Non-Surefire Weapon lights. (Tried a search)

I already tried a search for this but most of my results were for SF lights. In most of the weaponlight threads I have already looked at SF was recomended 8 to 9 times out of 10 as the weapon light to get. Mostly for durability. So what are some other brands/lights that can be used for weapon lights?

Well...no body really makes dedicated weaponlights to the extent that SF does. Streamlight and Insight Technology make pistol lights, which can be easily adapted to a rifle. Any 1" or similiarly sized light can be attached to a rifle, which is essentially the only other option. Elzetta is the only company that I would trust outside of the weaponlights manufacturers. Oh, and phantom light. You can use a MIC X-fire light, but, which is fine for airsoft, but I wouldn't put anythin like that on a "business" weapon.

Are you trying to keep the price down, or are you just curious? If you're trying to keep the price down, a Surefire G2 w/ LED can be had for about $45-$50. Oh, and SF are recommended 9 out of 10 times for a reason.

Hope this helps a little, and Welcome to CPF!

Elzetta or Olight

Well its both really. I would like to keep the cost down but Im also curious. It just seems that manufacturers such as Olight, Fenix, 4Sevens, InForce ect., make some bright and durable lights. However no one seems to put them on any serious "busness" rifles because they arent "proven". How is something supposed to become proven if no one gives it the chance to prove itself?

Elzetta is the best available.

4sevens Maelstorm G5, Streamlight Supertac, can both be used on rifles.
There will always be more affordable options to Surefire.

You get what you pay for, if your not using it for anything serious you can buy the more affordable options

MrGatoMan said:

Well its both really. I would like to keep the cost down but Im also curious. It just seems that manufacturers such as Olight, Fenix, 4Sevens, InForce ect., make some bright and durable lights. However no one seems to put them on any serious "busness" rifles because they arent "proven". How is something supposed to become proven if no one gives it the chance to prove itself?

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SF may have an unfair advantage in the testing department... because their lights have been attached to tens of thousands of military and police firearms and were thereby tested by multiple hundreds of thousands of rounds. But that happened because SF were first out of the box, and at the same time took the job seriously & tested their products so stringently beforehand. It's a chicken and egg thing but SF pretty much owns the henhouse where rifles and shotguns are concerned. I would be happy with other flashlight products ONLY if I only expected to fire a couple of rounds with them mounted. Recoil is an easily underrated force where electronics are concerned.

Well I'm not claiming to be an expert, but from what I understand from some of the firearm forums, is that you need a dual spring (spring at both ends of the battery) in a weapon light. The recoil will throw the mass of the battery back compressing the rear spring, causing the positive connection to break contact. Then the spring slams the battery back against head - do that with enough shots, not only will you get a flickering light, you probably break it. The dual spring allows the battery to move, without ever breaking contact and cushioning the movement.

You can take a look at the NEBO Protec lights if you want to spend less than a SF or Elzetta. Someone gifted me one, it is dual spring and looks decent enough, but I haven't shot in the dark with it yet. Not too easy finding a range that will let me shut the lights down to test, and there's no outdoor facilities for me.

Stick with something that has springs at both positive and negative ends of the battery(ies) at minimum. If you go with an incandescent light, be sure it has a shock isolated bezel. Best bet is to go with something LED.

Streamlight
Surefire
Elzetta
Insight Technology

All good, proven brands. Stay away from knock offs or Chinese made brands if you plan on using this weapon to defend your life.

How about the InForce brand lights?

MrGatoMan said:

How about the InForce brand lights?

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I forgot about those...yes, Inforce broke into a seperate company when Nite-Ize bought Inova and moved production to China...it had to, to keep itself a viable U.S. Military apporved weaponlight. I had one, and it was a well built, solid light.

Various LED drop-ins have been proven under recoil including Malkoff (of course!). I run various Malkoffs in SF 6P's, and MD2's on shotguns, 5.56, and 7.62 carbines for thousands of rounds with no issues. Unlike my old SF incans that would pop every once in awhile...

I have run an Eagletac on an AK and an Olight on a 7.62 AR with no issues after several hundred rounds.

I would say that most any quality LED light with springs fore/aft and no funny switching based on power on/off is better than old incan bulb days...

Other than that, the most reliable combo would have to be a 6P twisty and a Malkoff LED drop in.

Dennis.

WTH?! 11 replies and no one has mentioned the Streamlight TLR-1. I own way too many Surefire's and enjoy using them. But I also own 3 TLR-1's. One on an AR carbine, one on a Glock, and one for a spare. Midway has them on sale for March and I'm having trouble resisting buying another.

Paladin