ROSCH Works SL1 Front Sight/Light Reivew

AR/M4 AR General Discussion
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The SL1 by ROSCH Works is a combination front sight and weapon light in one lightweight, very well thought out, rugged, compact, and ergonomic package. I’ve had it for a little over a month now and ran it on two rifles both during the day and night. Here’s what I’ve found so far….

Pros:
-Well thought out. Mounting, operation, and zeroing are simple and straightforward.
-It’s probably over engineered. 7076 T6 aluminum body. Finished with type III anodizing and cerakote on the body/tailcap. Type III anodizing only on the bezel. Steel components (sight post/bolts) are melonited for corrosion resistance and surface hardening.
-Malkoff driver. CREE XP-G2 6200k temp output. It’s a good balance of throw and spill. The spill is especially impressive (see video below).
-Mounts to any 1913 style rail.
-O ring sealed on the front and back end for water resistance
-3.2oz (with single CR123 battery), 3.4’’ length
-Comes with hex wrench and sight adjustment tool along with loctite. Loctite isn’t needed due to the design but out of blind obedience to my old platoon sergeant I loctite everything anyway….
-250 lumen output with a 50 minute run time (at that output; it will run with a diminished output much longer).
-Mounts up at the 12 o’clock position.
-Usable from cover/barricades
-Low likelihood of snagging on slings/gear
-Shadowing at the 6 o’clock position
-Easy activation with either hand
-Cost. $235 shipped which in my opinion is very reasonable for the quality of the components you get and what it would cost for similar components (front sight, light, possibly a mount) of similar quality.
-Constant on, momentary on, and lock out are the modes. Very simple which under stress is generally your friend.

Cons:
-The tailcap design may lead to flickering under recoil of heavy calibers. I didn’t experience it on my 5.56 ARs nor did I get it when hitting the buttstock on the ground but ROSCH Works says it can happen so I’ll take their word for it.
-The standard tailcap is not compatible with aftermarket tailcaps.
-ROSCH Works is developing a tailcap adaptor which will be compatible with Surefire E-series tailcaps. This will fix the issue above (if it’s perceived as an issue). It will also allow for pressure switches to be ran.

All in all, it really is a great product and it seem like ROSCH Works has a winner on their hands with their first product released to the marketplace. In the video below I do a little shooting (day/night), discuss & demonstrate the features of the light, and go over what I think of it overall:

//youtu.be/831Orr78sts

On an unrelated note to the mods: The new site is great.

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Nice review, as always!

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Thank you.

4

I really respect the honesty of the manufacturer. They got in front of the flicker quite well, explaining when it might happen so that customers can decide ahead of time if this is a problem for their intended uses.

Their choice of Malkoff light modules also shows they aren’t cheaping out on these. They certainly could’ve sourced a much cheaper imported head to reduce the price or make more money, but they didn’t. I’ve put my Elzetta through pretty aggressive testing, and the Malkoff keeps trucking along.

Great video, as always!

5

I get the concept but dang it…its ugly

6

I enjoy your channel as well. Great work!

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Lol, I am not sure I really like the way the sight ears look stand alone, but the sight picture looks great through BUIS.

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I like it too.

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9

That’s really a very elegant solution to a pretty common problem. It’s only ugly because we’re not used to it.

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Would a 9mm be considered a heavy caliber? The recoil impulse is rather harsh.
Trying to figure out if this is worth the venture over the X300 w/ Tangdown option.

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No, as long as you’re talking about a standard blowback 9x19 AR carbine, that’s a pistol-caliber and very soft-shooting and low noise compared with 5.56. Heavy caliber in the sense we’re using here is really not the bullet caliber per se, but the propellant charge.

Although we’ve discussed recoil-caused flashes inherent in the design of the SL1, it isn’t a problem in practice, for two reasons. First, it hasn’t been found so far on any gun tested. Second, let’s say (hypothetically) someone sets up a 12 gauge bullpup shotgun with an SL1 on the front and finds that it flashes on each shot, what’s the problem really? It’s not like the momentary flash from the SL1 was the only clue that gave away your position.