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Posted: 5/30/2023 12:48:55 PM EST
[#1]
Quote HistoryQuoted: My 600ish lumen miniscout do! Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: One of my rifles has a 60 lumen 6P on it that I haven't upgraded with a Malkolf head yet. It's honestly not terrible. It has good throw relative to the small lumen number. I think my brightest rifle light is 600 lumens. It works well enough for what I do. But having said that, I would like something that will burn retinas out at 200 yards as well. My 600ish lumen miniscout do! |
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Posted: 5/30/2023 1:39:18 PM EST
[#2]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Details on the head you are using? Because my 600 lumen Scout M600 Ultra isn't that impressive by current standards. A Cloud light blows it away as far as throw. M340 DFT Its a hoss. Here it is compared to my fullsize rein 3.0  Cloud Defensive REIN 3.0 vs. Surefire M340 DFT |
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Posted: 5/30/2023 1:40:19 PM EST
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I remember buying a 6p and a 9p. It was the epic lights to have. Then putting in the HO 9p bulb. You only got 20 minutes of batteries. But hot damn it was an epic 20 minutes. That was like 100 lumens, right? Felt like the Eye of freaking Sauron back then. That and the gargantuan Millennium Surefire that took 3x CR123 and had cooling fins and shit. |
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Posted: 5/30/2023 1:44:58 PM EST
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted: That was like 100 lumens, right? Felt like the Eye of freaking Sauron back then. That and the gargantuan Millennium Surefire that took 3x CR123 and had cooling fins and shit. I had one of those thiccbois. 220 lumens with MN11. It was insane how bright that was. Wild. Of course...a 20 year old perceives ambient lighting about 30-40% brighter than a 40 year old, I believe, so...there's that. We lose a lot with age, subtly. Im sorry if personal attacks in tech arent allowed, but I said ahat I said. |
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Posted: 5/30/2023 2:18:38 PM EST
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted: M340 DFT Its a hoss. Here it is compared to my fullsize rein 3.0  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeti7XuqUto |
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Posted: 5/30/2023 8:43:07 PM EST
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted: That video just makes me want the Cloud more. Thanks for posting it. Now I just need to pony up for one of them. The 3.0 is the hottest light Ive tested in that size factor and format so far from a quality American based company. |
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Posted: 5/31/2023 6:15:10 AM EST
[#7]
@gambleandlost Yes, but it also depends. For example I have 3 different 500lu lights with widely different purposes & patterns.
Light 1: TLR7a 500 lu, good spill, solid compact pistol light Light 2: SF X300u, decent throw, less spill than my tlr7a, works well up to 50 yds at night Light 3: Arisaka E3XT, 55k candela & 500 lu, good throw with a smaller hotspot, not too much spill, this is mounted on a 16" 556 rifle @GrizzlyAdams has it right, move them to backups & upgrade as you can. |
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Posted: 7/13/2023 11:05:51 PM EST
[#8]
500 Lumen lights are still relevant depending on the lights intensity (candela). I've done some night shots of several lights that are either 500 lumens or slightly over 500 lumens.
The lights that were tested were Malkoff E2XT, Modlite Legacy-Flood, and Surefire M640DFT Turbo. The images you see are approximately lighting up 50 - 60 yards away. You can see that the Malkoff E2XT has a brighter hotspot than the Modlite-Flood that has more lumens. This is due to the fact that the Malkoff E2XT head has more candela than the Modlite. Ultimately it comes down to your application. For my purposes, I need a more floody light than a throw light because I work in mostly close distances and I would prefer to light up the entire room rather than sections. First photo is a Malkoff E2XT (500 lumens & 55,000 candela)  2nd photo is a Modlite Legacy Flood Light (850 lumens & 44,000 candela)  3rd Photo is a Surefire 600 Turbo (700 Lumens, 100,000 Candela)  |
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Posted: 7/15/2023 2:42:22 PM EST
[#9]
Here is the question OP. Do you find your current WML lacking? My guess is probably not. 500 lumens is a decent amount, and the wide flood/spill is perfect for inside the home or shorter distances.
