Streamlight 88704 Super TAC IR Long Range Infrared Active Illuminator, Black

I bought this to give my PVS-14 some extra range on those really dark nights. Boy does this light do that. Under night vision I was thinking it would be about like a normal high-output flashlight except in the IR spectrum. It is so much more powerful than that. Under NODs it’s like having your own personal searchlight. It will throw a beam hundreds of yards and illuminate everything with a powerful blast of IR light. It does have a whole lot of throw so it’s definitely for long range use. Up close in a building or near something that reflects the light it will autogate night vision pretty heavily. I wish it had an adjustable beam that would go from spot to flood or have an output adjustment. Otherwise it’s awesome, just only really useful for big open outdoor spaces.

I own a Streamlight TLR-1 IR which is a 1" diameter IR light which gives great night outdoor distance. I get about 200 yards using my Gen 3 ITT NQ6015 monocular mounted on a RBR F6 helmet. The TLR-1 IR has a 7.5 hour run time and has a remote capable option. The Streamlight 88704 Super TAC IR Long Range is about 50% brighter than the TLR-1 IR and giving almost 400 yd range., albeit much larger in size and shorter run time.Both show a visible red glow when turned on. See below for how to mostly get rid of it. Though with the 2" diameter size on the Streamlight 88704 Super TAC IR there is double the size than on the 1" diameter TLR-1 IR.Tip: As others have noticed, there is a LED visible red light that shows when the IR is turned on. I did quite a bit of research and experimentation to reduce or get rid of it. The IR runs on 750-875nm wavelength. However, that LED red glow is different from the 400-700nm visible spectrum. It actually is glowing at 750-875nm! I tried using overexposed color film and floppy disk material to get rid of it. They both cut down the visible but also cut down the IR too.I then purchased from Edmund Optics a few "longpass" filters and the only one that worked well was a RG-850nm 50 mm diameter (2") Longpass filter (black colored glass) for $85.00. This cuts off any IR LED visible below 850nm (plus or minus 10), though still lower than the Streamlight 88704 Super TAC IR visible upper 875nm limit. This reduced the visible red by 75%. It changed from a really bright red to a dull maroon color that is not visible unless you are dead center and dead height level with it. Did not effect the IR intensity at all. What is really needed is a 875nm longpass filter that cuts off led visible at exactly 875nm. Unfortunately, none is available unless you want to pay for a custom filter or a coating at a cost of $2K!As for install, this RG-850nm 2" diameter, 3mm thick black glass filter is about the same size as the inner surround on the IR lens. I put a very thin coat of JB Weld around that metal surround to glue it in place. Fits, looks and works great.

I bought four different IR flashlights and several IR floodlights. This Streamlight was by far the best flashlight - and the most expensive. It reached out further and was by far better in all aspects than the others (important note: others in the 23 to 50 dollar range). The Streamlight beam pattern was very well focused and had no hot spots in the main beam. The side lobe beam was even and usable at the closer ranges. But I did not buy this for close range. The best distance I was able to achieve with a basic but nice, 300 dollar monocular, was about 300 yards (coyote in tall grass next to a bull). I'm certain that with a better monocular... that would range would greatly increase. At over 400 yards, all I could see of another coyote was its eyes. Just for reference only, I was using a 4.5X monocular and the main beam of this flashlight was smaller than the 4.5X viewer. It may be better suited when paired with a 9X device - not my 4.5X (see picture taken against a plaster wall).The fit and finish of this light is second to none. As were the material selections made.Although I would have preferred a safety glass lens, at least with Streamlight products, you can actually buy replacement parts. And that is important. I can still service Streamlight products that I purchased in the eighties. Try and do that with the Johnny Come Lately branded items.Please excuse the motion blur in the attached image. It was taken hand held while balancing on a pitch roof. The two coyotes were at just over 300 yards. I was at the limit of my monocular's ability to actually resolve the animals. As you can see, the beam goes even further. So a better device would be able to take the full advantage of this amazing light.

I used this product for IR photography. The description is inaccurate, which deserves a 1 star until corrected.It says it has a USB port under a rubber boot, allowing it to be recharged. This is not the case. There is no USB and it uses CR123 batteries which I have found to be expensive, used in very few things, and have no rechargeable version available, at least on Amazon Canada. It also claims to come with two interchangeable lenses and two hand straps. There are no lenses, and there are no straps - there isn't anywhere to attach your own strap either.Other than the description, it looks solidly built. It's solid metal and feels good quality, but electronics are powered by a single LED with an on/off, very simple. Despite the simplicity and seemingly good build quality there are many complaints that their light has eventually burnt out after a few months, and there are no returns possible on this product. The light itself is not very powerful, it does not throw very far at all despite reading recommendations that it be used for long range night vision optics. The light will only reach out to 30 meters or so and it not very strong at that distance.

Not tested enough yet, but is very far, tight beam and lives up to the 200 + yards. Did not have to order off continent or deal with no support or no response from "vendors", or wait for custom orders to be filled, e.g. T(series).However, it ships in plastic vac pak with the batteries already installed :(, and there isn't even a 3 cent plastic cap for the lens/head cap:(

Bought to supplement the light from an infrared camcorder. Works really well and has good battery life too.

very good qulaity and performance, no compliants. this is a very focused beam so it works well for light things up down range

tough