Cloud Defensive LLC from Chandler, Indiana, has just released what they claim is the most powerful and most durable complete weapon light system on the market. The name of the product is REIN and it has a field serviceable lens, a field-serviceable tail cap and electrically-isolated dual-switching for redundancy and it has both momentary-on and constant-on functionality. There is also a Micro version of the product. If you like to swim, it is waterproof, classed to IPX8 (100 ft for 24 hours).

Introduced at SHOT Show 2020, the new Inforce Wild2 handgun light is now available for purchase. This is a 1913/Picatinny and Glock rail compatible light that has an aluminum housing and 1000 lumen output with up to 1.5 hours of run time. The company describes this new product as a culmination of “years of listening, learning, and product development” and as a light that “combines traditional Inforce styling with best-in-class durability, a studied optimal-blend of throw and spill, and convenient activation by users with small and large hands alike“.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves meets with Surefire to talk about their brand new light made SPECIFICALLY for ultra compacts like the Glock 43X, Glock 48, SIG P365XL, and Springfield Armory Hellcat. Is the new Surefire XSC the best ultracompact light on the market today? You be the judge today on TFBTV.

SureFire is releasing a new series of micro-compact handgun weaponlights. The SureFire XSC comes in three different models to fit the following handguns: Glock 43X & 48, SIG SAUER P365 & P365 XL and Springfield Armory Hellcat. The body is made out of aluminum and the LED will give you 350 lumens with a concentrated hot-spot and surrounding spill. Battery-wise you get a rechargeable lithium polymer battery and a charger. You can charge the battery either in the charger or on the handgun.

By now most shooters are familiar with the major players in the weapon light game. Surefire set the standard, Modlite and Cloud Defensive continue to push the envelope, Streamlight offers viable budget-friendly alternatives, and a host of other manufacturers position themselves at various levels of the market. Pistol lights are one area that has seen increasing use and demand in recent years, as more people than ever are opting to outfit their defensive or duty handguns with an integrated source of illumination. While some buyers opt for lights like Surefire’s X300-U that extend beyond the gun’s muzzle, others value a more compact form factor like Streamlight’s TLR series, some of which include a visible laser. Now with the following press release a lesser-known company, Nightstick, has announced their own entry into the compact pistol light/laser race with the introduction of their rechargeable TSM-11G. The release reads:

Welcome back dear readers (and listeners) to our latest installment of TFB’s Behind The Gun podcast featuring informative conversations with firearms industry leaders and experts in their field. Today we welcome our friends at SureFire, Andrew Wright and George Syrengelas, to talk about illumination, lasers, suppressors and more. Both of these guys are a wealth of knowledge and we were lucky to steal some time from them at the 2020 SHOT Show. Enjoy the listen.

Thyrm has just introduced its latest update to the SwitchBack flashlight ring platform – the SwitchBack DF. The  Thyrm SwitchBack turns your compact flashlight into a flexible, tactical tool. Attaching a SwitchBack to your tactical flashlight allows you to use your handheld light while still maintaining a two-handed grip on your handgun.

Every week, I talk about various topics and ways to improve your skills and be a benefit to society every day. One thing I haven’t done is take an in-depth look at my daily carry items and explain why I chose them over other choices. I’ve spent years going through different guns and gear figuring out what works best for me, so hopefully, it will give some of you a different perspective and motivate you to look at your own carry loadouts. I carry a few different firearms throughout the year but decided to focus on my top 3 carry loadouts I use the most often. Let’s take a look at my most common concealed carry setups.

Flashlights and firearms are inextricably connected. Weapon-mounted lights are often affixed to AR-15s, pistol-caliber carbines, sub guns, defensive shotguns, pistols, and more. Many handgun carriers also carry standalone flashlights, either instead of weapon lights, or sometimes even in addition to them. Light manufacturers are always coming out with new and improved models that offer more lumens, greater candela, or other benefits. Since their founding in 1973, Streamlight has spent nearly a half-century growing into a leading supplier of these illuminating tools. Now with a July 14th announcement, they have introduced the latest addition to their law enforcement-focused offerings: the new Duty-Ready Stinger 2020. Read the full press release below.

Streamlight have introduced their new and improved TL-Racker shotgun forend weapon lights. The TL-Racker boasts a 1,000 lumen brightness, a sleek design available in black and orange, ambidextrous switches and it’s mountable to the Mossberg 500 and 590 series as well as the Remington 870.

For a specific end-user that wanted to rule the night, Surefire designed the XC2-IRC. The unit remains unnamed, but they had a requirement for a very compact IR light and IR aiming laser in combination.

Notice there are two cross sections that also came with the light marked P and U. P again stands for Picatinny and U stands for Universal. I chose the universal and it worked well for my Glock 19 lower. Add the crossbar as shown and press the mount into place.

One of the most convenient and compact pocket lights out there, in my opinion, is the Streamlight Stylus Pro series. The first iteration of the Stylus Pro ran on two AAA sized batteries and had a battery life of about 8 hours at 100 lumens maximum output. The output power, size, and battery life made this version of the Stylus Pro a perfect solution for an EDC flashlight. Streamlight has just launched a new version of the Stylus Pro USB penlight that now offers many new features and improvements.

Activating a weaponlight comes in two flavors. Pressing a button on the light, typically the tailcap, or using a remote tape switch that is connected by wires. In some rare cases, you have companies like Aimshot who use wireless tape switches. Well, POSI-Lum has come out with a new twist on weapon light activation and they call it the Firetail.

