$35 weapon lights, recoil affected?

[NobullSKS]

Recent purchased from the big rock candy mountain…"Elfgo" pic rail pistol light.
600 lumins, CR123 battery…. CREE LED (2 hour run time) ….. if all is true, then good. Not quick release… need Allen wrench (a feature I believe is more$)

People with money, or are better managing it than I say budget lights are garbage and will fail right out of box.
I don't have "O light" or Crimson trace or TRL money "RN" but wanted to put something on it. I struggle with $150 plus for a light in the style that I would think works for me. ($100 is 1K primers)
I know, I know…. Get what you pay for, "how much is your life worth", buy once cry once.

Anyone have success that they'll admit to?
I'll get around to it…. It's Just that I haven't had problems with knock offs or budget brands on much of anything. I have a few lights on AR rifles, 12g pumps, other autos…..worst case I've experienced was a cheap offset pic rail falling off pic mount. (Small set screws)

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[PORSCHE928S4]

I am even cheaper and do not use a light $100 is for diesel fuel lol !

 

[Unicykle]

Every time I settle I end up selling it for a loss and buying what I wanted and should've bought first. If you were talking about a 10x increase for a nominal upgrade that's one thing but you're talking about $40-$100 increase for a substantial upgrade. Just sell something your not using and buy a Streamlight off the internet at the next holiday sale for 90-150 bucks. my advice is to not waste your money on anything lesser quality then A Streamlight or better.

 

[Hueco]

Speaking of lights - I have a Fenix headlamp and small handheld light and quite like them.

Are any of their options good for weapon lights?

 

[Kruel J]

Speaking of lights - I have a Fenix headlamp and small handheld light and quite like them.

Are any of their options good for weapon lights?

I have a couple Fenix lights, haven't seen any WML offerings from them.

OP, good luck with your budget light. Hopefully it doesn't fail when you need it most.

 

[Hueco]

I have a couple Fenix lights, haven't seen any WML offerings from them.

OP, good luck with your budget light. Hopefully it doesn't fail when you need it most.

Fenix GL19R Rechargeable Weapon Light

The Fenix GL19R TAC Light is a 1200 lumen rechargeable weapon flashlight with strobe mode that quickly attaches and detaches to the rail.

www.fenixlighting.com

 

[NobullSKS]

I have a couple Fenix lights, haven't seen any WML offerings from them.

OP, good luck with your budget light. Hopefully it doesn't fail when you need it most.

Thank you for your prayers.

 

[Kruel J]

I'm honestly curious as to the long-term reliability of the light. Keep us posted.

 

[NobullSKS]

I'm honestly curious as to the long-term reliability of the light. Keep us posted.

Will do…
I'll put minimum 200 rnds through this weekend. I was just thinking of something to prevent out of battery with incidental muzzle press.
Also "hands free" light in general a good idea.

 

[TTSX]

My experience with cheap stuff is that it either breaks quickly or never worked well in the first place. I've had very cheap red dots come apart when attached to a shotgun and I frankly can't see the light you've got there being a long term solution. HOWEVER, if you only use it once in a while and don't beat the snot out of it it might do it's job when it needs to. It's only putting out light, after all... Not maintaining zero.

I wouldn't trust it, personally. There's a bare minimum acceptable level of quality to things and that quality doesn't have to be professional door kicker tough but it does have to be neglect proof and I don't imagine from my experiences with cheap stuff that this product will meet that low bar

 

[titsonritz]

I'd be curious how it holds up as well. Honestly, I'd be surprised and little impressed if it survived a two day pistols class. Good luck finding a holster.

I've killed three Streamlights, I'll never buy another other one or any other cheap WML. Surefire or bust for me. I was going to pickup a Modlite but since SF came out with their X300T I'll stick with them.

 

[bradsteen]

I treat budget gun-related electronics the same way I treat gambling - assume you'll end up with nothing, and be pleasantly surprised if it all works out. I could easily drop $50 on a night out with friends for drinks or dinner, so don't really mind risking the same $50 on the experience of trying new or "experimental" gear. Generally I use them as placeholders for significantly better gear, or to try out something different and see if I like it.

If I'm going to give something cheap and iffy a shot, I go on Midway, Optics Planet, CheaperThanDirt, Amazon, etc and filter search results to products with 4 stars or higher only. Then I only look at products that have a large number of reviews, and read the reviews to find feedback from people who sound like they know what they are talking about. I look for specific flaws and issues like zero loss, battery failure, recoil sensitivity, quality control issues, etc.

I've definitely had some misses, but have also had some surprisingly good finds, mostly in the optics department. Decent lights and lasers tend to be harder to come by - they are closer to the bang so they have to take more abuse than an optic. My rule of thumb is if it's in my budget, has 4 stars or higher over several hundred or thousand reviews, 5 stars at least 60% of the time, and feedback that sounds promising, I'll generally give it a shot. You can always return it if it sucks.

 

[Kruel J]

I'd be curious how it holds up as well. Honestly, I'd be surprised and little impressed if it survived a two day pistols class. Good luck finding a holster.

I've killed three Streamlights, I'll never buy another other one or any other cheap WML. Surefire or bust for me. I was going to pickup a Modlite but since SF came out with their X300T I'll stick with them.

My TLR-1 sits on a shelf in the safe, while my X300s are all mounted.

 

[Flopsweat]

I've had great results from Streamlight and Fenix. I can't remember the cheaper names, but I've killed a few sub-$100 lights.

The one exception is the mini lantern by Streamlight. Super compact and just as bright as a regular lantern, but they seem to hate moisture.

 

[titsonritz]

I've had great results from Streamlight and Fenix. I can't remember the cheaper names, but I've killed a few sub-$100 lights.

The one exception is the mini lantern by Streamlight. Super compact and just as bright as a regular lantern, but they seem to hate moisture.

That would be BS since they claim to be...

• IPX7 waterproof to 1m submersion; 2m impact resistance tested

 

[Flopsweat]

That would be BS since they claim to be...

• IPX7 waterproof to 1m submersion; 2m impact resistance tested

Well that's it then. I guess mine didn't fail.

 

[2506]

My opinion of buying cheap stuff:

"I am ver poor, therefore I must buy the very best."

 

[Member 53328]

Surefire X300. The only pistol mounted weapon light I trust. They are kinda like Glock. They don't break and always work.

 

[Stomper]

If you just gave up your habit of hookers & blow for one week and then combined the savings from that with what you spent on "budget" stuff you would be able to afford top-shelf kit, a WML in this case.

 

[bradsteen]

If you just gave up your habit of hookers & blow for one week and then combined the savings from that with what you spent on "budget" stuff you would be able to afford top-shelf kit, a WML in this case.

But maintaining a habit of hookers & blow supports the local economy! Times are hard, yo!