I am looking for a super duty light to put on my patrol rifle. How does streamlight compare to surefire for hard use? I have the Streamlight TLRs on my personel weapon but want one for work. What other options are there that are better than these two? Has Streamlight met the same level of durability as Surefire?
I have my Streamlight TLRs on the left gas tube rail of my ak. I am a righty shooter and it tends to light up my sites and blind the enemy. Is there a better place to mount a light?
I run the stream light on my RRA at 6 o’clock.
I will be changing that soon to a 12 o’clock position.
I like the light and it’s price was right. I’ve had it on my primary rig and I’ve put that through some hard training in 4 seasons of weather without any problems.
I’ve got a TLR-1 (C4 Cree) and a few X300’s. I do prefer the X300’s for rifle mounting because of the momentary ability pushing inward, and it’s very slightly lower stance under the front iron sight. The U/P attachment is good, but could be better.
The TLR-1 is a much, much better value. Brightness is pretty much equivalent, battery life is good, durability isn’t an issue. changing batteries is more complicated, but the switching has some definite advantages. At half the price, I see no reason not to get one. At most, you lose a dozen bucks reselling it.
As far as mounting locations - I really prefer 12:00, though other guys seem to get by using 3:00 or 9:00 mountings with them. With the AFG, it seems to work very well for me up top, just in front of the front sight.
Another TLR-1 at 12 o’clock here…
Bimmer
I currently have a Streamlight TLR-1 that I keep on my “night stand” gun a G17. I also mount it to my my Colt via a Troy MRF-C at the 3 o’clock. The more that I read from “dialed in” end users the more I hear about problems with the Streamlights an Insight lights. There are several threads on this forum that hint to this but no one has elaborated on the matter. Several Industry Professionals and Subject Matter Experts are who I am referring too.
I still want to know what problems have been encountered with the Streamlights and Insights as they are easier on the wallet than the Surefires. I was looking at getting an M3X from Insight until I came across some of the comments that I mentioned above. So if anyone could inpart their experiances with us Streamlight / Insight owners it would greatly appreciated.
X300 is a better made product with better options (like pressure pad rail mounts and switches).
C4
tlr 1 has a remote switch too
Yep, but they are not the same quality as the SF ones.
C4
I have 1 of each of the lights mentioned. Both running on pressure pads and neither stands out as better than the other. Regardless of the conditions or evolutions I have taken them through over the years.
Therefore; for me it’s a wash coming down to size/ cost.
This is the only place i can separate them and truth be told size diff is not even all that much of a factor… so $$$$ becomes the real point.
Unless something has changed recently, I have never seen a Streamlight switch (XT, SR, DG Style) match up in quality to SF’s options.
The locking system the TLR uses is suspect as well IMHO. We see them shoot off in classes often.
C4
How do you mount a tac light in 12 o clock position and still use your sights?
Mine’s on a barrel-mounted bit of rail, just in front of the FSB. The line of sight is well above the flashlight.
There’s a photo thread of flashlight mounts here somewhere, and some people have used Hahn mounts to do something similar…
Bimmer
DG Switch >> any ITI or streamlight options. I have an old one that’s seen much abuse, still fantastic. The attachment options are also very nice, I prefer the U/P system for how I use my X300’s.
There’s no argument that the X300 is a better light… is it twice as good for guys on a budget? For a lot of guys, that’s a no.
I’m very curious about how the TLR’s would shoot loose - not much of an issue for a HD weapon, but I’m amazed they didn’t recycle and improve the older rail grabber for a better result.
I’m curious about this, too.
I can imagine that the coin-slot screw could loosen itself, but I have a hard time imagining that the entire light would fall off the rail…
Grant, can you enlighten us, please?
Bimmer
operator error.
i wont buy into the surefire hype. they make a good light dont get me wrong but the amount of money they charge is not worth the antiquated technology.
Bingo!
C4
I would actually look at it the other way. I don’t buy SL’s hype. They rarely post lumens ratings and if you read flashlight geek forums, their rating are always over the top. SureFire always under rates their lumen output.
It is true that SF products are expensive, but if you find the right dealer that offers discounts, it isn’t so bad.
As with anything, you get what you pay for.
C4
I do think that the TLR-1 is a good bugdet oriented light.
If you are going to shoot say a low light class and you don’t loctite the screw on the TRL-1, you have a good chance of seeing it in the dirt.
Loctiting it of course fixes the mount issue, but if you need to get the light off in a hurry, you might have just screwed yourself.
C4
actually there not. streamlight has a habit of under rating there lumens. i dont buy into either of there hype really because they both use old tech and new tech prices. show me one surfire that can compete with jet beam for options and price and quality. the only reason i own a tlr-1 is because there isnt alot of people that make them. infact streamlight has two up on the x300 now with strobe and price. and for every surefire discount there is a SL discount too. for a rifle light i wouldnt touch either brand because they are over priced and deleiver sub par preformance.
show me a surefire that puts out 220 lumens on high runs for 3 hrs and has infinite adjustability, a strobe and a beacon all in a G2 size light and surefire will charge 1300 dollars for it…no thanks. they are a victim of there own hype kind of like harley.