Have you had an X300 lens come apart? Poll

[JBecker 72]

That's a good point about gun cleaners. I don't use any either. I have used some of the aerosol glass cleaners and toothpaste to clean the lens however.

[El Cid]

I have an old X200B and several X300's with zero issues (*knocks on wood*).

The one on my duty weapon has taken a beating over the years (G22 and now G21). I never take it off except to put it on a different weapon. Quals, steel matches, classes... It's been fantastic!

ETA: I use Maas polishing cream to clean the lens.

[Wake27]

I've had it happen to 2-3 maybe. Only one of them I bought new though. I sent one back and it was great after that. I actually have another one that I already got an RMA for and need to put in the mail. Either way though, I've never seen a performance difference out of them so to me, its not that big of a deal.

[Shao]

To all the folks with dirty lenses, why don't you just mount the light back? I always mount my lights pretty much even with the end of my handguard and away from any ports/holes/slots on my muzzle device. I don't get any shadowing and I don't get powder residue on my lenses.

I actually prefer the TLR-1 over the X-300. It's ugly as sin, but the pair that I had never gave me any problems and both never failed the 870 test. I don't know about the newer gen TLR-1s as both of mine were purchased when they were first made available to the public.

The Inforce parasitic drain issue seems to be an exception rather than the norm, so I would take my chances on one of their lights. I have four and none have exhibited this behavior - plus Inforce CS is better than even Surefire's in my opinion. They actually send you a return label in your e-mail, as opposed to Surefire, who makes you pay your own postage.

The main reason why I refuse to use either the X series lights or the TLR-1 anymore is due to an incident I encountered trying to change batteries in the dark. It's much easier to unscrew a bezel and drop a cell in than it is to find a release tab/latch (not to mention in a lot of setups, you're going to have to remove the whole light just to get to the battery compartment) and drop in two. Ease of battery change in the field is seriously underrated or even an afterthought to a lot of people - but to me, it's a major deciding factor on what I'm going to run.

Imagine if every time you went for a mag change, you had to find a recessed tab to fumble with to do so - it could get you killed (ahem.. sorry CA dudes)...

[El Cid]

To all the folks with dirty lenses, why don't you just mount the light back? I always mount my lights pretty much even with the end of my handguard and away from any ports/holes/slots on my muzzle device. I don't get any shadowing and I don't get powder residue on my lenses.

Mine get dirty from my pistol, not rifle. The x300 on my carbine seldom gets dirty even at 12 o'clock.

[Shao]

Mine get dirty from my pistol, not rifle. The x300 on my carbine seldom gets dirty even at 12 o'clock.

In that case I would just go for a TLR-3. It sits far enough back from the muzzle on most pistolas to keep crud from accumulating, it's light as all get out, affordable, easy to change batteries on, and plenty bright. I run a TLR-3 and 4 (it was on sale for the same price as the 3 at the time, never use the laser and wish I just bought another TLR-3) on two of my .45s and they've been flawless since day one - just don't overtighten the mounting screw.

[El Cid]

In that case I would just go for a TLR-3. It sits far enough back from the muzzle on most pistolas to keep crud from accumulating, it's light as all get out, affordable, easy to change batteries on, and plenty bright. I run a TLR-3 and 4 (it was on sale for the same price as the 3 at the time, never use the laser and wish I just bought another TLR-3) on two of my .45s and they've been flawless since day one - just don't overtighten the mounting screw.

I haven't seen a TLR yet that I like and the ones I've seen at work seem to fly off rifles no matter how tightly they are installed. I'm very happy with my X300's and can live with the pistol muzzle getting it dirty. Anytime the light stickers out beyond the muzzle it's going to get dirty. With a regular size Glock (17, 19) the only light that doesn't do that I've seen is the CT 202.

[JBecker 72]

I will be using some thread adhesive on mine to make sure it stays put.

[birdkiller]

Yeah, I had a problem with my X300 lens coming loose back in the end of 2012. The light was relatively new, with only a few hundred rounds mounted to my Glock 34 when I noticed that the lens had come loose and moved around in the bezel. I emailed/called surefire about the issue, sent it in and got back a new X300. I shot over 2,000 rounds through it now mounted to either my Glock 34 or 19, and have recently put it on my AR with 200 rounds through that. I recently upgraded to an X300U for my pistol light, making my X300 my dedicated rifle light. So, yeah I'm confident in Surefire. They take care of you, the loose lens didn't affect function, and the replacement/other products I use from them have proven reliable.

To all the folks with dirty lenses, why don't you just mount the light back? I always mount my lights pretty much even with the end of my handguard and away from any ports/holes/slots on my muzzle device. I don't get any shadowing and I don't get powder residue on my lenses.

I run my rifle lights based off the minimum light interference, optimal hand placement, followed by optimal sight placement. I prefer my hand out further on the hand guard, and either go thumb forward or wrap my thumb over the top. With my light/front sight all the way forward, I can wrap my thumb over the top, or get a thumb forward grip putting my hand in a position right behind the light ready to activate it. I also have the longest sight radius for my irons while maintaining the 12 o'clock light mount. While I only have 200 rounds through this gun particular setup (14.5 barrel with BCM gunfighter comp mod 1, 12 inch hand guard), I have no problem with powder clouding my lens yet, plus I keep slip 2000 EWL on it so when I do clean it, it wipes right off.

The main reason why I refuse to use either the X series lights or the TLR-1 anymore is due to an incident I encountered trying to change batteries in the dark. It's much easier to unscrew a bezel and drop a cell in than it is to find a release tab/latch (not to mention in a lot of setups, you're going to have to remove the whole light just to get to the battery compartment) and drop in two. Ease of battery change in the field is seriously underrated or even an afterthought to a lot of people - but to me, it's a major deciding factor on what I'm going to run.

Maybe I'm just too low speed, but I can't imagine a scenario where I need to speed reload my batteries into my light. If my AR light goes down and ambient light isn't enough to continue engaging the threat then A) I failed at doing a proper weapon check/upkeep B) I transition to my pistol which has a light or C) I just pull out my handheld light. I have ran lights with a twist off tail cap, and for me, pulling up on a lever, sliding off my X300 and then pressing a simple button is way simpler than unscrewing a tail cap. But again, I can't imagine doing that in any situation I would encounter as a civy.

In that case I would just go for a TLR-3. It sits far enough back from the muzzle on most pistolas to keep crud from accumulating, it's light as all get out, affordable, easy to change batteries on, and plenty bright. I run a TLR-3 and 4 (it was on sale for the same price as the 3 at the time, never use the laser and wish I just bought another TLR-3) on two of my .45s and they've been flawless since day one - just don't overtighten the mounting screw.

I want to offer a different data point to this:

I can't fully agree here. The TLR-3 is 1/7th as bright as a TLR-1 HL, and about 1/6th as bright as the X300U making it not fit into "bright as all get out" in my book. It is just as easy to change the batteries on a TLR-3 as it is on a TLR-1, and it is even simpler on a X300. The TLR-1 and X300 are both aluminum bodies making them stronger. Finally, drop some Slip 2000 on the lens, and any fouling will wipe right off. The only advantage I can see is the width/cost, and if those are super big concerns, then the Inforce APL seems like a better choice to me.

I'm not trying to bash your decision to use a TLR-3. If you have tested it, trained with it, and are comfortable with it for your needs, then I think it's great for you. However, I believe that for most people including myself, the disadvantages I mentioned of the TLR-3 just don't outweigh the slightly less fouling you may get on the lens, especially when it is such an easy problem to fix. After messing around with some TLR-3s I would much rather trust my life to a TLR-1 or X300, and I do.

Cole