I've had my hl5x for a few years now but it still does the job for me. I live on a farm in the middle of nowhere so its nice to be able to light up a field at night to look for lost calves or to keep the coyotes away. After watching the review i think I'm going to upgrade but keep my hl5x as well. These are expensive for a flashlight but well worth it in my opinion. Thanks for the review.
- The HL 5-X is still one of my most used lights and I have hundreds of them. The HL 6 is better in every measured way. You won’t be disappointed in it
Sir, you are a Godsend. I have yet to find a good, non company produced, video of this light. My apprehension about purchasing this light was the size; I have a Stinger on my belt and was worried this may be too large. You do a size comparison, go through the operation, and do beamshot comparisons. Streamlight should hire you to be their Shot Show rep. Thanks again, I did purchase the light after watching your review.
Subbed thanks, literally sent my old man off to Arizona with my hl-5 as a parting gift. Went home and saw the ad for the hl-6. Been waiting to see if I should move past my most prized tool the hl-5...I'm convinced.
Completely agree! I've had my 5x for as long as you and it was my favorite light till I got my 6. This thing is a powerhouse. Also made in the USA and not owned by a Chinese company like the "O" guys.
@@allenbankstusc Yeah, I learned that they unfortunately started building the HL series in China. But they are NOT a Chinese company. They still have a factory here. Big difference to me, CCP owns the company or US company outsourcing assembly in China.
Great video. I have had my 5 for about a year and it is Amazing. I was already planning on buying the 6 here soon (waiting to see if black friday has a deal). I know i won't be disappointed, especially after watching your video. I will say I do love my stinger 2020 to death, though.
Great review! I have to wonder what they were thinking with the choice of connectors, though. Why bother upgrading to USB-C, but then sticking with USB-A at the wall-wart end such that you're limited to a measly 11W (split between the two batteries)? USB 3.1 PD can push up to 240 watts! Maybe the batteries themselves can only take 5W (seems unlikely) but even if that's the case, I'd rather have USB-C at both ends. I'm hoping to pitch all my USB-A wall warts some day soon. I ended up going with the HL5X. I like the ability to use CR123's in a pinch or on extended trips, and 3500 lumens is still _mostly_ excessive for my main use-case (I like to walk in the woods at night, need to be able to scan ahead for critters). I feel like you can't go wrong either way, though. The longer runtime would be nice, but I'm using mine on low or medium most of the time anyway.
- you’re definitely right that it takes all day to charge up those 21700 batteries with their cables. You can use any usb-c cable though and you can charge them externally if you want. I still use the HL 5-X as well
Thanks for the review Steve. Looks like a good light. I don't need one, but I imagine anyone that got this one would be satisfied. I generally need/use a flashlight with a lower low or moonlight for utility purposes, but admit I have one, or more, with a low of 300 lumens. I glanced at a written review to see the runtime and step-downs from high, and they are good enough that Streamlight should really specify them, if only in fine print. For a duty light a drop rating of 1 meter seems a bit low. Is the driver side sprung in any way? The review I glanced at suggested the Streamlight ProTac HL 6 driver had no spring. Perhaps they are being conservative. I opened my light with the low of 300 lumens and the tail cap had a button with spring action and looking the other direction a rather small spring on the driver or front side. A drop rating of 2 meters which IIRC is a meter less than a prior model. I wonder if they had beefed up the spring whether they could have kept it at 3 meters, or whether there was a lens issue or something.
- tfw and commenting. I completely agree about the drop rating. This is designed to be a duty light especially for police officers. Their job changes on every call. They may have to use the light as a baton or they may be running after someone and go over a fence and the light falls. It’s possible the light can survive a much higher drop and maybe their rating is simply for warranty purposes
I don't think there is a single Streamlight that doesn't step down brightness on high. They all have a progressive system. Some of their lights are much more gradual than others. For the most part the higher lumen outputs will step down the lumens much more aggressively. For example, the Stringer 2020 drops almost half it's lumen within a couple minutes. The Strion 2020 does the same. However the older Strion lights at 325 lumens don't drop much at all, but they are also started pretty low at 325. I noticed recently Streamlight stopped showing the lumen tier down on many of their models, such as with the Protac HL6. However they show it for the older Protac models. The tier down system can be problematic for run time. This is because if you use the light intermittently just a couple minutes at a time, adding the total time up, will not equal the runtime on high. Their ANSI lumen runtime is continuous when measured, but the output power is reduced after 5 minutes by 50%. When you use the light intermittently the power never steps down because you never make it to the 5 minute mark, it's always at max lumens which means you won't get near the rated run time they state.