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Posted: 8/14/2023 8:50:33 PM EST
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Iraq and Afganistan were taken down in 2002-2003 by rifles with 65lm Surefires and Pentagon lights. I'd only upgrade a light if its going to be used outdoors at some distance, and focus only on Candella as thats what determines effective range. In your house the old 65lm from Iraq would still work fine; 500lm is way beyond fine in a house. BINGO |
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Posted: 8/14/2023 8:55:06 PM EST
[#11]
More Lumens isn't always better
If I'm indoors I don't want more than 500. Depends on how you're using it. |
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Posted: 8/15/2023 4:47:00 PM EST
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted: BINGO Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Iraq and Afganistan were taken down in 2002-2003 by rifles with 65lm Surefires and Pentagon lights. I'd only upgrade a light if its going to be used outdoors at some distance, and focus only on Candella as thats what determines effective range. In your house the old 65lm from Iraq would still work fine; 500lm is way beyond fine in a house. BINGO Yup. And my g2 was duct taped to my SAW. |
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Posted: 8/15/2023 11:03:54 PM EST
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I had one of those thiccbois. 220 lumens with MN11. It was insane how bright that was. Wild. Of course...a 20 year old perceives ambient lighting about 30-40% brighter than a 40 year old, I believe, so...there's that. We lose a lot with age, subtly. Im sorry if personal attacks in tech arent allowed, but I said ahat I said. I run an MN11 in my night rotation, driven by a pair of 18650 cells. Outstanding white light and decent throw. Paladin |
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Posted: 8/21/2023 3:58:20 PM EST
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: BINGO Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Iraq and Afganistan were taken down in 2002-2003 by rifles with 65lm Surefires and Pentagon lights. I'd only upgrade a light if its going to be used outdoors at some distance, and focus only on Candella as thats what determines effective range. In your house the old 65lm from Iraq would still work fine; 500lm is way beyond fine in a house. BINGO I still have a Pentagon light around here someplace. They were going to give Surefire a run for their money until Surefire sued them out of existence. |
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Posted: 8/21/2023 4:12:17 PM EST
[#15]
The Turbo is designed for throw. I don't know of a lot of specific use cases outside of hunting, guard duty, etc, where throw is preferred to a wider beam. And I say this as someone who plans on buying a Turbo so that I can do more shooting in the winter.
Is someone getting more than 500 lumens out of a CR123? Because that would be news to me. A lot of the innovation is coming in the form of what you can do with high drain rechargeable batteries, which is also not everyone's use case. So, for example, I got a Modlite body so that I could run the mini rechareable cells with a Surefire 600DF head. So, in theory, same size as a Surefire Mini Scout, I should be able to push 1500 lumens. Well, not quite. In practice, there appears to be some vampire drain in the system, and the light is only ever at full brightness right after the battery comes off the charger. In practice, it rarely seems brighter than the 500 lumen Scout it was replacing. I love the form factor, and I may try again with their long throw head, but in practice, it was a lot of money for less convenience and borderline less performance. |
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Posted: 8/27/2023 12:04:53 AM EST
[#16]
The other component that's really important, especially on a weapon light is lux. You have a light which produces 1000 or more lumens but if the light is poor focused, it will not appear bright. You want high lux which means there is great throw.
I like Malkoff M61T and M91T. The latter has 19000 lux and 700 lumens. I find it very satisfactory. |
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Posted: 8/27/2023 7:30:39 PM EST
[#17]
I've got surefire m600df's on 2 of my ar's, which put out 1500 lumens and 16k candela. They create a wide hotspot and corona, but don't have much reach outdoors.
I decided to try out the Cloud Defense Rein 3.0 on my latest AR, which puts out 1250 lumen and 100k candela. It has a narrower hotspot and corona than the Scout lights, but not so much as to negatively affect its usefulness. And the throw is amazing. It can light up what someone's holding further than I can see with my naked eyes. I was hopeful about the new surefire m600dft, which puts out 700 lumen and 100k candela. The only thing that through me off was the total run time of about 2.5 hours, which sounds great, but at what cost. The throw is awesome, but the lower lumens caused the spot and corona to be very narrow. Personally, I'd rather have to swap batteries a little sooner and have a larger spot and corona. |
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Posted: 9/4/2023 4:33:13 PM EST
[#18]
I have a couple TLR1HLs and I think they are too bright for inside the house, but all the walls in my house are white so that just amplifies the light even more.
