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<FLASHLIGHT REVIEWS

Streamlight Jr. LED
1 Watt Luxeon Star LED

Quick Facts:

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

Form Factor & Build

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.

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.

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'.

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.

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 >>

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.
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Footnotes:

(*1) Medium Men's glove size- Also, a Standardized Flashlight Hand Size Metric (SFHSM)

  Small A-B = 4.5" or Shorter
  Medium A-B = 4.5"-5"
  Large A-B = 5"-6"
  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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