New pistol light project

[BillSWPA]

Plenty of good comments above, but the ones that really stand out to me are those of Orionz06 and Krax.

I would like a WML on my concealed carry guns, but holster availability is the single biggest obstacle. Work with some good holster makers.

Re: price: your price = your market position. Price yourself at the bottom, and that is how you will be perceived. Price yourself at the top, and you will be quickly dumped if your product is less than perfect. The rule that you get what you pay for absolutely applies to hen comparing low priced to mid priced; but becomes highly questionable when going from mid price to high price. That is a long way to say target the middle.

I would like to see mounting options for guns without rails, such as a Glock 26, or perhaps mounting setups that will fit a Sig P365.

Don’t forget the importance of runtime, as well as the importance of a horizontal output curve. I know the poorly designed ANSI standards favor high initial lumens and sloped output curves, but getting 10% of the expected output, or having a drained battery at the wrong time, makes the lumen rating irrelevant.



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[runcible]

Thank you for asking!

I'm with orionz06, in believing that at a minimum holster realities should be considered in the design of the exterior, and that a holstermaker being part of the dialogue would be beneficial to your company. Asymmetry, sharper corners and\or edges, and certain protrusions can undermine the profile of the pistol+light as holstered even if they do not degrade function while in-hand.

I don't think the overt duty light market has much room for competition right now; but the concealment light market is mostly full of lower-lumen and maximum-spill options. I think that a mid-range lumen-count and more emphasis on throw is desirable and underserved in the present market.

Putting my personal opinions and desires aside; the market still has room and desire for a satisfactory concealment light that doesn't carry forward the issues with the Surefire XC\XRs, Inforce APL\APL-C, and Streamlight TLR-7\TLR-8s. The XC\XRs are more spill-oriented with minimal throw, don't maximize the available volume, and have asymmetric switching that most users do not like; the XR1\XR2 may address some of these concerns. The Inforce APL family have fragile bodies, convenient latching that releases under recoil with regularity, less-than-desirable lumens, and for the APL-Cs eccentric battery requirements. The Streamlight TLR-7s and -8s aren't bad at all, but many dislike the present switching; new versions are pending that ought to address that issue.

The full dimensional box in play would lengthwise be described from the front of a G19's trigger-guard to in-line with the plane of the muzzle, widthwise describe the full breadth of a G19's frame, and heightwise be described from the bottom of a G19's dustcover to in-plane with the underside of the triggerguard with the exception of the rail-attachment hardware. The G19 is referenced because of it's dual usage for both discrete and overt functions, and it's overwhelming popularity in both open market and government purchases. If the light protrudes beyond being in-plane with the muzzle, then it will be exposed to significantly greater stresses from firing. Lights wider than the frame and\or grip significantly change the manner in which the holster sits against the human body, especially in appendix and with pressure-focusing when worn on the hip IWB. Lights that extend below being in-plane with the underside of the triggerguard aren't the end of the world, though it can lead to some interesting holster-design - if more space is needed, than that's where additional volume ought to be sought.

Within that dimensional box, having a deeper reflector should have priority - so as to provide for effective throw of whatever lumens come out to play. If that means the battery has to be moved to over or under the reflector\LED\lens, then so be it; running such side-by-side as was done with the XC1\XC2 didn't provide for a satisfactory end-state and the asymmetry is unhelpful, as minor as it is.

More volume could be made available by having a battery sealed within, and charging accomplished via magnetic charging cable; there'd be no ability to hot-swap batteries, but you'd avoid having oddball batteries that many users would find difficult or less palatable to purchase. If running a removable battery, a rechargeable cell would open many a door; and it would be desirably for the light to not require removal in order to change the battery.

The external housing should be aluminum to the exclusion of external polymer; it just hasn't proofed itself well. Exceptions for brass or other materials for heat-sink purposes. Surface dimpling would increase surface area for heat-dissipation.

The attachment method is preferably not a thumb-screw given the over-tensioning concerns (e.g. damage to the pistol's dustcover or to the rail-grabber itself). If it has to be a self-tensioning throw lever a la older LaRue optic mounts, I'm ok with this; and perhaps that'd require less space than a spring-loaded latch as with the Surefire X-series lights. Whatever it be, it has to be sufficiently durable and unshifting as to bear a torquing shooting grip being applied to it, whether by design or incidentally.