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Posted: 9/5/2023 12:56:41 AM EST
[#19]
I own a lot of lights. The 500 lumen Surefire X300U-A and M300C are both very relevant despite not having the greatest on paper numbers. I'm not sure how Surefire does it, but both lights punch above what they should. The M300C (and the M340C) are real gems in that they are incredibly small and light, yet very functional.
That said for a general purpose rifle light it would be hard to beat the Turbo Scout Lights. They have a strong spot beam that punches out to insane distance, yet with enough spill to do indoor work. The M340DFT is my favorite rifle light at this point with the M640DFT right behind it. Surefire's Pro mounting system is awesome; no need to buy an aftermarket mount and you can rotate the light to customize where you need it. Surefire switch compatibility opens up a world of OE and aftermarket options. Like the Turbos so much I sold my PLHv2 and bought an M640DFT and a second M340DFT. |
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Posted: 9/20/2023 1:36:18 AM EST
[#20]
When I started my LE career a 60 or 90 lumen Surefire on your long gun was awesome.
Sure, more is better but 500 lumpen’s is very serviceable for most applications That said my work gun has a X300 Turbo at 12 o’clock  Attached File |
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Posted: 10/31/2023 8:50:03 PM EST
[#21]
My 6p at 60 lumens is bright enough for home Defence. I do plan on upgrading the bulb one of these years but I still have several old bulbs new old stock.
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Posted: 11/3/2023 12:42:21 PM EST
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted: My 6p at 60 lumens is bright enough for home Defence. I do plan on upgrading the bulb one of these years but I still have several old bulbs new old stock. have someone shine a 200 lumen light at you from across the living room while you shine your 60 at them. report your findings. |
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Posted: 11/3/2023 1:38:27 PM EST
[#23]
most manufacturers lumens claims are about as accurate as the Federal unemployment and inflation numbers.
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Posted: 11/4/2023 1:44:41 AM EST
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted: most manufacturers lumens claims are about as accurate as the Federal unemployment and inflation numbers. Since the ANSI/PLATO FL1 standard was released things have improved dramatically. I got started in the light industry independently measuring output and runtime of flashlights. It was pretty much the wild west back in the early 2000's with manufacturers claims. |
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Posted: 11/4/2023 6:00:16 PM EST
[#25]
Can the light illuminate something in your yard from one end to the other? At least some of the street from your front door?
If so, I would say it’s good “enough”. |
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Posted: 11/4/2023 6:01:01 PM EST
[#26]
Can the light illuminate something in your yard from one end to the other? At least some of the street from your front door?
If so, I would say it’s good “enough”. |
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Posted: 1/22/2024 11:08:26 PM EST
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted: have someone shine a 200 lumen light at you from across the living room while you shine your 60 at them. report your findings. Much better to fire a firearm in a defensive situation than battle an opponent with weapon light intensity. YMMV, best whishes. |
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Posted: 2/10/2024 10:44:14 AM EST
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted: For self-defense rifles and carbines and outdoor use, probably not, but it's better than no light at all. For self-defense pistols-Yes, plenty of light. You are very likely going to be closer than 25 yards (much closer, actually). For police use-I don't think so. I am not an LEO, but if I was, I would want to be able to essentially "turn on the sun" at will I would have to agree with this. SD rifles and carbines I would want something better than 500 lumens. My handguns I normally run a TLR 7A on my EDC FN 509 compact and it works great for what I need in a EDC light. My night stand gun which is a FN 509 mid size I have a 1000 lumens TLR 1 HL which came with my compact when I bought and I like it because it will lights up enough of what I am clearing when I am moving around searching for things that go bump in the night and if I need to step out on the front or back porch it will light up my front or back yard and I can see across the street to my mothers house. Being prior .MIL and LEO and from what others have sai back in the early days of GWOT yeah we were knocking down dudes with way less brighter lights mounted on our M4's without to much of a problem. Now as we kept rotating in and out of country we started getting better and brighter lights and we were able to start putting dudes dicks in the dirt farther out more easier. When I was still .MIL and then after retiring and LEO yeah I wanted the brightest shit I could get to turn the night into day especially when you are out by yourself and backup was anywhere from five to ten minutes out when you are out in the county on those dark as roads. I'm in the market now to get some lights mounted on my personnel M4geries and my Remington 1100's which is a whole different headache trying to figure out what to get and where to mount them on those two unlike the 870 where you can get lights and swap out the front fore end. Again I still want the brightes lights I can get get and that I can still use CR 123's and rechargeable but that won't break the bank either. |
