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$200 Leica BP-SCL6 Lithium-Ion Battery (8.4V, 2200mAh) BACK IN STOCK in Accessories: Batteries and Power
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OLight SR90 “Intimidator”
The OLight SR90 Intimidator is a monster flashlight. I weighed it at 1590 grams without the strap, and I measured it at 13 1/4" long.
This SR90 uses the Luminus Phlatlight SST-90 LED, qualified for very high power output situations. Ordinary LED lights will degrade from overheating if used for very long; don’t think for a minute that all LEDs are the same.
The SR90is rated at 2200 lumens for 80+ minutes, or in 700-lumen low mode, for 9 hours. It also has a 10 hertz strobe mode, which is ultra-annoying and therefore useful for getting attention.
With a massive heat sink, I have no doubt that it will run at very reasonable temperatures because the heat sink only gets moderately warm after 10 minutes of use on high, unventilated.
Supplied in a metal packing case with charger, strap and battery, and made entirely of metal, it’s a very robust unit. The crenellated bezel looks to be good for breaking glass, and it would work pretty well as a club, just in case. The heat sink is massive and robust, very important in keeping the LED operating at non self-damaging temperatures.
The light is built to Mil-spec MIL-STD-810F, whatever that means. The construction with O-rings appears to be highly water resistant (as claimed), but I did not take it for a swim. The body is a very rugged all-metal construction, an extremely robust build, with a good grip too. My only suggestion here would be a rubberized grip for cold conditions so that hands could hold it without freezing.
Design
The light is a three-piece design: head + battery + tailcap. All parts screw together with impressively solid threads, almost oozing into place at the completion of assembly. Very nice.
Pressing the white switch on the tailcap shows battery status using 4 large green indicator lights— super easy to interpret.
The handle contains a built-in lithium ion battery, the same design approach used by the Lupine T1200, which is a far superior choice to a design that uses off-the-shelf batteries. The battery pack with such a design can be tuned exactly to the lamphead, as opposed to possibly mismatched batteries that can explode— critically important for a light putting out this much wattage. This design also means that a battery change is very quick— in under 20 seconds one can unscrew the handle and screw in a new one.
Extra batteries are available, but I think I’d also want extra tailcaps, so as to save the need to unscrew that as well. Also, the strap needs to be detached from the battery to swap it out. Of course, if you can take another 20 seconds, it’s no big deal to unscrew the tailcap as well. And the runtime is so long that it’s perhaps a non-issue.
The one thing I noticed immediately when charging it: the rubber cover over the charging port pulled right off, and I had to reseat it in the small retaining hole. Thus, it could be easy to lose, and this should be improved somehow, because I don't know how this would affect water resistance.
Brightness and beam quality
The lens is claimed to be scratch resistant , but I did not try scratching mine to test it.
There are three beam settings: 2200 lumens on high (80+ minutes), 700 lumens (9 hours), and 10Hz flash (duration unspecified).
This is a search light: the beam offers wide coverage at relatively low illumination along with a highly collimated and ultra-bright narrow central beam, for a long “throw”, claimed to be 1000 meters (3300 feet).
But it’s more complicated than that: if there is any dust or haze, the outer illumination raises the brightness level at close range (by reflection), and thus reduces the ability of night vision to see things at greater distance. I felt that a snap-on baffle to cut off the outer periphery of light would be useful, leaving the central beam for long range spotting situations.
This light is far brighter than a car headlamp in the central beam area; do NOT look into it or shine it at hapless people or wildlife night or day, or they’ll be seeing spots for quite some time. I doubt that eye damage is possible unless one could somehow stare at it without a blink reflex, but use caution.
Operation
Click the switch to turn on (instant), then press and hold briefly to toggle between high and low. To engage the 10Hz flash, double-click the switch to turn it on in that mode.
