Streamlight Strion--Finally a good, easily available, 6W, 80 lumens,Adjustable Beam, Rechargeable Li



S

Steven M. Scharf

Guest
Streamlight Strion--Finally a good, easily available, 6W, 80 lumens,
Adjustable Beam, Rechargeable Lithium Ion Flashlight

The manufacturer calls it the "World’s brightest ultra-compact
rechargeable flashlight," and they aren’t lying.

I purchased one to use on my Dahon Speed TR. A dynamo light would impede
the folding, and would be mounted too low (for the Union/Marwi anyway).
I didn't want to run wires from a battery pack to the handlebars, so I
wanted a self-contained unit. The 6W and 5W self-contained xenon lights
from Performance (Performance Viewpoint Lazer) and Specialized
(Specialized Astro 5.0) have been discontinued, and were also quite
costly, at $70 and $50 respectively (without Li-Ion batteries).
Self-contained bicycle lights are now either LED or very low power
incandescent, neither of which project a useful beam.

The Strion is extremely bright, compared to most low-power bicycle
headlights. 12,000 CP, 80 lumens, 6.12W, more than twice the brightness
of a 2.4W dynamo headlight, and close to twice the brightness of a 3W
dynamo headlight.

The manufacturer claims a run-time of 70 minutes. I got 85 minutes with
a new battery. It doesn't go dim, when the battery voltage begins to
fall off it simply shuts off, so if you have a commute longer than about
an hour, or ride in very cold weather, you should be prepared with backup.

The manufacturer claims a charge time of 2.5 hours, I measured about 2.8
hours from a fully discharged condition.

Use a TwoFish Cycloblock to attach it to your handlebars. The Strion is
larger in diameter than an AA cell flashlight, but smaller diameter than
a C cell flashlight. The bulbs are tiny, you can carry a spare in a film
canister.

Pros
----
-More than twice as bright as typical 2.4W dynamo headlight, and far,
far, brighter than any LED headlight.
-Excellent beam. The beam is adjustable from spot to flood, making it
suitable for a variety of riding conditions
-Small size. Shorter than a 2AA Mag Light, but a little larger diameter.
-Lightweight
-Rechargeable Li-Ion battery is better than NiMH batteries in
weight/power ratio
-Doubles as a repair light

Cons
----
-Expensive ($80 with charger). Extra battery is $25.
-70 minute run time may not be enough for some commutes
-Shuts off when batteries fall below a certain voltage, no warning that
batteries are low.
-Favored by survivalists
-Barrel gets pretty hot under continuous operation, but when mounted on
handlebars this isn't an issue.

The best source I found was:

http://store.yahoo.com/swps/streamlight-strion-rechargeable.html

Steve
http://bicyclelighting.com
 

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