sells the Ultra Stinger for in the first place.

Do yourself a favor, buy the ultra stinger, and you'll not have to worry about a flashlight again. Besides, the Jones' have one.

What a bright light. This flashlight is made by STREAMLIGHT. The company is fastly becoming the best in the industry if not already there.

The need for a bright flashlight in the professional world is always there and this light fills that roll nicely. I am a night shift electrican and also a law enforcement officer and I use this light religiously. The light output is said to be 75,000 candle power. It also is stated on the side of the box as 295 lumens. Belive every word!!

This light can easly light up a building or a car from several blocks away. The flashlight should come with a car charger and also a house charger. Mine did and I bought it form AMAZON for $90.

The battery's are of C size and there is a premade battery pack made of five ni-cads. The instructions are to keep the light on the charger when not in use. Did you just think the same thing I did, but there ni-cad's. Yes I know but if you read the instructions STREAMLIGHT and major battery manufactures have done the research and they assure us that there is no memory effect in ni-cad's and flashlights. I trust them they have more money to research this and also many more quality control tests then the avarage flashlight owner could have.

So follow there instructions keep the light on the charger so its always ready to go. The burn time of this light is said to be one hour at full brightness. The avarage recharge time is 12 hours. This is done to ease the stress on the batteries but there is also a quick charger that will do it in 2.5 hours. The manufacture also says you can safely recharge this light 1000 times. This light is designed for a zero clearance withdraw from the charger so mounting it in the car should be a snap.

So if you have under 100 bones and a need for a super bright flashlight this is the one to buy!!

P.S. Don't look into the light if you are going to need to see very well for a while this thing is a blinder.

I decided to buy this $100. flashlight for a favorite grandchild. It looks very "police" like and I figured that the kid would like it. He did and took it to summer camp. It stopped working after 2 weeks.

So why am I giving it 4 stars? Excellent customer service. I called them up after the summer, they told me where to mail it to, and promised to expeidte the repair/replacement. Which they did.