[Danzig]

I stumbled upon this video on YouTube. Some good points.

I’ve been running Streamlight TLR since they were introduced. I had the switch go out on one but it was covered and fixed by Streamlight. I run the Streamlight on my duty gun and other pistols as well as have a couple mounted on long guns. A great all around light. I own a number of Streamlight flashlights as well, all top notch products.
I have Surefire flashlights but no weapon lights. Surefire, I consider combat grade. I’ve never had one fail, I believe that’s what justifies their increased cost.
I have a couple of NightStick lights. I was working at the gun store when they debuted. Parent company is Bayco and they’ve been making lights for decades. I’ve had reliability issues with the flashlights. They are supposed to be warranteed though.
I have an Insight weapon light not the new one in the video. I like it but haven’t been hard on it.

 

[202]

I have a couple Streamlight flashlights, but no wml on my handguns (not now, not yet).
I try to balance runtime vs output, preferring a longer runtime vs a higher output.

 

[Danzig]

I have a couple Streamlight flashlights, but no wml on my handguns (not now, not yet).
I try to balance runtime vs output, preferring a longer runtime vs a higher output.

In reality you use a weapon light much much less than a flashlight so there’s that to consider as well. The one thing they didn’t really delve into is throw. I have a Streamlight Wedge that can hit 1000 lumens but it has little throw. It’s fantastic for building searches as it’s almost like a bright lantern. But trying to identify something out over 100 yards it’s not that good. My old 300 lumen TLR has better throw.
I believe the candella numbers are a better indicator on throw versus lumens.
They also didn’t touch on strobe. Strobe has proven to be a good way to disorient your potential foe. Makes estimation of distance harder for that subject as well.
Even as a cop using my weapon light was pretty infrequent.
If you were in a combat zone or did a lot of low light training or competition then runtime would be more important in my opinion.

 

[SixG17s]

And super high lumen output lights have a ton of bounce back reflection in close quarters.

 

[Danzig]

And super high lumen output lights have a ton of bounce back reflection in close quarters.

Surefire has come out with their intellibeam and I believe there’s another company offering a similar light, a solution to bounce back reflection.

This will probably trickledown over time and be a standard feature.

From the following article;
“If you’re not familiar with it, the Intellibeam is, for lack of a better term a smart light. It uses a sensor, a microprocessor and Surefire’s variable output capacity to constantly adjust its brightness to what’s around it — simply put, it reacts to the environment and ambient light levels. This means, for instance, that it will dim itself down if it realizes it’s in close proximity (to a wall, for instance, during a house search, or a ticket book on the side of the road) and brightens in intensity the darker it gets; and it actually manages to do so almost without a perceptible transition. The Surefire description describes the transition as seamless, which is a bit of exaggeration but is effectively accurate. If you’re watching for it you’ll see it, but it won’t impact the user. It cranks out 600 lumens, runs on 2 x 123A batteries and is big enough to tuck under your arm or whack someone in the head with it but not so big that most people couldn’t carry it in their pocket.”

A Flashlight That's Smarter than You | The Surefire Intellibeam | Breach Bang Clear

The Surefire Intellibeam is a *ahem* brilliant light. It's not a gimmick and it's worth the money -- just not to everyone. Here are our thoughts on it.

www.breachbangclear.com

 

[Genifour]

I just put a Streamlight TRL-7A on my Gen 5 MOS. It replaced the Inforce APLc.

I had one of the first TRL-7 and absolutely hated the buttons! So, I returned it. They fixed the buttons with 7A and I’ll be keeping this one.

The Inforce is a 200 lumen light and the TRL-7A is 500 lumen.

The best way that I can describe the difference is the TRL-7A makes the Inforce look like a key chain light.

 

[crish12]

I have a couple of Streamlight flashlights, and recently I have been using Streamlight TL Racker. I prefer more long runtime with higher output.