Streamlight MicroStream Flashlight Review*

  by Bill Kincaid

• First let me say that in my opinion this is the best looking AAA flashlight out there right now. The fit and finish is good on both the light and the clip. Streamlight has a different approach to knurling on their lights, at least the ones that I own. Streamlight cuts deep groves up and down the light around the circumference of the light. In the MicroStream's case the knurling is on the head. I personally find these nice looking and very functional for preventing slippage while holding the light. See photos.

• The unit will not tail stand because the tail switch rubber boot protrudes past the end of the light.

• The Clip is made from high grade spring steel. It works well, is adjustable and can be removed from the light.

• The MicroStream is listed at 20 lumens. Based on comparison tests with other flashlights, I believe the light is at least 20 lumens. While the Streamlight MicroStream is not a search light it does have plenty of light output for hundreds of uses. It ran cool during the battery run down test which shows Streamlight designed the MicroStream to be as bright as possible without over driving the LED and loosing battery efficiency. Most flashlight enthusiasts know that brightness vs battery run time always go hand in hand.

• The beam quality and spot of the MicroStream is as good as flashlights with reflectors twice its size. A quick glance at the photo below of the beam shot at three feet tells the story. Perfectly round hot spot and an artifact free spill. While a light this small can't throw like lights with larger heads, the MicroStream does a good job for a key chain sized flashlight. When sufficiently dark outside I found the throw of the MicroStream more than acceptable out to 35-40 feet. At distances shorter than 30 feet the MicroStream was as good if not better than 2D lights of years gone by. In fact while the Streamlight MicroStream would make a great pocket, keychain, or emergency light with ease, it would also be right at home as a serious backup light for camping, hunting, fishing, and tactical use.

• I placed the light in 4 inches of water for 10 minutes. No negative effects detected.

• The polycarbonate lens is not subject to breaking, but it did appear to scratch; I would like to see Streamlight update this to Hardened Glass, Mineral Crystal, or a Pyrex lens.

• Streamlight states up to 1.5 hours of use. I found this to be conservative. I placed a fresh Sony alkaline battery in the MicroStream at 9:00 pm. The flashlight ran fairly well regulated until 10:48pm then very quickly went out. 1.75 hours of regulated output. With an energizer lithium battery I would not be surprised to see over 2 hours of use. As mentioned earlier in the review the light ran completely cool during the whole battery rundown test.

• The tail switch was stiff as compared to other tail switch lights I own and took some getting used to. It takes a fairly firm push to activate (click) the light into constant on. The momentary on was easier to activate. After a couple of days of usage I found myself liking the stiff switch more and more. There is less of a chance of accidentally turning the light to constant on and draining the battery. I'm not sure if my light is indicative of all the MicroStream's switches or not. The stiffness of the switches could vary from light to light.

*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.