Advice for a light for my rifle

[granth3w]

Hey everyone, I have a couple of questions about lights for my new AR-15. I hope this is the correct place for this, but if not, let me know or please move accordingly.

I am somewhat new to lighting. My first light was a Streamlight TLR-3 for a handgun, then a Streamlight Polytac for a previous rifle build, and my current lights are a Surefire X300 for my HD handgun and a Klarus XT11 as my only handheld (which I love). Now I am in need of an overbuilt and very simple light and I'm mainly thinking Surefire for now. If BCM weren't sold out of the P2X Fury EAG, I believe that would be my first choice. I really just want to get a light like that-- press for momentary, click for constant with only one output. I saw the kit that Primary Arms is selling with the Surefire G2 with Malkoff M60. How do you guys feel about this? It seems like pretty old tech, but I really don't know. Would a McClicky work in a P2X Fury? That seems like an excellent route, if so, as it would be closest to the EAG. How does that work with the dual output? I know this is a very noobish question, but does the low output just go away, becoming high output only? I'm assuming so, but just want to clarify. Also, I would love recommendations on other comparable options if you guys have any. I'm not really into the idea of doing a full custom light, but I probably could if it provided a better outcome. My budget is $150 WITH a good mount. I can't go over at all, really. Any input would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

 

[TheVat26]

The Klarus xt11 you already have seems like a better choice than the Fury. What kind of range do you want the light to have? Spot or flood beam? The xt11 can function as an on/off and give better runtime than a Fury.

 

[TEEJ]

Yeah, the XT11 is a great rifle light unless you need to shoot out pretty far at night. It also can use a really good pressure switch, one that actually lets you hit strobe or change the brightness exactly like the tail cap (It has two buttons that look like the ones on the tail cap).

It takes recoil w/o a hiccup, even on a 12 ga pump gun, etc....and uses a std 1" mount.

So, I have the Fury and the XT11, and the XT11 is a better choice in that application. The beams are actually very similar, if you use one 18650 in the XT11, but with two: CR123's, RCR123's, IMR 16340's or IMR 18350's, the XT11 out throws and out floods the Fury handily. The Fury doesn't run brighter with other cell options, but the XT can if you want it to, with the two 18350 IMR's being the biggest blast. :D

IE: If you want a beam like your XT11, you can get a Fury...and it will look about the same in brightness, throw and flood. If you want a stronger beam, but with the same shape, use two 18350's in your XT11.

:D



The ABILITY to use many different cells also makes the XT11 very versatile if you like multi-fuel options for emergencies, etc.

The XT11's runtime, as mentioned, is also better on a single 3400 Mah 18650, by a lot. On the multiple rechargeables, the XT11 and Fury run time difference shrinks, as the brighter the light, the lower the runtime.

So if its between the two, use the one you have.

If you need to shoot something way off in the distance, in the dark....tell us the minimum range you'd want, and we can make other suggestions if applicable.

:D

 

[granth3w]

Well, I'll preface this by saying I actually ended up buying the Surefire P2X Fury Tactical and the McClicky with a black boot and a green glow in the dark boot (for fun and just to see how it is). It was this morning and I didn't really think anyone was going to reply.

I did look heavily into using the XT11 on my AR for all of the reasons you guys mentioned (runtime, battery options, press for momentary, click for constant, etc). I also considered the XT2C, but I couldn't really find the tube dimensions for it. While everything about the XT11 screams weapon light, I think I just wanted to go with something more simple and rugged (and with a lifetime warranty), plus I like the idea of the softpress McClicky, though it's not exactly like the XT11 is hard to press or anything. I use 2600mAh XTAR 18650's in my Klarus because it's just an amazing setup, but I have CR123's around because of my X300 though. Plus, my thinking about runtime was that it wasn't as high of a priority for me for a weapon light since it will very rarely be used (though it's definitely a plus, of course though).

I actually LOVE the beam pattern of the XT11 and wanted something very similar in a weapon light. Floody takes priority of throwy in this situation because it is my only rifle and would be for HD and whatnot. I find that the XT11 is plenty throwy for me though.

You guys did say exactly what I didn't want you to say, of course :D and definitely have me reconsidering my decision. Since the XT11 is my only handheld, I would have had to replace it anyways, but it could have been a cheaper route and I could have replaced it with a more feature-rich. Also, I did consider an XT11 or XT2C with a pressure switch, but I really didn't like the coiled wire and Klarus does not produce straight wires for them. This would be great for a pump shotgun where the cord may need to retract, but for a rifle, it just seemed like it may get in the way and be difficult to "manage". That was why I wasn't really feeling that route.

I wasn't even familiar with 18350's. Somehow I've missed these. Seems like a great choice and I may have to check into these further.

 

[TheVat26]

Its funny you mentioned we said what you didn't want to hear. I'm sure we all knew you really wanted the Fury and its not a bad choice at all. Even though its not "weapon rated" by Surefire, I know tons of guys that mount them to AR's. Enjoy the light.

 

[granth3w]

Yeah, I wouldn't have minded if I were hearing it before I ordered it... :shakehead. I've read that the Fury line isn't recommended for weapon mounting, but it seems like so many people do it successfully that I'm not too concerned about that part (though I would definitely prefer that it were, of course).

I still may end up going with the XT11 mounted due to the reasons discussed though. I guess I'll just have to wait until the P2X gets here to be able to mount them both and compare.

 

[snakyjake]

Surefire, Eagletac, Klaraus, and Elzetta.

 

[Cereal_Killer]

Hey guys Ive got an on topic question about the XT11 for TEEJ or anyone else, how does the pressure switch operate? Usually I do not use pressure/tape switches but if theirs offered strobe and high at the tape switch I might consider picking one up.

 

[granth3w]

Here is a link to a review of the pressure switch. The actual demonstration of the switch begins around the 2:30 mark. This is a different model than the one for the XT11, but I believe that it works exactly the same.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z54iQ1FPVg" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">