Streamlight 14512 Sidewinder 47 Lumens Compact II Military Model Angle Head Flashlight, Headstrap and Helmet Mount Kit

Great mini flashlight love the headband strap easy to work with multiple settings and brightness very well. Made sturdy should last a long time. I personally love it. It’s great for the outdoors camping hiking.

I purchased this light about three weeks ago to mount to my flight helmet. I am a flight paramedic, and need a hands-free light for night operations. Streamlight did not disappoint with this compact. The white light is bright and direct, but not so bright that it blinds my partner in the back of the aircraft. It does a great job illuminating the exterior of the aircraft for a pre-flight walk-around, and there is good illumination of objects about 7-10 feet away. I will say, this light is NOT a torch, search light, or super bright tactical light. If that's what you're looking for, this isn't it. It's much more of a personal task light. That being said, it is an amazing personal task light!This light also has a blue, red, and IR LED function. This is a great feature for those times when I need to preserve my night vision (red), identify blood on the side of some dark road with no light (blue), or illuminate objects in the cockpit when flying under night vision goggles (IR). So for me, it works exceptionally well. Just be mindful of what you are looking for this light to do, because again it's not a searchlight, torch, or super bright tac light. I did notice that the movement of the light is a little tight right out of the box, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time for it to get worn in a little bit.The power button is easy to find when mounted to my helmet, and it has a good 'feel' to it when you push it. It seems solid and well built, not like some other lights where I was afraid I'd break the power switch with a gentle touch. The lamp selector switch is a bit tricky, considering you have to pull the ring out and away from the light in order to change the function. This is just something that will take some getting used to, and some muscle memory to develop in how to pull the ring and turn the knob. Definitely not a deal breaker for me whatsoever.My only issue with this light was with the mounting system, but it is no fault of Streamlight. The circular mount is designed for a tactical helmet; my flight helmet is not this. So when I attempted to mount the clip to the edge of my helmet, I had to install an additional spacer between the clamp and my helmet to get a snug fit. Again, this is not fault of Streamlight, nor does it detract from the quality of the product, it's just something to keep in mind depending on the application you're using the light for.Overall, a great buy, great value. I'm looking forward to getting much more use out of this little light.

These Streamlight units are great products overall... they're built like tanks, have every feature you can want and are easy to use, are lightweight but durable, and best of all take multiple battery types, using CR123 to get 55 lumens or AAs to get 47 lumens. The 14512 comes with the headstrap and helmet mount in a clamshell package, as opposed to other model numbers that are the same actual light, except in a retail box or without a headstrap, etc. (Note that to actually mount this on a helmet, you need part 14057 that bolts to the helmet itself.) A PDF catalog is downloadable from Streamlight's website listing all the packaging/model permutations, it's very helpful when figuring out which one to order.On the downside, and this is really my fault for not doing enough homework, but in an open field the unit's 47 - 55 lumens really leaves you wanting more. Had I done more homework, I would've known that the unit's 50-ish lumens is helpful and certainly enough light to see, but not really enough if you're doing search & rescue work and actively looking for something on the ground. If I had to do it again, I'd spend the extra money to get a Petzl or Surefire headlamp at 100+ lumens. They're about twice as expensive, but twice as bright, too.

Took it out for 1 field op so far, and it did awesome. The IR isn’t crazy bright but it’s pretty decent. Only thing that I would ever change about it is the way that it cycles through the light settings. It’s slightly annoying to have to hold the button down to get the brightest setting, but I understand the intent and it’s an awesome light that can take a beating. The ability to use different batteries is amazing, I ran it off a 123 for the most part but it does just as good with a AA. Great light, worth the money

This is a good light, but it needs one tweak. Before I mention the tweak I'll note a misrepresentation in the description. Their description starts out by saying "Ultra compact". This is a relatively small light but it is not "ultra compact." I know other headlamps that are half the size. In fact it's probably bigger than most of the headlamps I own.The tweak it needs; it's missing a low setting. If you're trying to be covert or just want to save your night vision you don't really have a good option. To me; it seems like the lowest setting is about 25 lumen, hardly a low level of light intensity. Yes, it has the red light, but if you've had some experience in low light settings you know that some things are difficult to see in just red light, and even the lowest red setting is pretty bright - not very concealable. I'd really like to see them change the light intensity settings to; 0.02, 1, 10, 20, 50, 100 and (it's) maximum lumen. This would get you everything you need.Other than that this is a good headlamp. I like the way you can change the color setting and the button is straight forward in setting the level of light intensity. Although, I think they could have a better function of the button - but the one they have works well enough.It also seems like a well made durable light.It does seem to be at the maximum weight you would want for a small headlamp. Any heavier and you would notice it bobbling on your forehead when you walk.So I think if they changed the intensity settings, to what I mentioned above, change the button function and reconfigured it to be smaller and lighter they would have the perfect headlamp. I don't think you'd regret purchasing this headlamp now.

This a very sturdy workhorse. Lots of features, small formfactor. Plenty of bright light with an even pattern. I'd recommend this light and would buy it again.