Holosun Pistol Lights

[AMC]

Performing FSTs. I seent video of it. LOL

Checking the drivers license picture against their face on a traffic stop. Sweeping the light back and forth. Seriously.

[Tokarev]

Double tap. Stupid Tapatalk...

[Tokarev]

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...-weaponlights/



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[Magsz]

The IR laser version looks very interesting for a carbine or PDW.

Given the suggested price point, had they included an IR illuminator they would have smashed that shit out of the park. The performance would have blown away the TLR1 VIRII which is a pretty decent budget unit. Such a shame they missed the mark on that one.

[DaBigBR]

Very quick unboxing thoughts on the PID.

Unboxing and Switching
I recently grabbed a couple of these for T&E. In the box is the light with battery installed, charging cable, two extra rail keys, a tool with T10 on one end and a flat blade on the other, and the manual and warranty card. The light comes assembled with a rail key labeled "1" and the 18350 battery inserted. There is a small cardboard disc on the negative side of the battery locking it out. Overall, the construction seems solid. The light is larger and heavier than I anticipated from pictures. It looks exactly as advertised on the gun, but it was just more substantial than I expected when handling it generally. The light is handsome looking with subdued branding and very strong lines. The angular design is a nice departure from the likes of the TLR-1 HL, X300, and PL-350.

The manual explains the switchology. I know there was concern in the thread about the existence of a lower brightness setting. I personally thought that was a bad idea, also. To toggle between brightness settings, you have to press and hold both switches at the same time. The brightness cycles about once per second. I think it is very unlikely that you will accidentally switch brightness settings in the heat of the moment. Playing around with the light? Maybe. Drawing it and using it, unlikely. I think the paddles have a good feel. They have a positive click and are large. The underlying switch is a soft switch so the paddles do not lock into an on position or anything like that. The paddles taper in toward the trigger guard a little bit, which will probably help prevent white light NDs, but their size makes them relatively easy to hit. They have decent texture and should be good for gloved hands. Generally, I think I would prefer something more like the TLR-7A, X300, or TLR-1 (any of them), but I think these will prove serviceable. Time will tell on durability of the paddles and switches themselves but Holosun's reputation for build quality in optics is pretty solid so call me hopeful.

The included 18350 is an unprotected cell and came half charged. I tried to install a Modlite 18350 protected cell, however I found that the extra "bump" on the positive side of the protected cell prevented me from tightening the head all the way and the light would not function. I think this is a bit of a misstep. Quality unprotected cells are no issue to obtain, but I know there are a lot of people that are already pretty invested in a specific battery AND some safety advantages to protected cells.

My very unscientific initial "testing" with the light as far as output is this: it's bright. At first blush, I believe it delivers something close to what it promises. The color temperature, beam pattern, and even head and reflector design is verysimilar to the TLR-1 HL. The numbers (lumens and candela) are also very similar so I would not be shocked if the source of the LED is the same. I will let those more versed, experienced, and interested in beam comparisons produce those.

Rail Attachment
All of the rail keys appear to have the same cross-slot dimension and it is closer to a "universal" dimension than 1913. I did not put it on the calipers, but it fits on Gen 4 Glock frames, so that's probably enough information. The different rail keys place the cross-slot at different positions to slightly adjust positioning of the light relative to the trigger guard (similar to the TLR-7's tree of rail keys). I would have much rather seen a 1913 spec rail key(s) included as well. I have seen issues with Gen 5 Glocks having their rail slot widened out by prolonged use of a WML with a "universal" key installed. That concern here is probably minimal so long as the bolt is tightened well. Speaking of the bolt, it is designed with a combo T-10/flat head. There is no way to hand loosen or tighten and I do not think a case rim will work, either. The design of the rail clamp is fairly uninspired with two very weak little springs pretending to provide some tension. In practice, the bolt fits tight within the rail key and I can get no "springiness" when pressing in. The springs are not indexed or captured by the WML body, either (only by the rail clamp) so it would be possible to have one of them fold over and become damaged if the light was tightened to a rail. Despite these shortcomings, I did find the light easy enough to attach to several different guns. I used only the "1" rail key and it was fine on the guns I attached it to. Those were: Glock 17 Gen 4 and Gen 5, Glock 19 Gen 4, Glock 41 Gen 4, Staccato P, STI Tactical 4.0, S&W M&P 2.0 4.25", and probably a couple others that I am forgetting. I was overall happy with the fit however I have done no live fire yet.

Duty Holster Compatibility
I tried this light using a variety of guns (as listed above) in a 7360RDS (Glock), 6390RDS (M&P), 6360RDS (Staccato), and an older 6354DO. The light works fine in all of the holsters with all of the guns tested EXCEPT the 6354DO. My 6354DO is very hold (2014? 2015?) and does not work well with a TLR-1 HL (very tight), so my suspicion is that the issue is my holster and not so much the PID. I was very disappointed when the PL-350 came out to find that it did not work with the 7TS RDS holsters, which I am stuck with by policy, and that holster to holster, fit quality varied on the 6XXX RDS holsters. That does not appear to be the case with the PID. I am very pleased to see that and although Holosun has said from the beginning it will work, proving it was a bit a relief (especially on the 7TS). I did not test with any non-RDS holsters as I did not have any immediately available. I will try to get that done soon and report back. I do not anticipate a problem.

It should go without saying that the PID is not going to fit your molded kydex concealment stuff that was made for another light. Totally different animal.

Overall Thoughts
Based on just my limited first couple hours of handling, I think there is some promise here. There are some compromises and some things I don't like, but the light also breaks the mold in some ways. I will start using this light in general live fire as well as low light range trips to see how it does and will try to update the thread. Weather will be an issue for getting any regular time for the next few months, but I'll use it where I can. I think that given the price point on the light, it may be a viable competitor to the TLR-1 HL. I will be very curious to compare it to the high candela model that is supposed to be coming in the Spring.

[Tokarev]

[Tokarev]

[DaBigBR]

I agree with about everything in the Werks video. It is good to see that Holosun's lumen and candela claims are accurate.

I have had mine on my duty G34 for weeks now and while it hasn't been used for anything spectacular, it also hasn't parasitically drained like some lights do, so that's something. Works fine out of a Safariland 7360RDS.

[Tokarev]

Just got the new high candela model. Seems decent. Surprisingly weighty. Switches seem solid and are tactile in operation. The difference between high and low is noticeable but low setting still seems pretty bright. Maybe the low setting will provide a decent run time with 123s?

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[Tokarev]