I rarely write reviews but, I've been using Streamlight Products since 2001 and I feel compelled to write this one. I'm a casual flashlight user, so forgive my testing methods and my failure to include important details. I've had the ProTac HL4 in my possession for 12 hours before this review.
The Pros - 2,200 Max Lumen, Uses Two 18650 Li-ion Batteries.
The Cons - Switch Location, Switch Program Modes, Function of Use
The Verdict - The ProTac HL4 is a High Quality Chinese Knock-Off and Uncomfortable to use.
Please allow me to defend these statements. In order to assist this review, I will be using my recently purchased Streamlight Stinger LED HL w/ Ni-MH as a baseline to compare. The Stinger model has been my go to flashlight over the years. I've used almost every bulb / head / LED variant that has come along, and it's by far the best light I've found for my application. Don't get me wrong, it has it's drawbacks too. More on that later.
The batteries used in the HL4 for this review are Olight 18650 3.6V 3400 mAh (the Streamlight branded 18650's are 3.7V 2600 mAh).
On my scale the HL4 (w/ batteries) weighs in at a portly 17.5 oz. or 500 grams. The Stinger LED HL (w/ Ni-MH Battery Stick) weighs in at a svelte 11.5 oz. or 330 grams. Right off the bat, the HL4 is substantially heavier and it gets worse.
The HL4 uses a tail cap switch. Tailcap switches work great on small flashlights that are about as long as the width of a humanoid palm. When I grab the HL4 and turn in on with my thumb, there's 4.5 inches of flashlight hanging out past my pinky. And, that's where the majority of the weight and bulk is. This is a non-issue with the Stinger LED HL because of its natural switch placement.
After handling the HL4 for a few minutes, (running through the TEN-TAP programmable switch), I picked up the Stinger LED HL. Whoa, what a difference. The Stinger felt like a feather filled with helium. The switch location on the HL4 is a huge disappointment and may be a deal breaker for some users.
The TEN-TAP programmable switch is another disappointment. Your choices are; High/Strobe/Low, High Only, or Low/Med/High with a light press activating momentary of the first mode of a selected program.
In comparison the Stinger LED HL switch in my opinion is the best in the business. Light press is momentary High, long press cycles High, Med, Low (release for desired power), one click is High, and two fast clicks is Strobe.
With the HL4, depending what program you've selected, you either lose Medium or Strobe. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
The build quality, materials used, and overall fit and finish of the HL4 appears and feels very different than the Stinger LED HL. The Stinger looks and feels way better. The threads on the Stinger battery cap even feel better compared to the threads on the HL4's tailcap and head bezel.
I measured the amperage draw of the HL4's Low/Med/High settings using my Fluke 115 Multimeter. I obtained the readings by removing the tailcap switch and attaching my meter leads to the negative terminal of the bottom battery and the flashlight body contact ring. Low 60 Lumen was steady at 53 mA, Med 600 Lumen varied between 545-555 mA, and High 2,200 Lumen varied between 2,700-2,900 mA with an average of 2,860 mA.
I haven't figured out how to measure the amp draw on the Stinger because it uses that stupid proprietary battery terminal system. Thanks SL. As a reference I measured the amp draw on my Streamlight TLR-1 HL 800 Lumen with two primary CR123A's and it was 2,200 mA.
So, to wrap it up. Do I regret my purchase of the Streamlight ProTac HL 4? I sure do. If I could return it without paying a restocking fee and return shipping I would send it back to Shenzhen, Guangdong or whatever dimly lit, dirt floor factory this "flashlight" came out of. In my opinion Streamlight committed a fumble-rusky on this one. I can only assume this was a rush to market endeavor in response to cheap Chinese eBay flashlights taking a bite out of Streamlights market share.
If you only had around $100 to spend on a high quality mid-size flashlight, I would recommend the Stinger LED HL and not the ProTac HL4. The Stinger LED HL has its cons and I'll describe them now.
