weapon mounted light?

[Lazarus09]

need some suggestions on these. I know absolutely nothing about them.
About an hour of runtime is what I'm looking for, with a bright light. not too concerned with the absolutely most bright light possible, just enough to clear an area easily.
I don't know if I want LED or incandescent.
Also I seem to think that AA batteries are more common. Any reason to get 123 instead?

I've had suggestions about mounting a g2 or a 6p to one but experience shows they can get busted out. anybody else experience this? or can they work well?

thanks for the help

 

[Lazarus09]

oh btw this is for an ar-15 and it was indirect experience

 

[highorder]

get an Incandescent 123a powered light. Incans "throw" better; ie they have more range than a LED.

a SF G2 or equivalent will do fine for most people.

 

[PPGMD]

Incandescents are dead, they break, use way more energy per the amount of light delivered, and their throw is debatable.

Compare the 6P to the 6PL

6P
60 Lumens
1 hour run time
2 batteries
Bulbs that burn out and break

6PL
60-80 lumens
10 Hours run time
2 batteries
The LED head can break, but it's very very rare and should be covered by the Surefire warranty.


Anyways 123 powered lights are much more common, they are generally lights designed for hard use, and have accessories to attach them to weapons. I would get a 6PL and put a click switch on it, and use one of the many light mounts to attach it to your AR-15. If you have issues with busted heads switch to the shock isolated bezel (Surefires are like legos you can upgrade your lights after the fact).

 

[possum]

welcome to thr.

for weapon mounted handgun lights i use the streamlight m3/and m6's. the surefres are nce to the x300 but i don't have one yet. 65 lumens is the standard and as long as you are pushing at least 65 lumens you are g2g.

as far as weapon mounted lights on an ar there is nothng wrong with the surefire g2 series on there, that will work. i have a g2 and a g2z they both work and they are both brght and they have there place. my issue m4 wears a surefire scout light. they are smll light weight, brght and all but they are not my favorte ones out there but they do work fine. as far as a light "getting busted out" the surefires plastic and steel are tough as nails. it took an m1151 hmmwv rolling over to destroy my first scout light. and yes am serious i have the pics if you want to see.

 

[Lazarus09]

thanks for all the help and the welcome.
So I think I'm going to go with the G2 LED but I have another question.
according to surefires website the G2 LED has 80 lumens for 12 hours, using two batteries.
But the G3 uses 3 batteries and has 80 lumens for only 9.42 hours. is something wrong here or is this correct?

Oh btw possum, I noticed your signature says you got an operator 1911. I don't know if I am right about this but I think I seen a stainless steel operator that had a blued finish. am I mistaken here or did I really see one? it was about the prettiest 1911 I ever seen.

 

[PPGMD]

Not sure why that is, my 6PL has at least 8 or 9 hours on the batteries, so the batteries lasting 12 hours shouldn't out of the question, the G2 with it's plastic tube, lowers it's output sooner then the 6PL because the plastic doesn't shed heat as fast.

 

[black bear]

Don't count in getting 12 hours of 80 lumens light out of the G2L or 6PL or similar LED's.

They will drop out of regulation at about 4 1/2 hours, the rest of the time is 50 % output and going down as the table here shows.





Best regards
Black Bear

 

[Tomac]

Streamlight TLR-1 works for me (I currently have 5 total on my pistols, rifles & shotgun): 80 lumen output, LED for no breakage/burnout worries, decent enough battery life & a remote backplate & switches are available for longarm use if desired. Running about $100 nowadays.
Tomac