Streamlight 88060 ProTac HL 4 2200-Lumen Multi-Fuel Rechargeable Professional Tactical Flashlight with CR123A Batteries, and Wrist Lanyard, Black, Clear Retail Packaging

I'm a police officer and I've worked nights for over 10 years, so I learned long ago to carry as many flashlights as I reasonably can when I'm working. It's a dreadful feeling when your flashlight starts to go dead when you're tracking suspects through the woods, on a lengthy car stop on the side of a busy highway, or working some other incident where there's no ability to stop and go recharge your light. My primary light carried on my duty belt is a Streamlight PolyStinger DS LED, my secondary is a Streamlight Strion LED, and for my third light I used to carry some cheap no-name pocket LED light that was essentially worthless but that I figured was better than nothing.I decided it was finally time to find a good quality backup pocket light for my third slot. As you can tell from my other lights I like Streamlight, but I'm also willing to carry whatever I feel is best for the job. My bias towards Streamlight is that they makes good quality durable lights, many which are rechargeable which is a huge plus when you're paying for all your equipment costs on a cop's salary. They back their products (they've repaired/replaced lights at no cost when I've managed to kill them in the past), and they are more affordable than some of the other manufacturers out there. I know SureFire is the big thing in the tactical arena, and I have used and do like some of their lights (I've currently got their weapon-light on my primary duty weapon), and others like Fenix have cult followings as well. But Streamlight puts out quality, durable, feature-packed lights that are just as good, and they do so at great prices. That being said, I did research several other ultra-small pocket lights (this size was about as big as I wanted to go) and I ended up choosing this Streamlight ProTac 1L.I've been carrying the ProTac 1L for about 6 months now and it's been a great little light. The very small size, coupled with the more than adequate light output, are the two biggest reasons I love it. There are other similarly-priced small lights out there with a higher stated output, but very few that're as incredibly small as this one. Many require two CR123 batteries (or AAAs in others), while this one just needs the one CR123. It's not rechargeable which is what I love about my PolyStinger LED and Strion LED, but then again I doubt you'll find any lights this size that are rechargeable. At least using a CR123 the batteries have a long 10-year shelf life, so if I bought one of these and left it in my truck or wife's car as a spare emergency light I wouldn't have to worry about the battery running dead quickly. Now with only one CR123 versus some other pocket lights having two, that does mean this one isn't going to have quite the battery life as the others, but to me the trade-off is worth it because I'd rather carry a very small light that I may need to change the battery out a little more often instead of a larger more cumbersome one that lasts longer but that I might decide to leave at home at times because it's bigger/heavier. When I'm already wearing/carrying 25 lbs of gear at work, and I need a light to fit in my pocket, I want to keep it as small and lightweight as possible. This one fits the bill perfectly. It's about as long as my index finger and even with the CR123 battery it weighs hardly anything. According to my scale the actual weight with the battery (I don't use the pocket clip) is only 1.81 oz, which is hardly noticeable at all.The physical design of the light is perfect. It's rugged and waterproof, which are two must-have features for me to carry it on duty. I have dropped it and banged it around plenty already and it's never skipped a beat. Even if it does end up failing it's got Streamlight's lifetime warranty which I've tested before and have faith in, plus it's only a $40 light. As far as design, a lot of the cheap small lights have the annoying cheap twist-on twist-off cap switches or a tailcap that's got a little rubber end to mimic a switch but is just spring-loaded to turn it on and off. This light has a bonafide tailcap switch, and it seems to be of the same quality and tactile feel as my Strion and Stingers. It works flawlessly for quick bursts of light or for clicking it on to turn the light on fully. The positioning of the tailcap switch allows me to easily use it as a light in my support hand while my weapon's in my strong hand without having to first rotate it in my hand to find the switch like you have to do with ones with a side-mounted switch. The contours of the body of the flashlight, instead of it being completely smooth, gives you a little more positive control over it and makes it that much easier to wedge it between your middle and ring finger. It's got an anti-roll head that works but the flat-sided rings just aren't as large and prominent as they are on larger lights. That's good because it keeps the overall size of the light down, but it does also mean that it's a little more apt to roll than those larger ones.The light output is selectable. The "Ten Tap Programming" lets you program it by clicking the power switch ten times in rapid succession. You can choose from High/Low/Strobe, which is how it's programmed when it arrives, High only, or Low/High. All that means is if you keep it on High/Low/Strobe then when you click it once it turns on High, click it twice rapidly and it turns on Strobe, and click it three times rapidly it turns on Low. On the Low/High it just allows you to alternate between those two outputs as you choose. I don't bother with any of those and just programmed it to High only. If I need a light I need all the output it has so I'm not worried about being able to use the Low mode to conserve power or the Strobe to gain attention (just rapid pushes of the momentary-on switch accomplishes the same thing as Strobe if you just need to strobe it for a few seconds). Keeping it on the High only setting is just simpler and more intuitive. Grab the light and press the button and I've got High power, I don't have to worry about if I accidentally double-click it and it starts strobing when that's not what I want. But if I'm ever in a situation where I do need to rely on the Low setting (say an extended power outage and this is the only light I have) or the Strobe setting, it's a quick process to use the Ten Tap Programming to switch over to being able to access those modes at that time.The output on High power is admirable for such a small light. I know everyone throws around lumens and I know there is science behind it, but after having carried numerous various lights from different manufacturers over the years I don't bank on those numbers too much after seeing how they work in the real world. For one, there's no standardized process across the board for measuring the lumens, so I don't doubt that there's some room for a manufacturer to use the most appealing rating even if it's not measured the same way as their competitors. Secondly, I feel that the beam pattern and concentration plays a big part too. A highly concentrated lower lumen light is probably going to seem brighter because of it's narrow piercing beam, and be more useful when it's a pocket light like this, than a widely diffused higher lumen light that just illuminates a much wider area but isn't very concentrated. This light offers a good compromise; the "hot spot" (the area of the beam where the most light is projected) is fairly narrow and concentrated, but there is a good amount of spillover to also illuminate a wider area near you to a lesser degree. The beam's not adjustable (which is good, an adjustable head can risk the waterproofing) so I think the setup is optimal for the size of light and it's intended use.Overall I'm very pleased with this light. It works great as a small pocket light while on duty, and I now carry it religiously in my jeans or shorts pocket when I'm off-duty. And I didn't mention much non-police uses, but in addition to now having a light when I'm carrying my gun off-duty (which is almost a cardinal rule in my book), I use it for all sorts of tasks around the house or in the garage when I unexpectedly need a light. It's handy having such a powerful and capable little light on me at all times and not needing to go retrieve one. Now that I've carried it long enough to see how good it is I'll probably buy several more eventually since it's so small, light, and useful. Throw one in the junk drawer, one in my nightstand, one in each vehicle, and probably another one or two for work in my gear bag and/or my rifle case for additional spares (again, a night shift officer can never have too many lights).

