F1 Stratos vs Pinnacle in the real world?

[FormVsFunction]

I went to a local Formula One tint shop to check out the line before deciding between a few options for a good heat rejection film for my car. Going in, I was more interested in checking out Pinnacle, even though I knew from our email quote that they also offered a newer higher end line called Stratos. 

 

They have a heat light setup to compare the various films, and I was shocked at how much more perceptible heat was blocked by Stratos vs Pinnacle. I could feel a little difference between Classic and Pinnacle, but it was nowhere near the difference between Pinnacle and Stratos.

 

Can those experienced with both films shed some light on the real world heat rejection differences between these 2 films? Is it as drastic as the display feels on your hand? Is that even a good test, or is it more of a sales tool to bump customers up to a more expensive option?

 

Now I need to go check out a few more brands because I'd rather not pay over $1100 to tint my car's windows and windshield, and I was pretty underwhelmed by Pinnacle next to Stratos for heat rejection. I'm going with lighter film throughout, and I'm more interested in the heat rejection than privacy/darkness.

[no ma'am]

Film hasn't been out long enough to get many responses. It's selling quick at our shop ,I've installed pinnacle for almost a decade now. Stratos maybe a month, it is impressive in the display though. I want it on my car if that means anything. 

[blackoutauto]

I'm pretty excited to put the Stratos on my car as well

[DynamicATL]

A heat lamp is a great tool to demonstrate what a film can do, but does not necessarily equal the real world as there are many variables missing.  The reason you feel a difference is they punched up the IR Rejection with Stratos...that is the reason for the jump over Pinnacle.  This is the same reason all IR films perform well on a heat lamp...3M Crystalline, Madico Wincos, Dub IR, etc.  The only real world way for you to test is to have your car tinted in each and see which ones performs better to you.  Obviously that would be a lot of wasted money, but honestly the only true way.  In the end, you are overthinking the decision, you are not buying a house.  Simply pick a quality film from a shop that does quality installation.

Edited April 28, 2017 by DynamicAppearance

[FormVsFunction]

13 hours ago, no ma'am said:

Film hasn't been out long enough to get many responses. It's selling quick at our shop ,I've installed pinnacle for almost a decade now. Stratos maybe a month, it is impressive in the display though. I want it on my car if that means anything. 

Interesting. The F1 shop by me said he's been installing it for almost a year. Your answer does make more sense, given the lack of first hand information/feedback that I see online. I didn't even see threads about it here on Tintdude. 

[no ma'am]

Apparently a few shops have been testing for a while. 

[blackoutauto]

Yes there were some shops that have been testing for a long time. I think t&t Tinting was one of them

[FormVsFunction]

My local F1 shop is The Tint Pros in Newport Beach, CA. They must be one of those shops that were beta testing Stratos. The heat rejection numbers don't look all that different on paper, but the feeling from the display that they had (admittedly, designed by Llumar to sell more Stratos) was night and day different.

[DynamicATL]

They have a good looking website, always impressed when I see a tint shop have a nice one since it is normally the opposite.

[Felixbiel]

9 hours ago, FormVsFunction said:

My local F1 shop is The Tint Pros in Newport Beach, CA. They must be one of those shops that were beta testing Stratos. The heat rejection numbers don't look all that different on paper, but the feeling from the display that they had (admittedly, designed by Llumar to sell more Stratos) was night and day different.

They were one of the test run shops, which I think has been going on for a year. Great shop from what I here.