Streamlight 51003 TT-3AA 3-AA Xenon/3-LED Twin-Task Flashlight, Black
by Streamlight
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List Price: Our Price: $23.87 You Save: $19.13 (44%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Streamlight 51003 TT-3AA 3-AA Xenon/3-LED Twin-Task Flashlight, Black
Customer Review: Good flashlight, bad button
Summary: 3 Stars
I should start out by saying that overall I like this flashlight. Its pretty funny, I ended up spending more than an hour on Amazon (and Googling because of the massive array of flashlights Amazon carries) comparing flashlights. All I wanted was a replacement for the string of drug store flashlights that would throw weak light after 1 day. I am not a zombie apocalypse guy, outdoorsman or a LEO/security guard. I am just a geek who got tired of weak flashlights and bumping my head or cutting myself on computer internals. I expected just to buy a Mag in 2 seconds but when I searched for flashlights here, I ended up with like a million hits. So after narrowing down the hits here and surfing, I decided on getting this one. Basically it came down to price, battery type and, most importantly, features. I loved the option of xenon and LED modes, as well as the ability to focus the xenon beam. This guy had the most features for the money.
It has 2 major problems. One of which is more my mistake than a problem, which is that this is a long compact flashlight. This is not a pocket flashlight unless you have deep pockets. Its a belt/bag flashlight. This is something I should've known, given that it takes 3 AAs but pictures can be hard to judge size and it was not something I was paying too much attention to. This is not a deal breaker for using it, as it still works as well as the smaller pocket flashlights inside racks and computers because its lightweight for its size and very slim. In fact, I have recently found it can be an advantage, being able to hold the end and aim sideways as I squeeze between two racks, the extra length then comes in handy.
The other problem is more serious. The button is annoying. You press once for LED and 3 times for xenon. The problem comes in that it "remembers" your last usage of the flashlight. So if you were on LED the last time you used it, the next time you press the button once, its using xenon mode. Given that xenon kills the battery 27 times faster, I prefer to use LED most of the time. If it didn't "remember" then every time I turned the flashlight on it would be using LED, which would be great. Instead, every time I turn it on its using xenon so I have to keep clicking. This would thing would work better if there was two buttons or a secondary switch to indicate xenon or LED usage. Ergonomically, its a PIA. There might be a way around this but I doubt it and there's not much in the way of instructions.
Otherwise, its a great flashlight. Super bright for its size. The xenon focusing ring is slightly limited but, for a small flashlight with multiple modes, I can't complain. Its light and seems very durable. Love the fact that it uses 3 normal AA batteries. Feels great in the hand. Comes with a long shoelace style wrist strap and 3 AA Duracell batteries.
The thing is, given the massive array of flashlights sold at Amazon in this class, including at least 1 other with the dual LED/xenon feature, its hard to recommend this flashlight because of the very annoying button design. Also given the price, its not cheap for a flashlight. Oh its a million times better than the $9.99 drug store ones, but in this price range a flashlight should be nearly perfect. So I might suggest you look for another flashlight without an annoying button.
Customer Review: I don't like it
Summary: 3 Stars
The Xenon bulb illuminates less than the LED bulb, and the two function botton is uncomfortable. Also, this flashlight is a bit long.