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Posted: 2/10/2024 11:26:19 AM EST
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I would have to agree with this. SD rifles and carbines I would want something better than 500 lumens. My handguns I normally run a TLR 7A on my EDC FN 509 compact and it works great for what I need in a EDC light. My night stand gun which is a FN 509 mid size I have a 1000 lumens TLR 1 HL which came with my compact when I bought and I like it because it will lights up enough of what I am clearing when I am moving around searching for things that go bump in the night and if I need to step out on the front or back porch it will light up my front or back yard and I can see across the street to my mothers house. Being prior .MIL and LEO and from what others have sai back in the early days of GWOT yeah we were knocking down dudes with way less brighter lights mounted on our M4's without to much of a problem. Now as we kept rotating in and out of country we started getting better and brighter lights and we were able to start putting dudes dicks in the dirt farther out more easier. When I was still .MIL and then after retiring and LEO yeah I wanted the brightest shit I could get to turn the night into day especially when you are out by yourself and backup was anywhere from five to ten minutes out when you are out in the county on those dark as roads. I'm in the market now to get some lights mounted on my personnel M4geries and my Remington 1100's which is a whole different headache trying to figure out what to get and where to mount them on those two unlike the 870 where you can get lights and swap out the front fore end. Again I still want the brightes lights I can get get and that I can still use CR 123's and rechargeable but that won't break the bank either. Check out the new Streamlight HL-X Pro; 1k lumens, 50k candela, can use std CR123's instead of proprietary batteries. I own two and am very pleased with them: Streamlight HL-X Pro |
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Posted: 2/10/2024 10:08:27 PM EST
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Check out the new Streamlight HL-X Pro; 1k lumens, 50k candela, can use std CR123's instead of proprietary batteries. I own two and am very pleased with them: Streamlight HL-X Pro Thanks for the link and I'll check it out. |
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Posted: 4/8/2024 8:28:53 PM EST
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Its funny, wasn't that many years ago that 500lumens would be considered fantastic/top of the line now we are asking if they are useless? lol OP - this is one of those situation where you can answer you own question. You already have the lights so run them at night in the types of environments that you would potentially use them for real in and see for yourself if they are "enough" As other have said, for HD (and within 50yrds) I think that's plenty for my purposes but you need to figure out what you need for your situation. It wasn't many years ago that most everyone talking WMLs had no idea what candela is |
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Posted: 4/22/2024 7:30:44 AM EST
[#32]
I’d like to see manufacturers concentrate on miniaturization. I’d gladly take something in the 500 lm range if it was Uber small and took up very little space and weighted almost nothing.
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Posted: 4/22/2024 7:47:09 AM EST
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I’d like to see manufacturers concentrate on miniaturization. I’d gladly take something in the 500 lm range if it was Uber small and took up very little space and weighted almost nothing. There's only so much the laws of physics will allow. Batteries with any runtime have size limitations as do emitters w/decent lumens/candela not to mention heat dissipation. The Streamlight TLR RM1 looks to be close to that limit yet still provide 500 lumens/11k candela: Streamlight TLR RM1 The Inforce WML is 450 lumens/10k candela and slightly lighter but I don't trust the polymer construction (ymmv). |
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Posted: 4/22/2024 10:11:36 PM EST
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Everyone should try their lights in their likely use scenarios. A 500 lumen light might not allow you to see past a lamp in your yard. Certainly not past headlights facing you in a road rage situation. One thing that surprised me was how long I had to move around to completely see under my dining room table with a Surefire 300V vs an Olight Balder. The cheap Olight is much better despite the Surefire having a nice hot spot. I’d like to have a 300V on my shotgun to serve as a point shooting cheater but a Baldr or X300 ultra is much faster for fast flash peeking around in the dark. And a lot cheaper. Who's pulling out a rifle for road rage? Wow |
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Posted: 4/22/2024 10:23:45 PM EST
[#35]
"Laughs in Rein 3.0 and MH-HC"
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Posted: 4/22/2024 11:03:39 PM EST
[#36]
Isn’t 500 lumens about the maximum you can get to fit on a G43X?
