I need a 1in weapon light

Prefer something that runs on 18650 cells. Its going on my duty rifle so it needs to be reliable with some good distance. I was looking at the fenix p10gt for about 50. Is there a better option?

Heck yea! Putting the light on a duty weapon qualifies as a life-critical application imho. If you can afford it, and if you absolutely must use 18650, look into a bored Elzetta Bravo at Oveready. I know it's expensive, but rock solid.

+1 on Elzetta for these kinds of application. Also take a look at Malkoff. As a default, would like to run them on primaries. Good luck!

That Elzetta is sweet but way way out of budget. I have to provide all my own gear at this tiny department. So a light for the rifle I will hardly if ever use comes after body armor, pistol light, and and and and. 70 would probably be my max and that means my gear elsewhere would have to suffer.

I would take a look at customlites.com. From what I have read they offer a quality P60 drop in that is fully potted and will handle rought use. The drop in will cost you about 40 bucks and then order a Solarforce L2 host from them for 14 and you should be good to go.

Lee Indy said:

Prefer something that runs on 18650 cells. Its going on my duty rifle so it needs to be reliable with some good distance. I was looking at the fenix p10gt for about 50. Is there a better option?

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I would find out what the other people are using and go from there.

irongate said:

I would find out what the other people are using and go from there.

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They all use ancient surfires. Im not a fan of limited throw and the ridiculous price of surefire.

Tac Gunner said:

I would take a look at customlites.com. From what I have read they offer a quality P60 drop in that is fully potted and will handle rought use. The drop in will cost you about 40 bucks and then order a Solarforce L2 host from them for 14 and you should be good to go.

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That seems like a great idea. Im fairly new to this so which p60 head would be best for distance and high output. not sure how the modes would work but Id like to keep it simple. high and strobe at a max or just high.

Check out the Streamlight and Pelican catalogs. Streamlight has some dual fuel options so if your 18650 quits you have the option of stuffing in a pair of primary cells. Their ProTac HL-X is an example that falls in your budget.

Uses common size mounts as well.

Malkoff MD2 with your choice of drop in comes much closer to your budget with similar reliability and function. If you really can't swing it, put a Malkoff or Nailbender (custom lites) drop-in in a solarforce host.

Whatever you may end up finding, I will recommend looking for lights that has springs on both sides. Eliminates intermittent contact under sustained fire.

Lee Indy said:

That seems like a great idea. Im fairly new to this so which p60 head would be best for distance and high output. not sure how the modes would work but Id like to keep it simple. high and strobe at a max or just high.

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You really don't want multiple modes in a P60 drop-in. The chance of you activating a mode other than what you want is waaaay too high.

You didn't exactly define what "good distance" means, but a Customlights single mode drop-in with a neutral XP-L behind a smooth reflector would be a good choice. It'll give more throw than a Malkoff M61, while still delivering ample spill.

+1 on 2-spring lights. If you're going 18650, please consider a light with built-in protection, and using unprotected cells. Some protection circuits on protected 18650s react to shock with intermittent operation.