Batboard

Well, it's getting to the point where I'm thinking about getting one or more rechargeable flashlights for the truck. I've looked around here and elsewhere at people's installs, and have a fairly good idea of what I want, but I figured I'd ask people's opinions here.

First off, mounting space at least in my cab is kind of tight. From the look of all the mid-sized flashlights I've seen with 12v car chargers, they look like they have a loop that the flashlight draws straight up out of. Anybody have any experience or know of any lights that you can pick straight up out of the charger as opposed to drawing out lengthwise?

Also, any thoughts on LED vs Halogen? All my non-rechargeable lights are LED based for the longer burn time, but with a rechargeable unit, that might not make much difference.

Finally, any thoughts on brands? Models? Any favorites out there? The Streamlight products seem to be a favorite around here, but I'm trying to look at all the options.

Thanks!

I went through this about a year and a half ago with a new truck. My experience was limited...

I have had a Mag Charger for about 10 year now. I have had it mounted in my pickup since new. It's heavy, but it has worked well for me. It's still running on the original battery stick, although I have gone through a few bulbs. The holder holds the light in the charger at any position, so mounting was easy. I think it was the best one out at the time, at least that was available to my price range.

When I got a new truck I figured I'd get a new light. I found a really good price on the Streamlight SL20. I bought that and went to install it in the new truck, and immediately ran into problems. It uses gravity to hold the light in the charger, so it pretty much has to be installed vertically. That really limited my choices as I wanted it out of sight. I finally ended up just mounting it to the wall in the garage and putting the Mag Charger in the new truck. While it nice to have a rechargeable light in the garage, I didn't need it and figure I wasted my money on that one.

Several years ago I purchased Streamlight Vulcans for our work trucks. I even have one here at my desk. We got a great price on them, they mount easily, and have stood up well to a lot of abuse. While they are pretty big, and need a lot of mounting space, I have been happy with them.

If I was doing it again, I'd skip the SL20 Streamlight, The Mag Charger is nice, but heavy. The Vulcan is great, but big. I am sure there are much better lights out there, but the above is just my experience.

The Streamlight SL20 series is one of the more popular ones out there. The SL20 is available in both aluminum and polymer housings. For those, the flashlight slides straight up to pull out of the charger. They're great lights - very sturdy and HELLA BRIGHT.

The Streamlight Stinger is a personal choice for a smaller flashlight. Same construction as it's big brother but in a smaller package. That light pulls out, away from the charger to remove.

The mag Charger is a good light too. All of the features of a standard 3D cell Mag. That one also pulls out, away from the charger.

The nice thing about the lights that pull out, away from the charger is that you can mount them in virtually any position. I have my Mag Charger mounted upside down on the back of my console. The SL20-style chargers need to be mounted with the head of the flashlight mounted close enough to vertical for gravity to keep it secure to the charging contacts.

I own all three lights. In my mind, the SL20 is a superior light, but the Mag has a superior charger design. For my vehicle application, the charger design and unlimited mounting options gave it the edge over the SL20. The SL20 is screwed to the wall, next to the door at home.

i would go with the SL20 or any Stream light products

i have had nuttin but trouble with my mag chargers

I carry:

Streamlight SL20X (mounted on the driver's B pillar, vertically)
Streamlight Fire Vulcan (charger mounted in the rear)
Surefire L2 Digital Lumamax LED (on my belt)

The MagChargers have tons of problems from my experience. I love my SL20, and it doubles as a weapon if you need one.

My vote is for the Streamlight Ultra Stinger. easy to carry/handle/and mount. Much much lighter than a mag and mugh brighter. Get one of the rapid chargers, you can charge all of the stinger line of rechargeables.

and its only about 100 bucks. Not a lot when it comes to a good reliable flashlight.

I have the Streamlight Stinger mounted in my car but I think I'm going to move it to the truck and get one of the newer, smaller Streamlights whatever they are called.

lol I use a Streamlight Lightbox. Big and bright. Good if you've the space...but it's not so great if it's tight. Best $70 I ever spent.

My personal Truck

a yellow polly stinger
a mag charger (wich is brocken once again and is about to get smached)
and the Vulcan (mini light box)

in the work van

i have a poly SL20
and a full size light box
i work for the power company thats why i use the poly SL20 non Conductive

u should see the looks u get when u walk to a Apt house in the HOOD with the Ligt box

Kit,

Aren't you just a thug in a white package?

Streamlight all the way here, SL20X and Stinger both in the truck mounted to the console.

ahh not really a thug

i am just a whoop ass

I personally use a Streamlight Light Box and the StreamLight SL20.

I would steer clear of the Mag Light. The Mag lights are decent lights, but the charger design sucks. I will agree that the charger allows for mounting in multiple directions/locations, but the small brass spring loaded charger contacts are notorius for not making good contact with the flashlight. Expecially if the charger is mounted in an inverted position.

The good thing about the StreamLight SL20 is it must be mounted vertically and this keeps the light held in place better and assures a better connection.

If I had a penny for every complaint from a deputy or police officer that his/her Mag Light ain't charging again, I could retire. And I'm only 28......

