I’m not rabidly brand loyal with many things. For the most part, I tend to bounce around a bit. But with flashlights, I’m pretty much Streamlight exclusive. I own well in excess of 20 Streamlight products. The new MegaStream HP USB is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
This is an interesting flashlight design. It has the fairly standard Streamlight body, but it terminates in a spotlight-shaped head. From end to end, the light is 6.61 inches long. The handle is about an inch wide. The large spotlight head is 2.24 inches across.
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The light weighs 9.0 ounces. It’s powered by the standard Streamlight SL-B34 Rechargeable Battery Pack. This is removable, should the need arise. But you can charge it by simply pulling down a collar on the handle to expose the USB-C port on the battery pack.
There is a pocket clip attached to the handle. It is removable via two small screws. The tail switch turns the light on and off as well as switches between illumination levels.
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On the High setting, we have 1,350 lumens and 310,000 candela available for about two hours. Dial it back to Medium, and we’re looking at 470 lumens and 108,000 candela for up to 4 hours. Then on Low, we have 145 lumens and 32,000 candela for 15 hours. For beam distances, we have:
High – 1,114 meters (1,218 yards)
Medium – 657 meters (718 yards)
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Low – 358 meters (391 yards)
For those who need a refresher on the differences between lumens and candela, we covered that here. In a nutshell, lumen rating measures the total output of the light source, while candela measures the luminous intensity, or brightness, of the middle of the flashlight beam.
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MegaStream HP USB Performance
I’ve had this light for a few months now. It’s gotten quite a bit of use, from checking noises in the backyard to just playing around lighting up treetops.
The light has serious throw capabilities. It truly does act like a spotlight. One night recently, we’d just turned out the lights to go to bed when we heard a noise from the backyard. I grabbed the MegaStream HP USB from the dresser and shined it through the window. Standing at the next window so I could actually see and not be blinded by the reflection, I was able to easily spotlight the raccoon that had knocked over a potted plant at the other end of the yard.
It isn’t just a spotlight, though. There’s quite a bit of illumination here. Shining the light at the top of our old antenna from across the yard, I was able to light up the entire side of the house.
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I love that you can charge the battery without removing it. You just slide down the collar and plug it in. Very convenient, and less chance of something getting misplaced.
The MegaStream HP USB has three settings – High, Medium, and Low. It defaults to High every time you turn it on. To access the other settings, you have to double- or triple-press the tailswitch rapidly. I’ll admit that I struggle with it on this light. I can’t seem to consistently hit the right sequence and timing. But I’ll get there. I just need more practice. I prefer just using the High setting anyway, as it’s the most fun.
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Recommendation
This isn’t the type of light that I’d personally use for EDC all the time. It’s a bit too bright and focused for working on the car, for example, or hunting dog toys that rolled under the couch. But it’s perfect for outdoor use, and it will be coming along on every camping trip. When we’re not traveling, it lives at the back of the kitchen counter, where I can easily find and grab it when I need to see what the neighborhood raccoons are getting into in the yard.
The MegaStream HP USB runs about $125 at Amazon, and you can find it at numerous other retailers as well. You can also consult the product page at Streamlight to see if there are any brick-and-mortar stores in your area that carry it.
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