#WeaponLights

When you start straying away from bone stock rifles without lights and start putting things like IR illuminators, weapon lights, and switches on your gun, cable management can be absolute hell to deal with. Strike Industries has just introduced their new Link Cobra foregrip which incorporates a cable management system allowing for a more streamlined platform that should reduce the risk of your cables getting in the way or getting snagged on things they shouldn’t.

If you run a light on a long gun, odds are you’ve wrestled with cable management issues before. Although these headaches can be circumvented by only using a clicky tailcap, or buying a Cloud Defensive OWL, these types of solutions won’t work for every gun or every shooter. Sometimes, you just need a remote switch – and that means cables. In the past, keeping your wires in place has often meant using velcro, tape, or zip ties. Unfortunately, most of these cobbled-together setups come with their own problems. Cloud Defensive’s REIN weaponlight actually provides a solid cable management solution built right into their remote switch’s mount. However, in most cases and with most other makes/models of lights, additional routing/securing hardware would be exceedingly useful in preventing snags or damage to your light’s wiring. Enter Arson Machine Co., with their WireGuide cable management system.

It wasn’t long ago that if you wanted a light on your rifle, it was SureFire or nothing. With their company history stretching back nearly a half-century and key innovations in weapon-mounted flashlights beginning as early as the 1980s, it’s not hard to see why they were the kings of this particular hill for so long. In recent years, however, the market for tactical illumination has exploded. Usage and demand have soared, and as a result, many younger companies have arisen to challenge the SureFire giant. While this process has given us a veritable ocean of lesser products, it has also featured some phenomenal lights from other manufacturers. While SureFire still offers many excellent weaponlights, they no longer sit alone on the top shelf of this realm. For my money and from my experience, two companies, in particular, have emerged as the most capable direct SureFire long gun light competitors, in the majority of applications: the PLH and OKW models from Modlite, and the OWL and REIN lights from Cloud Defensive.

On the eve of 2020, everyone should be comfortable with the idea of adding weaponlights to pistols and rifles that are used as tools for protection. Forget the sun going down: walk into a building, into a parking garage, under a bridge or into the woods from bright daylight and a quality weaponlight may give you an advantage in a defensive situation. But before you decide to drop hundreds of dollars on a new supercandle (Copyright Pete, 2019), let’s take a look at some weaponlight considerations.

SUREFIRE Spotlight – The powerhouse illumination company is moving their focus towards their core principles of designing extremely bright, durable and practical flashlights as well as listening to requests from current and prospective customers. Visiting the SUREFIRE booth is always one of my first stops at the annual SHOT Show, and this year didn’t disappoint. Besides launching new models, the California based company has improved several previous models to increase lumens, in some cases double that of previous years, as well as improve beam throw.

While the battle against the Islamic State by international forces has focused on the Syria/Lavant region of the world, it’s easy to forget there are other conflicts being waged around the world. For example, the Maute terrorist group in the Philippines has pledged allegiance to IS, leaving military forces with a steady flow of firefights. To help in their fight, the Philippine Marines just received their first shipment of weaponlights and suppressors from Surefire.

Finally(!), Blackhawk has released a holster that is compatible with lights other than their proprietary weaponlights. The new Blackhawk EPOCH Level 3 holsters are designed to be compatible with a variety of light systems including Streamlight TLR-1 & TLR-2 and Surefire X200/X300 light/laser systems.