Got my Streamlight TLR-1s (The brighter version with strobe) today along with my Safariland 6360 (That somehow didn't make it into the pictures :thinking
. Much happier with this setup than my old Serpa holster. Mainly because the added light but added security also.
Here is a picture of the TLR-1s on my Glock 31:
I had to debate between this and the X300. The price difference didn't come into question but there is one main reason why I chose the TLR-1s: the beam.
I trust Streamlight like I do SureFires. They have a long standing reputation in Law Enforcement as strong lights. Every officer here owns a Streamlight and I've yet to see one quit. That out of the way..
The SureFire X300 does one thing the TLR-1s cannot do. The activation paddle on the TLR-1s can be rotated clockwise for constant on, or rotated counter clockwise for momentary on. The X300 does the same thing, but can also be pressed forward for momentary on. While this is a nice feature, I personally can't articulate that motion well enough to consider it. That out of the way..
The light output is nearly the same. Streamlight claims the TLR-1s at 160. Through testing with other lights I feel this is accurate. I've never seen a runtime/output graph for any light like this to see regulation so I can't comment on that. I have for SureFires and know they are pretty flat. I think what happened with the X300 is that SureFire started accurately rating theirs. I would be surprised if it was putting out of 200 lumens. So beam pattern aside, the output is nearly the same. That.. also out of the way..
The beam pattern is the main difference. The X300 uses a TIR optic. It has a very bright and large hotspot with some usable spill, but not a lot. The TLR-1s on the other hand uses a reflector. It has a strong smaller hotspot, but a very generous amount of spill. I personally find this beam to be better at piercing through car windows on traffic stops and hitting farther targets. The large spill is also very helpful in close quarters. So in the end, while I like both, the reflector took priority for a handgun.
Now, that out of the way. I will buy an X300 to own personally in the future. It probably won't find it's way on my duty gun unless some serious flaws manifest with my TLR-1s.
The strobe is easily activated, but I found it was too easy. When running some drills in my house I was strobing everything. It's easy to disable, and mine is now. So if you wan't a TLR-1, but want the greater output of the TLR-1s, remember it's very simple to disable. You press the momentary on and off nine times quickly, then on the tenth press you hold it.
Ok, now pictures to show up my new toy :twothumbs
. Much happier with this setup than my old Serpa holster. Mainly because the added light but added security also.Here is a picture of the TLR-1s on my Glock 31:
I had to debate between this and the X300. The price difference didn't come into question but there is one main reason why I chose the TLR-1s: the beam.
I trust Streamlight like I do SureFires. They have a long standing reputation in Law Enforcement as strong lights. Every officer here owns a Streamlight and I've yet to see one quit. That out of the way..
The SureFire X300 does one thing the TLR-1s cannot do. The activation paddle on the TLR-1s can be rotated clockwise for constant on, or rotated counter clockwise for momentary on. The X300 does the same thing, but can also be pressed forward for momentary on. While this is a nice feature, I personally can't articulate that motion well enough to consider it. That out of the way..
The light output is nearly the same. Streamlight claims the TLR-1s at 160. Through testing with other lights I feel this is accurate. I've never seen a runtime/output graph for any light like this to see regulation so I can't comment on that. I have for SureFires and know they are pretty flat. I think what happened with the X300 is that SureFire started accurately rating theirs. I would be surprised if it was putting out of 200 lumens. So beam pattern aside, the output is nearly the same. That.. also out of the way..
The beam pattern is the main difference. The X300 uses a TIR optic. It has a very bright and large hotspot with some usable spill, but not a lot. The TLR-1s on the other hand uses a reflector. It has a strong smaller hotspot, but a very generous amount of spill. I personally find this beam to be better at piercing through car windows on traffic stops and hitting farther targets. The large spill is also very helpful in close quarters. So in the end, while I like both, the reflector took priority for a handgun.
Now, that out of the way. I will buy an X300 to own personally in the future. It probably won't find it's way on my duty gun unless some serious flaws manifest with my TLR-1s.
The strobe is easily activated, but I found it was too easy. When running some drills in my house I was strobing everything. It's easy to disable, and mine is now. So if you wan't a TLR-1, but want the greater output of the TLR-1s, remember it's very simple to disable. You press the momentary on and off nine times quickly, then on the tenth press you hold it.
Ok, now pictures to show up my new toy :twothumbs
