3 Streamlight Microstream Flashlights and some Flashlight Technology Talk by Shortcut Reviews

[@afireinside909]

I have edc a micro AAA for years and it’s worked just fine, I hate it when people rule out a light do to their edc needs. I don’t care if a light has a 5 lumen mode, if I need a longer run time I’ll carry a bigger light. For general everyday use in and urban environment where you could get mugged or break down on the freeway a any micro stream will work just fine. The point Of it all is the best flashlight for edc is the one you are willing to carry every single day.

[@FTA4evr]

I've carried a Microstream for years. I made a diffuser, great book light, that doubles as a spare battery carrier from a Vicks inhaler. Neat hack for the push button. I just modded mine too.

[@vblack7372]

New to the flashlight (what I’m realizing is a hobby) and this was the best video I’ve checked out so far. I know it’s old but thanks. If you remember, what light did the new clip come from? I know you said aaa but they have a bunch

[@CMDR.Gonzo.von.Richthofen]

Outstanding video! I've carried the old style microstreams for years. Such a great light, especially for the price. My tan USB version arrived today, and just finished charging as I watched your video. In fact, I'm typing this through the dark orbs we all get in our eyes as soon as we get a new flashlight. Yep, looks like 250 lumens to me...lol. Great hack with the saver card, btw! Just tried it out, and I wish I'd heard it years ago!

[@mugensamurai]

Who would thumbs down this video? It's full of good info.

[@ShortcutReviews]

Thanks!!!

[@imbadman6658]

Flashlight review starts at 5:00. Your welcome.

[@ShortcutReviews]

imBadman but I Hope most will find the first 5 minutes useful. My channel is known for not a lot of wasted words 🤣

[@imbadman6658]

Shortcut Reviews yes its informative

[@BlueCollarSurvival]

You just made me realize I need to educate myself better when it comes to flashlights. My tactical light is a Fenix LD 20. My edc light is a small telescoping Chinese light, not even sure what it's called. Thanks for the run through and making me feel like I need flashlights for dummies lol. Thanks Chuck👊

[@ShortcutReviews]

:-) in 10 years we have gone from 60 Lumen Xenon lights to 1200 Lumen Leds..... it's like living in the future.

[@arie1293]

Great tip for the micro stream tail cap. I found that to be a bit annoying as well. Also I recommend the new Macrostream light. It’s great and goes high low like the coyote microstream.

[@thepracticaltacticalminima3940]

Fantastic overview of these three lights!

[@ShortcutReviews]

Thanks, I still carry the coyote streamlight, every day. The finish is pretty weak, but other that that, no complaints.

[@SlyDz420]

I have the original microstream and it had a lose wire or something. So when it's on it sometimes needs a little hit for it to turn on. I can't find anywhere on how to disassemble it to check... Any info on that would be greatly appreciated.

[@TheGrenadier97]

12:00 - It goes down to need. To me, it's imaterial that i depend on a computer to reload it. If i regularly needed to reload without having a source close by i would probably buy a spare battery and keep it in a case to replace the dead one just like a disposable battery.

[@jamaljameelphotography960]

Great video!

[@ShortcutReviews]

Thanks for the visit

[@freethinker5225]

Just flip the clip on the micro stream and stop expecting perfection from a $25 flashlight...jesus...it does the job and is reliable

[@StraitClownin909]

Yo a year later and were all finally starting to go USB-C.

[@FluttuantChicken]

is it worth buying the old microstream 1 mode only running on a 10440? still 42 meters throw with a 3.7v battery?

[@FrankyGamarra]

Let’s be honest, 7:55 that’s the main thing we want in an edc light.

[@onedirection3510]

Nice review. I’m guessing you’re a huge fan of the protac 1L-1AA? It would appear to outdo all of these for edc or tactical or whatever. Also, I’d go for the new Macrostream over the microstream models.

[@grayman5296]

hello, thanks for the detailed review. i have a question though, does the 3.7 volt 10440 li-ion (not the one that comes with it) work with the microstream usb or not? any change in performance? if you have tried one and worked for you without any issues, can you mention please what brand you have tried? or put a link to it? using a battery other than the streamlight proprietary battery that comes with the flash light doesn't raise any safety concerns? what is the voltage of the streamlight battery ( if written on it) ? thanks in advance

[@TheKnifeBeater]

Wow, thank you for the insanely informative video.