Wes

Do those SL20's have an adjustable beam that goes from spot to flood? My dad has an old one that doesnt, just wondering if the newer ones did.

Streamlite Light Box hands down - My only beef is the charger connection eventually gets flakey. If the battery goes, I automatically change out the connectors.

wb4bsd wrote:Do those SL20's have an adjustable beam that goes from spot to flood? My dad has an old one that doesnt, just wondering if the newer ones did.

No - fixed beam.

I went to a local industrial supply company and eyeballed one of the Maglite rechargable units. It looked a bit too bulky for my needs, so I think I'll take a look at the Streamlight units.

One question - the Maglite chargers had nice molex style disconnects, so you could switch the charger base between AC and DC adapters. Do the Streamlight units generally come with a similar setup? In other words, how easy is it to get a charger that you would permanently wire into a 12v vehicle system without having to chop off a cig adapter or some such?

akardam wrote:One question - the Maglite chargers had nice molex style disconnects, so you could switch the charger base between AC and DC adapters. Do the Streamlight units generally come with a similar setup? In other words, how easy is it to get a charger that you would permanently wire into a 12v vehicle system without having to chop off a cig adapter or some such?

The last StreamLight SL20 that I bought had a plug for the charger cord. If I recall correctly, it was about 1 1/4" wide by 3/8" high. In a direct wire situation, that's not much of a problem,as you can feed the unterminated end through the hole. Wall wart, cig lighter, and direct wire are all options for the StreamLight products.

I had the Streamlight SL-20X in a mobile setup but the way it bounced around inside the charging collar made it prone to NOT being charged when needed. I now use a Pelican Stealthlight Rechargeable and so far, so good.

KitN1MCC wrote: u should see the looks u get when u walk to a Apt house in the HOOD with the Ligt box

Why would this causes looks?

OH most likely because they think you're some type of "PO PO" and or fire type

or in this case a pasty white guy wanna be rapper

davkenrem wrote:

KitN1MCC wrote: u should see the looks u get when u walk to a Apt house in the HOOD with the Ligt box

Why would this causes looks?

Correlation doesn't imply causation.

The root cause is a goofy-looking white boy wandering around in the middle of a "rough" apartment complex, litebox or not.

The Litebox only makes him a little more obvious.

(Sorry, Kit, after the pix of you striking a pose in front of your wacktastic truck, you asked for it! )

Thanks for all the recommendations, guys. I ended up going with a pair of the Streamlight Ultra Stingers with fast DC chargers. They're quite bright, and the charger docks feel solid. Now to get 'em mounted in the truck :)

I realize that my post is a little late, but great information on fashlights at

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/

Also, I have had:

-Streamlight SL-20 with an SL-35 lamp assembly

-Tigerlight FBOP

-Streamlight UltraStinger

-Inova T4

and others, too. One of my current favorites is a Streamlight Stinger with an HP head, custom 6 volt battery packs, and an UltraStinger bulb. This gives UltraStinger brightness in a compact Stinger HP package. The shortcoming is it runs about 40 minutes on a charge. Be careful with
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ because sometimes the flashlight hobby can be nearly as addicting as radios!


Jim NØJS

Heh. Better late than never I suppose. Thanks for the info nontheless. I already have a Pelican M6 LED for my on the belt flashlight that I'm very happy with. And now I have toys for the truck, too :)

keep the contacts clean on those chargers , keep a pencil eraser handy!

just a tip.

Before investing in a rechargeable light, be sure you will use it enough to need it. A few years ago I had an SL20 - great light. But I didn't need it often enough. If you leave it in the charger (as I ended up doing) you fry the battery. If you leave it out of the charger, it won't be ready when you DO need it.

A 4-D cell Maglight in each car and a Scorpion in whatever pack I have with me and I'm set.

Chris, you are absolutely right. I have often had people at work wonder why the batteries for my portable last so long. In fact, they have even said, "Mine is on the charger all the time and it doesn't last very long." Anyway, my Motorola HT1000 has two batteries. When the one I am using "beeps" I switch to the other one and charge the depleted one. With my flashlight, I just charge them once a month at the first of the month. That method will not work for everyone, but it works great for me. Otherwise, a non-rechargeable may be the way to go for many people.


Jim NØJS

BPD109 wrote:My vote is for the Streamlight Ultra Stinger. easy to carry/handle/and mount. Much much lighter than a mag and mugh brighter. Get one of the rapid chargers, you can charge all of the stinger line of rechargeables.

and its only about 100 bucks. Not a lot when it comes to a good reliable flashlight.

Steramlight Ultra Stinger all the way! I had one of the original stingers i bought in 1998 in my Car 'till i switched to the ultra stinger in 2003...they are both going strong to this day. You can't go wrong with a stinger

Streamlight Strion......... That's the new little Streamlight. I've got one, had it for several months. Nearly as bright as the Stinger, but in a much more compact package. And, you can leave it on the charger indefinitely because of new battery technology. If you couldn't find a place to mount this light in your car, you need a bigger car.