Does anyone have a current 2023 list of Streamlights that are made/assembled in USA? I spent maybe 30-45 minutes going through factory documentation on their website and sometimes Amazon says the opposite. Was there changes and this is old inventory?
I’ll check the fire dept our next meeting to see if we have a new catalog yet. I think it’s this upcoming monday.
BTW they are only assembled here in the US.
In general I’d trust a manufacturer website over an Amazon listing. Amazon product descriptions are often updated improperly or not at all.
I’m not aware of the existence of such a list anywhere. You’ll need to check by product as it indeed varies, and especially since country of assembly / manufacture has been known to change for a given model, so any list might be outdated if it existed. Of the last 4 I purchased, 2 were manufactured / assembled in U.S.A, and 2 were assembled on off-shore lines (as was clearly reflected on their web site).
You’ll want to goto the main product page for the specific product, open the ‘drop-down’ for ‘Documentation+’, and goto the ‘Fact Sheet’. Origin info is always easy to see, as it generally appears dead center bottom of page by itself on those Fact Sheets, so it’s a quick thing to check. That documentation is kept up to date, and the revision date is always bottom left.
Stream light lying about what emitters were in lights always turned me off to the brand . They used old old tech and hid it by calling emitters C4 etc . I call them liars because they intentionally seek to deceive people who don’t know any better . Just like this made in the US assembled crap .
High end Italian handbags are made in china and in Italy they assemble (put on the handle) never mind that the largest group of Chinese in Europe just happen to live in Milan Italy … and probably brought Covid to Italy .
I was made in the USA
While I appreciate Streamlight’s higher quality products and customer service I also found their “C4 LED” marketing disingenuous at best. Really, more like deceptive. That said I would love to see a comprehensive list of their MITUSA offerings.
go to their site and look at the fact sheet for the Streamlight you are interested in, on the bottom it tells you were they are made (most made in China, some assembled in the USA).
There’s a serious echo in this room:-)
Yeah I did that for very many lights but I wanted to know if there was a more efficient way.
I’m afraid not. You pretty much need to know the type of light you’re interested in to narrow things down a bit or it would be laborious. You know how lists are - pretty much doomed to become outdated, and as far as something searchable, I don’t think even parametrek offers that in its search criteria. BTW, I wouldn’t believe the Earth was round if I read it on amazon. You can largely rely on those fact sheets being accurate though. Even if SL doesn’t know how to build flashlights (some might think), they definitely do documentation right (ISO9001-2015 Certified). As such, those fact sheets also have the revision date bottom left corner, so that is evident.
As I said, that info can change, but that doesn’t happen too often. My older Strion was completely ‘manufactured in U.S.A., but the currently shipping version is ’everything else’ done in U.S.A., but manufactured on an offshore line (rather like an AAPL phone or the like).
For example, the ProTac 1L-1AA and 2L-X I bought somewhat recently are built on an offshore line, but the PolyTac X and Stinger 2020 (both I think newer models than those first 2), are ‘all-U.S. built’, although I note the newest ProTac (V2.0) is assembled on offshore line, so there is no product age correlation or across the board change stuff; it varies by specific model - but it doesn’t just change “willy nilly” with a given light.
They are ISO9001-2015 Certified for the simple fact that some LEO departments Require/Strongly Encourage USA built equipment when available so the choices become Surefire or Streamlight. And gov’t contracts probably fall under this as well.
Stinger for one was designed for that use.
Streamlight is based pretty close to where I live and having talked to a few employees they are a weird company, slow on tech upgrades but seem to get so much business from LEO or just Americans who want something to believe in that it pays the bills so on it goes.
The employees said they get better deals for their own use from dealers than from the factory.
I will give them this, they are said to not sell rejects or seconds so that is good to hear.
Not here to slam them, I own a couple and they are durable and perform well, but I got them in package deals with other flashlights from fellow enthusiasts and did not pay retail.
Wow. Having worked in several companies which were ISO certified, and even done internal work with such certification (I was volunteered by my boss), I can assure you that although I’ve never been involved with gov. contracts, that’s not the only reason for such certification being desirable to / for a company, and lots of people / customers (like me) familiar with what it actually means appreciate it. I also don’t consider companies who do some business under gov contracts to be some sort of negative or ‘black mark’ on them - quite the contrary. I think there may be a bit of ‘chicken and egg’ element in your assumptions. As a customer, I personally appreciate the attributes such certification infers. However, my comment re: ISO was purely in reference to their handling of documentation. so I’d prefer to stay on topic and keep it limited to the intended scope. BTW, being ISO certified does not mean a company builds great products or knows what they’re doing, but it generally does mean they do documentation right. This very much includes internal documentation of and adherence to internal processes and procedures, which does promote product quality. A lot of companies who are certified probably build crummy products, and many who build great products are not ISO certified. Just for the record:-)
No I think you read me wrong.
I have nothing but respect for any company being ISO certified, it is not easy or cheap to do and is a badge of honor.
Just trying to point out they are going for the contract requirements, nothing wrong with that.
Why would business with gov’t be a black mark?
Glad to hear your views, all good here !
I’m pretty much buying Streamlight because I want something different than Maglite or Surefire. They happen to offer some interesting items as does Princeton Tec, another American manufacturer.
Once you get past this level you are spending a lot and getting little when it comes to American lights but thats what happens when not a lot of people buy a product and it isn’t being mass produced such as Tektite or Elzetta.
Same back at ya, Bro. Beyond my documentation reference, I also have a personal analogy I can add which might help some understand why being ISO certified can be important beyond just getting gov contracts.
I hold an FCC commercial license as an RF technician type which, although restructured and changed a bit over the years, is / was seen by many (rightfully) in the broader electronics industry as being rather difficult to obtain, and highly valued by prospective employers. I have never technically / officially exercised that license specifically in my entire career, however it has been well worth the effort required for me to get it, and then some. The reason is that although I’ve never worked in a position requiring it (legally or otherwise), the fact that I have it conferred to many the level of knowledge that I had, which was independently verified by my obtaining it. It is a credential which had been of great benefit to me, and has been instrumental in my getting several jobs in my career (many having nothing to do with RF) that I likely might not have gotten otherwise. If there are N candidates with similar qualifications / experience, that license can and did tip the balance in my favor. Again, I’ve never worked for any government, or in any position legally requiring that license. That FCC license was not simply about working in jobs which required it, but has been very instrumental in some success in my career. Getting that license required some effort on my part, and becoming ISO certified absolutely comes at a cost, but both can be worth it in indirect ways.
In some respects, being ISO certified has similar benefits in industry and business. They are not always direct benefits, but they are significant nonetheless.
You may understand all this, but this may enlighten some who immediately think ‘big deal, they’re only certified so they can get gov contracts’. That is a very limited, rather misguided view. There’s more to it than that. Do I want to market my products / services to big customers, companies, and non-government entities in business / industry? Well, they may very well give preference to companies who have that certification - government contracts completely aside.
Cheers!