Just a flashlight question [Archive]

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JustG45

01-23-14, 18:22

Wake27

01-23-14, 18:26

I don't know that you'll find what you are looking for with your budget. Aside from that, the Surefire M600U would match perfectly.

ETA - missed the variable outputs.

JustG45

01-23-14, 18:30

No offense to others who have bought surefire but they are wayyy over priced for what they are.

mattexass

01-23-14, 18:32

No strobe but seems to fit your requirements other than that. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/893453-REG/SureFire_g2x_d_bk_G2X_Pro_LED_Flashlight.html

Wake27

01-23-14, 20:37

In your opinion.

Piston10

01-23-14, 20:42

I use a streamlight TRL 1 HL. No low option though. I also think the surefires are overpriced.

leman

01-23-14, 20:47

ive been happy with my fenix light

russzero

01-23-14, 21:48

Everything flashlights!! I searched "weapon lights" and posted the link below.
Russ

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/search.php?searchid=2038754

ra2bach

01-23-14, 23:34

why do you want multiple powers on a weapon mounted light, are you going to read something with your gun pointed at it?..

Shao

01-24-14, 06:31

You are chasing a white rabbit.

You will NOT find a reliable weapon light that fits all of your criteria. You'd be lucky to find one with a couple of features on your list. 500 lumens from a 3-4.5" light??? The only thing that comes to mind is a Surefire X300U... and you get one mode. Plus, the newer, higher-lumen lights use XM-L LEDs which have an enormous die size so there goes your throw. I'd say we're at least 2-3 years out before you're gonna find a light that will satisfy most of your needs. As ra2bach mentioned, multiple modes in a weapon light are not really necessary - especially a moonlight mode - just buy a damn LRI Photon for that purpose.

If you're willing to hit the lower end of your lumens requirements, may I suggest a Malkoff E1 head (300 lumens) on a Surefire 1 x CR123 body with Z26 tailcap. It will set you back a little more cash than you wanted to spend ($70+ for the head, $50+ for a body on Ebay, and ~$27 for the Z26), but what you'll be getting is a bomb-proof USA made light with a lifetime warranty that blows away the VTAC backup for roughly the same price. I've got two rifles with that setup and it's the tits.

Iraqgunz

01-24-14, 06:39

You asked for opinions and got them. You can say that Surefire is wayyy overpriced, but the fact remains they have an excellent and long standing track record and are in use by not only the military (across the world) but numerous trainers, LE and private security in the U.S.

The fact that you handicapped yourself by setting a ridiculously low price tells me that you haven't done much research into the light market at all.

No offense to others who have bought surefire but they are wayyy over priced for what they are.

slowlowmiata

01-24-14, 10:38

Foursevens quark series. The one I have has moonlight, low, high, burst, strobe, SOS strobe, and one more I can't remember. The burst mode throws out around 700 lumens iirc and are priced around $70

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Wreckingball911

01-24-14, 10:45

I've been quite happy with my fenix tk11 but it doesn't have strobe. That's why I bought it. Rather than pressing the button multiple times for high low strobe you just twist the head for high low. Throw it in a good mount and call it a day.

I recently took it off my rifle and I now carry it on my duty belt while working. It will be replaced by an inforce wml.

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JustG45

01-24-14, 10:52

slowlowmiata

01-24-14, 10:54

I have been looking at this light. Do you know what body I would need to make is a single cell?

Nope but they have a pretty great website and amazon has most models for cheaper. I really like that you program 2 modes at a time and switch them by twisting the head. I don't use mine as a weapon light but it is my edc and had been great

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JustG45

01-24-14, 11:01

I don't feel I need a dedicated weapon light on my rifles. I want a light that I have the option of mounting.

Shao I will look into that, thanks for the suggestion buddy.

ra2bach

01-24-14, 12:31

I don't feel I need a dedicated weapon light on my rifles. I want a light that I have the option of mounting.

Shao I will look into that, thanks for the suggestion buddy.

this is backwards. for a light on a weapon you want the most reliable light in whatever form factor you prefer. Unless I'm mounting at 12:00, I still prefer a barrel light in a side rail mount rather than the TLRs or 300x. you need a single output so you don't have to mess with it or worry about which mode it is in (shooting is distracting enough).

there are uses for those multiple mode lights - they are called handheld "backup" lights. my new favorite is the Streamlight Protac HL...

http://www.lapolicegear.com/st-88040-protac-hl.html

but to answer your original question, I would look at a TLR1-s. they have their own integrated mount and you can find them all day around $100 for the 300 lumen model. the newer TLR1-HL 630 lumen model is about $20-25 more. I don't know if it has strobe but that wouldn't be a deal breaker for me if it didn't...

ETA: I just checked and it says User programmable strobe can be enabled/disabled, so there you go!

http://tacticalgear.com/streamlight-tlr-1-hl-led/black?utm_source=gs&utm_medium=sce&gclid=CJ3fiLO6l7wCFUFo7AodkSYAFQ

Piston10

01-24-14, 12:42

this is backwards. for a light on a weapon you want the most reliable light in whatever form factor you prefer. Unless I'm mounting at 12:00, I still prefer a barrel light in a side rail mount rather than the TLRs or 300x. you need a single output so you don't have to mess with it or worry about which mode it is in (shooting is distracting enough).

there are uses for those multiple mode lights - they are called handheld "backup" lights. my new favorite is the Streamlight Protac HL...

but to answer your original question, if I sincerely wanted strobe on a weapon light, I would look at a TLR1-s. they have their own integrated mount and you can find them all day under $125 for the 300 lumen model. the newer TLR1-HL 630 lumen model is about $20-25 more. I don't know if it has strobe but that wouldn't be a deal breaker for me if it didn't...