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Posted: 4/23/2024 6:49:03 AM EST
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I’d like to see manufacturers concentrate on miniaturization. I’d gladly take something in the 500 lm range if it was Uber small and took up very little space and weighted almost nothing. It's Chinesium, but on a lark - try it. I have been blown away by these little things. So cheap and lightweight I have a handful I just mount and forget. Being Chineseum, safe to assume their lumen ratings are probably inflated - but even so, pretty impressive for the cost and size. None of these take removable batteries, but instead run off of onboard USB recharged batteries - which means the higher amperage lithium tech, I assume - they are pretty bright - especially for the size. Chinesium lightest option. With a green laser. - $25. Lowest quality screws, but lightest and smallest. Say 350 lumen, but again, assume that's inflated. Still quite bright and will burn for an hour, before starts losing intensity much. That applies to all of them. This unit has no waterproofing on it.  
Similar, a little bigger, higher rated light. Better screws. Some waterproofing. 
Biggest, 700 lumen (claimed). 
Are any of these duty-rated? No. Are they good enough for someone on the cheap for the rare bump in the night? IMHO, actually yes. Don't expect everyone to agree. Chinesium weapon light and camera. The camera sucks, bit the light isn't bad. Heaviest one. It's thr only all metal one in this list - the others are plastic. 
The top first one is this small amd weighs 1.5oz total.  |
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Posted: 4/23/2024 11:14:45 AM EST
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted: It's Chinesium, but on a lark - try it. I have been blown away by these little things. So cheap and lightweight I have a handful I just mount and forget. Being Chineseum, safe to assume their lumen ratings are probably inflated - but even so, pretty impressive for the cost and size. None of these take removable batteries, but instead run off of onboard USB recharged batteries - which means the higher amperage lithium tech, I assume - they are pretty bright - especially for the size. Chinesium lightest option. With a green laser. - $25. Lowest quality screws, but lightest and smallest. Say 350 lumen, but again, assume that's inflated. Still quite bright and will burn for an hour, before starts losing intensity much. That applies to all of them. This unit has no waterproofing on it. www.amazon.com/dp/B0943CB34L Similar, a little bigger, higher rated light. Better screws. Some waterproofing. www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWYJXKGN Biggest, 700 lumen (claimed). www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQBJ57Q3 Are any of these duty-rated? No. Are they good enough for someone on the cheap for the rare bump in the night? IMHO, actually yes. Don't expect everyone to agree. Chinesium weapon light and camera. The camera sucks, bit the light isn't bad. Heaviest one. It's thr only all metal one in this list - the others are plastic. www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD974HBG The top first one is this small amd weighs 1.5oz total. https://i.postimg.cc/0j1KZb3N/20240407-115411.jpg Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: I’d like to see manufacturers concentrate on miniaturization. I’d gladly take something in the 500 lm range if it was Uber small and took up very little space and weighted almost nothing. It's Chinesium, but on a lark - try it. I have been blown away by these little things. So cheap and lightweight I have a handful I just mount and forget. Being Chineseum, safe to assume their lumen ratings are probably inflated - but even so, pretty impressive for the cost and size. None of these take removable batteries, but instead run off of onboard USB recharged batteries - which means the higher amperage lithium tech, I assume - they are pretty bright - especially for the size. Chinesium lightest option. With a green laser. - $25. Lowest quality screws, but lightest and smallest. Say 350 lumen, but again, assume that's inflated. Still quite bright and will burn for an hour, before starts losing intensity much. That applies to all of them. This unit has no waterproofing on it. www.amazon.com/dp/B0943CB34L Similar, a little bigger, higher rated light. Better screws. Some waterproofing. www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWYJXKGN Biggest, 700 lumen (claimed). www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQBJ57Q3 Are any of these duty-rated? No. Are they good enough for someone on the cheap for the rare bump in the night? IMHO, actually yes. Don't expect everyone to agree. Chinesium weapon light and camera. The camera sucks, bit the light isn't bad. Heaviest one. It's thr only all metal one in this list - the others are plastic. www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD974HBG The top first one is this small amd weighs 1.5oz total. https://i.postimg.cc/0j1KZb3N/20240407-115411.jpg Can it get through one magazine with the mount intact and the internals staying true? |
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Posted: 4/23/2024 1:07:31 PM EST
