Which Weapon Light to Choose Today?

[Doc Safari]

There is an old thread on this, like several years old. I decided not to bump it because in those days the Surefire G2 dominated and times have changed. I'm considering a Surefire M600 now, but thought I'd run this past you guys before purchasing.

I'm hoping for a lot of feedback.

I've used a Surefire G2 on my carbine since posting in the older thread (about 8 years) but now I'm sure there must be better options.

My criteria:

1. Bright. As many lumens as practical (notice I didn't say "possible").
2. Durable. I've read some reviews on Amazon that make you think some of the "greats" like Streamlight may not always make the quality one might think.
3. Easy to mount. I struggled with offset mounts and mounts that just didn't work in the early days. I'm almost of the opinion now that if it's not a dedicated weapon light with a built-in mount for a 1913 rail then it ain't worth a crap.
4. Uses common batteries. CR123A and AA (maybe AAA) are about all I'd consider for a weapon light, not that there are many that don't use one of those three.
5. LED. I had to swap out the head on my G2 from incandescent. Of course that was a long time ago and probably not many lights are incandescent anymore.
6. Momentary AND constant-on click switching are prefereble. Again, I had to swap out Surefire's twist tailcap on my G2. I doubt I'd have to do that anymore.

So, which lights meet the above criteria? What lights do you have a lot of experience with and would trust your life to?
Which ones are junk?

[Defaultmp3]

• Surefire Scout Light series (M300, M312, M322, M600, M612, M622)
• Streamlight ProTac series (RM1, RM2, HL-X)

That's pretty much it for lights I would personally trust. Still not sold on the Inforce lights. If you really wanted to do the separate mount and handheld light thing, I guess the Elzettas would be a good competitor to the Surefires.

[titsonritz]

[*]Surefire Scout Light series (M300, M312, M322, M600, M612, M622)

These and their X-series are all that I use.

[Slippers]

It's hard to argue against the Surefire Scout series due to the small size, ruggedness, and mounting/activation options. There are so many configurations. Want maximum throw? M600U. Compact white? M300C. Need IR? M300V and M600V. There are even AA versions now if you don't like CR123 cells.

On the budget end, the Streamlight Protac Rail Mount 1, 2, and HL-X seem to be pretty decent as well. We've sold many hundreds of them and have only had two returned that were defective (one was DOA, the other started flickering randomly). Streamlight replaced both in less than a week. They can use almost any Scout mount, but unfortunately don't share the same head or tailcap threading. It's hard to suggest to someone to purchase a Surefire G2X Tactical and a ring mount when the Protac RM1 is around the same price, includes a clicky tailcap and remote switch, and 1913 Picatinny mount.

I have one of the inforce IR/white lights and it drives me nuts with the multi-mode-through-one-button activation. Half the time it'll stay on when I want momentary, or turn off when I want constant on since it's based on how long you press/release the button. Grrr.

[bighawk]

Surefire M300/M600 fit all your needs but the M600 would be my choice. (I have 3 and love them)

[bruin]

You can get a SL RM2 for under $80 with a little patience. That's 625 lumens and 22k Candelas for 2 hours in a 5 oz package. Ridiculous value here.

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[Doc Safari]

You can get a SL RM2 for under $80 with a little patience. That's 625 lumens and 22k Candelas for 2 hours in a 5 oz package. Ridiculous value here.

Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk

I was reading this spec sheet that it has a tempered glass lense. Isn't that a liability in a tactical light? Aren't most lenses plastic?

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/10...aluminum-black

[RobertTheTexan]

Hey Glockster,

Like everyone else I also like the M300/600 and they are what they are, which is great. I also have used TRL-1HL's on a couple of SBRs.

However, here is one more light I wanted to put out there for you because you asked the question and this meets you're criteria and I have personally used these lights and I do trust them to function when I press the button.

PowerTac . I've had 3 of them for 3 years now and never once have they failed or encountered an issue. I take that back. I had slight flickering on one of them, but that was after I literally melted two CR123's inside the lights. To the point there was visible smoke residue on the inside of the lens., and smoke came out when I unscrewed the cap. I took some denatured alcohol and cleaned the carbon fouling off the contacts and the light ran without flickering and continues to run perfectly. That was two years ago. I own two E5's and a Warrior. Link to the E5 is below. I know a little bit about them because I wanted to know the lowdown on them when I was considering them as a weapon light. So if by chance you want a more info hit me up. I can send you the pics of the melted/charred plastic battery housing, batteries and the light working. I use them as WML and its my bedside light if I need a light without a gun.

http://powertacusa.com/flashlights/m...police/E5-Gen4



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Doc Safari]

Hey Glockster,

Like everyone else I also like the M300/600 and they are what they are, which is great. I also have used TRL-1HL's on a couple of SBRs.

However, here is one more light I wanted to put out there for you because you asked the question and this meets you're criteria and I have personally used these lights and I do trust them to function when I press the button.

PowerTac . I've had 3 of them for 3 years now and never once have they failed or encountered an issue. I take that back. I had slight flickering on one of them, but that was after I literally melted two CR123's inside the lights. To the point there was visible smoke residue on the inside of the lens., and smoke came out when I unscrewed the cap. I took some denatured alcohol and cleaned the carbon fouling off the contacts and the light ran without flickering and continues to run perfectly. That was two years ago. I own two E5's and a Warrior. Link to the E5 is below. I know a little bit about them because I wanted to know the lowdown on them when I was considering them as a weapon light. So if by chance you want a more info hit me up. I can send you the pics of the melted/charred plastic battery housing, batteries and the light working. I use them as WML and its my bedside light if I need a light without a gun.

http://powertacusa.com/flashlights/m...police/E5-Gen4



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sounds like a good light, but what mount do you use it with for a standard 1913 rail?

[clb]

I was reading this spec sheet that it has a tempered glass lense. Isn't that a liability in a tactical light? Aren't most lenses plastic?

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/10...aluminum-black

Don't know much about glass, but Surefire's website says the scout lights have a "optically coated tempered window".

I have been using SR RM2's since they came out. Banged against some doorways, even been hit on the glass by UTM rounds. No breakages yet, knock on wood.