Choose Tactical Weapon Lights from SureFire

A WEAPONLIGHT'S PURPOSE

A weapon-mounted light serves two primary objectives: (1) it provides illumination to locate and identify potential threats in low-light situations, (2) it generates enough light to temporarily overwhelm an aggressor's night-adapted vision without significantly degrading your own. There are other features to consider in selecting a WeaponLight, light, but if it can't accomplish objectives one and two, you don't want it.
(For information regarding your WeaponLight's place in the SureFire Law Enforcement Tactical Trinity™ click here.)

RECOMMENDED MINIMUMS

The minimum amount of light required to achieve objective number one (above) varies, depending on your application, the environment, and current conditions. But to achieve objective number two, SureFire recommends a minimum output of 60 lumens from an incandescent WeaponLight to temporarily blind a subject with night-adapted vision who is 10 yards or less from the light source. For an LED WeaponLight, we recommend a minimum output of 50 lumens in the same circumstances. This is because LEDs, in conjunction with a Total Internal Reflection (TIR) lens or a precision reflector, tend to project more of their light forward, thus lowering their minimum threshold of lumens in absolute terms.

IS MORE LIGHT BETTER?

Generally speaking, more light is preferable. But there are other factors to consider relative to your specific mission requirements:

An excessively bright light, in close-quarter situations, can bounce off walls, windows, mirrors, and other reflective surfaces and into your eyes, degrading your own night-adapted vision.
Higher light output usually requires more power, meaning more batteries, which can add weight to your WeaponLight. More weight means a heavier, less maneuverable weapon. The more your gear weighs, the more energy you expend transporting it, which can add up in combat conditions and training exercises.
High-output WeaponLights typically don't run as long as lower-output lights powered by the same number of batteries. A shorter runtime means you'll consume more batteries and may necessitate carrying more spare batteries on missions.

For longer-range applications where you need a lot of output and extended reach, a very high output WeaponLight is probably the best choice. But for closer-range applications, a lower-output WeaponLight that meets SureFire's recommended minimums may be preferable.

BEAM PATTERN IS KEY

A tighter beam reaches farther into the darkness; a wider beam provides a broader field of vision but doesn't have as much reach. A tight beam is typically used for longer-range applications where you're more focused on what's off in the distance. Tighter beams with extended reach are achieved by using high-output emitters in conjunction with larger reflectors or lenses (Figure 1). A wider-angle beam is better suited for close-quarter applications where you're focused on what's immediately in front of and around you and peripheral vision plays a more significant role.

The beam on SureFire's closer-range WeaponLights (see SureFire X-series) gives you the best of both worlds. It features a tight central beam with enough surround beam to accommodate peripheral vision. Our mid-range WeaponLights (see Scout Light®) feature higher outputs and tighter beams but produce enough surround beam for a broader field of vision. And our longer-range WeaponLights (see Millennium Universal system) combine the highest outputs available with reflectors or lenses designed to maximize the beam's reach.

THE RIGHT EMITTER

Every SureFire WeaponLight, with the exception of our HellFighter®, features either a xenon incandescent lamp or a light emitting diode (LED) emitter. Many of our WeaponLight systems are available—or soon will be—in both types, as there are distinct advantages to both incandescent lamps and LEDs, which are outlined in the following paragraphs. And in 2009 SureFire introduced its V-Series WeaponLights, which use multi-spectrum LED that encapsulates both white light and infrared radiation in a single compact package capable of changing spectrum with the twist of a bezel.

All incandescent lamps feature a tungsten filament that will eventually break, either from excessive recoil or impact shock or from unavoidable and normal filament erosion. This is true even for SureFire's high-quality filaments shock-isolation systems. Also, an incandescent lamp is much less efficient than an LED, which means it depletes its battery power quicker than a comparable-output LED. But an incandescent lamp offers one distinct advantage over a white-light LED: It produces enough infrared radiation to be used with night vision devices (NVDs) when covered with an IR filter. So an operator can get both visible and invisible (to the naked eye) illumination from the same emitter at a relatively low cost.

Solid-state LEDs have no filament to burn out or break, so they're virtually immune to the effects of recoil and never need to be replaced. As mentioned, they're also much more efficient than incandescent lamps, so an LED will run longer on a set of batteries than a comparable-output incandescent lamp. For WeaponLight purposes, the downside to a white-light LED is that it produces negligible amounts of infrared radiation, so it can't be used with NVDs by placing an IR filter over it. There are special IR LEDs that can be used with NVDs, but a single white-light LED cannot provide both visible and usable IR illumination.

However, SureFire's new V-Series dual LED assembly solves that problem. Its solid-state white LED produces 70 lumens of blinding light and continues producing tactical-level light for up to two hours on a set of batteries. And with a twist of the bezel, the V-Series switches from white light to 75 mW of infrared light invisible to the naked eye but highly visible with NVDs, no IR filter required. The V-Series combines the efficiency and durability of LEDs with the functionality of incandescent, creating a whole new genre of WeaponLight. As usual, this cutting-edge technology is being implemented first by SureFire, the leader in illumination innovation.

SWITCH SELECTION

In high-stress situations, when there's no time to think, just to react, operating your WeaponLight needs to be second nature. An ergonomic, intuitive, fail-safe switch on your light is critical. You need one that turns on when you need it, off when you don't, and won't accidentally activate and give you away. A switch that does all of these things, and allows you to operate your light without sacrificing your shooting grip, is about as good as it gets. Every SureFire WeaponLight gives you all of the above.

Switch Selection Figure1

MOUNTING CONSIDERATIONS

How your WeaponLight mounts to the weapon is another important consideration. SureFire WeaponLights attach to your weapon in one of three ways. The mounting option available depends on the WeaponLight selected and the make and model of your firearm.

PICATINNY RAIL MOUNT

SureFire WeaponLights with this type of interface attach directly to a MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny rail with either a thumb-screw mount or a throw-lever mount. No matter which connection method you choose, you can count on secure attachment that won't come loose in the heat of battle.

BARREL OR TUBE MOUNT

This mounting method is for firearms without rails, or for those with rails but no available real estate remaining on the rail. The light attaches directly to the barrel, magazine tube, or gas tube, depending on the weapon.

REPLACEMENT FORENDS

SureFire Dedicated Forend WeaponLights replace your firearm's original factory forend. The light and switching are integrated into the forend without any exposed wires or cables.

A high-performance WeaponLight demands an equally high-performance power source. SureFire WeaponLights (except the HellFighter®) are powered by SureFire 123A lithium batteries. These 3-volt high-energy cells are powerful, affordable, disposable, and offer significant advantages over alkaline batteries, including: Battery

Longer shelf life
Better temperature tolerance
Higher power density
More voltage, smaller size
Superior voltage maintenance
Built-in fault/heat protection

To purchase SureFire 123A batteries click here.

Choosing A Long Gun WeaponLight