New from SureFire at AUSA is the EB1 Backup and Backup Tactical.
Both rely on the same body and head but different tail caps. The Tactical Model features a two stage button with the first stop at 5 lumens and the second stop at 200 lumens. The “clickie” model incorporates a shrouded tail cap and in addition to the two settings, you can “click” the desired power setting.
That’s right, you get 200 lumens from a single CR123A for 1.3 hours. At 5 lumens it works for 37 hours.
FIrstLight USA has introduced a magnetic mount for their excellent Tomahawk light. This new mount is compatible with any Tomahawk tactical flashlight equipped with TRS. As you can see it allows the user to mount it to a vehicle or other ferrous surface for hands free use.
The cool thing is that it will adapt to a curved surface just as well as a flat one. It offers 180 degrees of rotation allowing the Tomahawk tactical flashlight to pivot while holstered and is available in three colors, black, tan or foliage green.
Here is the lowdown on the new Auto Pistol Light from INFORCE. You’re looking at 200 lumens for 1.5 hours with a single CR123A battery. Available late October.
We first showed you the new INFORCE Auto Pistol Light from Emissive Energy Corp during last month’s Maneuver Conference at Ft Benning. It offers 200 lumens of white light in a tight beam for close- to mid-range applications and balanced peripheral light for discernment of the surrounding area. The APL has a run time of approximately 1.5 hours using a single Lithium CR123A battery.
Designed with a straightforward, unique, bilateral and ambidextrous paddle switching system, the INFORCE APL affords left or right hand activation and natural finger movement from the weapon body to the switch to operate its momentary and constant modes.
Manufactured from fiber composite, the APL has a total length of 3 inches, width of 1.2 inches and weighs only 2.83 ounces, including the battery.
Currently it’s only available in Black although the yellow light on the show floor gave it a brownish sheen. Its integrated rail mounting system is compact, convenient, secure and easy to install without tools, utilizing a proprietary clamping system. The product ships with (2) rail mounting bars that accommodate GLOCK and MIL-STD-1913 rails.
Initial delivery is expected to be in late October 2012. US and International patents pending.
Adams Industries has really outdone themselves this week. They’re not offering one, but two products of the week. Both are not only great products that almost everyone can use but they’re also offering a great price.
The first item is a snap-on compass for night vision devices. It fits the PVS-7B/D, 6015, PVS-14 and several other models. The compass allows you to see the compass heading through the device.
The second item is CJ Engineering’s Phoenix JR 123. The Phoenix Jr is a low cost Infrared marker beacon that relies on a single CR 123 battery. It’s easy to use. Turn the battery upside down and it won’t activate. Designed as an individual Combat Identification marker employed to minimize fratricide (the inadvertent destruction of battle field assets by friendly forces), it can also been used as a vehicle ID marker, drop zone indicator and perimeter marker. There isa wire bale on the rear that fits right into your PALS webbing so mounting on your equipment is a snap. The cost is low enough that if you aren’t issued one, you can afford getting it on your own.
Photo – US Department of Labor
US Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis recently visited Bordentown, New Jersey’s Princeton Tec during a nationwide tour promoting American businesses. SHe called Princeton Tech “a true American success story” and assembled her own Spectrum custom headlamp program.
Solis addressed the company stating, “We bring back this renaissance in manufacturing, creating products that we can sell and compete with other countries and other businesses abroad.”
“By manufacturing in New Jersey, everyone benefits – from our employees to our retailers to the end user,” said Gerard Armendinger, Princeton Tec’s Global Marketing Director. “With the recent creation of our Spectrum custom headlamp platform, we’ve delivered a concept to our industry that relies 100-percent on U.S. production and communicates our business in real and understandable terms.”
Elzetta is offering a very limited number of their ZFL-M60 Flashlights in a dark GREEN hard anodized finish (this is true no-compromise Type III hard anodizing – the same process used on their standard black parts).
The Lights are available in their two best-selling configurations:
ZFL-M60-CS2D (Crenellated Bezel, Standard Malkoff M60 LED Module, 2-Cell Body, & High/Low Tailcap) and
ZFL-M60-CS2S (Crenellated Bezel, Standard Malkoff M60 LED Module, 2-Cell Body, & High/Strobe Tailcap)
Custom laser engraving from the Elzetta Custom Shop is available on these Lights.
