Surefire X300u Review

[plouffedaddy]

I've had the Surefire X300U for a while now but never did a review; so here goes...

Pros:
-500 lumens with a good balance of throw/spill
-Uses two 3V CR2 lithium battery.
-Comes with a 1913 and universal mount/insert so it'll fit most modern rail systems to include rifles
-It handles recoil well. I've used the light on my G20 with hot ammo as well as on an AK with 0 issues from the recoil
-Rocker switch can be used for temporary and constant on modes
-Great warranty
-Great reputation for durability
-4oz weight


Cons:
-1.5 hours of constant on. The old battery life vs lumens issue is at play here.
-It's extremely tight when mounted on some guns. This could be a pro for some but, on my Glocks for example, the light is seemingly stuck on the gun and I've had to tap it with a rubber mallet while pulling down the tabs before to get it off.
-Price. No getting around it---it's expensive. It generally runs around $210-240.

Summary:

It's an excellent all around weapon light. It's versatile, bright, and durable. The big question is whether or not it's worth the money. Only you can answer that ultimately I suppose.

Here's a video showing the light in use on several guns, a comparison with some different lights, some night shooting, and a discussion of the pros/cons of the light:

Surefire X300U HD Video Review Link

[jonconsiglio]

As for being tight... Just loosen the screws a bit that hold the mount to the light. That'll fix it right up.

[plouffedaddy]

As for being tight... Just loosen the screws a bit that hold the mount to the light. That'll fix it right up.

Thanks for the tip but (perhaps due to military ingrained neurosis) I've always put a dab of blue loctite on everything that goes on a gun with screws. I may lose sleep if the screws were loose

It probably is the right answer though....

[gman556]

Thanks for the tip but (perhaps due to military ingrained neurosis) I've always put a dab of blue loctite on everything that goes on a gun with screws. I may lose sleep if the screws were loose

It probably is the right answer though....

I mounted mine on a piece of magpul rail section with the screws loose, and then tightened them with blue lock tight. You won't be able to do this with it mounted on your weapon for obvious reasons.

This worked well for me because I could now mount it on any rail without it being way to tight like it was before, making it really tough to be QD.

[Kain]

I have one on my Glock and when I first started running it the bastard was tight as hell on there. However, after numerous cycles of removing and remounting it seems to have broken in and had become easier to remove. That or my hands have just gotten stronger and it is now less of an issue.

Another con for the light though, at least at the moment, is finding factory holsters for it. Not as bad as it was a little while ago, but still a lot of confusion and uncertainty when buying factory holsters. Just throwing that one out there.

[Outlander Systems]

I have one on my Glock and when I first started running it the bastard was tight as hell on there. However, after numerous cycles of removing and remounting it seems to have broken in and had become easier to remove. That or my hands have just gotten stronger and it is now less of an issue.

Another con for the light though, at least at the moment, is finding factory holsters for it. Not as bad as it was a little while ago, but still a lot of confusion and uncertainty when buying factory holsters. Just throwing that one out there.

Raven Concealment Systems are offering X300U compatible holsters.

[GTF425]

All Safariland duty holsters I've run so far work with the X300U.

I just punched the dust cover out of the bottom for extra space, but you can leave it in. It was a little too tight for me with my 6280, but the 6004 was fine even with the dust cover left in.

Just food for thought for the Safariland users.

[J_B]

All Safariland duty holsters I've run so far work with the X300U.

I just punched the dust cover out of the bottom for extra space, but you can leave it in. It was a little too tight for me with my 6280, but the 6004 was fine even with the dust cover left in.

Just food for thought for the Safariland users.

Thanks for the info. We are switching from Sig P226 to Glocks.

I have a X300 on my Sig now and don't have a problem using it for my Glock but was gonna spring for the X300U if I could find one in a good price range.