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voyager9

Light for VP9

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Now that I'm a H&K fanboi, need to find a weapon mounted light. 

Streamlight TLR-1 or Inforce APL?

or other?  Sorry, Viridien seems out of my price range.  No need for laser  

i think both will extend beyond the muzzle when mounted. Just seems odd to me but maybe standard for a 4" barrel. 

The TLR is higher lumen and if HE has taught me anything, you can never have too much light (from rifle WML thread). 

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I had a Gen 1 Inforce light on my VP9, it shit the bed.  Inforce replaced it with a Gen 3.  I have not shot it yet, but the gun fits in the same Kydex holster that was designed for the Gen 1 light.   

Honestly, although I have the Gen 3 Inforce light i would probably recommend the Streamlight TLR1.  

And you can have too much light indoors, 200 lumens is more than enough for home defense use.  Outside the house?  Get as much as you can.

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TLR1 is fine. I use it on mine. As far as lumens go, my whole first floor has refections somewhere. Mirror over the buffet, china closet, chandelier, etc. I ran it through and had nothing bounce back in my eyes. Keep your eyes peeled. They are on sale quite often.


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Not sure what you are thinking of but if it were the other way around, the barrel or slide might cast a shadow. I'm sure someone else will chime in if I misunderstood. I have quite a few TLR1HL on a few of my guns. No prob with any.

00844532b524e42f457ac472b7869e18.jpg



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17 hours ago, Ray Ray said:

And you can have too much light indoors, 200 lumens is more than enough for home defense use.

Completely False.

500L is where it's at for a pistol light. More is better, even inside.

Here an example why:

Oh hello. Are you a good guy or a bad guy? I can't tell.... that's weird. It's daytime, and bright enough to see inside. I should be able to see fine. Why can't I see his hands? Oh, he's backlit by the sunshine outside the vestibule.

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What is he doing. Is he texting? Carrying something heavy? Does he have his thumbs hooked in backpack straps? My 200L handheld (SF G2) isn't cutting through the glare.

His posture is suspicious and he is an unknown. Maybe I should use my bright-ass weapon mounted light (X300U) instead and find out.

zVWBFZw.jpg

Oh shit!

You won't blind yourself, you won't distract yourself - that's all bullshit. Anyone who says that doesn't know what they are talking about and has never searched for a bad guy in a structure. Daytime, night time, dusk or dawn, there will be dark spaces in a structure. There will be backlit spaces. Light creates shadow so you need a light that you can move to erase those shadows and the light needs to be bright enough to be useful.

I've searched a lot of buildings looking for bad guys. I have 1000L on my rifle, 1000L on my handheld and 500L on my pistol. I've never ever wished for less light. I've wished for more plenty of times.

V9, my vote is for the SF X300U on any pistol. If they make a DG switch for your HK even better.

16 hours ago, voyager9 said:

Is it a problem that the light extends beyond the end of the barrel?  Problem isn't the right word. But it seems off.  

No - it is actually a bonus. It keeps the lens clear from burnt powder that can coat the lens and rob you of lumens. It also acts as a standoff if you are in ECQC and have to make a contact shot - it keeps the gun from going out of battery when you push the gun against your threat.

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27 minutes ago, High Exposure said:

It also acts as a standoff if you are in ECQC and have to make a contact shot - it keeps the gun from going out of battery when you push the gun against your threat.

If that ever happens I won't need a light to act as a standoff. Me shitting myself will do that.  I see your point though. 

From what I remember the X300U is quite a bit bigger and heavier than the TLR1 or APL. It's also quite a bit more. I know the sayings but cost is a factor ATM. That's why I initially was thinking one of the other two. 

The one thing I noticed is people seemed mixed on all the switching mechanisms. Some loved the APL while others hated the momentary/constant toggle. Others handed the not-quite-ambi controls of the TLR. The X300U controls looked the most cumbersome but that was based on YouTube. Personally I was leaning Inforce, if only because I have their WML on the AR and like it a lot. Want a WMLx but that's another thread. 

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I had a few TLR1s. Now I I have 5 X300U with DG11 switch. The DG switch is the most in-cumbersome switch out there, grab the gun like you are going to shoot and squeeze with your middle finger on your shooting hand. Even without the DG the toggle works well - Press in for momentary on either side of the switch. For constant on push the switch up or down on either side.

For me the X300U is the answer.

I tried the APL. Did not like it enough to switch.

If I couldn't get an X300U I would get one of the TLR HLs.

According to the manufacturers specs, the TLR at 4.18oz is heavier than the X300U at 4oz, the the TLR is .29" shorter. For all intents and purposes they are identical. As long as you have a holster that will fit your pistol with your light, a fraction of an inch or ounce doesn't matter.

The APL is a different story as it was designed for smaller compact size guns such as the G19.

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1 hour ago, Purple Patrick said:

Get a tlr for half the price and you will not regret it.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 

I regreted both of my TLR-1s (one issued and one bought) then I still had to buy an X300U. 

