A while ago I found out that Streamlight released their Stinger 2020 Flashlight and I knew I wanted to upgrade my ten-year-old Stinger DS LED HL (which I'll be reviewing soon) because its rechargeable battery finally failed and started leaking, and as I've said before, rechargeable flashlights are the way of the future. Streamlight finally listened to their end-users, something which I have been repeatedly pointing out they are not been doing in the past. So I decided that I wanted to get the new Stinger 2020 because I have been using a Stinger flashlight on duty since I came on the job, originally was an incandescent Stinger, which they call the Stinger Classic now. The only missing piece to the puzzle was that I needed a good duty-grade holster as Streamlight didn't provide one and the one they do make really sucks. I knew that Zero9Holsters was going to be making one from their IG posts and I DM'd them seeing when they were going to have one coming out. I have been following since I purchased a police radio holster for duty and they also sent me a 3-magazine Glock pouch that I've used on and off. I asked if they would send me one of these Stinger 2020 holsters and they only had a prototype available, which is fine for initial impressions purposes.
The material is a molded plastic that is secured by two Chicago screws with rubber bushings. This allows for tightening/loosening as needed with a Philips head screwdriver.
The holster has a big lip that catches any compatible flashlight so that it doesn't fall or be pushed through, which also aids in retention. There are screws on the back that allow various types of attachments, but for this purpose, they sent me one with a teklok so that I can attach it securely to a duty rig. You could probably attach to an NPE bracket if you wanted to, but then you'd be trying to find a place for a tourniquet.
Construction is good and overall build quality is definitely duty grade.
The Stinger 2020 fits two ways, bezel down or bezel up. Bezel down it fits in any direction, meaning you can put it in with the handle horizontal or vertical, or everything in between, and it'll still retain no problem. With the bezel up, the Stinger 2020 only fits one way in order to get retention. I am not a fan of the bezel up option in this particular confirmation, the bezel down seems to offer more retention and less messing around trying to find the "sweet spot" but then again, I never carried with the bezel up so your experience may vary.
As you can see the bezel is protected and you can always push it up through the bottom if you need to get it out if it gets stuck for whatever reason.
The Stinger DS HL LED fits into this holster as well, bezel down. This means it's pretty high up on the rig and depending on your assignment, or how you wear your rig, you may end up having it dig into your back.
The Stinger 2020 has a nice profile.
The Stinger 2020 is a pretty decent light with a bunch of features that I wanted for many years. First on the list is a low / med / high setting which can be used on the fly. This is specifically something I want from a duty, non-weapon-mounted, light. A lot of times you're doing paperwork or just need half power to just search things in a small area and don't want to mess with your eyes.
The fake stipple on the grip is a nice touch, don't know how it will work out or last but it's a decent idea. The fact that the batteries are interchangeable with 18650's and come with Streamlight's USB rechargeable batteries.
The top/rear button is decently sized.
The shape is better than the previous Stinger's, this Stinger 2020 clearly was designed with grip in mind. I have had my old Stingers fall out of my hands a few times during active use, that was mostly because they are just phallic-shaped devices with no grip retention surfaces. Streamlight also says it's an "anti-roll design" which I will be testing since the previous versions rolled like they were designed to because, they were. This is definitely an upgrade.
The only really weird thing about the Stinger 2020 is the light compartment. It has this "claw" type thing at the top that covers the battery compartment that allows you to push the battery compartment open/closed and take the batteries out as a single unit. I have no idea what the claw thing is for or what the purpose of it was supposed to be.
The LED of the Stinger 2020 is pretty big, Streamlight says it's 2000 lumen's but doesn't list candela anywhere I can find it. The throw is pretty decent but it's more of a "spill" beam design than a "hotspot" design which I prefer, it'll do well for its purpose though.
The Stinger 2020 comes with the OEM charging port that all Stingers come with. This is a good thing because if you have the Streamlight charging racks at work or a single charger in your car you can just purchase the version without the standalone charger and use the one you already have. This is a really good thing for those of us who have been using Streamlight Stinger-type lights.
Initial Impressions:
I have been looking for a replacement for my duty Stinger for a while now. For a bit, I used the Modlite OKW head 18650 setups when it came out as a standalone handheld flashlight setup. I like the OKW head and will be reviewing it later, but for duty, I am sort of stuck using Stinger-type lights because it just works for a broader range of applications. If you are an LEO, or someone who needs a capable handheld flashlight, that's got a decent set of features and you just so happen to need a holster for that flashlight, the Zero9Holsters Stinger 2020 holster is probably the best (and only) worthwhile version available. I will be using this setup on duty and will do a more thorough review once I have a few months of use under my belt. So far, my initial impression is that you should go buy either the Stinger 2020 or the Zero9Holsters holster for it if you are looking for an upgrade. Even if you have an older Stinger but want a better holster for it the Zero9Holster version is designed well for duty use.