For this week’s Friday Night Lights we will take a look at Cloud Defensive’s latest entry into the weaponlight market. Last year they unveiled their flag ship light, the Cloud Defensive Owl. It was met with enthusiasm however it was too task focused. Due to its size and shape, it did not share rail space well with others. Check out my review to refresh your memory. Since that time other companies stepped in and came out with some serious competition. Just last week Cloud Defensive showed off their new REIN light.

Brannon LeBouef of NOLATAC, sat down with #surefire for TFBTV to discuss their new offerings for 2020. Surefire is a leader in illumination devices, and they did not disappoint this year.

Streamlight’s latest TLR7 lights have become a huge hit. Well they are taking that light format and are making a rail mounted version with features a shooter wants.

If you recall last April, I reviewed the Weltool W3 “Featherless Arrow” flashlight. It uses a new type of illumination technology called Laser Excited Phosphor (LEP). At that time Acebeam had a competing product called the W10. On paper, the W10 was a little bit better than the Weltool W3. 250 lumens and 250k candela. Well, they have made a bigger more powerful LEP light. The W30 is a long range LEP illuminator.

Originally slated to release in April of 2019, the XTech Tactical Smart Laser has finally been fully developed and is ready to ship. The two-year-long development process has produced the ultimate home defense pistol accessory. The XTech Smart Laser light/laser combo features both a green laser and a 185 lumen LED light combination intended for use with pistols with an accessory rail.

The SureFire Scout Light is the ubiquitous go-to weaponlight for a lot of shooters. However, the original mount is a bit outdated. Companies like Arisaka Defense, among others, have made alternate mounting solutions to help reposition and mount the Scout Light to updated handguards. Now that night vision is more prevalent, companies like Reptilia Corp and Valhalla Tactical have come out with Offset MLOK light bodies that are compatible with Modlight and Surefire M600DF heads.

When talking about weapon lights, probably the most asked question about lights would be the best rifle light for a defensive AR carbine. There’s no shortage of quality options of WML (weapon mounted lights) on the market but they all have pros and cons whether its size, weight, or brightness. Now don’t get me wrong, I know there won’t ever be a single perfect light for every situation but there are a few different models out there that do a great job considering the size and lumen count.

In the world of weapon-mounted lights, Modlite has been turning some heads. They have been picked up by a number of dealers including Brownells and their lights are all the rage for law enforcement. Just recently Big Tex Outdoors posted up some comparison of a new Modlite handheld body.

Our Editor in Chief Pete asked some of us to honestly review some Olight lights. No this was not a request direct from Olight. As Luke C. had mentioned in his Olight S2R Baton review, this is a non-shill review. I had already bought some Olights on my own with my own money before Pete asked us to.Yeah. Normally we request loaner guns and gear on a test and evaluation basis directly from the manufacturer. As you may know me by now, I like weapon lights and the Olight Valkyrie lights were priced reasonably with decent performance on paper. As the title states, we will take a look at the PL-PRO Valkyrie pistol light.

It’s been a while since TFB covered anything from Thyrm, but with their release of their new Helmet Mount VariArc it’s time again.

Firearms accessories manufacturer Reptilia Corp have released a new long-gun light mount dubbed the TORCH. It is designed to tuck neatly under ATPIAL/PEQ-15 and similar top-rail devices, with a $119.95 MSRP. This machined aluminum mount weighs in at just under one ounce, and is made in the USA. It comes in either a right- or left-side 3V/CR123 version compatible with SureFire M300 scout bezels and tail caps. It currently comes in hardcoat anodized Flat Dark Earth, Black, and a contract-overrun “Tobacco” color. These are likely from an early attempt to match FDE which turned out slightly off from the intended tint. If you like the Tobacco model, you may want to jump on it quickly. Reptilia’s site indicates that these exist in limited numbers, and will not be made again once they are sold out.

There are endless debates on what flashlight is best for a rifle but not many people talk about the benefits of offset light mounts vs standard factory mounts. I didn’t think much of offset light mounts until I started using a Haley Strategic SBR Thorntail mount on my 10.5 AR Pistol. Now that I’ve had about six months under my belt with a few different offset light mounts, I’m a true believer for a number of reasons. Let’s jump into why you should consider an offset light mount.

Olight, a manufacturer of EDC and Weapon mounted flashlights has received a lot of attention as of late. Many influencers in the online firearms community have brought Olight’s products into the spotlight. With the Chinese made product gaining such widespread attention in just a short amount of time, many would-be customers have postulated that any and all reviews for their (Olight’s) products are done by paid shills. This alleged shilling has turned many away from Olight all together. In this article, we review the Olight S2R Baton II EDC Flashlight.

After our last Nitecore review, NItecore sent us their P20 and EA42. I was interested in the EA42 since it is a AA powered light that puts out a respectable 1800 lumens. While the P20 is their basic 800 lumen tactical flashlight. Let us first take a closer look at the Nitecore P20 and then the EA42.

One issue I’ve struggled with in the past is the buildup of carbon overtime on weapon lights. Whether it’s on a handgun or mounted on a rifle, sometimes gas and carbon residue collect on the light’s bezel. I’ve tried a number of different things to clean the glass faster but for years I didn’t have a great solution. Cleaning weapon lights can be a real pain but there are a couple of tricks to make it way easier.

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.