[@ShortcutReviews]

Thanks. It was a long video for me, but I wanted to touch on the big piece people care about, I might do some deep dives into emitters and things like dedoming and Cree's spec sheets, which quickly tell you who is lying when they talk about Lumens,, battery chemistry/ protection and what are reasonable energy ratings. There is a lot of lying in the flahlight world :-)

[@peteputros6508]

Both the black and coyote Microstation USB have high and low. Just the black starts low and the coyote starts high. You can save ur setting.. Which ever u have it set at, when u turn it off, is what it will turn onto the next time u use it.

[@ShortcutReviews]

That was not true when I bought them, neither has memory. Maybe you have some version 2... maybe they have been improved?

[@jamesheffington3931]

This is inaccurate from a stock microstream. Coyote is hi->lo, any other color is lo->hi. No memory on the microstream. No memory on the macrostream either. Some of Streamlight's light have what they call 10tap programming where you can set the order you want or just high only.

[@prepsolar787]

the best light is the one you have when you need it that been sed I have the original aaa battery microstream for years now and I never been disappointed always has work for me. its compact easy to use and very light weight. for me that's the perfect edc flashlight and for tactical use y never will use a flashlight for self defense y have a knife or my gun for that😅✌

[@SlyDz420]

To use a gun a night without light is stupid. That's where the light comes to play. To be used in conjunction with knife or gun.

[@prepsolar787]

@@SlyDz420 true !! that's why I have a tlr-6 on my glock 26👍😉

[@traditionaltools5080]

Great info. Lots to think about.

[@teedee3879]

Do you have links to those testers and chargers that you showed us??

[@ShortcutReviews]

Tom Davis tester is in description the charger is a nightcore

[@teedee3879]

@@ShortcutReviews 10-4, thanks.

[@mrrobvs]

How do you know if you're buying the one that starts with higher lumens vs lower lumens?

[@mrrobvs]

I'm reading that it depends on the mode they were on when you turned them off, not that they start a certain way. Am I right?

[@ShortcutReviews]

@@mrrobvs for the USB Steamlight it’s the coyote coloured one that starts on high, the black one starts on low

[@jamesheffington3931]

@@ShortcutReviews correct. The current ones are low->high (red, blue, black) & high->low (only coyote/tan).

[@jamesheffington3931]

@@mrrobvs some brands have "memory", this particular light does not.

[@alextaplin7354]

"Feeding them" lol Streamlights have always appeled to me for reasons I can't explain, mayby its aesthetics and presumptions about quality and feel but the only problems are that they are underpowered and the beam tint isn't as nice as my Nichias and the rechargeable versions are too overpriced.

[@alextaplin7354]

I would definatly have a streamlight microstream if they used a brighter neutral or warm white LED.

[@jcb6713]

….good info...have a good one...

[@michaelweston6083]

6:35 tritium? Why did you say it like trishium?

[@ShortcutReviews]

Speaking..... it's harder than is looks :-) Just a mistake, I make a 1000 a day. I hope you got something out of the video even with the mistake.

[@michaelweston6083]

@@ShortcutReviews I watched it to the end for the second time so you must be doing something right. I just noticed it this second time.

[@Gieszkanne]

Not even the Raider with 500 lumen has enough candela to really blind someone. Therefore I would suggest at least 15.000cd. So I wouldnt really call any of your lights "tactical".

[@myvenusinuranus]

I can't stand the PWM so I always buy single output lights

[@philipfreeman2863]

As much as I like streamlight weapons mounted lights. My choice for flashlights is NEBO. And they are the best flashlights I've ever used. And are far Superior to any streamlight or surefire 6 cell lights I used as a federal law enforcement officer. And the NEBO flashlights are far Superior in lighting a area than any 6 cell surefire lights. And with 3200 lumens it's like having a spotlight you can carry on your duty belt or your pocket. And even my NEBO 450 lumens light gives a amazing amount of light. And anyone who needs a flashlight. This is the brand you should have. And now I probably need the 6000 lumens light. For emergency situations. And I swear this is a true story. One very foggy night. Just for the heck of it. I pointed my. 3200 lumens out the window of my car. And the trow was unbelievable, and that was some thick fog. And add a solar charger and you have a great camping light with the 3200 lumens light and a great backup with the 450 lumens light. And being rechargeable you never have to worry about a flashlight without power. And my only regret is they didn't have these advalible during my years in law enforcement. And I'm not overhyping these lights. They are just that good. And I've had my two for about three years now, and I can't find any fault whatsoever with them. And is there a thing as to much light. From my experience that answer is no.

