In the world of good flashlights Surefire seems to still reign supreme in terms of brand recognition. Certainly for good reason. While not cheap, Surefire is consistently solid quality. There is also Modlite, a very high-end brand of flashlight, though more boutique and not as widely circulated as Surefire. With that said, I have had Surefire lights fail, as any tool made by man can fail, but some have much better track records then others.
However, in terms of “best bang for the buck” I really think Streamlight is hard to beat as a brand. I have had Streamlights fail as well, but it has been infrequent.
I have relied on Streamlight flashlights for many years now, and their feature set, quality, and decent price make their utility difficult to deny. In the past several years I have moved entirely to re-chargeable batteries for my lights. The Streamlight USB rechargeable battery takes the place of two CR123 lithiums, and works in most of the newer Streamlight models that are designed for dual 123s. These rechargeable batteries seem to last longer, and they certainly make the light even brighter. Yet, you can still use regular CR123s in these lights as well.
I will never go back to a light that only takes regular batteries. The rechargeables allow you to, obviously, recharge them and over time it is more economically sound than buying the rather expensive disposable CR123s. Also, I carry spare rechargeables in my packs, and when the battery in the light depletes, it can be re-charged with any USB solar charger if in the field. So, essentially, you can have endless power for your lights with several re-chargeable batteries and a solar charger. Bonus, they also use regular CR123s if that is what you have.
Pictured are the 3 models of Streamlight that I use as carry lights. From left to right, you see the Streamlight Protac HL-X model, the Protac 2L-X model, and the Stylus Pro USB model. The two Protac models use the rechargeable dual-cell battery as mentioned, you can see one in the picture as well. The Stylus Pro has a re-chargeable battery within, and you can re-charge the light via a USB port on the light. The two big lights are 1,000 and 500 lumens respectively, the Stylus is 350 lumens. Even now, Streamlight has other models of similar size that are clocking in at 2,000 lumens. The lumen war seems never-ending, but the ability to swap out the rechargeable batteries in these models keeps me with them currently.
The Stylus light is my go-to for when I need to carry my deep concealment gear; for example, when wearing dress pants the Stylus is so thin that it goes unnoticed in a pocket. It is not as powerful as the others, but it does the job as needed. All three lights are very solidly constructed, and all three protrude from the bottom of my palm when held in a hammer fist; a quality that is a must-have in a light, as it then lends itself to glass breaking or other impact.
While the lumen wars continue to rage, and lights of equivalent size get brighter and brighter, I am quite happy with these options at the moment and highly recommend.
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