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Dimensions & Weight
Case Material
Case Features
Case Access Type
Switch Type
Reflector Type
Lens Type
Bulb Type
Circuit
Beam Type
Beam Characteristics
Overall Output
Nominal Color
Battery / Power Type
Battery Life (advertised)
Environmental Protection
Accessories
Special Items of Note
Warranty
Retail Availability & Cost |
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Diameter 1"(head) /.74"
( Body) ,L 6.5"(165mm), W 4.0 oz.(112Grms) with batteries
Machined aerospace-grade aluminum, Type II anodized
Knurled & machined for grip, removable spring clip.
Unscrew tailcap for battery change
Tailcap push momentary On & click On/Off switch
Partial + Collimating optics
Clear acrylic
Low Dome - Luxeon Star 1W
Regulated
Combination medium spot and narrow corona
Bright hotspot gradually to corona
30 Lumens (Advertized)
Color temperature (Estimated) 5,500ºK
1.5V Cell Type 2 x AA - included (various chemistries acceptable
including NiMH & NiCd)
1 Hour to 50% (advertised) and Longer at a reduced level
'O'-ring seals "water resistant"
Black Cordura - belt pouch
Uses popular click On/Of tailswitch
Limited Lifetime Warranty
$29.95as evaluated
http://www.brightguy.com |
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Form Factor & Build
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1- Classic hand-held flashlight form. Geometry
is a radially symmetrical round cross-section/ smoothened
contours, light diamond pattern body and head knurling.
2- Head of Light is wider than the body
& tail-piece which are the same diameter.
3- The flashlight feels light weight but
still has substantial heft. Its styling pays cursory homage
to a late 20th Century classic- the MAG Instruments®-
Mini Mag-lite®.
4-Due to it's long and narrow-diameter body
it's ideal for individuals with small, medium or large sized
hands. In addition its slenderness lends itself stowage and
carry in accessories that accommodate any flashlight with
a body diameter of 18mm.
5- One's hand easily surrounds the body
section.The body of the light easily fills a Large or X-Large
(*1) sized palm with some protrusion. Much
more protrusion will occur with small and medium sized hands.
6- The aluminum wall thickness of the battery
tube is 1.9 mm.
7- All sections fit together well with fairly
smooth threading action.
8- Black Type II (glossy) anodizing on the
outside and inside the battery compartment offers protection
against corrosion.
9- There is no battery rattle. 'O' ring
seals provide some shock absorption, a snug fit and a seal
against the elements- especially water.
10- A mid-length center of balance make
it comfortable to hold and practical to stand on it's head.
Roll prevention is afforded by the attached and removable
spring pocket clip. Tail section does not allow for self supported
ceiling bounce or candle modes.
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| Ergonomics
& Mount Options |
1-
Ambidextrous.
2- A large palm completely surrounds the
body of the, with the thumb and first or second fingers- naturally
positioned on the front of the body section just behind the
head-portion. In normal use, the thumb of the hand holding
the light would rest behind the head with the rest of the
fingers supporting from underneath.It may be hand-held in
various positions including: Harries Flashlight Technique,Rodgers,
forward, upward and downward pointing 'standard' flashlight
hand-held modes.
3- A rubber covered Kroll tyle Click On/Off
tail switch at the very rear of the tail-piece allows for
simple toggling activation of the light.
4- There is an option for momentary On for
short On/Off bursts of light such might be used for signaling.
5- No native mounting options for fire arms
use are evident, though the mid-section may allow for dedicated
clamping brackets or other improvised and custom designed
attachment solutions.
6-No provision for lanyard or keyring is
built in, though the included spring steel pocket clip may
be used to attach a lanyard.
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| Affordances |
1-
Stowage- An included black cordura pouch allows for belt carry
with belts that are up to 2.5" wide. Third party holsters
and carriers as well as headbands should be plentiful for
a light of this form factor and dimensions.
2 - Activation- In normal
use, light emits from the front of the flashlight when activation
occurs through either a partial depression or a full depression
of the of the rubber covered Kroll On/Off click switch. Activation
feedback is provided through a distinctive haptic 'click'
sensation as well as a clear 'clicking' sound. De-activation
is implemented via re-clicking of the toggle switch.
3-The front bezel is threaded to the body
section, allowing for user accessibility to the emitter module
enclosed in the head section . The optic seems permanently
secured to the bezel and seems not to be user servicable.
A single 'O'ring protects the head
section and LED module from the environment.
4- The removable tailpiece allows for access to the
battery compartment for replacements.The battery compartment
is protected from the environment by an 'O' ring collar that
is integrated in to the tailswitch 'boot'.
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| Human
Factors & Usability |
1-Glossy
anodizing and smoothened contours of the Streamlight Jr LED
give the surface a luxurious silky feel in one's bare hands.
2-The 'Streamlight Jr Luxeon' logo is printed
in white on the head section.
