88135 ProTac 2AA-X 550-Lumen Flashlight, Black

Just do it. Once you see what you've gotten, you'll be very, very pleased. On to the specifics: 1. Brightness: Okay, so there are definitely brighter lights out there. I have a Hexbright (550 lumens), and the high setting on that is just mind-boggling. Yeah, but... my awesome Hexbright doesn't really fit comfortably in my pocket, so it mostly sits in my desk drawer. Although 120 lumens is no longer the most blindingly bright flashlight you can get, it's really far more than enough. Consider that Surefire lights were considered exceptionally bright a few short years ago at 120 lumens. 2. Size: Just about the size of a Mini Maglite, so fits perfectly in your hand, and easily in your pocket. The pocket clip is very useful, especially if, like me, you carry around a lot of junk in your pockets. (Seriously, why does anyone make pocket knives and flashlights without pocket clips any more?) It's also the exact right size for use as a Kubotan/yawara stick. Haven't... uh.. "field tested" that function, but the size and the crenellated bezels on both ends would be perfect for defensive/pain compliance use, unlike larger Surefires & the Hexbright. 3. Manufacturing: Highest quality. It's metal, it's solid, the fit & finish are perfect. 4. Electronics: Okay, it's actually pretty confusing to get to the low setting, but, honestly, if you want the low setting, you're probably not in a hurry. Streamlight made the exact right switch choice: high-on first, for when you need it fast, other settings available if you have the time to get to them. There's a standard momentary-contact instant-on, which is sensible, unlike the ridiculous Fenix switch design (click on, then momentary-contact instant-off... what were they thinking?). 5. Batteries: I have had flashlights in the past that ran on 123s, and, honestly, I was reluctant to use them, because I knew the batteries cost a small fortune. I also resent having to carry 123 spares on road & camping trips. A flashlight that runs on AAs is just plain sensible, unless someone else is footing the bills for replacements. This little guy is running on Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables, so I don't anticipate spending another penny on batteries for the life of the light, and I always have spares with me. 6. Cost: This is at least as well-designed and well-manufactured as a Surefire, and costs way less. This is a ridiculously low price for a piece of gear this well-made. Anyhow, don't keep reading, just buy this. It's the perfect EDC light at an amazing price.

I've owned this since oct 9th 2013, and it has served me well. I ALMOST sent it back due to the strobe function until I learned I could program it. I was glad to get the newer model at the higher lumen ratings as well. Programming is simple and easy to do. THE FIRST LIGHT EVER to come with a LOW -- HIGH setting. No silly SOS or strobes or blinding light to click through. It is one of the only lights to produce factory stated lumen ratings. You need high dollar batteries, but this thing is brighter than most "Tactical" flashlights on my friend's firearms, and has better battery life. I would NOT put this on a firearm though. It is not as big as you would imagine, you get used to carrying it, and when you need it, you are very glad it is there. I work outdoors as very often late into the night, so this light gets heavy everyday use. It is nice to have 150Lu on tap when you think you hear a bear or intruder at night!!! The high mode is actually BLINDING at close range and would truly put off an aggressor/attacker/intruder/enemy/wildlife. The 'throw' on this light reaches out close to 75 yards with decent flood, outstanding even for a light that would be using 18560 or cr123 cells. This thing DEVOURS batteries on the high setting, probably less than 30 minutes on high before dimming with standard alkaline batteries. Be prepared to spend some money on some high end rechargeables as it will save you a-lot if you use this light often. The low setting will stay on for days on end with no dimming, making this an outstanding emergency tool. I had spun out on the ice while towing at night and this light was used to avoid an accident by using the strobe function by laying on the pavement as a roadflare. I have dropped it, slapped it against brick walls, fell onto rocks with it in my pocket, dropped it into water(accidentally to 4+ feet while on) and put it though more use than most people will in a lifetime. It has not failed, nor started the infamous "flicker" problem associated with most high output LED lights. It will eventually break and I am very certain of this, but it has laster longer than any light I have ever owned, even my lights that cost over 4x as much eventually give into my demanding use.(Fenix, surefire, wolfeyes) Things I don't like: 1. The pocket clip needs to be modified as the finish on the light is so slick (teflon?!) and it WILL fall out of your pocket. 2. The clicky button on the back bulges out a bit preventing it from being able to 'tailstand' 3. The finish on the light is very slippery and has not stood up well. I recommend a thin layer of grip tape. 4. Although it is feasible to use this in tactical scenarios and may even do a better job than most, please stop labeling everything "tactical" it is silly on an every day carry light such as this. I only waited this long to reveille it because, for some reason, I was absolutely sure this light would break. I was wrong, and am going to buy two more. The price is right and justifies a 5 star+ rating despite the slight flaws with this light. I hope SureFire and other companies catch onto this concept of cheap and rugged.

