Streamlight ProTac 1L-1AA

[bladefixation2]

Here's a brief review of the new Streamlight ProTac 1L-1AA I recently purchased.

I have the ProTac 1L and enjoy it, but wanted a good mid range light with a simple interface that would take a rechargeable AA battery. This fits the bill and then some. I had it shipped to the UK so it was expensive after I paid shipping and import duty, but worth it to me. It would be even better value in the US.

Overview

This is the latest addition to the ProTac family. The headline feature of this light is the ability to take a range of cells.

1. CR123A Primary
2. AA Alkaline Primary
3. AA Lithium Primary
4. AA NiMh rechargeable (not officially supported but works OK in mine)

Note there is no support for RCR123 rechargeable lithiums, I have read the driver circuit cant take these, so I wont be testing

No adapter is required to switch between the cell types, rather there is a spring inside the light that is compressed when you install an AA cell.


Physical

Here is the 1L-1AA next to the popular ProTac 1L. It's slightly longer and very slightly heavier, but not noticeably so, it still fits nicely in jeans pocket for EDC

Key Features

If you have a ProTac 1L, 2L or 1AA you will be familiar with this light. A few really nice improvements over my ProTac 1L include

1. Dual fuel CR123 / AA with no adapter required
2. 2 way clip for pocket or cap mounting, like the MicroStream
3. Hole in the tailcap for a lanyard
4. More agressive knurling on the tailcap to facilitate easier battery change
5. Front lens upgrade to borosilicate glass with anti reflective coating
6. Improved beam pattern

Output and Interface

An additional change is the hi/low lumen output. The low is now 40 lumens, and the high varies depending on the cell, as shown below

Personally I like the 40 lumen range for general use. The high beam is pretty bright, especially with a CR123. Even with an AA its plenty bright enough. Low remains the same for both types of cell. At 14h run time I don't expect to have to change the battery too often. Emitter efficiency has really come on.

The beam pattern is nice and smooth with no rings or artifacts. Streamlight have really improved this over my older ProTac 1L.

The interface is the well known Ten-Tap. Mine is set to low-hi, but you can also easily select hi only, or hi-strobe-low

Regulation is pretty awesome with a lithium AA cell according to the chart

And finally, a trendy red o ring adorns the tailcap, which is nice!

Extras

The light ships with a nylon belt holster with velcro close, and both a Streamlight CR123 and an Energizer AA Alkaline cell.

Thanks for looking

 

[HARDBALL]

Hi Blade,

I just tonight discovered this thread doing research on the ProTac 1L-AA (which I own). In case you didn't know (I just found out today 10/24/17) that the 1L-AA will also except (much to my surprise!) AAA cells! FANTASTIC! I was wondering if the 1L-AA would accept RCR-123's but, I'll take your word that it is NOT a good idea. I'm still kinda new to the "RECHARGING" aspect of Batteries and am wondering if 14500's or AA NiMh will work with the 1L-AA ? Oooh, EXCELLENT review/post by the way.

Regards,
HARDBALL

 

[Scott321]

Ive been eyeing this at Cabelas for awhile. It's form factor and pocket clip is what I've been wanting for my next edc flashlight. The main downside for me, is that I've really grown to appreciate the head twist for high only or for a memory set brightness level. The Eagletac and old Nitecore flashlight I have do this, and I find it very utilitarian (even though I really like my Surefire and Fenix flashlights too).

 

[SAKsRCool]

Yeah I know what you mean. I have not found a suitable utility/protection light where it can be set to high only or low with head twist. I kept the 1L-AA in low/high and a few times I've double tapped the light while in low and it stayed in low rather than switching to high. So I keep the 1L-AA in high only, and have a surefire sidekick on my vehicle keys for utility use. Around the house I use a regular 1L in low/high mode.