Weapon Light Recommendation

hi.....first, i am totally new to the new breed of LED flashlights...I have recently purchased a Nitecore MH25 for camping and love the light.....i am looking for a weapon light reco.....some criteria, if available, would be: internal charging (not having to use an external charger), small and lightweight, also being able to use regular batteries (sometimes i am in the woods for extended periods and i do not have access to charging)....be able to be mounted on a picatinny rail, or the Magpul m-lock system......i am not dedicated tot he Nitecore system, but open to other systems......budget, up to $100 for a complete system (light, mounting etc.).....thanks in advance for your help.....

bob

Re: Weapon Light Reco's

What range do you foresee this light being used?

Re: Weapon Light Reco's

reco = recommendation...what you would recommend as a proper weapon flashlight......

bob

Re: Weapon Light Reco's

As far as I know such a thing as you described does not exist. You would have to put it together from a standard flashlight and mount it to your weapon. Olight makes a few lights that have their newer magnetic charging attachment and there are other brands that have a charging port on the light.

Re: Weapon Light Reco's

I am going through this same thing right now actually. If you can live with a push button and paddle activation at the rear, then you can get a Klarus XT11S, mount it in a mount, and get everything needed for sub $100. Here is a refurb XT11S

https://www.flashlightz.com/klarus-xt11s-1100-lumens-refurbished

New:

https://www.flashlightz.com/klarus-xt11s-1100-lumens

For mounts, I really like the arisaka 1" light mount, or the gear sector mounts as well.

Arisaka:
https://arisakadefense.com/collections/light-mounts/products/ring-light-mount-m-lok

Gear Sector:
https://www.gearsector.com/view/product/261/

That is about as cheap as I would go personally. I don't like the paddle arrangement though, so I am going to get a Klarus ST15, but it doesn't have the charging port. I dislike charging ports on a weapon light however. I would rather just carry spare 18650's with me.

https://www.flashlightz.com/klarus-st15-1100-lumens

Re: Weapon Light Reco's

Remember a rechargeable with protective circuits can suddenly go dark from recoil tripping the circuit breaker.

For fun that's ok. But if your prey is a gigantic bear... uh, not such a good idea. Primary batteries are best there. Potted LED module also is best where the module is anchored with epoxy.

How far do you want to light up? And how brightly?

Re: Weapon Light Reco's

bykfixer said:

Remember a rechargeable with protective circuits can suddenly go dark from recoil tripping the circuit breaker.

For fun that's ok. But if your prey is a gigantic bear... uh, not such a good idea. Primary batteries are best there. Potted LED module also is best where the module is anchored with epoxy.

How far do you want to light up? And how brightly?

Click to expand...

i would like to light up about 100-150 meters......i really want a unit that i can use a primary battery with....and not have to rely on charging.....that being said, i could my nitecore mh25, which is a rechargeable unit.....i am looking for a more slim and lighter as a weapon light......

bob

Re: Weapon Light Reco's

It doesn't meet all of your criteria, but check out the new Inforce APL GEN3. It's currently the best thing going in a WML.

I used to be a big fan of the SF X300 Ultra, but no longer own one thanks to the new GEN3.

Re: Weapon Light Reco's

seery said:

It doesn't meet all of your criteria, but check out the new Inforce APL GEN3. It's currently the best thing going in a WML.

I used to be a big fan of the SF X300 Ultra, but no longer own one thanks to the new GEN3.

Click to expand...

Is the Gen 3 truly that much greater than the previous generations? I've only heard bad things about Inforce except from the marketing companies. I love the size and look compared to some of the other offerings out there.

Re: Weapon Light Reco's

Yes. The previous iterations were not without faults, but the newest gen addresses those and more. The new aluminum mount for example is rock solid and the switch is well protected and near bullet proof.

Even lights like the X300 have seen many line changes over the years, except it still has weaknesses that haven't been addressed. The battery compartment door hinges are still breaking, the switches are still failing, drops on hard surfaces are still rendering them inoperable and the beam still leaves a lot to be desired.

