Streamlight is well known for flashlights and other portable lighting solutions, but the Pennsylvania manufacturer is now throwing some weight into the everyday carry case segment, a seemingly rapidly growing chunk of market. Its all-new SpeedLocker keeps essentials like watches, passports, flashlights, and even small firearms safe inside eggshell-cradled high-impact polymer locked with an analog punch code set by the user.
Purposefully or not, the all-new SpeedLocker looks a lot like an old-school portable cassette player owing to its general shape and five push buttons all lined up at the bottom. Because it only has five buttons, lacking the bright-red "record" to complete the sextet, it's not quite a dead ringer for a recorder.
Streamlight doesn't mention any vintage cassette player inspiration outright, but we'd be surprised if the company didn't know what it was doing because the new case is very much an intentional use of good, old-fashioned analog tech. The company makes the increasingly rare decision to skip all the modern tech it could have used – a digital PIN, fingerprint scan or facial camera, for instance – in favor of simple, fail-proof mechanical design that works just as well today as it did when tape players were on the cutting edge. No batteries means no failures resulting from dead batteries and no need to constantly plug in for a recharge.
Streamlight's patented keypad delivers up to 31 possible lock combinations by way of five punch keys. Owners set the combination using the included Allen key to adjust the pins on the inside of the keys to their specific push pattern. Users can further secure their possessions and/or make the case air travel-compliant by using the included padlock on one of the integrated sets of holes on the sides.
"Streamlight developed this portable storage container to help ensure that customers’ personal items are protected and out of reach from unauthorized persons while still providing fast, one-handed access," Streamlight’s chief revenue officer Michael F. Dineen said in an announcement last week. "It securely stores personal items, such as a wallet, car keys, travel documents or compact pistols."
The case itself has a rugged high-impact polymer shell and includes internal eggshell foam to further protect contents. A folding handle allows for easy carry, while integrated screw holes on the base are there for mounting the case to a wall, locker, vehicle, workbench, etc.
While the 2.6-lb (1.2-kg) SpeedLocker seems a little too easy to crack – or simply steal entirely – for heavy-duty anti-theft protection, it does seem like an effective way of keeping things stowed away for general safekeeping around home and office, such as storing important documents or valuables out of sight and behind lock and key. The 31 combinations seem insufficient for any real security beyond keeping nosy work colleagues or family members from snooping around your belongings, but the padlock-compatible design does provide for back-up. And the case as a whole offers more EDC protection than the average soft bag or case.
The SpeedLocker is available now for an MSRP of $165 and comes backed by StreamLight's lifetime warranty. Take a closer look at how it works in the intro video below.
Source: Streamlight
