Best in it's class and classes above it! - Streamlight ProTac HL Headlamp

I have had this head lamp for about 3 weeks now. I do facility maintenance and use it all day. I cannot speak of its longevity, but it is a well made unit and I expect it to preform for years if I take care of it. For the price, and quality of materials and design, this headlamp is among the top in its class and even those selling for much more. Let me give you a sense of how I use this light and why I think so highly of it.

Headlamps are the logical evolution of the “flashlight”. Even if you are hiking, it just makes sense to keep your hands free. Having the light on your head follows your field of vision.. No matter where you look, there is light. What could make more sense than that?

What I wanted in a headlamp was good quality construction so it would last.. This is a quality instrument in both materials ( aluminum, glass, rubber) and the engineering behind how it functions which is also well thought out.

How much light do you need? For me.. the low setting is just right for work at an arms distance. I can see good color and contrast. This light is a slightly “greenish/white” and most noticeable on low.. less on medium, and not really at all on high. Maybe if compared to a very blue/white light.. but color definition is good on all levels. Low is still strong enough to see outside for 100 feet.. not brightly but you can tell what objects are..

I use medium when I need greater definition in color and contrast at a room’s distance. Not blinding up close, but I rarely use it at hands distance. So Low gives me a very long battery life, and enough light to see what I’m doing well. I use this lamp maybe 3 - 4 hours a day and the batteries lasted about 2 weeks.

We had an ice storm a week ago, and I noticed a car that looked like it landed hard in a ditch. There were other cars in the area and some had rescue squads attending to them. I figured I better check to make sure this person was not injured. That is the one time I used the high setting and it worked great. The battery already had a week or so of use but had the ability to stay on high for maybe 10 minutes as I checked on the car. Later that day, it would only work on low so I had drained a lot of energy from the batteries... That was still about 2 weeks (10 days) of daily use so not too bad. I think if you were using this for rescue work, you would be wise to have multiple changes of batteries if you needed high often.. Medium would probably be adequate for most outdoor work unless you needed to light up a large area.

The switching programing is a very nice option. I use the low/med/high option since I mostly use low. I don’t have to hit that high drain “high” setting on the way to low.. I just makes the light much more user friendly. The elastic headband is well made and comfortable. I have not used the rubber band that is included so I have no comments on that.

The plate that holds the light has a sponge rubber backing that distributes the weight well. It gets itchy after hours of wearing it.. and sweaty too.. but it can be washed off since it is all waterproof. The angle of tilt of the light is just right.. it is also looks durable which is good since I adjust between close up work and arms length away all the time. Close work is easy to adjust down.. and you really do not need much more than the ability to point strait out.. I can’t imagine needing “up” since you don’t look that direction. The switch also functions well and feels very durable.

I noticed recently that the light’s spread is equal to my peripheral field of view, so that your full field of view is lit.. Probably 60/70% of the light is in your central field and the balance on the outside where you do not have sharp focus anyway.. Still you can see every thing in your field of view well. Even on low.. at night, outside.. you can see well.. Remember “brightness” is relative... In darkness, low enables you to see well. Med and High are better of course, but low is not so dim that it’s useless.. Quite the opposite, It is probably the most practical balance between adequate brightness and battery life.

I am very satisfied with this light. A headlamp is a very practical, efficient and effective means of light. Emergencies, work, recreation, safety, on and on... It is my “go to” source of light for work and home.