In use
I went for several night-time walks with the SR90 Intimidator. I felt that its brightness was just about right at a range of 100-500 feet. Beyond that, airborne dust and haze causes enough reflected light from the wider outer beam spread to defeat the contrast of the main beam. However, snipers might do just fine using a rifle scope. Lacking a 0.50 caliber long-range sniper rifle, I did not explore that possibility.
One thing I noted was that this light is very intimidating to look towards. Any viewer will surely interpret it as law enforcement, and thus anyone concerned about safety in a skanky area might find this a useful tool to intimidate a suspicious person, or to cause them to lose night vision for a few minutes should the perp look into the beam (instant on). As a passing thought, maybe they should ship a truckload of these to Washington DC to see what kind of rats head for the exits.
Ultra-high performance across entire capacity, outperforms the competition.
Tiny, bus-powered, rugged, compact!
Light saber
Ever wanted to relive boyhood fantasies about the Star Wars light sabers? Put this puppy on high, and with any haze or even slight dust in the air, you have as convincing a light saber as I’ve ever seen, because the central beam is tightly collimated. It’s rather fun to wave around, and two or three might be used by store owners (pointed vertically) to attract attention to a “night time sale” as used to be done with carbon arc lamps. I suppose a colored filter could be used for even more fun.
Intended use
This light clearly is for search and rescue, law enforcement, security patrol, game spotting, navigation, etc. But if you like cool stuff, it’s a crazy cool light, so admit you want one, and get it, like I did!
Military, Tactical, Police, Security Guard & Patrol, Search & Rescue, Camping, Fishing, Land and Marine Navigation, Customs & Border Patrol, Crime Scene Lighting, Aircraft Maintenance & Marine Interdiction
Your creativity might find other uses, such as spotting corn-stealing raccoons in a backyard corn patch (a few weeks off for me as yet). I only wish it worked with squirrels in the daytime.
Use with
For those serious about search and rescue or similar, I recommend this light as an adjunct to a Lupine Betty headlamp or T1200 flashlight.
Specifications
Nominal, per manufacturer.
Specifications: Utilizes Luminus SST-90 LED, 30W, lifetime 60,000 hours. Output & Runtime: Two brightness levels and strobe mode (1). High Mode: 2200 Lumens / 80+ Minutes (2). Low Mode: 700 Lumens / 9 Hours (3). Strobe: 2200 Lumens / 10 Hz / 150 Minutes Max throw: 1000 meters. Anti-shattering ultra clear lens, anti-scratching,
anti-reflective coated lens with 99% effective transmission Excellent tri-dimensional heat dissipation ability Advanced digital power management system Weatherproof: IPX-68 Water/Dust rating Battery pack: 6 x18650 (7.2v, 6.6A) Dimensions: Length:336mm (13.23”) Bezel Diameter: 100mm(3.94”); Weight: 1580g (With battery pack) Accessories: Includes one strap, one charger, one operator manual, one O-ring. Color: Black, Hard Anodized finish. Mil-spec: MIL-STD-810F Integrated power input socket on the tailcap. *Four indicators on the tail for indicating the batteries condition: (1) 1 indicator on: 20% -40% power remains (2) 2 indicators on: 40% -60% power remains (3) 3 indicators on: 60% -80% power remains (4) 4 indicators on: 85%+ power remains (5) No indicators on means battery has less than 20% power and need charging Two charging options: (1). Completed Flashlight (2). Battery tube section only.
Conclusions
This is the brightest flashlight I’ve ever seen, and it should serve its purpose well: it’s a purpose-built light— too large and heavy for casual use. But like all good tools it’s designed for specific tasks: search and rescue, law enforcement, security patrol, game spotting, navigation, etc.
I bought one, just because I like this kind of stuff. I haven’t yet used it where I’d really like to— up in the mountains.
For everyday use, I’d suggest the far smaller and lighter and more versatile Lupine T1200.
Where to get it
You can get the SR90 Intimidator at Battery Junction. It’s probably a good idea to get an extra battery with it for serious use.