3- We did not perform a 'pull' test but we
judged the light diamond pattern knurling of the surface of
the flashlight body would provide fair gripability. The glossiness
of the anodizing may contribute to some loss of traction or
gripability if used with wet or oily hands.
4- The light weight and sleekness of this
light make it suitable for the home or workshop tool box,
inspection, camping, with the black anodizing being ideal
for law enforcement and security.The head is tapered and unobtrusive
- allowing for clear indexing of the front of the flashlight
without causing the user any undue fatigue from either bulk
or weight. It is certainly as suitable for outdoors,and semi-rough
environmental uses as well as being an excellent around the
house, glove box, office or workshop light.
5-The toggling click switch activation procedure
is sure but requires a hard pressing of a slightly stiff button
within the rubber enclosure.There is as much as 4 mm of 'travel'
latency in the boot before the light actually comes on.The
relatively hard press required to activate the switch as compared
to other implementations of the same type of mechanism might
make it annoying to activate for individuals with weak or
delicate finger tips.
6- The switch is very intuitive to use and
the cognitive model is simple and requires neither training
nor memorization of complex procedures.
7- Though this flashlight is clearly aimed
at being stored in a pouch, holster, pocket or carry box-
any form of lanyard ring or hole would have been appreciated
for those that like to hang their flashlights from a ring
attached to the tail.
8- The tailpiece could have been shrouded
to afford ring holes and to allow for an upright table standing
posture.
9-The emitter module is user accessible-
allowing for some modifications.
10- Good multilingual documentation instructs
on battery replacement, use, specifications and warranty.
The fine-print text might be too small for some people to
read without the aid of magnification.
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| Beam
Quality & Characteristics |
1-
The collimating optic of the Streamlight
Jr LED creates a circular beam that is a small
flood of light gradually focused to a squarish hotspot in its
center. There are no outer rings at the edge of the corona but
rather the main portion of the beam as well as the hotspot are
fairly smooth.
2- The round-shaped beam is excellent for general
searching and is bright and focused enough to create very bright
ambient room lighting.
3-The Streamlight
Jr LED creates a subject illumination in a category
that we've codified as a moderately Context Exclusive
Illumination Window (CEIW) as contrasted with a
Context Inclusive Illumination Window (CIIW) (*5)
4- For one test, we used the Streamlight
Jr LED in hand and walked around a darkened
home. It brightly illuminated entire hallways and rooms and
delivered a most respectable focus that allowed for clear identification
of anything hidden in a dark pocket or beneath beds or furniture.
It also faired admirably in backyard foraging. The Streamlight
Jr LED fits perfectly in a Nite-Ize® headband in
either original or dual-slot versions. Head worn it allows for
hands free task completion as well as running and bicycling.
5- Thanks to its reflector assisted optics,
it did not shine any undesirable anomalies or dark patches that
would have otherwise impaired object identification. There were
no color variances across the beam's profile whatsoever.
6- Clearly this is a multipurpose beam that
delivers a balanced compromise between a piercing spot and broad
flood, making it desirable for a wide range of uses.
7- In bare-bulb mode with the bezel and optic
removed, the Streamlight
Jr LED produced a wide angle (100º) combination
beam- characteristic of the type that is customarily associated
with dedicated reflector flashlights. This is due to the aluminum
reflector collar that holds the emitter module securely in place
on the head of the light. It 'focuses' rays at the outer edge
of the light - making the corona brighter than it would otherwise
be. This could also contribute to the exceptional brightness
of the beams when the optic is attached.
8-To test the throw of the Streamlight
Jr LED, we conducted a Maximum Distance
for Object Identification or MDOI (*2)
trial and managed to confidently differentiate our test subject
(a Black 33 Gallon (124Litre) Trash
Bag) from its immediate surroundings, from as far away
as 115 feet with the subject area in near
total darkness and the evaluators and flashlight in a moderate
level of street sodium vapor ambient lighting (RH=70% at 72ºf).
This test simulated a person searching for an object of known
size -a person for example- but located in an unknown or difficult
to spot container -a black trash bag, for example. From
115 feet away, the Streamlight
Jr LED positively lit up the vegetation surrounding our
subject enough to clearly distinguish it from the Black 33 Gallon
Trash Bag, that lay on the ground.The estimated contrast
ratio was 2:1 Beam-shots
Page >> |
| Light
Quality |
The color chart tests
photographed with a digital camera set for Daylight White Balance
and exposure set- to properly expose the gray areas of the chart
to 50% or Zone V- 'Mid-tone Gray', revealed a color temperature
of roughly 5,500ºK. Comparing the Streamlight
Jr LED chart photograph with a flash (White
Balance set to 'Flash') exposure of the same chart reveals a
slight bias to blue. This makes it useful in most object identification
situations that do not involve a high level of water vapor in
the air and is very good for general color differentiation.
