StenLight S7

[Alex Sproul]

>So when's the big half off Christmas Stenlight sale gonna happen?

Buy now before they go up in January!

Alex

[driggs]

I've cut a nice slot along the back of my helmet and threaded a buckling strap around my Stenlight battery. The super-velcro holds it from sliding around, the strap clamps it tightly from moving off the velcro. It's mounted low so I can strap another headlamp on with the battery pack above it. I've also got a piece of lexan plastic cut to shape, with angled "bumpers" along the side that protects the battery itself from rubbing against cave walls, though it's not seen in these photos. This setup is easy, cheap, looks great, and is much safer than cramming a battery against your skull!

More photos of this mounting setup here: http://flickr.com/photos/driggs/tags/stenlight/

[Kevenater]

i hope ur not serious about it going up, then i'll never be able to get one. If u are, why would it go up? things are supposed to come down, not go up. that would make me question the makers, if they get greedy. I hope ur jokin about that.

[Alex Sproul]

i hope ur not serious about it going up, then i'll never be able to get one. If u are, why would it go up? things are supposed to come down, not go up. that would make me question the makers, if they get greedy. I hope ur jokin about that.

When did anything ever go *down*, Kevenater (except perhaps at Wally World)? Inflation is a fact of life. Production costs go up through no fault of the makers. Nothing is certain yet, but an increase of a few percent has been talked about, and is -- I think -- likely before spring. I wouldn't expect the system cost to go above $325 (from the present $310), a 5% hike. It will still be affordable, and a better buy than most others in that price range. You do get what you pay for, and for such a GREAT light, I think the price would still be quite reasonable.

Alex

[bsignorelli]

You do get what you pay for, and for such a GREAT light, I think the price would still be quite reasonable.

Bang for buck though I wonder how it stacks up against an Apex with lithiums or NiMH?

I mean...with the Apex you get 17 hours on a set of lithiums or 12 hours on a set of NiMHs and thats great. Now I know the stenlight is getting 18-20+ hours but its also 4.1 times the price of the Apex.

Has anyone played with both lights in cave and can share any opinions?

Bryan

PS - If you always ran lithuims in the Apex then you could buy ~28 sets of lithiums (~$16/8pack at wallyworld) for the same price as buying a stenlight.

When did anything ever go *down*

I would expect that the stenlight is a fairly small production run item...so as more units are produced/sold production costs per item go down cause the "kinks" are worked out of the system, eh?

But then again i did not sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night so please don't take my economic theories to the bank! :)

[steelwool]

I have compared the sten with the apex... You get what you pay for. The Stenlight is much brighter.

[nordicjw]

Just to add to the praise. I got one two weeks ago, tried it outdoors at night and was impressed. Have now had it in two caves and still impressed. When first entering the cave I started on high, but as my eyes adjusted I was using medium for movement , low when stopped and high for only looking way ahead. I got the accessory kit and use the extension cord to wear the battery in a pouch under my coveralls. The ability to carry 9v or the aa pack for backup is nice also. The price is high compared to alot of other lights, but the other lights don't compare to the stenlight in preformance. Glad I made the purchase.

[Espeleologa]

I got one, I got one!!!!!!

I am as happy as a clam in high.........mud! Thanks for all the good input and detailed reviews and, most of all, thanks to STLcaver who, unknowingly, demo it for me two weekends ago. It was love at first light!..........Sten light, that is!

[Espeleologa]

Almost forgot...........
A "thank you very, very much" to cob for volunteering to install the Sten on my helmet.

If it wasn't installed on my helmet, it wouldn't be very helpful, would it?

[STLCaver]

Glad I was of some assistance Espeleologa. I have had my Sten for a few months now, and I am still impressed. I took it on a Carroll Cave camp/survey trip and ran it on the same battery for 3 nights and 4 days. I caved with it mostly on medium, finding this to be PLENTY bright for my caving needs. Turbo was used sparingly to look at the pretties. Last weekend I went on a long wet suit trip, in the water (totally submerged) for most of the trip, I had absolutely no problems. The only problem I had was a member of the survey crew yelling at me to "turn down your f***ing light!" I laughed and said "its on low" Sten envy can sweep like wildfire through a survey crew!

[caverdoc]

Sten envy? You mean STENVY!

[Adam Byrd]

Well, this past weekend I had my first problem with my STEN. I was adjusting my helmet, and the light blinked off, just for a fraction of a second. I wiggled the helmet around some more, and it blinked again. I thought it best to not bother it anymore and waited until I was back in the warm Tennessee sun to go looking at it. As I wiggled the white plastic connector, my Sten would blink every now and then. I didn't like the looks of that piece when I first saw it, and I really don't like it now. Has anyone else had this problem?

[driggs]

As I wiggled the white plastic connector, my Sten would blink every now and then.

What you're describing is an intermittant electrical short.

That connector is definitely the weakest link in the StenLight. I had a problem with mine and one of their engineers contacted me, diagnosed the problem, sent me a mailing label to ship it back to them for examination postage-paid and even offered to send me a loaner while they had it. I have nothing but great things to say for their support, and my StenLight has been bulletproof since having them fix it.

<a href="mailto:support-2005@stenlight.com">support-2005@stenlight.com</a>

[Mark620]

Proper stenlight mounting for large room caves...

[Adam Byrd]

Thanks David.