Streamlight Polytac LED

I don't know about you but I have a flashlight problem. It feels good to admit that finally after all these years. I own many different kinds of flashlights and have been a fan of LED technology since it was relatively new. Just recently I realized that I did not own a tactical flashlight. This is a good investment in ones safety. I think that if you own a firearm, especially a handgun that you intend to use for self defense a tactical flashlight is a must have. Why is it a must have? There are many different uses for a flashlight beyond just illuminating a bad situation. You can use them to temporarily blind an attacker long enough to get to safety or to change a flat tire. I feel strongly that they are a valuable tool, very few people plan for bad things to happen in the dark and doing so could be the difference in a bad day and a very bad day.

This brings us to the Streamlight Polytac LED. In the world of tactical flash lights you can spend a little, and often times the performance of a cheap light will be poor. Or you can go big and pay an enormous amount for an unwieldy 1000 lumen handheld sun. I chose to go with an option that I considered to be middle of the road. Here are the generic specs

C4 LED technology, impervious to shock with a 50,000 hour lifetime
Borofloat glass lens, o-ring sealed
Tail cap push button provides one handed momentary or constant "on"
3 hours of continuous runtime to the 10-Percent output level
Two (2) 3-Volt CR123A lithium batteries with a shelf life of 10-Year

So I paid $35 for this light when a similar Surefure runs around $80. Upon opening this light and putting the batteries in it I must admit I was impressed. I had expected it to be cheap feeling and kind of flimsy but this is no the case. I was happy to find that both the bezel and tail cap are o ring sealed. On top of that it has a glass bezel which in this price range I feel is hard to find. It is also lighter than your typical metal bodied tactical light.

There are few things I don't like about this light. One being that the body isn't textured which could make hanging onto it a challenge in wet environments or even while wearing some gloves. This could be fixed with stippling. If you want to learn more about this check out method burn.com, they do an awesome job. The other thing that I have noticed is that the light will turn on sometimes when pressure is applied to the housing which could be a bad thing depending on your intended implementation of this light. These are the only things that have bugged me about this light and I feel that it is hard to beat for the money. If you're looking for a good, affordable light check out the Streamlight Polytac LED.

-Jacob

Edit 9 SEP 2013 

I just want to give an update on this flashlight's performance. After putting this light through some punishment for about seven months here are some things I noticed. This light goes easy on the batteries and always performed when I needed it to. The only bad thing I can say about this light could be a deal breaker for some people depending on your job. Just recently the light has been turning on when pressure is applied to the side of the tail cap (not the button), and when a very small amount of pressure is applied to the button. This problem really takes away from this lights ability to serve as a realistic choice for a tactical flashlight. In a real life situation your light turning on inadvertently could spell disaster. These are the things I have noticed after seven months with this light. 

-VGB

The after picture.