The addition of a CC.025 Y or 1/8 CTO filter over the lens would
perfectly balance the Streamlight
Jr LED's light with daylight. In normal use
it requires no filtration whatsoever. There are no chromatic
variances across the beam's profile- making it highly user friendly. Beam-shots
Page >> |
| Brightness |
The
Streamlight
Jr LED scored Maximum Distance for
Object Identification or MDOI at 115
feet -more than adequate for general navigation
and occasional searching. It's bright enough to be pressed
into service as a close quarters tactical in emergencies only.
Beam-shots Page >>
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| Conclusions |
1-
At the time of this review, we judged the
Streamlight Jr LED
to be an ideal general purpose light for individual use in
a wide range of non tactical or non mission critical applications.
2- It is a substantial improvement in brightness,
bulb longevity and battery life to the time honored classic
to which it pays homage.
3- It is thoughtfully designed for a wide
range of customers though due to the black anodizing- males
are likely to comprise the majority of its owners. It deserves
to be produced in a few other colors such as pewter/titanium
and silver.
4- The improvement in bin selection of the
Streamlight Jr LED's LED emitter over previous
Luxeon flashlights is a bonus to both
experienced as well as neophyte users of Luxeon LED flashlights.
5- The fact that the Streamlight Jr LED
uses commonly available size AA batteries makes it highly
accessible to users worldwide. Given the growing popularity
and availability of rechargeable AA batteries, the Streamlight Jr LED
also gets bonus points as an environmentally sustainable and
responsible flashlight option. As such, it makes a perfect
gift for recipients that are inclined to use rechargeable
rather than disposable batteries.
6- The manufacturers of the Streamlight
Jr LED- package the flashlight, belt pouch and 2
Alkaline batteries in a 'pilferage resistant' sealed plastic
display package that - makes it suitable for personal purchase.
It deserves to be marketed in more upscale packaging for gift
giving purposes.
7-Value. With new flashlights in the Luxeon
market space -being released weekly- it's hard to define a
relative value when comparing non-comparables. At
this point in time, the Streamlight
Jr LED rates 4.25 stars out
of a possible 5 stars.
Our gripes were... A) Overly stiff tailcap functionality B)
Slightly slippery surface C) Lack of lanyard attachment point
D) Inability to stand self-supported in 'ceiling-bounce' mode.
4.25 Stars-Highly
Recommended
Pros= Exceptional brightness and color fidelity
of beam for its price-point |Useful combination light beam|
User accessible emitter | Sleek and light weight form-factor
| Handsome modern interpretation of a classic tool |Competitively
priced|Sturdy tail switch| Much better than average Warranty
| Astute choice of battery type.
Cons= Lacks lanyard attachment point | Slightly
slippery surface| Stiff switch button | Limited color choice
| Cannot stand up on its tail | Inaccessible bezel/optics combination. |
| Pictures |








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Footnotes:
(*1) Medium Men's glove size- Also, a Standardized
Flashlight Hand Size Metric (SFHSM)
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Small
A-B = 4.5" or Shorter |
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Medium
A-B = 4.5"-5" |
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Large
A-B = 5"-6" |
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X-Large
A-B = 6" and Longer |
(*2) Maximum Distance for Object
Identification (MDOI). The maximum distance that
a person without the aid of magnification-can with normal
or corrected vision, under a given ambient level of light,
identify an object of known size, and clearly distinguish
it from its surroundings. We have tentatively identified the
following scenarios for such measures:
- A single average sized person/body identification scenario
- Urban (city, inside buildings, dark alley, lit streets)
- Rural (countryside,farm residential backyard)
- Environmental (dessert, woods, wetlands, over water)
- Natural & manmade disaster (fire, flood/mudslide,earthquake,
hurricane /tornado,bombing scene, collapsed structure
etc)
- Small Inanimate Object (smaller than a shoe-box)
- Medium Inanimate Object (Black Plastic 33 Gallon (124Litre)
Garbage Bag stuffed with a big sleeping bag)
(*5) Context Inclusive Illumination
Window (CIIW) as compared with a Context
Exclusive Illumination Window (CEIW)
.
- CIIW describes a subject illumination
paradigm wherein the illumination target is the focus of
the beam's brightest disc or 'Hotspot' and peripheral objects
to the target are more dimly illuminated in a larger disc
that surrounds the focus or hotspot. This outer region is
also referred to as a corona or penumbra.
- CEIW describes a subject illumination
paradigm wherein the illumination target is the focus of
the beam's brightest disc or 'Hotspot' and peripheral objects
to the target are not sufficiently illuminated
to be easily discernable at the periphery
of subject beam's focus or hotspot.
©
2004 - Imägo Metrics - All Rights Reserved
Original standards designations (including acronyms) depicted
in this, as well as all of our evaluations are the exclusive
intellectual property of Imägo Metrics LLC and subsidiaries.
Reproduction without prior written permission is strictly
prohibited.
All
Photographs © 2004 - Imago Media |
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