Streamlight Stinger 2020
If God had needed a flashlight on Day One, He'd have reached for the Streamlight Stinger 2020. This thing will blister your eyeballs. In fact, the instructions literally tell you not to point it at somebody's face — and after testing it, I concur. Enthusiastically.
At 2,000 lumens on high, the Stinger 2020 throws a beam 315 meters with 25,000 candela behind it. That's not a flashlight — that's a portable argument-ender. But what makes this light genuinely useful rather than just intimidating is the mode selector switch on the body. No cycling through settings like some amateur hour disco. You pick high, medium, or low with a dedicated lever — set it and forget it. High gives you that full 2,000-lumen face-melter for 2 hours. Medium dials back to 850 lumens and a 200-meter beam for 4 hours of runtime. And low — 100 lumens, 70 meters — will run for a solid 24 hours. Walking the dog at midnight? Low beam. All night long, if the dog's got that kind of stamina. Or, if you do.
Toggle the power switch on-off quickly and you'll cycle into strobe mode, good for 3.25 hours. As a signaler, it's excellent. As a tactical disorienter, it's the kind of thing that makes people reconsider their life choices.
Speaking of tactical: the Stinger 2020 features independently functioning dual power switches — one at the neck, one at the tail — both positioned right where your thumb naturally falls. Whether you're holding it overhand or in a standard grip, you've got instant-on capability without fumbling.
The body is machined aluminum alloy with an anti-roll design and textured grip that fits the hand like it was molded for it. It's sealed with a corrosion-resistant Borofloat glass lens, rated IPX7 waterproof, and impact-tested to 2 meters. The whole package runs 7.67 inches long and weighs just 12.3 ounces — compact enough to stow in a console, a dock box, or a helm station cubby.
Power comes from two SL-B26 protected lithium-ion rechargeable battery packs, and Streamlight gives you options for charging: existing Stinger chargers, a USB cord, or the SL-B26 bank charger. The cradle-style charging station is designed to mount on a bulkhead, a garage wall, or right next to the dock — grab it, go, and know it's topped off when you get back.
It comes in three colors: black, red, and blue. It's built in the USA (of U.S. and foreign parts), it's TAA compliant, and it carries a limited lifetime warranty.
The Stinger 2020 answers several of the complaints I've had with other flashlights over the years — the dedicated mode selector alone is worth the price of admission. No more accidentally strobing yourself in the face at 2 a.m. trying to find medium. This one just works.