Supply is extremely limited. Orders may be placed at http://www.ELZETTA.com
Today is a happy day. It’s sunny, 75 degrees, and I shot all day. After a few years of wishing it would happen and a few months of waiting, I got a small, lightweight, efficiently operated weapon-mounted light that that is almost as bright as the sun. SureFire recently released a couple of very practical lights that offer 500 lumens. I remember the day when I got my first 6P, at a whopping 60 lumens and 60-ish minutes of runtime on 2 CR123 batteries with it’s incandescent bulb. Drop in a P61 bulb and get a “scorching 120 lumens for 20 minutes of runtime” as SureFire’s specs state. If that’s scorching, they’ll have to come up with something pretty good for the lightsaber they just released.
We’ve come a long way since those revolutionary 6P lights from SureFire. The lights got brighter shortly after they released them, but they got bigger as well. You could squeeze 700 lumens out of the M900 Turbohead, but the light is 1.4 pounds and is integrated into a very large vertical foregrip housing. Now, we’re able to get a lot of light out of a small package with the P2X Fury series handheld and X300 Ultra weapon light. Each one operates on 2 CR123 batteries and offers a high-efficiency LED emitting 500 lumens of white light. Each one also gives you 1.5 hours of runtime, which isn’t too shabby for that much light.
The Fury series is roughly the same size as the 6P or G2 that may people are familiar with. There are a four current models, the functional difference of them being dual-output for the Fury and a single-output for the Tactical, Defender, and CombatLight models. Pushing the Fury tailcap alternates your output between 15 and 500 lumens, while the other three models give you a constant 500. At a suggested retail of $155, the light is a bargain. 500 lumens in such a small package is a LOT of light for the money. They’re built to SureFire’s usual quality standards, made of precision machined aluminum with a Mil-Spec hard anodized coating. They’re shock-resistant and fit in standard 1” ring mounts for weapon light usage. For around $175 MSRP, even less at street price, that’s by far the best value on the market in a light of that output level for your rifle. They’re also waterproof to boot, and can be found for a little over $100 at many online retailers. For that price, everyone should own a few.
The X300 Ultra just started shipping in the last couple of weeks and should start showing up at your retailer soon if they haven’t already. Almost everyone is familiar with the Surefire X200 and X300 series of lights. They’re the best pistol lights on the market, hands down. Released in 2007, the X300’s current form gives off 170 lumens, which is pretty respectable. Until now. The X300U pushes of almost 3 times that amount in a package roughly the same size. This really opens up the X series lights for use on a long gun as well, I never felt the standard X300 had the right beam shape or throw on a rifle. SureFire’s specs list them at 3.6 inches in length a piece, but the Ultra is about ¼ inch longer at the bezel, the main body being the same size. The diameter of the bezel is slight increased as well. The good news is that it will still fits all of the Safariland ALS/SLS holsters I tried in the holster bin. The bad news is that hard-molded kydex from many manufacturers will no longer slide in to their retention point. Raven Concealment Systems is already offering their holsters for the Ultra, and I’m thinking standard X300s will fit in the Ultra holsters just fine. Retailing at only $25 more than the X300 at $299, the Ultra is worth the price. Many retailers will sell them for considerably less as they come in stock I’m sure.
Bravo to SureFire to putting forth the effort to get these to the market. With the prices in the industry steadily climbing year after year, the Fury represents shows tremendous performance specs while keeping the price in the grasp of military and law enforcement users. The price increase of only $25 for the X300 Ultra means a huge performance boost at a relatively small price. I hope they continue this trend across their product line, I’m excited to see what comes up next. (cough 500 lumen Scout cough…)
Jon Canipe served on Active Duty with the US Army as a Special Forces Weapons Sergeant at 5th SFG(A) and was a Senior Instructor at the JFKSWCS, training SFQC students in planning, unconventional warfare, small unit tactics, CQB, and advanced marksmanship. He is a veteran of multiple combat tours, and still serves in the Army National Guard’s 20th SFG(A) in addition to working as an industry consultant and small arms instructor.
