A "Bright" Idea...
Written: Jun 22 '00 (Updated Jun 22 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Light weight, comfy when worn as head lamp, bright beam, good flashlight in general.
Cons: The spare bulb is not krypton.
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| merchantman's Full Review: Streamlight Top Spot |
This is one of those things that makes me wonder "why did I not think of this?"!
The Streamlight Top Spot is a great little device that has a very high practical application in the real world... while you will never make the cover of GQ wearing this thing, it might just come in handy!
First of all I will touch on why I bought it to start with. I know the products from Streamlight are top quality, as I own another Streamlight product already. The Streamlight people have built a reputation for making high grade products for safety and law enforcement. They stand behind what they sell, and you should never feel like you have been ripped off when you buy one of the products that they market.
Now to touch on the practicality of this little thing...
1) It is a light weight flashlight, that will put enough light on anything, so that you can work if need be. It boasts a krypton bulb that is housed in a mount that allows it to swivel up or down. Now this is a feature that would have little use if it was just a hand held flashlight... But it is not just that! It will convert to a form that will allow you to wear it on your head. This may sound silly, but trust me, it can be handy (or perhaps "heady" in this case!). If you should find yourself under the hood of your car during the not so bright times of the day, on the side of the road somewhere, then this will give you the illumination that you need to get up and running again! Or perhaps you will find yourself in the attic of your home, and would like to have both hands free, to make sure that you do not take an unexpected trip back into your living room... the short way if you will, again, the Top Spot will be what you need.
This is able to be both a flashlight, and a head lamp with equal ease. While the practicality of a flash light is undeniable, the ability to convert it into a head lamp is a pretty neat feature too. You will most likely find a great many ways to use it in the head lamp mode. A big plus here is that you can swivel the lamp to shine at whatever angle gives you the best light, and I have found that not having to work as hard keeping the light in the right place makes whatever you are doing much more simple. Also, the lamp housing is made with an all but unbreakable lens, so it will be able to take the abuse if you are not able to keep your head out of trouble while wearing the Top Spot.
2) How it works... A simple tug will allow you to convert this from flashlight to head lamp. The handle will split in half down the center and lever outwards on two sets of hinges, that are steel pins so they should not ever break. It can be fit to whatever size head you might have with ease by use of a strap that has a slide fitting like you might find on a back pack strap. This same strap will act as a lanyard while it is in flashlight form, and it is also good to hang it up when not in use. The slide fitting is nice and tight so you should have no trouble getting it to stay where you put it.
3) Power... Four AA cells will give you a great deal of light. The write up that comes with the Top Spot bills the cell life at about 5 hours of constant use. This is not something that I have had a problem with, as I have not used it near that long... But this should give you all that you might need when the need comes up. The AA cells fit into the split handle area and do not seem like they are in danger of popping out if you drop it.
4) Neat features... The Top Spot comes with a spare bulb, that is sadly not a krypton bulb, but if you have to replace the thing, at least you have the spare to start with. You can get a red lens filter, if you intend to use this and not ruin your night vision, while I have no real use for this, it is still neat to have. There are also a number of different styles of holster that can be had... mine happens to be basic black, but a camo version is also out there for hunters or out-doors types that like that sort of thing. It is also very light weight, it tips the scales at about 8 oz., if you drop it in a pocket it will not make you list off to that side, or slowly work your pants off.
5) The bulb... A 5.2 volt krypton bulb that can be found at any Radio Shack, or Wal-Mart. So if this should burn out, then you will have no trouble getting a new one. It might be wise to buy a new one right off, and put it in the spare bulb compartment, so that you have a spare krypton bulb, rather than the normal back up bulb that come with the unit.
All in all, I will rate this a very good product. It is well made, and not to very easy to destroy with normal use. It would be a good addition to the glove compartment of any car, or a tool box at home. It is fairly comfortable if you do use it as a head lamp (if not sexy), and should not get annoying if worn for more than just a few minutes.
I feel like this was money well spent, and would urge anyone to get one. I do not think that the price tag of $26.00 that I have seen it at is all that bad, but if you look around you might well be able to find it on sale, and if you can then snatch it up, because it is worth it!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
merchantman
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Member: Brett Newsome
Location: The Low Country of South Carolina
Reviews written: 23
Trusted by: 6 members
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