The 5 Best Streamlight Rechargeable Flashlights For All Your Needs
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Whether you spend your days laboring on a work site or in a garage, or count yourself among the millions of home improvement DIYers in the world, odds are you’ve often found yourself in need of a good flashlight. And if you’ve been in the market for a good flashlight anytime in the past couple of decades, it’s just as likely that you’ve come across the name Streamlight.
After all, the brand — which is the current favorite brand of America’s FBI – has been around in some capacity for more than five decades now. Over that span, it’s developed such a reputation for producing devices as powerful as they are durable that Streamlight is regularly mentioned among the most notable flashlight brands in the game. While Streamlight devices have historically been powered by traditional Alkaline batteries, the brand has spent the past several years developing a line of flashlights powered by rechargeable sources.
As of this writing, Streamlight features dozens of rechargeable flashlights on its website in various shapes, sizes, and brightness levels. There are so many that the average consumer may have trouble deciding which one best suits their needs, whether at home or on the job. Fear not, we took the liberty of diving into the options to find a few handy Streamlight flashlights that feature desirable options, solid reviews, and reasonable-enough price points. These are the ones we think will suit most any consumer’s needs.
Wedge SL
When it comes to flashlights, size can matter as much as brightness. When it comes to your everyday carry sort of light, smaller is often preferable, so long as you’re not sacrificing too much in brightness. Those in need of a small, yet powerful pocket-sized flashlight need look no further than Streamlight’s Wedge SL.
The device is strikingly similar to a woodworking pencil, both in its size — it’s just 5.65 inches long — and its clever flat-sided design, which ensures it will not roll away when you set it down. The light also boasts a durable aluminum alloy casing, a handy stainless steel pocket clip, and an unbreakable acrylic lens, not to mention an on-board battery and waterproof USB-C charging port. The light features high and low settings that produce 100 Lumens and 50 Lumens, respectively, and a THRO mode that delivers 500 Lumens. It is, however, a little on the pricey side, with Streamlight setting the everyday retail price at $110 in its Amazon storefront.
While some users note the price as a negative — along with a potentially tricky on/off switch — the reviews for the Wedge SL are still solid enough at 4.7 stars out of 5, with many praising it for its minimalist design, maximalist power, and toughness. It’s fared just as well with some YouTube testers, with one even claiming it may help Streamlight win the pocket flashlight wars. We’d also tab it as one of the best-looking pocket flashlights on the market.
ProtTac 2.0 Headlamp
While the Wedge SL looks like a legit winner for Streamlight in the pocket-sized flashlight arena, it likely won’t be enough for those who regularly work in low-light areas or enjoy spending time outdoors after the sun goes down. In those scenarios, you might do well to supplement your lighting with a headlamp, which can light your way without limiting your use of your hands.
Streamlight offers several headlamp models, but the ProTac 2.0 is one of its newer rechargeable options. Many might agree it’s also an easy-on-the-wallet option that provides plenty of brightness in a durable, well-designed package. As for brightness, the headlamp — powered by a single Streamlight SL-B50 Rechargeable Battery Pack — can deliver up to 2,000 Lumens, which one satisfied reviewer claims can illuminate people and objects up to 60 feet away. That is, of course, on the high setting, which limits the runtime to 2.25 hours. Battery life is better on lower settings, with the medium, 650 Lumen option upping it to 4.5 hours, and the low, 110 Lumen setting providing up to 25 hours of light.
Those are desirable features for a light that costs just $89.90 on Streamlight’s Amazon store, particularly one that customers have rated 4.5 stars. However, while many praise the ProTac 2.0 for its brightness and battery life, even some positive reviews note that it may be a little heavy for some.
Super Siege Lantern
We freely acknowledge that a lantern is not quite the same as a traditional flashlight. But we’d also point out that, in some cases, a really good lantern is every bit as valuable as a flashlight, and it can even be more convenient when you need a free hand. Streamlight is clearly aware of that need and, in turn, features several lanterns among its lighting offerings.
