I have quite a few flashlights...really they're somewhat sophisticated so you really can't call them that, they're more like lighting instruments. I've also been involved in fire, search, and heavy rescue for most of my life. I've had Streamlight "light boxes" for years as I've owned several of different configurations as well as other Streamlight configurations. Streamlight are a bit clunky as they're not really what you would carry in your everyday carry bag or in your briefcase. There are brighter and smaller lights that do an outstanding job and work exceedingly well for such purposes. But, if you want a light that will literally take almost any sort of abuse you can throw at it...and you want to rely on just one light in an emergency, those other lights pale in comparison. I've had a Streamlight on by bunker / turnout coat for years and it's seen all sorts of stuff. I've been in fires where the flames were crawling the walls and on the ceiling, yet the Streamlight "flashlight" I carried (the Survivor) never failed. It's not as bright as the ones I carry in my briefcase or bag, but I doubt those could handle the excessive heat and abuse from crawling around a floor or banging into things, getting totally soaked from a hose, etc. The Streamlight can. Today I work as a university professor as well as in insurance. I own five of the Streamlight Vulcan 180's. They replaced my older Streamlight light boxes as well as the earlier fire vulcan I had. (I gave them to family and friends). I have a Vulcan 180 in my Tahoe, and it provides outstanding light with a focused beam with good spill. You can have it strapped over your shoulder and you hardly notice it's there. If you're walking you can lower the intensity and point the head assembly down so you can see where you're walking. It will last on high about 5 hours (reportedly...although I've never needed it that long) and supposedly about 16 hours on the lower setting. It takes 9 hours to fully recharge (reportedly) but I just put it in the charging mount in our utility room and next thing I know it's charged. They're designed to stay on the charging rack when not in use and I rotate the one in my car with one in the house. I was at a house fire the other night and had my Vulcan on my side. It did a great job of illuminating the entire inside of the house from the street. I have the other four for other members of the family as we live in a hurricane-prone (and tornado prone) area. Having something that will run basically all night, will not fail and provides no excuse service (without having one of the smaller and brighter ones I have in my briefcase needing to be recharged after about an hour of use). Make no mistake, the Streamlight Vulcan 180 is an investment. You'll find them sold without the charger, with the charging plate, with or without the car charger and with or without one of the two different shoulder straps. I have several with the quick release strap as well as the "heavy duty" (non quick release). If you're going to go in a fire with one I'd use the quick release as you potentially can quickly get out of it. If you're not doing something that critical, either strap will do just fine...or just take them off, etc. Another plan I have for these lights is if the power goes off at night, I can take several of them and place them around the house for supplemental lighting if I don't hook up the generator. We have backup lights, other types of lighting devices, etc. but the Streamlight Vulcan 180's work so well you can give one to a member of the family during an emergency and you know it's going to work for them. You just need to factor in recharging it after the battery is depleted (again, which can basically be most of the night or longer depending on the setting). Everything about this light is straight forward. It has two blue tail lights which are very good especially if you're walking somewhere at night. I like using this better than a "head" light one could wear on a helmet or on your forehead as you don't run the risk of shining the light in someone's eyes temporarily blinding them and wrecking their night vision. I just walk with the head assembly pointing down and you're still hands free as it has a strap. If you want to turn off the blinking tail lights, you can by turning on the light and holding down the switch. The main light assembly will blink and you then turn the light off and back on again. The rear lights will toggle to flashing, constant on (which I use) or off, based on how you set it. You can show someone how to do all this simply in 15 seconds and there's nothing complicated about the light. To go from bright to the lower setting (I think from 1200 to 300 lumens) you turn on the light and hold the switch down and the light will go from high to low). There's basically just two settings but it's great as you don't have to memorize some booklet, use a combination of buttons (that only the designer could figure out) and you don't fell like an idiot in the process. The light is straight forward and easy to operate. Compared with the full size light box, this is a very light weight lighting instrument. I've carried the full size light boxes around and they're much bigger and heavier. The Streamlight Vulcan does all the full size light box does but in a smaller and brighter package. This is one rugged and well designed light. I wouldn't waste your time or mine with this review if I wasn't totally satisfied with this lighting instrument. Streamlights are reliable, take a ton of abuse (I've never seen one fail) and will last you for years...regardless of what you throw at them.