The switching can and will make or break the design. Ambidextrous switching that allows symmetric user selection of temporary-on or constant-on (as opposed to how Streamlight's TLR-1 is different to use for a left-hander vs. right-hander) would be desirable, and needs to avoid conflicts in what might potentially be asked of the trigger-finger in its operation. If features have to be dropped, I'd hope that the temporary-on and shooting-hand operation would be the first; so that the support-hand-operation and constant-on functionality would have fair justice done to them. A longer pair of joined levers that have a wholly vertical arc, that are low enough that they don't interfere with the placement of the support-hand's thumb being further forward, that are high-enough that they don't conflict with the support-hand's index-finger beneath the trigger-guard, and are not so long as to obstruct the trigger-finger's entry into the triggerguard; would be one way to accomplish this.

[Clusterfrack]

...More volume could be made available by having a battery sealed within, and charging accomplished via magnetic charging cable; there'd be no ability to hot-swap batteries, but you'd avoid having oddball batteries that many users would find difficult or less palatable to purchase. If running a removable battery, a rechargeable cell would open many a door; and it would be desirably for the light to not require removal in order to change the battery.

I have mixed feelings about USB rechargeable WMLs. Unlike my iPhone, I'm probably not going to plug my carry gun into a charger every night. Since this is life safety equipment, having a low battery is unacceptable. Some design possibilities:

-Very low residual drain
-50% charge, and low charge indicators.
-"Reserve" battery feature that allows a bright 5 sec flash of light even if the battery level is very low.

[BillSWPA]

I have mixed feelings about USB rechargeable WMLs. Unlike my iPhone, I'm probably not going to plug my carry gun into a charger every night. Since this is life safety equipment, having a low battery is unacceptable. Some design possibilities:

-Very low residual drain
-50% charge, and low charge indicators.
-"Reserve" battery feature that allows a bright 5 sec flash of light even if the battery level is very low.

I completely agree. The ability to quickly switch out a battery is valuable. Perhaps a best of both worlds solution would be a light that can run on a single 16350 cell or a CR123 cell. Most people running 16350 (or 18650, etc.) already own one or more chargers.

Edited to add: if a smaller size is needed, I would be happy with CR2 even though I am unfamiliar with any rechargeable options that may or may not exist in that size.



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[vcdgrips]

Where are your products made?

Where are you located in the US?

What will the warranty be on your weapons light?

[Caballoflaco]

Where are your products made?

Where are you located in the US?

What will the warranty be on your weapons light?

Go to the website; this is a company that is based in and produces their products in China; I am not personally comfortable giving them my intellectual property.

I have nothing against the Chinese people but cannot support a company who might use my ideas to arm the Communist Chinese regime and in some small way further the repression of the people of China and Hong Kong.

ETA: Yeah, this is an open forum and said company could just read similar posts directed at an American company, but there is still something about it I’m not comfortable with.

[drummer]

Go to the website; this is a company that is based in and produces their products in China; I am not personally comfortable giving them my intellectual property.

I have nothing against the Chinese people but cannot support a company who might use my ideas to arm the Communist Chinese regime and in some small way further the repression of the people of China and Hong Kong.

ETA: Yeah, this is an open forum and said company could just read similar posts directed at an American company, but there is still something about it I’m not comfortable with.

Ditto...I'm not contributing to the Chinese government's WML program.

[NH Shooter]

The collective of American gun owners (LE, competitive shooters, hunters, etc.) represents the largest firearm & firearm accessories test lab & think tank in the world. This insight and expertise is in very high demand in countries where citizens have no gun rights. In many ways, we (the American firearms enthusiast) are the world's foremost authority on small arms and their use.

I have to agree with the last two posts; I have no interest in sharing my experience with adversaries of America and/or competitors of American business.

[Hambo]

How long is the turnaround on CS when shipping to:

Xixiang, Bao’An, Shenzhen

518101, China

[noguns]

A light that doesn't require a wml holster. Grip activated with a light sensor.