ETA: I just checked and it says User programmable strobe can be enabled/disabled, so there you go!

http://tacticalgear.com/streamlight-tlr-1-hl-led/black?utm_source=gs&utm_medium=sce&gclid=CJ3fiLO6l7wCFUFo7AodkSYAFQ

I have two of the protac HL's and two of the trl 1 HL's, both are great. One protac is in my bag I carry, the other is mounted on my 870. The trl 1's are mounted on my glock 19 and KAC at 12 O'clock.

ra2bach

01-24-14, 12:57

I have two of the protac HL's and two of the trl 1 HL's, both are great. One protac is in my bag I carry, the other is mounted on my 870. The trl 1's are mounted on my glock 19 and KAC at 12 O'clock.

yep. love the Protac HL but I would NOT mount it on a rifle. I have TLR1s and Surefire 300x weapon lights on pistols and rifles. The TLR1s are not the HL model but the SF 300x is the new high lumen one - man is that bright...

because I shoot pistols left handed and rifles right handed, the Surefire is a better light for me on a pistol and I use the TLR on rifles at 12:00. I'll eventually sell, trade, or give away all my lesser TLR1s and replace with the HL model.

I know SureFire has the reputation, but for my money, Streamlight is a great alternative...

Shao

01-24-14, 13:03

I don't feel I need a dedicated weapon light on my rifles. I want a light that I have the option of mounting.

Shao I will look into that, thanks for the suggestion buddy.

No problem... I absolutely would not put a Fenix or Quark on a serious weapon. I was into Fenix back in 2005. They made cool AA lights back then - the last couple I owned died on me after less than a year of minimal use. David Chow is great guy and Quark lights are fun for pocket carry, but once again - not a weapon light. For the love of Jeebus, just spend a bit more and get a light that won't fail you and has a lifetime warranty.

EDIT: I meant Z68 tailcap - the shrouded tailcap that comes with the scoutlights. They can be bought separately as well.

Ming_the_Merciless

01-24-14, 14:43

I don't think any decision has caused me this much anxiety.

I'm looking for a new flashlight to mount on an AR. Now, I'm not a flashlight guy so excuse me.

What I'm looking for:
300-500 lumen with low, high and strobe (moonlight would be a bonus)
Led
3"-4.5" long, bezel size I'm not to concerned about
I would like a lot of throw with good peripheral
Tail cap
And I want reliability, I'm not one to use cheap junk...not that I like to spend a lot of money. $100?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I haven't stayed current on what's the latest and greatest, but back when I was in the market for a rifle weapon mounted lights, I took the risk on the Olight M20 Warrior, and it seems to fit your needs you listed.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/olight-m20s-x.html

I'm not experienced with their newer offerings, but I'm got two older M20s. It's one of many lights on my night stand, and also on a QD LaRue offset mount (LT606) which is mounted on a beater AR. The model I have is capable of outputting ~320 lumen max variable down to 10 or so lumens, toggling through modes is down via the strobe, separate side strobe button on the tail cap which is very ergonomic, but means you have to time/clock your torch on the mount. The biggest advantage is the ability to run them on the larger lithium cells, I run them on 18650 batteries, and never had a problem with either lights thus far. Though I may have gotten lucky with getting two quality reliable units, my sample size of only two. I'd probably look for more in-depth reviews especially with that model above, for detailed disassembly, PCB board, power output v. time, look up some reviews over at candlepower forums before I'd use it for duty or home defense. Looks like they're also on sale at the moment, 30% percent off, I just might get another one too, to have as a spare just in case my other two take a dump.

No offense to others who have bought surefire but they are wayyy over priced for what they are.
No, they're not. Here's what you're paying for is their attention to detail, rigorous quality assurance and control processes, because practically everything is made in-house opposed to being outsourced, using U.S. certified materials, testing, and backed by life-time warranty. Back in 2008, I had a old incandescent G2 that had intermittent light problems, and they replaced it with a new G2 LED no questions asked.

Also, although I suggested a competitor's light for the AR, the recoil and use is completely different for an application than say a handgun, and that's where I strongly believe Surefire is the only answer. Not just for reliability reasons, but because most major holsters manufacturers only make laser/light combo holsters for the Surefire, Streamlight, or Insight. Why only Surefire? I've lost confidence in Streamlights, specifically from my experience with three TLR-2s that each failed, two of them twice, due to cracking battery doors. Although the customer service experience was outstanding, I've lost confidence in the lights for duty or defense use, after experiencing these failures. And now swapped to the Surefire X400, and will eventually come around to replacing the other two TLR-2s.

No problem... I absolutely would not put a Fenix or Quark on a serious weapon. I was into Fenix back in 2005. They made cool AA lights back then - the last couple I owned died on me after less than a year of minimal use. David Chow is great guy and Quark lights are fun for pocket carry, but once again - not a weapon light. For the love of Jeebus, just spend a bit more and get a light that won't fail you and has a lifetime warranty.

I also made the switch to AA lights as a EDC too, especially while traveling overseas as finding 123As were next to impossible in some regions. I had the same experience with a Fenix LD12, suddenly going tits up. Replaced it with a Sunwayman M10A I think is the model number and been using it for a number of years.