Rating -4.5 Stars = Highly Recommended Best in Welterweight Class

ABOVE- Left, the rotary levels switch | Right, Heavy Duty Velcro interface for attachment


ABOVE- Left, detail of Rockfarer Lamp Bracket available from Inner Mountain Outfitters

Safety Glasses:ESS Interchangeable Component Eyeshield (ICE™) From ESSGoggles.com

Petzl "Vertex Vent" Helmet provided by: RescueDirect.com
Statpacks Quickdraw Pack provided by: Statpacks

Description.

The StenLight S7 is a high powered LED lamp designed especially for the hostile caving environment. Mud, water, and shock-resistant, the S7 was designed by cavers to address the shortcomings of conventional cave lamps. In addition to its primary market, the Stenlight S7 also happens to be a top choice for the lightest , most powerful and versatile LED based helmet light for SAR, CERT and SPECOPS. At roughly the same overall weight as some popular plastic headlamps, it sports a highly variable output and diminutive form factor that is sure to make it very popular with a range of professional and recreational users that are conscious of weight and bulk

Features

• Brightest portable LED light available
• Extremely long LED life (>20,000 hours)
• Solid state and shock-resistant – no breakable filament or gas-filled tubes
• Flicker-free all-analog control circuit provides current regulation at all brightness levels for constant brightness
• Operates off any 6 to 18 volt DC power source
• High electrical and optical efficiency make the most of your batteries (96% electrical efficiency from 7.2V, 93% from 12V)
• Compact, rugged anodized aluminum case
• Lightweight -- under 125 grams
• Long throw, high durability magnetic switch
• Water-resistant up to 25 feet (no moving parts penetrate the sealed lamp body)
• Smooth, optimized beam pattern with user-swappable lens options
• Temperature limiting to prevent overheating of LEDs or exterior
• Four logarithmic brightness levels
• Swivel bracket supports easy adjustment of a wide range of vertical angles

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Sales Source: http://www.stenlight.com/index.htm
Retail Price:Price: $310.00
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Evaluation Results & Conclusions...

Ease of Use
Excellent . Requires very little learning if any. Intuitive functional model. No cognitive overhead . Connect the battery cable to the matching connector end on the light's cable and then simply rotate the switch lever to 'dial' in the desired level of illumination. This is a direct manipulation user interface that is effective with bare hands or heavily gloved ones. It is additionally effective in circumstances where a high degree of wetness or slipperiness would otherwise hamper effective activation. Battery charginf is equally simple, requiring only that the charger be plugged into a wall socket and connected to the battery. Simple printed instructions explain the charging procedure in clear and concise language.
5 points
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Task performance optimization
Excellent . The StenLight S7 effectively accomplishes the task of illuminating subjects for the purpose of identification or for illuminating a passageway hands free. Its usable range is up to 300' indoors within a lightly colored interior and around 200' outdoors. The beam pattern is a moderately wide corona with soft spot in the center. Through the use of various interchangeable optics, the beam pattern may be changed by the user to suit specific needs or preferences. We ran trials in SAR simulation runs that included use in 'collapsed building' scenarios as well as in abandoned building and deep woods situations. The Stenlight S7 excelled in Urban Rescue scenarios as it generates a pure white beam that makes object identification as good as though it were daylight. It was also useful in deep woods nocturnal search though the whiteness of the beam made terrain navigation less effective than if it had been a warmer hue of beam. The most impressive aspect of using the StenLight S7 was the ease with which the switch lever could be manipulated, even with heavy extrication or rope rescue gloves on. The lightness of weight and relatively unobtrusive form factor was noticably better than when using heavier , bulkier lights. No Hazmat certification is offered.
4.5 Points
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Durability
Long term and stress tests have been performed. Our first impressions are that in normal use the StenLight S7 is very durable for frequent/heavy use. Testing over a period of five months has proven the StenLight S7 to be a respectable occupant in the gear bag of any professional that must risk life and limb to help others in disasterous situations.The use of industrial strength aluminum makes it less prone to damage from impact than most lights currently on the market. Other than the polycarbonate optic, the balance of the light is fabricated from metal. This means that whereas similar lights made of plasic may fracture with heavy use or accidental impact, the StenLight S7 is much more likely to survive abuse. In addition, the various options for powering the light include the core Lithium Ion pack as well as accessory packs that use ordinary disposable batteries.
5 points
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