- that’s very useful information. Unfortunately, I don’t have any equipment for measuring lumen or candela output. You’re right that some lights step down so dramatically that your eyes easily see it while others do it gradually. If a light went from 2000 lumens to 1000 over a minute, you might not notice because 1000 is still pretty bright in most situations
There’s no flashlight that doesn’t have timed or thermal stepdowns. Without this feature, the emitter would burn out and the battery would be damaged-not to mention your hand. High-quality flashlights, like the Acebeam L35 2.0, have high efficiency “boost” or “buck” drivers that reduce the amount of energy lost from the flashlight as heat. But even these expensive lights must eventually reduce their brightness.
I've had my hl5x for a few years now but it still does the job for me. I live on a farm in the middle of nowhere so its nice to be able to light up a field at night to look for lost calves or to keep the coyotes away. After watching the review i think I'm going to upgrade but keep my hl5x as well. These are expensive for a flashlight but well worth it in my opinion. Thanks for the review.
- The HL 5-X is still one of my most used lights and I have hundreds of them. The HL 6 is better in every measured way. You won’t be disappointed in it
Sir, you are a Godsend. I have yet to find a good, non company produced, video of this light. My apprehension about purchasing this light was the size; I have a Stinger on my belt and was worried this may be too large. You do a size comparison, go through the operation, and do beamshot comparisons. Streamlight should hire you to be their Shot Show rep. Thanks again, I did purchase the light after watching your review.
- thanks for watching and for the feedback. I appreciate it. I try to be thorough and honest
Subbed thanks, literally sent my old man off to Arizona with my hl-5 as a parting gift. Went home and saw the ad for the hl-6. Been waiting to see if I should move past my most prized tool the hl-5...I'm convinced.
- it’s a nice bump in output. The runtimes are a significant improvement. Definitely worth the upgrade
Super helpful video! Thank you.
- thanks for watching and commenting. I appreciate it
Completely agree! I've had my 5x for as long as you and it was my favorite light till I got my 6. This thing is a powerhouse. Also made in the USA and not owned by a Chinese company like the "O" guys.
Being an owner of a H L5 X and a HL 4 , those two are great lights. I like flexing on people with those as seen on tv lights.
@AaronScutt Says made in china right on the box and website. Am I missing something?
@@allenbankstusc Yeah, I learned that they unfortunately started building the HL series in China. But they are NOT a Chinese company. They still have a factory here. Big difference to me, CCP owns the company or US company outsourcing assembly in China.
Great video. I have had my 5 for about a year and it is Amazing. I was already planning on buying the 6 here soon (waiting to see if black friday has a deal). I know i won't be disappointed, especially after watching your video. I will say I do love my stinger 2020 to death, though.
- The Stinger 2020 is pretty awesome. I got the Strion 2020 awhile back and was kind of disappointed in it. I did a review on it as well
Great review! I have to wonder what they were thinking with the choice of connectors, though. Why bother upgrading to USB-C, but then sticking with USB-A at the wall-wart end such that you're limited to a measly 11W (split between the two batteries)? USB 3.1 PD can push up to 240 watts! Maybe the batteries themselves can only take 5W (seems unlikely) but even if that's the case, I'd rather have USB-C at both ends. I'm hoping to pitch all my USB-A wall warts some day soon.
I ended up going with the HL5X. I like the ability to use CR123's in a pinch or on extended trips, and 3500 lumens is still _mostly_ excessive for my main use-case (I like to walk in the woods at night, need to be able to scan ahead for critters). I feel like you can't go wrong either way, though. The longer runtime would be nice, but I'm using mine on low or medium most of the time anyway.