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Can it get through one magazine with the mount intact and the internals staying true? Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: I’d like to see manufacturers concentrate on miniaturization. I’d gladly take something in the 500 lm range if it was Uber small and took up very little space and weighted almost nothing. It's Chinesium, but on a lark - try it. I have been blown away by these little things. So cheap and lightweight I have a handful I just mount and forget. Being Chineseum, safe to assume their lumen ratings are probably inflated - but even so, pretty impressive for the cost and size. None of these take removable batteries, but instead run off of onboard USB recharged batteries - which means the higher amperage lithium tech, I assume - they are pretty bright - especially for the size. Chinesium lightest option. With a green laser. - $25. Lowest quality screws, but lightest and smallest. Say 350 lumen, but again, assume that's inflated. Still quite bright and will burn for an hour, before starts losing intensity much. That applies to all of them. This unit has no waterproofing on it. www.amazon.com/dp/B0943CB34L Similar, a little bigger, higher rated light. Better screws. Some waterproofing. www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWYJXKGN Biggest, 700 lumen (claimed). www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQBJ57Q3 Are any of these duty-rated? No. Are they good enough for someone on the cheap for the rare bump in the night? IMHO, actually yes. Don't expect everyone to agree. Chinesium weapon light and camera. The camera sucks, bit the light isn't bad. Heaviest one. It's thr only all metal one in this list - the others are plastic. www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD974HBG The top first one is this small amd weighs 1.5oz total. https://i.postimg.cc/0j1KZb3N/20240407-115411.jpg Can it get through one magazine with the mount intact and the internals staying true? Good question. So far so good but I have not subjected to real abuse. It's good enough to pass that test, but the point you raise on durability is a good question. I've run them a few range outings fine, but that's hardly very conclusive on that. I'll try roughing it up a bit next time to see. |
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Posted: 4/23/2024 1:46:43 PM EST
[#40]
Double
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Posted: 4/23/2024 2:10:22 PM EST
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Just move them to the backup, backup, backup rifle after you buy a new one. I thought I was the only one who did this. Parts handmedowns eventually wind up on airsoft/paintball guns, and after that they go on EE. |
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Posted: 4/23/2024 6:04:06 PM EST
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted: It wasn't many years ago that most everyone talking WMLs had no idea what candela is My first night shoot was with a 200 something lumen Surefire way back in the day. Looking back it’s comedy gold that me and 11 other assholes paid some jackass to “train” us on weapon light “use” outdoors. Bring a box of batteries and don’t expect to shoot past 7 yards or so. Learned absolutely nothing and it mostly focused on light discipline. I used to carry around some bajillion candlepower spotlight in my go to bag. If you held it right you could pressure the handle and a VFG together to be semi stable. It was definitely not a functional solution. It sure was good contrast to how bad weapon lights sucked back then though. |
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Posted: 4/23/2024 6:32:15 PM EST
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted: My first night shoot was with a 200 something lumen Surefire way back in the day. Looking back it’s comedy gold that me and 11 other assholes paid some jackass to “train” us on weapon light “use” outdoors. Bring a box of batteries and don’t expect to shoot past 7 yards or so. Learned absolutely nothing and it mostly focused on light discipline. I used to carry around some bajillion candlepower spotlight in my go to bag. If you held it right you could pressure the handle and a VFG together to be semi stable. It was definitely not a functional solution. It sure was good contrast to how bad weapon lights sucked back then though. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: It wasn't many years ago that most everyone talking WMLs had no idea what candela is My first night shoot was with a 200 something lumen Surefire way back in the day. Looking back it’s comedy gold that me and 11 other assholes paid some jackass to “train” us on weapon light “use” outdoors. Bring a box of batteries and don’t expect to shoot past 7 yards or so. Learned absolutely nothing and it mostly focused on light discipline. I used to carry around some bajillion candlepower spotlight in my go to bag. If you held it right you could pressure the handle and a VFG together to be semi stable. It was definitely not a functional solution. It sure was good contrast to how bad weapon lights sucked back then though. Heh. I did a 3- gun night shoot once. Paid over $200 to do it, and had probably 100 guys. I did get dinner. It was one of the most educational nights of my life. Showing up with an Amazon headlight and thinking that was fine, was beyond humiliating. I also learned that lasers at night, own the night. They are so very much not toys, At night. I was humbled very bad that night - and so glad I went, I learned a lot |
