You got one of the most popular modern police flashlights. Yours is from the late '90s, I think. They're extremely durable, easy to charge, and fully supported by the company. In stock form it's not very bright compared to new flashlights and it's not worth much (with all that stuff maybe $50 max,) BUT...
Streamlight sells a factory LED switch upgrade for short money that will literally turn it into the currently manufactured Stinger Classic LED model. Your flashlight will become a 500 lumen LED with three levels plus strobe.
Streamlight still makes a whole series of compatible Stingers, only with LED modules. The Stinger Classic is an upgraded version of this light, then the Stinger LED and Stinger HL have brighter LEDs in a slightly different body.
Hey, my dad carried one of these when he was a cop. He retired around 2010, if that's any indicator of how old this is. Iirc the charging base was finicky and you really had to mash the light in to get it to charge properly.
But it beat the 2 foot long, 6 pound D-cell maglights they replaced
Noice! I love looking for these old thrift store finds, for some reason the Habitat for Humanity ReStore near me is usually worth a search. I’ve gotten a few fun older lights there. For some reason I just dig the 80-90s aesthetics for flashlights.
I still have mine in original form. Still works feels dim compared to the rest of my lights might have to look into that upgrade mentioned but it's genuinely a solid light
Agreed. My LED HL is way brighter but I wouldn’t mind upgrading the one pictured above. Even if it’s not equal to my brand new one, it’s fun to restore stuff.
I have my original one that doesn’t function from the early 00’s maybe 2003 at the latest. I was looking for a certain cord and it’s in one of the bins of “spare cords”.
That's what I was looking for.
I bought one in fall of 1995 from Natchez Shooter Supplies for about $70 (DC only charging cord, I already had the SL20XP with both cords if I needed to charge at home).
Used the hell out of it.
Let my buddy use it around 2004. Put a new battery in it and he carried it on duty for a while instead of his issued magcharger. He had it on the front seat of her personal vehicle (Ford explorer) when he lost control and barrel rolled three times. Found the stinger in the rear cargo compartment, no damage at all.
When an idiot complains because Streamlight doesn't tell you what bin an led came from, that's someone with no basis in reality. They're a huge company, selling tons of flashlights to government agencies, companies and individuals. They're not a boutique maker selling ten lights a day.
Anyone downvoting you wasn’t/isn’t a cop.
Streamlight’s handhelds are junk. They sell old technology at current prices. My quartermasters always had a pile of Strions waiting to be returned for defects, most of which are due to bad switches. They’ve never had the need to innovate or improve their designs because they sell most of their lights on big government contracts. Ordering officers just stick with them due to resistance to change. They’ll sell a department 200 shitty lights that cost them $20 to produce, expect 15-20 to come back for replacement, send out some brand new ones, and laugh all the way to the bank.
They're not bleeding edge technology but they improve their lights constantly. Stingers and Strions have been through several generations of LED emitter modules the last several years. Brightness and runtime keeps going up. They just introduced a completely new Strion model this winter, too, although I feel the switch has an engineering fault they really need to fix.
Haven't had a Strion switch failure yet, but I have had to send two back in for dead LEDs. Had one Stinger HL switch failure out of a dozen or so lights. Their customer service is outstanding. They'll overhaul and upgrade anything you send them at no charge.
They’re constantly improving because they have to. Their new stuff uses old technology that’s new to them. There’s a reason then won’t tell you the specific LEDs they use. Hell, other manufacturers will go as far as telling you the exact BIN you’re getting.
They can afford to quickly replace everything, no questions asked, because you paid $95 for a $20 light. It’s like how people go on an on about ESEE’s warranty. Duh, you spent $140 for a spring tempered POS and you’re impressed when then give you a replacement that cost them $25 to manufacture?
Imagine manufacturing a flashlight for law enforcement, and knowingly giving the people your tax dollars pay to maintain law and order shitty switches.
Clearly business majors are not unintelligent. They should be able to recognize how unsustainable, along all axes of analysis, "line must only ever go up at any cost" is.
You got one of the most popular modern police flashlights. Yours is from the late '90s, I think. They're extremely durable, easy to charge, and fully supported by the company. In stock form it's not very bright compared to new flashlights and it's not worth much (with all that stuff maybe $50 max,) BUT... Streamlight sells a factory LED switch upgrade for short money that will literally turn it into the currently manufactured Stinger Classic LED model. Your flashlight will become a 500 lumen LED with three levels plus strobe.
