TOP Stryker convertible flashlight

November 23rd, 2006

The latest item the Hobbit Hole is evaluating is the Stryker convertible flashlight. This is a LED flashlight with an ingenious design that lets you power it with two AA batteries, or one CR123 litium battery. Construction is machined aluminum, and the $39 price is within the price range of other metal LED flashlights.

TOP started out with their stubby “compact” Stryker, and added a second metal tube that goes between the regular body section and the tail cap. This makes the light long enough to use two AA batteries, and powers the 3 volt LED. This light isn’t as bright as 6 or 9 volt models, but it still features the long battery and lamp life of all LED lights. It isn’t a tactical light, but rather a handy utility light made even more useful with a pocket clip and lanyard loop. The tailcap switch is the “click on/click off” type, rather than momentary contact.

Quality is very good, but I have a concern about the flimsy O-rings used to seal the various sections of the light. I would rather have seen them machine a small groove for the O-rings, and use slightly heavier rings. You have to take care to make sure the O-rings don’t get caught in the threads and sliced up.

All high-end flashlights use O-rings to keep out dust and moisture. Any good plumbing-supply department will carry O-rings in various sizes, where they are used in faucets and other plumbing fixtures. There are dozens of sizes and thicknesses of O-rings, and one kind or another should work with your flashlight. At a price of about $1 for a dozen O-rings, it’s cheap insurance that will keep your flashlight working. Just remember to buy the O-rings before deployment, and not after.

Except for the O-ring issue, which simply requires extra care in assembly and disassembly, I would give the Stryker convertible a grade of A-. It’s a good utility flashlight with an ingenious concept that lets you use two kinds of batteries. One or the other should be easy for you to get out in the field. As with other LED flashlights, it has the benefit of much longer battery and lamp life, at the price of slightly less light than halogen lamps.