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Posted: 4/24/2024 2:14:08 AM EST
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted: The Turbo is designed for throw. I don't know of a lot of specific use cases outside of hunting, guard duty, etc, where throw is preferred to a wider beam. And I say this as someone who plans on buying a Turbo so that I can do more shooting in the winter. Is someone getting more than 500 lumens out of a CR123? Because that would be news to me. A lot of the innovation is coming in the form of what you can do with high drain rechargeable batteries, which is also not everyone's use case. So, for example, I got a Modlite body so that I could run the mini rechareable cells with a Surefire 600DF head. So, in theory, same size as a Surefire Mini Scout, I should be able to push 1500 lumens. Well, not quite. In practice, there appears to be some vampire drain in the system, and the light is only ever at full brightness right after the battery comes off the charger. In practice, it rarely seems brighter than the 500 lumen Scout it was replacing. I love the form factor, and I may try again with their long throw head, but in practice, it was a lot of money for less convenience and borderline less performance. Grab some vapcell m11 v2 batteries. Gold wrapper. |
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Posted: 4/27/2024 5:23:22 PM EST
[#45]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Can it get through one magazine with the mount intact and the internals staying true? Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: I’d like to see manufacturers concentrate on miniaturization. I’d gladly take something in the 500 lm range if it was Uber small and took up very little space and weighted almost nothing. It's Chinesium, but on a lark - try it. I have been blown away by these little things. So cheap and lightweight I have a handful I just mount and forget. Being Chineseum, safe to assume their lumen ratings are probably inflated - but even so, pretty impressive for the cost and size. None of these take removable batteries, but instead run off of onboard USB recharged batteries - which means the higher amperage lithium tech, I assume - they are pretty bright - especially for the size. Chinesium lightest option. With a green laser. - $25. Lowest quality screws, but lightest and smallest. Say 350 lumen, but again, assume that's inflated. Still quite bright and will burn for an hour, before starts losing intensity much. That applies to all of them. This unit has no waterproofing on it. www.amazon.com/dp/B0943CB34L Similar, a little bigger, higher rated light. Better screws. Some waterproofing. www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWYJXKGN Biggest, 700 lumen (claimed). www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQBJ57Q3 Are any of these duty-rated? No. Are they good enough for someone on the cheap for the rare bump in the night? IMHO, actually yes. Don't expect everyone to agree. Chinesium weapon light and camera. The camera sucks, bit the light isn't bad. Heaviest one. It's thr only all metal one in this list - the others are plastic. www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD974HBG The top first one is this small amd weighs 1.5oz total. https://i.postimg.cc/0j1KZb3N/20240407-115411.jpg Can it get through one magazine with the mount intact and the internals staying true?  Did pretty good by us. Held zero decently enough, for such a simple.home test at least. I still wouldn't call it duty rated. But random dude occasional home use rated on the cheap. Eh, kind of yes. It's also. 450 lumen *cough-bullshit-cough* (but pretty good all the same) light in there. |
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Posted: 4/27/2024 5:33:47 PM EST
[#46]
Despite popular sentiment that more is better, there definitely is such a thing as too much output for indoor use. Especially with light colored walls.
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Posted: 4/27/2024 5:40:22 PM EST
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I still have a Pentagon light around here someplace. They were going to give Surefire a run for their money until Surefire sued them out of existence. My old Pentagon light is my nightstand flashlight now |
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Posted: 5/3/2024 7:46:36 PM EST
[#48]
RLM 1 on my main AR & 870. No need for more IMO.
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Posted: 5/4/2024 7:48:42 PM EST
[#49]
Quote HistoryQuoted: For the theoretical shooting I might ever be involved with, the 600 lumen, hell even the one 200 lumen, G2X's I have are more than adequate for the task. Can someone with experience with the topic tell me why I'd ever need a 200 yard white light on a rifle? Legit question. |
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