The only major design flaw in my opinion with the Stinger LED HL is the proprietary battery stick and charging platform. These two components have remained basically the same since the 90's and even earlier. The actual flashlight has undergone steady improvements over the years but, the battery and charger have not.
The batter stick is made up of 3 separate sub C size cells wrapped neatly with a proprietary terminal system. This is good for Streamlight because it's almost like a quality control issue so the flashlight is only fed high quality batteries. But, this is restrictive and dare I say "bad" for the end user because, it severely limits battery options.
The charger is a "semi-dumb" charger, meaning that it's not a fully microprocessor controlled smart charger. I hooked up my Fluke 115 to the internal terminals of the charger and monitored a charge cycle. I started the cycle with a depleted battery stick and the voltage at the terminals started around 4.2 volts. About every couple of seconds the voltage would increase by 1 hundredth of a volt (that's 0.01V). About 10-11 hours later the voltage stopped increasing at around 5.2 volts.
This was easy to monitor because the Fluke 115 has a Min/Max feature that emits an audible beep every time the voltage changes (I set it to Max). I know voltage is only half the story and I failed to monitor the amperage but, I already knew I wanted an improved battery / charging platform and I found it.
Looking for better alternatives I found Streamlight sells a Li-ion battery stick for the Stinger series rated at 3.6V and 2200 mAh for around $30. I read some reviews and peopled loved it for being lighter and having a lower self discharge rate. However you still have to use the old semi-dumb charger. I still wasn't satisfied.
I was looking at my other flashlights and pulled out the battery. It just happen to be an Olight 18650 Li-ion rated at 3.6V and 3400 mAh. I thought to myself, if only there was a way to run the Stinger LED HL on a single 18650. Hmmmm.
I just happen to have an old Stinger Ni-CD battery stick that would only last 30 minutes compared to my fresh Ni-MH that was lasting 1hr15min. I figured, what the heck? I got nothin' to lose. I disassembled the old Ni-CD battery stick and salvaged the precious proprietary terminal. I fitted terminal around the 18650 cell and even reused some of the factory heat shrink material from the old Ni-CD and voila, a miniature Stinger battery stick.
The whole thing is about 2 ¼ inches shorter than the normal battery stick. Both the positive and negative terminals are at the top of the battery now, so I just needed a spacer or something like a wood dowel. I couldn't be bothered to drive to the hardware store so I returned to the closet where I found the old Ni-CD looking for a cylindrical shaped 2 ¼ inch spacer.
To my surprise I found a live 12 gauge shotgun shell. Remington Gun Club 2 ¾, number 8 birdshot to be exact. Try not to laugh too hard. Cue The Red Green Show music or dueling banjos. I removed the birdshot and gun power from the shell, dropped it in, installed the end cap and bang. Just kidding, it worked like a charm.
By doing this crazy, crazy mod I gained three things. Weight loss, increased run time, decreased recharging time. The weight went from 11.5oz. / 330 grams down to 9.5oz. / 265 grams. Now it feels like a feather filled with helium under water.
The Ni-MH battery rated at 2200 mAh was giving me 1hr15min of runtime on high. The Li-ion Olight 18650 rated at 3400 mAh is giving me 1hr45min of runtime on high, that's 30 extra minutes. Another thing to point out is when the Olight 18650 battery is depleted and voltage drops to 2.5 volts the protection circuit trips and the flashlight shuts off. When the Ni-MH battery is depleted and the flashlight is on high setting, the light will flicker and then drop to medium and eventually low power.
Charge time on the Ni-MH battery with the standard Streamlight cradle charger takes 10-11 hours. I'm currently using a Nitecore D4 Intellicharger (current model) for the Olight 18650's and the charge time is 6-8 hours.
As far as the next evolution of the Stinger model goes. If Streamlight would just configure it to run on two 18650's and increase the max lumen to an even 1,000, I and all the other Stinger users would be happier than a pig in sh*t. Pardon my French. Are you listening Streamlight?
