I know this has been beat to death and I don't want to dig that horse up and beat it again, so if there is a thread that answers this please share the link and I'll leave everyone alone. Want to put a Weapon light on my AR I own a Stream Light ProTac HL X PRO. Bought it a year ago never mounted it on the gun I bought it for. Now i see the Surefire scout turbo pro m640dft, looks great made in the good ole USA, alot of talking heads puffing it up (definitely for some $$$ gotta pay the bills!!) but damn expensive. My plan is run what I've got now to train etc... then see if need arises to drop the coin on the surefire. Is the Surefire really that much better?? I'm not a guy that has to have the best gear but I do like for my shit to work and be reliable. Any help guidance or opinions would be appreciated!!! Happy New Year BTW!!
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Weapon Light Rabbit whole
- Thread starter Newb37752
- Start date
I've never had a streamlight fail.
They are cheaper than surefire, but they're not cheap.
I'm not sure why surefire thinks their flashlights should cost stupid money. But they sure do feed the marketing budget.
They are cheaper than surefire, but they're not cheap.
I'm not sure why surefire thinks their flashlights should cost stupid money. But they sure do feed the marketing budget.
Because per contract when you sell something at a certain price to the military you are not allowed to offer it for sale cheaper. That's why.
So, not part of the rabbit, but the whole rabbit?
The streamlight you have is an awesome light.
The streamlight you have is an awesome light.
Nothing wrong with the Streamlight. I have a couple mounted on an AK and AR. I also have a few Surefires on AR's and one Arisaka Defense on a CZ Scorpion. Surefires have proven reliable in hard use. I am not sure about the Streamlights? I do prefer the smaller size of the Surefires and the variety in mounting options versus the Streamlight.
Hey man, I used to be all about wanting what was considered the best, especially on that ONE rifle that is supposed to be the goto. For flashlights, that meant Surefire. After 20 years of using different lights as simple hand holds and on rifles, Ive come to the conclusion that Surefire is not the end all, be all of lights.
Make no mistake, Surefires can and do break. What drives me crazy about the Surefires is how much the switches cost. I've never had a mishap, where I broke a streamlight and thought, wow, that wouldn't have happened if it was a Surefire. What I usually think is, wow, I'm glad that was a $150 rig and not a $400 one.
What I run a bunch is the Protac rail mount 2. It's slim and light and the model where the switch and tail cap are one piece makes things simple and the switch and tail cap package is cheap. Rather than having to keep spare parts or obscenely expensive switches, I keep a few of the tailcap/switch combos on hand.
If I were you, I'd rock the HLX. It's a damn good light. If you have the model that runs the switch with integrated tail cap, I'd just advise you to use some liquid tape, the stuff that dries like rubber, and reinforce the power lead where it comes out of the tape switch.
Skd tactical is 20% off today. Good time to score a modlite and ariska mount. Not cheap but definitely the best. They have surefire and streamlight also I believe.
Buy the light that does what you want it to do.
We are in the golden era of weaponlights. You can buy high candela lights, high lumen lights. Heads that run off of all different sizes of rechargeable etc.
These days you're basically choosing between a head that has longer throw versus a head that has more spill.
Light at night=data collection.
Figure out what you might be using the light for and buy accordingly.
If its a home defense light you're going to be just fine with that streamlight.
If its a predator hunting weapon and you want something with more throw, you're going to want to look into a higher candela head.
Anything made by man can and will break. I've had really good luck with surefire light heads and bodies but their switches have been hit or miss. I've had decent luck with the generation 2 modlite heads but the gen 1 heads all failed me. Modlite was super quick to offer solutions/repairs which was pretty nice.
I've had really good luck with Streamlight as handheld lights on duty. I haven't had the same success with their weaponlights on rifles. I've had flickering issues with a few of their HLX heads to the point where I stopped using them. I am in no way condemning the lights as they are a great value and more of them work than dont.
I am currently running Cloud Defensive weaponlights on my work rifles. I really like the "battery jack" feature. It's a really solid design that prevents the batteries from jostling under recoil.
We are in the golden era of weaponlights. You can buy high candela lights, high lumen lights. Heads that run off of all different sizes of rechargeable etc.
These days you're basically choosing between a head that has longer throw versus a head that has more spill.
Light at night=data collection.
Figure out what you might be using the light for and buy accordingly.
If its a home defense light you're going to be just fine with that streamlight.
If its a predator hunting weapon and you want something with more throw, you're going to want to look into a higher candela head.
Anything made by man can and will break. I've had really good luck with surefire light heads and bodies but their switches have been hit or miss. I've had decent luck with the generation 2 modlite heads but the gen 1 heads all failed me. Modlite was super quick to offer solutions/repairs which was pretty nice.
I've had really good luck with Streamlight as handheld lights on duty. I haven't had the same success with their weaponlights on rifles. I've had flickering issues with a few of their HLX heads to the point where I stopped using them. I am in no way condemning the lights as they are a great value and more of them work than dont.
I am currently running Cloud Defensive weaponlights on my work rifles. I really like the "battery jack" feature. It's a really solid design that prevents the batteries from jostling under recoil.
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Just because you say it, doesn't make it true! Unless you can show it to me in writing it is just your B.S.
I'll be running the streamlight till it breaks. Thanks for all the great advice guys!! I'm gonna check out the brands mentioned here. Great place to learn.
I did a bunch of research before I bought a weapon light for my 300BLK SBR. Having used Streamlight as well as SureFire flashlights when I worked in LE, I leaned a little towards SureFire due to 2 instances where my Streamlight flashlight just couldn't hold a damn charge.
I ended up going with the SureFire M640DFT and an Axon SL switch. The light is insanely bright and has not failed me yet when I have needed the light...
I ended up going with the SureFire M640DFT and an Axon SL switch. The light is insanely bright and has not failed me yet when I have needed the light...
Ah yes. Paralysis by analysis. Lol
After many years of “collecting” and using lights, I’ve zero’d in on Modlite for rifles. OKW 14.5”+ annd PLHv2 11.5”-.
Holosun and Surefire for pistol lights. Been pleasantly surprised by the Holosun PIDHD. Doesn’t hurt that PSA ran a sale on them for $79.
After many years of “collecting” and using lights, I’ve zero’d in on Modlite for rifles. OKW 14.5”+ annd PLHv2 11.5”-.
Holosun and Surefire for pistol lights. Been pleasantly surprised by the Holosun PIDHD. Doesn’t hurt that PSA ran a sale on them for $79.
I was solidly in the Streamlight camp until the two TLR-1 HLs I had in my safe BOTH broke at the battery cover hinge when I went through and changed batteries on all my gear as part of my annual swap.
Streamlight promptly replaced the parts, and I promptly sold them at a loss to pay for the Surefire alternative.
Streamlight promptly replaced the parts, and I promptly sold them at a loss to pay for the Surefire alternative.
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