My opinion is the newest APL is tougher, stronger, sleeker, lighter and just overall better. And the beam is white and clean.

The X300 design is really dated and the light isn't half what it should be, but the reputation SF built in the early days still allows them to sell a lot of X300's.

The new APL is a lot of package for the money. Even if the X300-U cost the same or less, I'd still [hands down] take the new APL.

Re: Weapon Light Reco's

Mister Fixer is too modest to mention it, but he is US Agent for the PK Weapon Light. It looks like a nice pice of kit, and if your life depended on it, well worth the extra 49 bucks.
https://milepost28.com/products/prx-weapon-light
P

Re: Weapon Light Reco's

Groo here
Olight has 2 models.

Re: Weapon Light Reco's

A bit over budget but id just get one of these and be done with it:

https://arisakadefense.com/products/600-series-light

Those Malkoff heads are excellent. P

Will it be used for self defense, or just hunting/range use?

Illuminating a target at an actual 100 to 150 yard distance well enough to shoot it isn't as easy as you likely think....especially with small, light, and inexpensive as other criterion.

^^ Agreed.
That's night vision equipment ranges there.

Perhaps a SureFire EB1c would get it done. The pencil beam easily reaches out 100m and iirc I paid around $100 for my black one at Amazon.

^^ PRX is perfect for that distance. Mounted on a rail at 9:00 for righty, 3:00 for lefty. It was designed to use a 123 primary or rechargeable 123. Simple on/off design via tailcap switch.



Features a beam that blasts 550 lumens in a nice narrow cone 30-50m out the front while providing a nice 3-4' gap of darkness between you and your light. You see perp but perp don't see your silouette lit up by your own light.

No thermal step down required like so many lights that shout about a lot more lumens but then whisper that after x number of seconds the output falls by as much as 70%.


Note the big gap.

Designed and built by a flashaholic. PK was once head of design at SureFire but now designs cutting edge lights that put the weapon in weapon light and builds them in a small world class facility a few dozen at a time. A 2 year process took place between design and actual release. Most of that time was spent on the range ensuring that failure is not an issue.


Subjected to hundreds of thousands of rounds at facilities who were also testing state of the art upcoming rifles.



Here he is checking out an earlier weapon light he designed for SureFire.


Was listed as a "must have" item when only the ultimate will do.


$149 available at BullsEye Worldwide at Amazon or Milepost 28 dot com.

Type in GRILL17 at checkout for 10% off at that Milepost site (through Labor Day).

for the money and throw, it's hard to beat an Olight PL2.

The downsides are the switch (easily bumped on), the lack of a tape-pad type acutator, and it's a bit too bright for a pistol (indoor) use.

It is a torch, though!

If you're gonna go to the size and expense of a 2-cell light (that is, two CR123 or 18350), might as well get a $100 M1vn rather than an Olight or MH25. Decidedly NOT a pistol or indoor light, but it has 1000 lumens for most applications, and can be "turned up to 11" (4000 lumens) when you need it. And if you want a smaller WML for pistol or lightweight rifle, I think that PRX light recommended above looks awesome.

As far as using primary batteries as backups...I understand that they are in most peoples' comfort zones. But, I might consider whether it would be better to carry extra rechargeables rather than primaries. Rechargeable NiMH or Li-ion can have more capacity, weigh ~ the same, and cost less after a few charges. Rechargeable LSD NiMH have a super long shelf life. Rechargeables can be topped off and tested at any time, so you always know the exact capacity/runtime to expect. Rechargeables can be functionally tested (every time you use them), so you know for sure if you got a bad batch or a bad cell before you have to rely on them. NiMH also have a very flat discharge curve, making even cheaper lights (not current controlled) run with a more stable brightness for most of their discharge. There are certainly uses for primary cells, so just consider those thoughts as a friendly nudge to consider an alternative.