Everyday Carry

Streamlight MicroStream USB

Authored by:
Mikey Bautista
Streamlight MicroStream USB

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For years, one flashlight has been a pocket staple, lighting the way for hundreds of EDCers on our site alone. Streamlight's MicroStream AAA had the right size, reliability, everyday performance, and price to make it a truly solid EDC. So how do you make a great light even better? By fixing what isn't broken and improving the rest, as Streamlight have done with the new MicroStream USB. While it looks and carries like the same light you've always known, under the hood it's better than ever, and in all the right ways.

Since the original MicroStream has been around a while, its 45-lumen power output may not be enough for an EDC light in 2018. The new USB model bumps up its levels fivefold, with a High output of 250 lumens for 1.5 hours, and a Low of 50 lumens for up to 3.5 hours. Output is controlled via the familiar tail clicky switch, which now doubles as a charge indicator when topping up. Charging is accessed by unscrewing a sleeve built into the USB's head to reveal the micro USB port underneath, letting you charge the internal lithium ion battery with your power bank or wall plug.

While the new specs adds a bit of length to the MicroStream USB (now 3.87” compared to the 3.6” AAA), it remains a compact and lightweight carry at only 1.2 ounces. It retains the IPX4-rated anodized aluminum construction of the original, with the shape and grooves that give it a familiar grip. And when you need to go hands-free, it keeps the two-way clip that lets you secure the light with equal ease to your pocket or hat.

The old faithful learns some new tricks with the Streamlight MicroStream USB. Pick one up (at a still affordable price) from Amazon at the link below.

View on Amazon

Mikey Bautista

Director of Everyday Carry Operations


About the Author
Mikey Bautista is an everyday carry (EDC) expert who has been working with the EverydayCarry.com team for nearly a decade, starting with an interest in EDC as a hobby and ending up as a writer for the site in 2014. Through the years, he’s led the site in editorial content and writing about products across every category, from knives to bags to flashlights and everything in between, as well as discovering, bringing exposure, and building bridges with many brands in the industry. Today, he is the site's Director of Everyday Carry Operations, leading the editorial team and managing day-to-day operations.

He has lived through many personal and professional lives, spending nearly a decade in the workforce management industry, a minor career in gaming, and has lent a hand with entrepreneurial efforts back home in the Philippines. He has also been an active participant and helped build a number of significant social communities online, both for EDC and his other hobbies.

Mikey has been at the cusp of gaming, technology, and the internet since the ‘90s and continues to lend his experience, expertise, and authority to all his pursuits. When not online, in a game, or watching movies, you'll find him in the gym, speedrunning his next hobby, or talking at length about EDC with anyone willing to listen.

Discussion (8 total)

L Brook ·
What is the power bank shown in this photo?
TKsovereign ·
I like...
Ryan McKee ·
Can a standard Alkaline battery be used temporarily in the case of an emergency (AAA perhaps?) (not to be recharged of course)?
Mikey Bautista ·
Not for this particular model, no, only the AAA version has a replaceable battery.
Ryan McKee ·
So the Lithium or NiMH or whatever rechargeable cell isn't easily removable/replaceable?
Mikey Bautista ·
Yes, that's correct.