That list includes the rechargeable Super Siege, which outputs up to 1,100 Lumens. And yes, that output easily ranks the Super Siege among Streamlight’s brightest rechargeable lanterns. But before we get too far into the praise, we should note that the lantern’s Lithium-Ion battery actually charges via an AC adapter cable, so you’ll want to ensure it’s fully charged before you head out into the wilderness. The good news is that the lantern should provide over 36 hours of light on its low setting (125 Lumens), and is even equipped with a USB Port so it can charge other devices.
For the record, even at high, the lantern — which is IP67 waterproof-rated, designed to float if you drop it in the water, and features a watertight hidden compartment in its base — provides almost 6 hours of illumination. For those reasons, users have rated it at 4.7 stars in Streamlight’s Amazon store, where it’s selling for $151.69. YouTube survivalists have been as impressed with the lantern as Amazon reviewers, with many forum commenters also rating it highly.
Vulcan Clutch
For those who need a little extra light in the garage or basement, easy-carry features and multi-function design can rank just as highly on a flashlight’s must-have list as the Lumens it can produce. If you need a super bright light that is easy to transport and has built-in clamping capabilities, Streamlight’s Vulcan Clutch is a solid, if undeniably pricey, option for those in the market.
To be clear, Streamlight is currently selling it for $242.60 through its Amazon store. While some will surely balk at that sticker price, others may be swayed by the flashlight’s impressive 5-star rating, with those who’ve ponied up for the 1,700 Lumens device raving over its brightness, reliability, and versatile design. To that end, the light has also proven exceedingly popular with the first-responder set, as well as several YouTube unboxers.
As noted, apart from the light and rechargeable Lithium Ion power, the multi-function design of the Vulcan Clutch is a big part of its appeal, as the flashlight can be twisted and contorted into a clamping mode or a hooking mode and features a head that can be articulated up to 340 degrees for directional light. One of the few drawbacks is that the battery takes up to 5 hours to charge. But the IP67 dust- and waterproof-rated device delivers up to 6.5 hours of 1,700 Lumens when fully charged, and up to 18 hours of light on the low, 380 Lumens setting. So, charging may not be a deal-breaker.
Survivor Pivot
Of course, not everybody needs a specialty flashlight in their lighting kit. And if you’re looking for nothing more than a traditional handheld point-and-shoot-style flashlight, Streamlight has more than you can probably imagine available for the consumer market. If, however, you want just a touch of versatility to your traditional flashlight, the brand’s Survivor Pivot is the flashlight for you.
With Streamlight setting the sticker price at $89.99 on Amazon, the Survivor Pivot is also one of the cheaper rechargeable flashlight options we’re featuring here. While we’ve tabbed it as a more traditional flashlight setup, that point-and-shoot style is deceptive with this light, which features a dual-beam setup with a bright LED spot and a flood beam angled downward to illuminate walkways and low-lying hazards. When used in tandem, they produce up to 325 Lumens of light for up to 3.75 hours on a full charge. As far as versatility goes, the Survivor Pivot also features a 90-degree pivoting head, which transitions it from a point-and-shoot light to a right-angle directional.
Along with IP67-rated water and dust resistance and a spring-loaded clip, such features have helped the flashlight earn raves from Amazon users, who’ve rated it at 4.9 stars. It’s also been featured by some news outlets as an ideal lighting pick for your home’s emergency preparedness kit. And as noted by Firehouse, it’s also safety-rated at Class 1 Division 1, meaning it should hold up under even the most strenuous conditions.
How we selected these items
Andrii Vinnikov/Getty Images
The purpose of this article is to, ahem, illuminate a handful of high-quality rechargeable Streamlight flashlights for any consumer who might be considering purchasing one. In assembling this list, we scoured Streamlight’s website for devices that fit our profile for durability, versatility, and price point. We also sought out reviews from real-world customers who have already purchased and used the devices, as well as any pro and semi-pro reviewers who have highlighted the flashlights themselves. Whenever possible, specific comments were cited to highlight points of praise and complaint to ensure accuracy.