I've used a major competitor's brand of black, twist-to-turn-on 2xAA-powered flashlights (both LED and incandescent) for decades. However, I had regular reliability issues with that brand where the light would either flicker, be very dim, or go out entirely. Clearly, I needed something different. I've used other Streamlights as weapon lights for a while and really like them. I also have a larger, rechargeable LED flashlight that is very bright and very useful, but a bit thick. My requirements were fourfold: 1. Use 2xAA batteries, and function well with NiMH rechargeable batteries. 2. Be robust and durable, and be able to withstand drops, bumps, etc. 3. Have a pushbutton switch on the tailcap rather than a twist-to-turn on switch. 4. Have a bright "high" mode" and a usable "low" mode with a much longer battery life. This light fits all those requirements. The high mode runs for about two hours and produces 250 lumens, which is plenty bright. The low mode produces 18 lumens, which sounds like not a lot, but is perfect for when I'm out walking the dog or needing to shine some light on something in the house. It's a perfectly satisfactory amount of light for most purposes, and it'll run for nearly two days on low on a single set of batteries. I use the low mode more than the high mode. I typically use eneloop NiMH rechargeable AA batteries (they don't leak and can be used thousands of times!) and they work very well with this light. I don't use the flashing strobe light function, but I can see how it would be very useful for signalling or disorienting someone (my kids have turned on the strobe and shined it at me, and it is indeed very disorienting). The light is thin enough to slip into a jeans pocket without discomfort, and the clip holds the light securely to the pocket while still being easy to slide it out. Flat segments on the front portion of the light's housing prevent it from rolling on most flat surfaces, which is nice. It's withstood two kids under 10 beating on it for a while, everyday use in my pocket in a laboratory, and a variety of other hostile environments without any complaint or issues. The "TEN TAP" configuration option is useful for changing between the three operating modes: high/strobe/low, high only, and low/high. Personally, I wish there were three additional modes: high/low/strobe (so I don't have to skip past the strobe to get to low), low only, and low/high/strobe (so I can start in low and switch to high while still having the option for strobe). I normally just keep it on high/strobe/low. In short, it's a fantastic light and I recommend it.

This is a review for the old 2AA non X model. This was a very good light and lasted about 8 years. Light output and battery life were good. Light was heavily used, very durable and was dropped several times. I had to replace it after yet another leaking Duracell battery destroyed the head. The only things I did not like were the weak clip and aggressive strike bezel that tears up clothing. I ended up replacing this with a ProTac 1l-1AA model since it has similar performance but weighs less, uses less batteries and can burn CR123s that I cycle from other lights.

Extremely bright light for its size with top notch battery capacity. I’ve dropped plenty of times and this thing is built very solidly, no issues with durability. The only reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 is that since I got it I have trouble clicking through the different settings. I’ll click through to low power mode and when I release the half click it goes back to full power beam or turns off. I’ll have to tap it on something or unscrew then rescrew in battery cap, it’s annoying but not a deal breaker

Great little flashlight! Very bright and you can tell it’s very high quality. My son lost my last one that was over 5 years old that was warn though the paint showing aluminum over most of it. Still worked perfectly. This light will live next to my gun safe for night defense. Important little light for me that I trust

The Streamlight Protac AA Tactical Flashlight is a solidly build piece of lighting technology. It was my first EDC light and it has never let me down. We liked this light so much that after purchasing one for myself, we purchased another for my wife as we thought prudent to do so. For starters, the flashlights have been dropped [not intentionally!] at LEAST a dozen times and EVERY time it happens I cringe because in the past the cheapo flashlights we used would just bust or quit working. NOT THESE! There is something to be said about purchasing a quality product. In any case, the price paid for them was fair. However, and please keep this in mind, although these ARE quality products there are other companies that are offering more powerful flashlights for the same money. Main two that come to mind are Nitecore and Thrunite. A second important point is that MOST of the flashlights that will be more powerful will ALSO use either CR123s or 18650s. At the time we purchased this flashlight we wanted to make sure to get quality AA/AAA flashlights, so we steered clear from the CR123/18650 family. Now though, we are implementing some newer flashlights into our systems and have gotten a hold of rechargeable CR123s/18650s so going that route is much more appealing. Don't give me wrong. We still do plan on getting some of the Streamlight products [such as the Protac 2xAAA and perhaps the microstream and/or Stylus pro] and keep in mind their AA/AAA flashlights do kick @$$. Obviously the type of batteries the flashlight uses AND if they are rechargeable or not which can cost a boat-load in the long term will influence which type of flashlight you choose. In any case, these flashlight have served us well. The throw and flood are up to our expectations and its made work around the house easier. In fact, at night instead of turning on the room light for whatever we might need it, most of the time we just use flashlights as for one it saves us money by using them via the rechargeables, and secondarily at night we just don't like it being too bright with the regular room light, which helps us sleep better and get to sleep faster. This is just one of the ways that we've benefited from these lights. Oh, lastly, another thing we did was drop one of these lights into a bucket of water, not ONCE, but TWICE lol and it didn't even blink. Heck, the lil guy might have enjoyed it! Its never given us issues after the water or after getting clunked when dropped on the floor. A quality product is a quality product is a quality product, and these are DEFINITELY a quality product. As said before, while there are more powerful flashlights for the money since technology keeps getting better and better faster than we can keep up, one has to keep in mind how much the batteries cost and how easy they would be to get in case you ran out of them in an emergency scenario, whatever that might be. We would highly recommend going with Eneloop rechargeable batteries as those are another quality product, and have so far exceeded our expectations. Lest not forget they've basically paid for themselves already! If you're new to this field, then take your time doing research and make sure you follow your instinct. And remember, total amount of lumens isn't everything, and many [most?] companies lie outright - if not stretch ever so *cough* SLIGHTLY - the amount of light their flashlight puts out, so its something else to keep in mind. And if you're a veteran of this field, heck, you already know what to do! Some companies we would suggest are Streamlight, Fenix, Nitecore and Thrunite. They all put out quality products and some of their items are extremely value dense. Good luck!

I love these flashlights, they are the perfect size to clip in the shirt pocket of a work shirt. They last for years of daily use. They work good on high capacity NiMh rechargeable batteries. They have a high & low brightness, I rarely need the high setting.