[@benbraceletspurple9108]

No. Rechargeable 16340 can reach 850 mah. That's more energy than a 800-1300 mah lithium cr123a. AND YES. the best cr123a will run way down from 1500 mah. Real world runtime is different than silly ideas in your head. Lithium batteries have a place at medium and low runtimes in Canada, Russia and freezers where it's cold. But at a .5 amp drain and higher their amp hours significantly reduce and rechargeable 16340s are capable of being way brighter and for longer runtimes at anything over 150 lumens.

[@ShortcutReviews]

Ben Braceletspurple gray man both Felix and Olight 2 brands I trust, at 700 and 650 respectively. I assert the best indicator of energy capacity is volume, based on similar chemistry.

[@benbraceletspurple9108]

@@ShortcutReviews between unprotected and your mentioned protected, unprotected 16340 have significantly more energy. Furthermore, Fenix, Olight, Klarus, and other house brands underestimate the mah because they are ABSOLUTELY not going to use the full mah at all. Also, it is usually to a drain of 3.3 volts instead of 3.0, meaning you can fee free for watt hours to multiply it by the average (which is not the median voltage, or 3.75, but a little higher) or about 3.85 volts, which still gives more watt hours. 700x 3.85 is Less than 2,700 mwh whereas a great cr123a is 3.1 times about 950 or just under 3000 mwh (a little more energy) but those are 4 dollars a piece. A surefire is more like 3x900 or 2700, and a tenergy is about 2.7x850 or you know, less than 2,500 mwh. The other way to measure to get full amp hours is 2.6 volts because the majority of the runtime will be at a voltage lower than that. 2.6 times 1,400 is comparable. So about 3,300 milliwatt hours. But that doesn't work in flashlights. In my experience with Fenix, especially with an 18650, vs 2 cr123a batteries , cr123 batteries are nice for a 10-50 lumen runtime OUT OF THE GATE. but if you ever use turbo it permanently deforms the batteries and they have less and less runtime. This is also true with capacitor cells (16340 and 18650) if they are run to a serious threshold of power, like in the Emisar d4, where an 18650/18350 is pushed to the max. The runtime becomes exponentially traumatic. But 4000 lumens is a much brighter compromising-runtime-brightness than 2 cr123a doing about 1000 lumens ish. An important note is that that as flashlights get higher output efficient for draining batteries faster, the output doesn't increase for cr123 batteries. They are limited to 700 to 1300 lumens as their stable/ maximum outputs. This will never improve much and we have had this technology for 10 years. 10 years ago they focused on milking cr123a batteries and succeeded. There were several 2010 age custom and military grade tactical flashlights that could do 600 stable lumens (two batteries) . And there isn't much better today. They have a max amperage out of only 3-5 amps stable. pushing to 10 will cause the chemistry to be less stable and severely impact internal resistance and cause reduced runtime, even if henceforth you avoid high output. This is why I dislike my Fenix lights cycling through modes. It jolts the batteries with too much strain. Better to turn it off and start from low, especially in camping scenario.

[@benbraceletspurple9108]

@@ShortcutReviews further still, my new(ish) Fenix e18r does start from the lowest runtime, perfect for when I run it on cr123 batteries. Legitimate Efest batteries drained to the complete 3.7 volt nominal is 2.75 volts, or 850 mah.

[@antongorbonosov9065]

извини что на русском. скажи пожалуйста у меня stremlighte microstrem 28 lumens. можно или нет в него ставить что то мощнее чем алкалайн.

[@ogarzabello]

10:10 You just "ruined" the momentary-on function for tactical use. Now, it is just another EDC flashlight, not a compact tactical flashlight.

[@ShortcutReviews]

ogarzabello clearly you haven’t tried it, works perfectly for momentary no different then the Olight M1T raider, but now you can come in from the side and get it stead in.

[@famousmidnight]

I have several microstreams this is literally a necessity. Did this mod years ago on mine with a pencil eraser. Momentary on works just fine actually much easier. not sure what you're talking about...

[@cavalry1213]

Streamlight ProTaclights are better. They are programmable for high strobe low, high only or low high so it works for whatever you want. Also, it’s lumens…not “lumes” that is wildly annoying.