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Review of Streamlight HID LiteBox and Acro A3100 HID Rescue Light*
by Brad Wood
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Streamlight HID LiteBox |
This is a BIG light. It feels incredibly solid and not at all fragile. (although I would never want to drop any HID light...bulbs are expensive) Here are its dimensions:
Length: 14.9 in. (38 cm)
Body Width: 5.1 in. (13 cm)
Overall Height: 8.8 in. (23 cm)
Head Diameter: 7.7 in. (20cm)
Weight with battery: 10.1 lbs (4.6 kg)
Battery is a sealed lead acid type It gives up to 1 hour and 45 minutes of use...it takes 8-10 hours to charge and is designed to always rest on its charger when not in use... so you always have a charged light when you need it. There is a short video of the HID lightbox on Streamlight's site. Here is a link: http://www.streamlight.com/HID_movie2.html This is not the light I would want to take on a 8 mile hike through the woods, but It would be a great choice for a fireman, on a boat, or where its articulating head can be of use. Here are a few pictures of the light.
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Here it is next to the Acro. Notice each light comes with a diffuser lens! |
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The LightBox's movable head. |
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Size comparison: Light on bottom is SureFire E2DL. |
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The HID LightBox is activated by a up/down toggle switch with up turning on the light, and down turning on the 2 5mm leds in the front of the light. Middle position is off. This light is over I would guess 800+ lumens within a second or two of being turned on. It also has a nice color temp beam.... not too cool (blue). The diffuser lens fits into a grove in the rubber bezel bumper. It should be put in so the rows of prisms (?) should be horizontal, because it has a wide rectangle brighter section of light in the diffused beam. This again, is a very solid feeling light. I would not be afraid to take it into any kind of storm at all. |
Acro A3100 HID Rescue Light |
The Acro is a much smaller and lighter light. It uses a lithium battery pack that charges out of the light. This is nice, because you could buy an extra battery pack and have an extra 90 minutes of runtime. With its battery, the Acro weighs a little over 4 pounds. It is 11" long, 4" wide at the base, 2-2/3" at the body, 4-1/2" at the head. It reminds me somewhat of my old UK lightcannon 10Watt HID. (until I turn it on) The Acro also turns on and becomes very bright very quickly. Possibly slightly behind the lightbox...but not much. So if you decide you need either light, but worry about their spool up times.... don't.
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Here is a picture of the Acro It comes with a hard plastic case. |
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Here is a picture of the Acro's battery and charger. |
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OK, Now for some beamshots. The first ones are from 30 yards away on to the wall of my store. (sorry not out in the desert, but I am working every night until July) (exposure is 1 sec at f/2.8 Iso 64 daylight balance...wall is light brown)
First, my Surefire E2DL (120+lumens). |
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Next, a Black and Decker 2 million cp spotlight. |
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The Acro. |
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The HID LightBox. |
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Acro and LightBox. |
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Now, the Acro diffused. |
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The HID LightBox diffused. |
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For what I am using the lights for...and that the interstate is only a few hundred yards away, the diffuser lenses make these lights for me. Electrical pole lattice 125 yards away (2 sec exposure) Surefire E2DL. |
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2 million CP spotlight. |
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Acro. |
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HID Lightbox. |
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Acro, the advantages of having a diffuser. |
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Diffused. |
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Another diffused shot... sorry slightly blurry. |
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So there are the beamshots I have taken for now. I look forward to taking more when I can get a night off. I am really impressed with both lights. The Acro for its small size and big output. The Lightbox for its incredible solidness, and its ability to throw for a really long way. (sorry I could not test that better here) Either light is a winner in my book. |
| Streamlight HID LiteBox at BrightGuy |
| Acro A3100 HID Rescue Light at BrightGuy |
*The preceding in-depth review was supplied by a customer of BrightGuy, Inc. (with the author's permission). The opinions expressed in this review are those of its author. BrightGuy assumes no responsibility for the information provided in this independent review.
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