Streamlight ProTac 1L-1AA … why?
It's a long story.
I live in Alaska but spend winters these days in Arizona. All my adult life I had nothing but big Maglites, which I used every day in the winter in Alaska, but with 18-24 hours of daylight in the summer, not so much.
One summer day, in Prescott Arizona I was on a hike with my wife and some friends when I stepped on a flashlight … a Streamlight ProTac 1L-1AA. Some poor soul must've dropped it and I was fortunate to find it. It was simi-buried in mud, and didn't turn on at first try, so I wiped it down, stored it in my pocket and continued the hike.
When I got home I opened it up, removed the battery and cleaned it up the best I could. Popped in a new battery and it worked! But, I didn't try it outside in the dark until I got back to Alaska, and only months later in the fall when we got our night time back.
So, the first time I took my dog out in the early morning dark I turned on the mighty little ProTac instead of my massive MagLite and dang, what a huge difference. I needed a light since the bears weren't yet in hibernation and the owls were just beginning to hunt (my dog weighs 10 pounds and is definitely bait for some of the wildlife in my slice of Alaska). I couldn't believe the difference. This very small flashlight illuminated the area significantly better than the 3-D Maglite I kept at the back door for my dog walks.
A few months later, after walking my dog with my trusty Streamlight I stored it in my pants pocket (something I'd never do with the MagLite) and went upstairs to do my customary web browsing for weather, news and sports.
Suddenly, the 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck, the power immediately went out and I was thrown to the floor with my doggy in my arms. Glass was breaking all around me, pictures were jumping off the walls, the pantry was dumping all it's contents on the floor and because it was still dark, and the power was out, all I could do was sit on the floor and wait for it to end.
When it finally ended and it was still pitch black inside and out I realized I still had my flashlight in my pocket and with it I could look around to see where it was safe to walk in my bare feet. I put the dog in her kennel and carefully walked to the door with my torch to go connect the generator and get some light (and much needed heat) back to the house. All day I spent cleaning up the mess, filling a contractor bag half full of broken glass, broken dinnerware and broken and scattered pantry items.
Maybe it's PTSD, but that was November 2018 and I've had that trusty little touch in my pocket ever since, using it daily for everything a flashlight is useful for. Until last week, when it disappeared. I didn't want to be a day without it, so I ordered another one, and the day it arrived I found my original one stuck between cushions in the couch.
So, now I have two, plus the 3 other Stereamlight products I've ordered over the years (ProTac HPL USB X 2, ProTac HL USB Headlamp) given my tendency to be brand loyal.
So to answer the question in the OP, I now have a brand new StreamLight ProTac 1L-1AA backup to my found on the trail, earthquake survivor torch.
It's a long story.
I live in Alaska but spend winters these days in Arizona. All my adult life I had nothing but big Maglites, which I used every day in the winter in Alaska, but with 18-24 hours of daylight in the summer, not so much.
One summer day, in Prescott Arizona I was on a hike with my wife and some friends when I stepped on a flashlight … a Streamlight ProTac 1L-1AA. Some poor soul must've dropped it and I was fortunate to find it. It was simi-buried in mud, and didn't turn on at first try, so I wiped it down, stored it in my pocket and continued the hike.
When I got home I opened it up, removed the battery and cleaned it up the best I could. Popped in a new battery and it worked! But, I didn't try it outside in the dark until I got back to Alaska, and only months later in the fall when we got our night time back.
So, the first time I took my dog out in the early morning dark I turned on the mighty little ProTac instead of my massive MagLite and dang, what a huge difference. I needed a light since the bears weren't yet in hibernation and the owls were just beginning to hunt (my dog weighs 10 pounds and is definitely bait for some of the wildlife in my slice of Alaska). I couldn't believe the difference. This very small flashlight illuminated the area significantly better than the 3-D Maglite I kept at the back door for my dog walks.
A few months later, after walking my dog with my trusty Streamlight I stored it in my pants pocket (something I'd never do with the MagLite) and went upstairs to do my customary web browsing for weather, news and sports.
Suddenly, the 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck, the power immediately went out and I was thrown to the floor with my doggy in my arms. Glass was breaking all around me, pictures were jumping off the walls, the pantry was dumping all it's contents on the floor and because it was still dark, and the power was out, all I could do was sit on the floor and wait for it to end.
When it finally ended and it was still pitch black inside and out I realized I still had my flashlight in my pocket and with it I could look around to see where it was safe to walk in my bare feet. I put the dog in her kennel and carefully walked to the door with my torch to go connect the generator and get some light (and much needed heat) back to the house. All day I spent cleaning up the mess, filling a contractor bag half full of broken glass, broken dinnerware and broken and scattered pantry items.
Maybe it's PTSD, but that was November 2018 and I've had that trusty little touch in my pocket ever since, using it daily for everything a flashlight is useful for. Until last week, when it disappeared. I didn't want to be a day without it, so I ordered another one, and the day it arrived I found my original one stuck between cushions in the couch.
So, now I have two, plus the 3 other Stereamlight products I've ordered over the years (ProTac HPL USB X 2, ProTac HL USB Headlamp) given my tendency to be brand loyal.
So to answer the question in the OP, I now have a brand new StreamLight ProTac 1L-1AA backup to my found on the trail, earthquake survivor torch.