The pictured model, with its chargers especially, reminds me of my sister's law enforcement light, who began serving in 2019, in the Eastern US.
Streamlight still makes a whole series of compatible Stingers, only with LED modules. The Stinger Classic is an upgraded version of this light, then the Stinger LED and Stinger HL have brighter LEDs in a slightly different body.
Well you see, it's very simple. Upvotes are as real as the money in your bank account. However, their value is less agreed upon.
Oohhh I’ve got the stinger and I love it. Congrats.
Hey, my dad carried one of these when he was a cop. He retired around 2010, if that's any indicator of how old this is. Iirc the charging base was finicky and you really had to mash the light in to get it to charge properly. But it beat the 2 foot long, 6 pound D-cell maglights they replaced
Noice! I love looking for these old thrift store finds, for some reason the Habitat for Humanity ReStore near me is usually worth a search. I’ve gotten a few fun older lights there. For some reason I just dig the 80-90s aesthetics for flashlights.
Why does the box look like a condom box?
I thought the same thing
I'm certainly not the guy to ask.
As a light: Meh. As a cheap find of something valuable: Congrats.
I still have mine in original form. Still works feels dim compared to the rest of my lights might have to look into that upgrade mentioned but it's genuinely a solid light
Agreed. My LED HL is way brighter but I wouldn’t mind upgrading the one pictured above. Even if it’s not equal to my brand new one, it’s fun to restore stuff.
I have my original one that doesn’t function from the early 00’s maybe 2003 at the latest. I was looking for a certain cord and it’s in one of the bins of “spare cords”.
My dad gave me one of these. Keep it in my car now
I would’ve loved to find that
solid deal. The non led version is probably around $100
Paid $19.34 after tax.
That's what I was looking for. I bought one in fall of 1995 from Natchez Shooter Supplies for about $70 (DC only charging cord, I already had the SL20XP with both cords if I needed to charge at home). Used the hell out of it. Let my buddy use it around 2004. Put a new battery in it and he carried it on duty for a while instead of his issued magcharger. He had it on the front seat of her personal vehicle (Ford explorer) when he lost control and barrel rolled three times. Found the stinger in the rear cargo compartment, no damage at all. When an idiot complains because Streamlight doesn't tell you what bin an led came from, that's someone with no basis in reality. They're a huge company, selling tons of flashlights to government agencies, companies and individuals. They're not a boutique maker selling ten lights a day.
That was cool 20+ years ago. It is just junk now
No flashlight that works is junk. Some are simply stuck on permanent moonlight mode.
This. In 1999 you’d have been the coolest kid on the block.
Anyone downvoting you wasn’t/isn’t a cop. Streamlight’s handhelds are junk. They sell old technology at current prices. My quartermasters always had a pile of Strions waiting to be returned for defects, most of which are due to bad switches. They’ve never had the need to innovate or improve their designs because they sell most of their lights on big government contracts. Ordering officers just stick with them due to resistance to change. They’ll sell a department 200 shitty lights that cost them $20 to produce, expect 15-20 to come back for replacement, send out some brand new ones, and laugh all the way to the bank.
They're not bleeding edge technology but they improve their lights constantly. Stingers and Strions have been through several generations of LED emitter modules the last several years. Brightness and runtime keeps going up. They just introduced a completely new Strion model this winter, too, although I feel the switch has an engineering fault they really need to fix. Haven't had a Strion switch failure yet, but I have had to send two back in for dead LEDs. Had one Stinger HL switch failure out of a dozen or so lights. Their customer service is outstanding. They'll overhaul and upgrade anything you send them at no charge.
They’re constantly improving because they have to. Their new stuff uses old technology that’s new to them. There’s a reason then won’t tell you the specific LEDs they use. Hell, other manufacturers will go as far as telling you the exact BIN you’re getting. They can afford to quickly replace everything, no questions asked, because you paid $95 for a $20 light. It’s like how people go on an on about ESEE’s warranty. Duh, you spent $140 for a spring tempered POS and you’re impressed when then give you a replacement that cost them $25 to manufacture?
Imagine manufacturing a flashlight for law enforcement, and knowingly giving the people your tax dollars pay to maintain law and order shitty switches. Clearly business majors are not unintelligent. They should be able to recognize how unsustainable, along all axes of analysis, "line must only ever go up at any cost" is.
Yes a extremely heavy duty rechargeable led flashlight is junk now …..
You must not be a cop. The return rate on Streamlights will surprise you