Streamlight ProTac 1L Professional Tactical Tactical Reviews, Deals, Problems and Guides

Small,compact, very bright, and sturdy.

This is a perfect EDC light, or good for a backup light to a duty flashlight. Puts out ample light to 40-50ft, with a wider spotlight focus than the ProTac 2L. Good for average size house room-clearing, would not perform bright enough for a warehouse or large store. Would recommend for personal carry, those who want to go as lite as possible. Heats up just like the 2L when left on max brightness so make sure it's not bumping into car keys, etc...in your pocket or else you'll discover a burning sensation.

This is the best little light I have ever had. My only complaint is that I find it too easy to knock the belt clip off. But for its size, nothing else I have used comes close. I turned off the strobe light function as I use this several times every day and the strobe is an inconvenience, but if you intend it primarily as a tactical light, the strobe IS disorienting. I will buy this light again when I lose the one I have!

What kind of flashlight can you get at this price point? A really good one, that's what kind. This seemed to be promising too much for the dollar amount, but I gave it a try and I'm glad I did.

Firstly, though, about that 180 lumen rating -- she's bright, but 180 seems a little, um, optimistic.... My very informal and very unscientific assessment would be around 120 or so, which is still pretty darn bright. Throw is decent, and the beam is a good balance between spot and fill. Very useful.

The best part is the switching system. You switch between modes using just the pushbutton on/off click switch in the tailcap (as usual, a little pressure gives you momentary on, push in further to click it to constant on). Press once, and you've got high beam. Press twice within .4 seconds, you've got strobe. Press three times within .8 seconds and you cycle to low beam. I like the feel of the switch; there's quite a bit of travel before you hit the constant-on click. The strobe would certainly be disorienting to an attacker, and the bezel and tailcap have the mandatory crennelations (relief cuts) in case you want to, you know, strike somebody in the head or something. Hey, it is a TACTICAL light, right?

Check the dimensions: at 4.68 inches long, 0.90 inch at its largest diameter, and weighing less than 3 ounces with batteries (I'm going by Streamlight's data here, as I don't have a postal scale handy, but that feels about right), this is one small, lightweight flashlight. The head diameter is barely larger than the body, making it sleek and easy to draw from a pocket. The pocket clip seems pretty sturdy, and a nylon holster is included if you prefer that method of carry. Build quality is adequately rugged, and you've got a lifetime guarantee (excluding abuse and batteries).

Quibbles? Well, the anti-roll flats on the side of the head are mighty subtle, and not very effective on even a slight incline; thankfully the pocket clip stops a roll. The batteries rattle a bit in the body, which I can't stand, but wrapping a piece of adhesive tape around each battery will help to quiet that (not too much, you need to be able to get the batteries back out). And if you like a lanyard, you'll have to improvise, as there's no loop for attaching one. Other than that, I can't find anything to gripe about. There's a lot to like here, especially the switching system. It's so light and slim that I'm not even aware of it clipped in my left rear pocket. Great value, my friends. I'm gonna order a couple more!

This is a fantastic little flashlight! It is very lightweight and fits comfortably into a shirt pocket or pants pocket without weighing the pocket down terribly. The three light settings are cool also. On the bright setting this light is incredibly bright for its size. The dim setting is nice for when you don't need a real bright light and want to save your battery. I'm not sure what the strobe setting is really useful for but my kids love it.

Negatives are pretty mild. The beam cannot be focused like you can with a "Mag Lite". It would be nice if you could adjust the beam but it really doesn't hurt the usefulness at all. Learning to work the switch to get the different light settings takes a bit of practice but most get the hang of it pretty quickly. The unusual CR123A batteries are a bit inconvenient also but the battery life is pretty long so it's not a big deal if you're not using the flashlight very often (like me).

I bought one for my brother-in-law. He's one of these guys that is really hard to buy for and he loved it! A really cool little flashlight that I highly recommend.

I have the Surfire Backup to compare this to, and for price buy the Streamlight 88031. If you have to have a heavier feel with a blinding white light get the Surefire Backup (I use it in my job).
Surefire is the Caddy
Streamlight is the dependable Chevy.
Cons with the 88031 as others have said, the strobe should be the third press to the tailcap not the second, but it sure does mess with someone coming at you. I am in the Marines and we tried this out as a warning or to distract someone coming at you. All those we tested the strobe on in the dark hated the disorienting flash. That being said I use the plain bright white light or the dim light much more than a strobe.
Bottom line I'm buying another to put in the car to use a a safety and back up light.
Buy it for work and play. Easy to carry and lots of light.

Purchased the Streamlight with 2AA batteries too. I think the advantages of this one are (1) it has a stronger intensity light, (2) one does not have to worry about the batteries leaking during storage in the flashlight. The CR123A batteries have a ten-year battery life so you can keep the flashlight w/batteries in the glove compartment of your car for emergency use. Granted, the batteries are more expensive than the AAs or AAAs, but when you pay so much for a quality flashlight, you don't want the batteries to leak and ruin your flashlight. I have Inova, Fenix, and Streamlight flashlights. The Streamlights are good for the money. I would not say one manufacturer's flashlight is better that the other; its what matters to you as terms of what you regard as important to you in a flashlight.

When I received the light and observed it was the size of a half-eaten pretzel rod, I was a little skeptical. How could this highlighter-sized light produce substantial output? I don't know how, but it does.

Fantastic little light. Great ergonomics, easy to hold, very fast and simple tail cap switch to toggle between modes. Visually paralyzing on strobe mode. The only thing this light may not be good for would be hunting/spotting, as I'd estimate it's effective outdoor range to be around 75 yards. Low mode is plenty of light for hands-on tasks, etc.

It's laughable to see people with mag-lights the size of baseball bats, using D batteries. This thing will blow those out of the water and its like holding a pencil.

Well built. Incredibly bright beam. Fits perfectly in your hand. This is my fifth Streamlight product and my favorite. I keep their lights in my camera bag, travel bags, and always one in my pocket. Great service and fast shipping from TG too!!

I bought this light as a present.I have carried this light every day for the past five years and have never had any issues.