This is my second Streamlight HL-X. The first one I purchased is the 88071, this is an 88066. I recommend going with the 88071 because it includes the Streamlight 18650 rechargeable battery - this model ships with two Streamlight CR123s. This was my fault, so I have not deducted any overall stars.The light itself has great output and is well constructed. Out of the box, you get the light, two batteries, a clicky tailcap, and a tape switch tailcap. It also comes with a piece of adhesive for the tailcap, two zip ties, and two rubber feet for attaching the tape switch to 1913 rails. My recommendation is to upgrade to a Cloud Defensive LCSMK2J tape switch mount, since the zip ties can get a bit unruly and the Cloud Defensive mount has better cable management. That being said, if you are just trying to get your firearm up and running, it is great that Streamlight includes a mounting solution. The tape switch itself is somewhat mushy but can be activated across the whole length of the switch, unlike some other options I have tried where you need to press directly in the middle. The constant activation button has a helpful shield around it to prevent unintentional activations, and I tend to mount my tape switches so that this button faces away from me.The Streamlight HL-X ships with a 1913 thumb screw mount installed in the box. This is an okay mount, but it is a bit on the bulky side. The HL-X is compatible with most Surefire Scout footprint mounts, so I replaced the included 1913 mount with a Magpul M-LOK offset Scout polymer mount and hardware from Arisaka defense. If you don't want to pay for the $3 in hardware, you can attach the 1913 thumb screw mount to the Magpul offset adapter as well since it has a slot for the cross bar.The main downside to the HL-X's mounting system is the screw body placement. Most Surefire Scout lights and other lights that use the same two hole mounting pattern bias the mounting holes to the rear of the light to move the light forward on the gun compared to the mount. Surefire does not do this - the holes are smack dab in the middle of the light body. Combine this with the already bulky nature of the Streamlight HL-X and you may have some packaging issues when trying to set up a weapon with limited rail space. I may eventually transition to a Haley Strategic Thorntail SBR mount to remedy this since it pushes the light even farther forward. I would simply go with a longer Arisaka in-line mount and put it on the 1:30 section of 1913 rail, but the screw hole location prevents you from using the Arisaka in-lines without modifying a hex key to tighten the hardware.Overall, for the price, I feel that this light, despite the bulk and mounting issues, is a solid contender for a carbine or shotgun. With some upgrades to accessories like a light mount and a tape switch mount I think the Streamlight HL-X will serve you well.

A mistake I made buying this - over priced and low quality build and finish. Tail cap switch switches on with slightest touch or knock and coating is not very well done. This flashlight does not feel like quality. It feels like cheaply-made junk. Tail switch feels awful and feels like it will wear very quickly. Resembles Wolfeye flashlights I purchased and gave away. First and last Streamlight I will buy. Fenix, Nitecore, Thrunite, Olight, Zebralight and others make MUCH better flashlights. The cost of this is ridiculous for what it is and I don't know how it is justified. This is another flashlight I will give away. I thought Streamlight made better lights...You can pay less and get much better flashlights.

Used daily. Always works. Have traveled in planes with it multiple times. High beam small enough for hand held. This is an amazing product you end up using it often. Plus if you do get into an altercation, your all good 😉

You must be able to find this kind of lite cheaper....

Received a counterfit.

I am returning this flashlight while writing this 5 stars review.Don't get me wrong; it is a great product but just not for me.As for the pros, it is brighter and almost has the double candela output (candela is like the "resolution" of the flashlight, it is the thing that controls how far a light could reach, and IMO, it is a way more important than just lumens ) than most surefire counterparts, but it is too long and too big for a spec-ops SBR setup.I was a contractor and now an instructor who is training a lot under night visions, so for me, I have to run IR aiming lasers on most of my rifles, and it is very important for those rifles to shoot completely ambitious by using both white light and night visions.Unfortunately, I'd like to put all my accessories in the front of the rail, and because the size and weight, I can not access to the top button of my IR device when shooting left handed, and because I am using the surefire warcomp as my muzzle device, it is no way for me to grab directly on that flashlight as a secondary grip.So, do I love it? Yes! Would I purchase it again? Probably never.However, for the most people who is using longer rifles or do not use IR aiming devices, please give it a go!