One shattered the lens on the seatbelt in my patrol car (this happened to a few of us).

The other had the switch give up the ghost after a few months. Seems being out in the weather in a holster wasn't so great for the light.

I have been using SF since. I bought 30 X300Us when they came out to replace the TLR-1s we had issued. Haven't had a single problem with one yet. 

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44 minutes ago, High Exposure said:

I regreted both of my TLR-1s (one issued and one bought) then I still had to buy an X300U. 

One shattered the lens on the seatbelt in my patrol car (this happened to a few of us).

The other had the switch give up the ghost after a few months. Seems being out in the weather in a holster wasn't so great for the light.

I have been using SF since. I bought 30 X300Us when they came out to replace the TLR-1s we had issued. Haven't had a single problem with one yet. 

 

For clarification purposes...are we talking more than one TLR-1 here or multiple failures of the TLR-1s. Important distinction.

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We ordered 30 TLR-1s for my PD and I had a personally purchased one as well.

We had enough problems with our lights that at my suggestion we switched everyone over to SF X300U.

Some lights had multiple issues, some had just one. A few were fine. There was enough of a problem that it was worth it to switch.

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Just now, High Exposure said:

We ordered 30 TLR-1s for my PD and I had a personally purchased one as well.

We had enough problems with our lights that at my suggestion we switched everyone over to SF X300U.

Some lights had multiple issues, some had just one. A few were fine. There was enough of a problem that it was worth it to switch.

And your experience with surefire thus far?

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I had a trl1 and trl3(maybe trl4) both crapped out on me in less than 2 years, the trl1 completely died the trl3 works but flickers off randomly while shooting.  Chucked them both for surefires its only been a year but i'm much happier with the surefire x300u.  I agree with too much light not being a problem, comparing the 2 side by side in my dark house the surefire just eliminates the vast majority of items that cast shadows.

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Hey, not for nothing, but if you are using these on duty or in your line of business every day, fine, I get it.

 

But if you are just using them occasionally, the TLR 'led' series will be fine. Not the old filament lamp style. Why shell out so much more.

 

I have several for years that have never given me one prob. Only one time did I have an intermittent flicker. The contacts were dirty. Cleaned them and its been fine since.

If you are tossing them away, give them to me. I'll rebuild them and make them better than they were. Better, stronger, faster! [emoji57]

 

 

 

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17 minutes ago, bhunted said:

Hey, not for nothing, but if you are using these on duty or in your line of business every day, fine, I get it.

 

But if you are just using them occasionally, the TLR 'led' series will be fine. Not the old filament lamp style. Why shell out so much more.

 

I have several for years that have never given me one prob. Only one time did I have an intermittent flicker. The contacts were dirty. Cleaned them and its been fine since.

If you are tossing them away, give them to me. I'll rebuild them and make them better than they were. Better, stronger, faster! emoji57.png

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

Fair point. But I want everything to work, bomber( climbing reference). And I know  3 is 2 ,2 is 1 and 1 is none.

yes @High Exposure that is in my head...

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I used that reasoning to explain to my wife that I needed PPQ now.  The couch is comfy. 

This thread is a great example of asking opinions on a forum.  A ton of great info that doesn't help make a decision at all. 

Though to be fair my original query has a clear result. TLR1 overwhelmingly over the APL. It's just that HE threw the X300U grenade. 

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21 minutes ago, bhunted said:

Hey, not for nothing, but if you are using these on duty or in your line of business every day, fine, I get it.

 

But if you are just using them occasionally, the TLR 'led' series will be fine. Not the old filament lamp style. Why shell out so much more.

 

I have several for years that have never given me one prob. Only one time did I have an intermittent flicker. The contacts were dirty. Cleaned them and its been fine since.

If you are tossing them away, give them to me. I'll rebuild them and make them better than they were. Better, stronger, faster! emoji57.png

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

The purpose of a weapons light for me will be home defense which is the same importance to me as ON DUTY.  I want my gear to work and be reliable as the professionals.  I'm sure i could fix my trls and probably will one day when i'm bored or have the time.  But i'd rather have a product that i trust more in my nightstand drawer.  I'm at the point in my gun owning where i'd rather spend the money and have the better/higher quality guns and gear.

 

3 minutes ago, voyager9 said:

I used that reasoning to explain to my wife that I needed PPQ now.  The couch is comfy. 

This thread is a great example of asking opinions on a forum.  A ton of great info that doesn't help make a decision at all. 

Though to be fair my original query has a clear result. TLR1 overwhelmingly over the APL. It's just that HE threw the X300U grenade. 

oh sorry were we suppose to be helping you decide something, lol i came into the topic without even reading your post. 

 

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For what it's worth, during knock down steel matches at Old Bridge I use my home defense Mossberg 500.  The TLR1 stays on during the match.  I've never had an issue with that light or any of the others that I own.

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