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Review – Streamlight Sidewinder 14032

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Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

I was fairly taken with the compact version of the Sidewinder but after playing with it a bit, I found it good but lacking. My biggest complaint was that when clipped to a piece of gear it would be unstable and sway around, unbalanced by it’s size and weight. I liked the features, I just wasn’t a fan of the physical envelope that contained these features. So…I bit the bullet and ordered the larger, but still fairly compact, full sized version. Big difference in my satisfaction.

The larger version (Streamlight 14032 Sidewinder) arrived just before I left for Glacier last week.

My biggest complaint about the Compact was that when you clipped it to a bit of webbing or what have you, it would sway about wildly. Let me try to describe it. Imagine you take a paperback novel and affix it to your shoulder strap so that the spine of the book is against you. The rest of the book juts out there and sways unsteadily as you move. Same thing.

This larger version of the Sidewinder, because of its large battery compartment, is  far more stable. A few other features separate it from the Compact:

  • It runs on AA batts, as opposed to the CR123 used in the Compact, so my logistics are streamlined a bit.
  • Has a lanyard attachment point.
  • The metal clip that you use to clip the light to your gear is removable. This is important because it you think the clip isn’t providing enough force to keep it from sliding off whatever you clip it to, you can remove the clip, bend it as necessary, and then put it back the way was. Couldn’t really do that with the compact.
  • Battery compartment lid is captive. No losing it in the dark or when your sitting somewhere changing batteries when the cover falls between your legs and into the tall grass. Nice touch.

I’m going to go ahead and give the non-Compact version of the Sidewinder a better rating than the compact version. Price isn’t too terribly different, and although it is a bit bigger I believe you will get better use out of it than the Compact.

Note that the SIdewinder series are available in different color-combinations…you can get, for example, one that has white, green, red and blue emitters. I went with white, red, blue and IR. I don’t have anything that let’s me take advantage of the IR (at the moment) but that doesn’t mean that someday I won’t.

As I said, only real drawback is price. There’s plenty of LED lights out there for less, but the features on this thing (clip, lanyard, flash mode, adjustable brightness, swivel head, subdued color, hands-free operation, waterproof, etc, etc.) pretty much fill all the requirments I wanted in a light that could be affixed to a vest or webbing strap (also darn near perfect for clipping to a vehicle visor for use within the vehicle cab). So, yes it’s expensive but to me it seems worth the money.

Bumble Bee ‘Prime Fillet’ packaged chicken breast

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Im a carnivore and although a bowl of instant potatos, seasoned rice, or buttered spaghetti with cheese is a very warming, comforting thing I still need meat to make a meal feel like a meal. Unfortunately, meat doesnt have the stable-at-room-temperature life of, say, dried beans. Sure,you can buy canned meats and there are folks who swear Spam is actually tasty and yummy. I find all canned meats, except tuna, just a bit creepy. When you open the cans Im always reminded of cat food.

So…whats a carnivore to do for that quick fix of striated muscle tissue that makes any meal more pleasin’? Well, MRE’s usually have a meat component but lets be real – MRE’s are adequate for their task, they arent exactly so good youd eat ’em if you didnt have to. (Although some are pretty good.)

However, I found this new product in Super Wallyworld a couple months back and after staring at it in the cabinet for several weeks I finally decided to try it.

Linky

Instructions say to use a frying pan or a microwave. However, I dont normally carry a frying pan or microwave in my gear bag. I do, however, carry a canteen and canteen cup which fits nicely on a backpack stove. So….deposit pouch into canteen cup of boiling water and let sit for 5 minutes.

Pouch is of the heavy, metalized kind we’ve come to expect from MRE entrees. Heavy duty stuff. To be safe though, you probably donbt want to reuse the water youre heating it in since some inks or other nasties may migrate off the exterior of the pouch into the water. Six minutes was plenty of time to heat up. Removed chicken and put it on a plate. Looks good and smells pretty good. Texture is a bit soft…a little firmer than a chunk of chicken you;d get out of some soup. The cut of meat was trimmed pretty well and looked quite appetizing. Taste was better than anything Ive had out of an MRE pouch. The flavorings (in this case ‘garlic and herb’) were a bit strong but I t hink that would be greatly mitigated by serving it with the usual bland accompaniments like rice, potatoes, pasta, etc. Would make an excellent candidate for sandwichs or, since it shreds fairly easily, tacos/burritos.

Shelf life is approx. two years but I would be quite confident its as long as the average MRE entree….Can probably, although I havent tried it, heat it on any hot surface just like an MRE (exhaust manifold, engine block, hot conduit, pavement at noon, etc, etc.)

Not cheap, but really really convenient. A package of Idahoan just-add-water potatoes, this stuff, maybe a can of corn or other vegetable and you can have a decent meal using just water and a backpacking stove. Im going to have to see if I can find a price on these things in bulk to beat WallyWorlds pricing. Wouldnt mind having a dozen or so on hand. They’d also be convenient for quick meals at home.

More importantly, I dont have to become a vegetarian.