Like many here, I'm an Illuminutty® -- a lover of illumination devices to such an extent that you spend an inordinate amount of your discretionary income on, of all things, flashlights!
That said, even to the most terminally-ill, OCD-hardened flashlight zealot there are limits to the insanity. What sane, rational person would spend $800 on a 150 lumen (yes, 150) Surefire weapon light?
Well, apparently I am that person. :thumb:
Why stop there? Where the Surefire is designed exclusively for rifles, I also needed one for my handgun as well, so instead of further enriching the coffers over at Surefire, I decided to go with Steiner/LDI for my Glock 21 weapon light. Ironically, Steiner's pistol-only light at least gives 500 lumens for your $800, which is odd considering the Surefire is rifle-only at 150 lumens. That doesn't just SOUND backward, it IS backward. That said, the Surefire throws a very narrow, long beam whereas the LDI throws a massively wide, even flood.
So... now that I've doubled-down on not one, but TWO $800 weapon lights, calling the sanity question back into mind, is there really ANY justification for an $800 flashlight? Are either of these lights really WORTH that kinda coin? Why would you stick an $800 light on a $600 Glock?
The two lights in question are:
Surefire M720V RAID
Steiner/LDI DBAL-PL
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In short, the honest answer has to be a qualified "NO!" Neither of these lights are *worth* $800 each (actually, they both retail for $899
). I imagine both units garner obnoxiously high gross profit margins for their respective manufacturers.
Unfortunately there are few, if any, real alternatives that do what these lights do. There is a genuine, unique "POU" (for you NutnFancy fans) that puts these lights into an entirely different class where there are no real competitors -- IR / Night Vision. Each light outputs BOTH white and IR light, but each functions differently. The M720V RAID is rifle-only and illumination-only, whereas the DBAL-PL is designed to be pistol-only (the "PL" in DBAL-PL stands for "Pistol Light"), though you COULD use it on a rifle in a pinch. The DBAL also fires aiming lasers -- both visible and IR depending upon what you're using at the time. The M720V lacks any aiming lasers.
Both lights are built to endure the most harsh use in the worst conditions one can imagine. Based upon feel alone I would say the Surefire would endure more abuse than the DBAL. Both lights are designed and constructed to be tools you can literally entrust your life to, which is also part of the reasoning both companies use to justify their prices. Just ask them "Why do your lights cost so much?" and their pithy response will always be "Well, what's your life worth?"
I'd like to do this "review" more justice by taking more photos of them in operation, but I'm leaving for Vegas tomorrow and I just don't have the time. I will try to update this post later with some more info, experience, and photos -- especially through NODs.
Of course, no one buys either of these lights unless they're running Night Vision. There are far superior white-light options if you don't own NVGs (you're not really a "Prepper" without good night vision!). If you want ONE light to do it all, then these -- aside from the stellar Surefire X400V -- these are really your ONLY options. Sure, you can get a PEQ / DBAL dual laser for your rifle, but those don't work as well indoors for illumination, and they don't offer white light (the new DBAL A4 does, but it's a monstrosity that will only work with a rifle).
One last thing... the DBAL will fit on any Picatinny rail, but it'll also fit on any standard Glock as well. While it's designed for pistols you certainly CAN use it on rifles. The M720V however CANNOT be used on any Glock or any compact pistol. It CAN attach to a handgun with a large enough section of 1913 rail, as seen in this photo. It doesn't operate well at all on a pistol, as you need to reach out in front of the gun to turn it on and off, and there is NO momentary on without it getting too awkward to shoot. That said, with all those caveats, you MAY be able to mount the M720V to a handgun.
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So, if you're running NODs and only want ONE light, these are your options, and they ain't cheap.
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That said, even to the most terminally-ill, OCD-hardened flashlight zealot there are limits to the insanity. What sane, rational person would spend $800 on a 150 lumen (yes, 150) Surefire weapon light?
Well, apparently I am that person. :thumb:
Why stop there? Where the Surefire is designed exclusively for rifles, I also needed one for my handgun as well, so instead of further enriching the coffers over at Surefire, I decided to go with Steiner/LDI for my Glock 21 weapon light. Ironically, Steiner's pistol-only light at least gives 500 lumens for your $800, which is odd considering the Surefire is rifle-only at 150 lumens. That doesn't just SOUND backward, it IS backward. That said, the Surefire throws a very narrow, long beam whereas the LDI throws a massively wide, even flood.
So... now that I've doubled-down on not one, but TWO $800 weapon lights, calling the sanity question back into mind, is there really ANY justification for an $800 flashlight? Are either of these lights really WORTH that kinda coin? Why would you stick an $800 light on a $600 Glock?
The two lights in question are:
Surefire M720V RAID
Steiner/LDI DBAL-PL
In short, the honest answer has to be a qualified "NO!" Neither of these lights are *worth* $800 each (actually, they both retail for $899
). I imagine both units garner obnoxiously high gross profit margins for their respective manufacturers.Unfortunately there are few, if any, real alternatives that do what these lights do. There is a genuine, unique "POU" (for you NutnFancy fans) that puts these lights into an entirely different class where there are no real competitors -- IR / Night Vision. Each light outputs BOTH white and IR light, but each functions differently. The M720V RAID is rifle-only and illumination-only, whereas the DBAL-PL is designed to be pistol-only (the "PL" in DBAL-PL stands for "Pistol Light"), though you COULD use it on a rifle in a pinch. The DBAL also fires aiming lasers -- both visible and IR depending upon what you're using at the time. The M720V lacks any aiming lasers.
Both lights are built to endure the most harsh use in the worst conditions one can imagine. Based upon feel alone I would say the Surefire would endure more abuse than the DBAL. Both lights are designed and constructed to be tools you can literally entrust your life to, which is also part of the reasoning both companies use to justify their prices. Just ask them "Why do your lights cost so much?" and their pithy response will always be "Well, what's your life worth?"
I'd like to do this "review" more justice by taking more photos of them in operation, but I'm leaving for Vegas tomorrow and I just don't have the time. I will try to update this post later with some more info, experience, and photos -- especially through NODs.
Of course, no one buys either of these lights unless they're running Night Vision. There are far superior white-light options if you don't own NVGs (you're not really a "Prepper" without good night vision!). If you want ONE light to do it all, then these -- aside from the stellar Surefire X400V -- these are really your ONLY options. Sure, you can get a PEQ / DBAL dual laser for your rifle, but those don't work as well indoors for illumination, and they don't offer white light (the new DBAL A4 does, but it's a monstrosity that will only work with a rifle).
One last thing... the DBAL will fit on any Picatinny rail, but it'll also fit on any standard Glock as well. While it's designed for pistols you certainly CAN use it on rifles. The M720V however CANNOT be used on any Glock or any compact pistol. It CAN attach to a handgun with a large enough section of 1913 rail, as seen in this photo. It doesn't operate well at all on a pistol, as you need to reach out in front of the gun to turn it on and off, and there is NO momentary on without it getting too awkward to shoot. That said, with all those caveats, you MAY be able to mount the M720V to a handgun.
So, if you're running NODs and only want ONE light, these are your options, and they ain't cheap.
