Why spend money on R&D for a product that has less sale potential than a regular flashlight with a 1" body that can be mounted just as easily.
It's not that easy to mount a regular flashlight on a
handgun while keeping the whole system compact and practical for carry and actual use. Switching is also an issue that would in many cases detract from the value of mounting a flashlight on a handgun in the first place. Dedicated weapon lights are designed to address these issues to a significant degree.
It would be interesting to see someone make a close-quarters light in the same form factor as a LaserMax (
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AT05FK/?tag=cpf0b6-20, for instance). Wonder if that kind of thing would attract more users.
I think there would definitely be a market for it, but the market would be rather limited because most users prefer a concentrated beam with which they could potentially dazzle their opponents, and I think achieving that would be problematic with the 7-8 mm aperture available on typical pistols in this form factor. Even, say, a 60+ lumen pure flood internal weapon light running for 30 minutes or so on an AAAA cell, for example, would generate some interest because of its convenience, but we're talking about a small portion of what is already a small market. Additionally, a different version would have to be made for and thoroughly tested with each and every make and model of pistol that is supported, which greatly increases costs (it would have to compete with a number of existing ultra-compact handgun lights that would cost far less and be somewhat more capable).
While I'd like to say that such a device would expand the market for weapon lights, based on my many discussions with other gun owners, unless the above issues can somehow be overcome, the vast majority of users would rather just stick with using a more powerful, focused flashlight with their other hand.
In short, the "flashahaulic" market is so tiny that it probably wouldn't pay to develop new gun lights that press the edge of technology. The best we can hope for is that Streamlight, Surefire, etc will eventually include "old" technology (i.e. XPG, XRE, XML, etc) in a couple years.
These are all valid points, although they're not that far behind right now. My TLR-1s, for example, has a modern Rebel emitter that is approximately the equivalent of a Q5 bin XP-E, and it puts out a conservative 160 lumens (regulated) for over 2 hours.
I think that a handgun mounted flashlight would be of limited value from a police/military point of view and that is where the market would have to be to make it viable for manufacturers.
That's generally true for the military, but handgun-mounted lights seem pretty common among police officers these days, at least from what I've seen. That makes sense because handguns are seldom used by soldiers but are the primary weapons, due to various circumstances, of police officers.
The weight of the flashlight would affect the balance of the weapon, so you would have to train with it and carry it mounted on the handgun all of the time.
I guess it depends on the individual, but my relatively heavy weapon light is mounted on my relatively lightweight pistol (Smith & Wesson M&P), and I can barely tell it's there even with the magazine out (the worst case for balance). In fact, I practice with the light most often with my plastic Airsoft replica, which is lighter than the real pistol, and I can still barely tell the light is there (no noticeable effect on my shooting speed).
This would mean extra weight on your belt for something you'd only use occasionally, plus you'd still have to carry another flashlight for general use.
Well, you need a backup source of light anyway, and the nice thing about weapon lights is that they're always ready for immediate use when you need your gun, which in many such situations generally means NOW. The issue is not so much that weapon lights lack sufficient utility, but that more of those who use guns for self-defense need to realize that sometimes they'll need light--many still ignore the issue, choosing to rely on whatever ambient light may be available, and some just install night sights to make sure that they can see those if not the target. :eeksign:
Another limiting issue for the market is that weapon lights are controversial among gun owners because of the firearm safety rule against pointing one's weapon at a currently unidentified target, as well as the notion that some bad guys shoot at lights. Without going into great depth, personally I think the issues are overblown, but still they have some merit, and handgun-mounted lights remain controversial in the firearms community.
Are lights like the Streamlight, Insight, Surefire, Blackhawk, and Beamshot possible to modify with newer electronics and emitters?
I'm pretty sure that one could stick the latest XP-G R5 or S2 in a current Streamlight TLR-1s, for instance, but the increase in brightness is not going to be all that apparent, in my opinion, while the decrease in hotspot intensity (due to the larger die) may well be (ignoring any other optical problems that could arise).