- you’re definitely right that it takes all day to charge up those 21700 batteries with their cables. You can use any usb-c cable though and you can charge them externally if you want. I still use the HL 5-X as well
Looks like a good police duty light
- it’s a great light for duty. Excellent output and runtimes.
Nice light Steve👍🏻👍🏻
- tfw. I appreciate the support. I saw your video on the Sofirn HS42. Definitely gonna pick one of them up
Thanks for the review Steve. Looks like a good light. I don't need one, but I imagine anyone that got this one would be satisfied.
I generally need/use a flashlight with a lower low or moonlight for utility purposes, but admit I have one, or more, with a low of 300 lumens. I glanced at a written review to see the runtime and step-downs from high, and they are good enough that Streamlight should really specify them, if only in fine print.
For a duty light a drop rating of 1 meter seems a bit low. Is the driver side sprung in any way? The review I glanced at suggested the Streamlight ProTac HL 6 driver had no spring. Perhaps they are being conservative.
I opened my light with the low of 300 lumens and the tail cap had a button with spring action and looking the other direction a rather small spring on the driver or front side. A drop rating of 2 meters which IIRC is a meter less than a prior model. I wonder if they had beefed up the spring whether they could have kept it at 3 meters, or whether there was a lens issue or something.
- tfw and commenting. I completely agree about the drop rating. This is designed to be a duty light especially for police officers. Their job changes on every call. They may have to use the light as a baton or they may be running after someone and go over a fence and the light falls. It’s possible the light can survive a much higher drop and maybe their rating is simply for warranty purposes
The streamight batteries have circuit protection in them, thats why tgeyvare taller
Ive had my hl5x for years now and I love it as an avid flashaholic wait til my gf finds out I need another one 😂
- The output difference is significant. The runtimes are much better as well
I don't think there is a single Streamlight that doesn't step down brightness on high. They all have a progressive system. Some of their lights are much more gradual than others. For the most part the higher lumen outputs will step down the lumens much more aggressively. For example, the Stringer 2020 drops almost half it's lumen within a couple minutes. The Strion 2020 does the same. However the older Strion lights at 325 lumens don't drop much at all, but they are also started pretty low at 325. I noticed recently Streamlight stopped showing the lumen tier down on many of their models, such as with the Protac HL6. However they show it for the older Protac models. The tier down system can be problematic for run time. This is because if you use the light intermittently just a couple minutes at a time, adding the total time up, will not equal the runtime on high. Their ANSI lumen runtime is continuous when measured, but the output power is reduced after 5 minutes by 50%. When you use the light intermittently the power never steps down because you never make it to the 5 minute mark, it's always at max lumens which means you won't get near the rated run time they state.
- that’s very useful information. Unfortunately, I don’t have any equipment for measuring lumen or candela output. You’re right that some lights step down so dramatically that your eyes easily see it while others do it gradually. If a light went from 2000 lumens to 1000 over a minute, you might not notice because 1000 is still pretty bright in most situations
There’s no flashlight that doesn’t have timed or thermal stepdowns. Without this feature, the emitter would burn out and the battery would be damaged-not to mention your hand.
High-quality flashlights, like the Acebeam L35 2.0, have high efficiency “boost” or “buck” drivers that reduce the amount of energy lost from the flashlight as heat. But even these expensive lights must eventually reduce their brightness.
I have a love/hate relationship with Streamlight. I love their products and hate they keep taking my money 😂😂😂
- I probably have over 30 myself including lanterns, flashlights, weapon lights, & work lights
Does the HL6 come with a holster?
- it doesn’t come with a holster
Can you use the same Batteries?
- you can use any button top 21700 batteries
Did I miss it in the review, does it have a tale cap switch as well?
- it doesn’t. It only has the side switch
What’s the handle diameter compared to the 5?
- they are identical at 1.22 inches
@@Steve-Goff thanks.
I would trade in my HL4 and my HL5 for the HL6
I love my HL4 and HL 5 X , would never trade them. Would get a 6 .