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Thorntail Light Mount from Haley Strategic Partners and IWC

By on November 25, 2011 in Flashlights, Guns

Sometimes it is hard to keep your mouth shut when you know something really exciting and that was certainly the case with these two new patent pending light mounts, the Dropwing and the Thorntail, from Haley Strategic Partners (HSP) and Impact Weapons Components (IWC). I have known about them for some time now and was sworn to secrecy by my friends at Impact Weapons Components. I will focus on the Thorntail in this post and will have more details on the Dropwing later.

The Thorntail Light Mount allows you to mount your weapon light on a railed hand guard in a position that is well forward of any other mount on the market. It can be placed far enough forward that the light is actually forward of the front sight base.

The ability to position a weapon light this way solves several problems. It clears space on your rail that you should be using to grip your rifle, it reduces shadowing caused by the front sight base, it places the light more in a more ergonomically correct position, and makes shorter rails more comfortable to use.

Your light positioning often dictates where you grip the rifle with your support hand. If you are stuck using a 7.0 rail (carbine gas system) then the Thorntail will be just what the doctor ordered. This light mount can be mounted far enough forward that you will be able to move your grip forward. A forward grip is one key to controlling recoil and the ability to drive the gun quickly from target to target.

Those of you who are running Ultimak or US Palm rails on your AKs will also appreciate the Thorntail. It is low profile enough to keep your field of view uncluttered on the Ultimak gas tube style rails and long enough to provide a lot of extra gripping surface on the short US Palm rails.

The Thorntail light mount will work with nearly every common light mount including the Surefire M300 and M600 Scout Lights, G2, G2L, and G2X.

There has been a need for this mount for a long time. It is going to solve a lot of problems for a lot of people. Look for a full review of this mount coming soon on Jerking the Trigger.

The Thorntail is available for pre-order on Haley Strategic Partner’s website and will be available on Impact Weapons Components’ website soon (remember to use the code “triggerjerk” at checkout to receive 5% off at IWC).

 

4Sevens High CRI Lights

By on November 23, 2011 in EDC, Flashlights

4Sevens has introduced a limited run of a handful of their most popular models with special high CRI LEDs. CRI stands for Color Rendering Index and high CRI basically means that these lights put out light that is a similar color temperature to sunlight, thus rendering colors in a very lifelike way.

When LEDs first started finding their way into consumer lighting products, many people were put off by the bright blue coloration of the light that the LEDs produced. This blue light could be somewhat hard on the eyes and could make objects appear flat and lifeless.

LEDs began to improve and the light they produced became whiter, but it still lacked the warmer tones that sunlight contains. Many people think LEDs produce white light, but for the most part they are still lacking the warmer tones of the light spectrum. These missing parts of the spectrum are important for rending colors true to life and for cutting through things like smoke, fog, dust, and mist. High CRI LEDs correct these short comings and allow truer color rendering.

4Sevens has brought this high CRI LED technology to their line of edc flashlights. Sadly, none of their tactical lights have received the high CRI treatment. This type of light makes good sense for the military, law enforcement and the armed citizen since it cuts through a variety of environmental conditions more effectively and it makes potential threats appear less flat and more lifelike, thus allowing them to stand out more from their environment. Hopefully we can look forward to more high CRI options from 4Sevens.

You can check out all of the limited edition lights are 4Sevens.com.

Tactical Handyman: “Scotch” Tape Light Diffuser

By on November 18, 2011 in Flashlights, Tactical Handyman

This may be the simplest Tactical Handyman DIY post yet but it is a pretty handy trick. I am going to show you how to do something that you already have around the house, transparent “Scotch” tape, to enhance the functionality of your flashlight.

Many LED flashlights today have beams that are too narrow for certain tasks. Sometimes it is more important to have a diffused light that lights abroad area. A narrow beam is great for illuminating objects in the distance but not as helpful if you are trying to look at a map right in front of your face or do a task at arms length like reassembling a rifle in the field. Fortunately, you don’t have to buy a new light to get a wider beam profile. All you need is a bit of tape (not duct tape, surprisingly).

Here is what you will need:

  1. A thin bladed knife with a fine point
  2. Transparent tape with a frosted finish aka “Scotch” tape

Instructions

The procedure for applying the tape is simple. Apply some tape to the lens of the flashlight then carefully trim the tape to size with your knife. That’s it.

It is extremely easy, but there are some cautions to keep in mind:

  • Many lights have plastic lenses, so use a very light hand when trimming the tape to avoid scratching the lens.
  • Use quality tape. Cheap tape will leave more residue and will lose its stickiness over time.
  • You may also want to change the tape every once in a while. Some tapes can become tacky or brittle over time.
  • I wouldn’t try this on weapon lights that are mounted near the muzzle. The tape can melt so I would hate to see what hot gasses coming from the muzzle would do to it.

If you want to retain some of your light’s throw, you can cover just a portion of the lens with tape. This will diffuse part of the beam but leave the rest of the beam untouched. You can also try layering the tape to diffuse the beam even more but keep in mind that you are losing output with each layer.

Next time you are frustrated with the narrow beam of your flashlight, try this quick and dirty trick to diffuse your light. It is a really only a temporary fix, but it works. Try it.

 

Lumens Factory E Series LED Conversions

By on November 1, 2011 in EDC, Flashlights, Tactical Gear

Many people revere the Surefire E Series lights for their compact size and durability. For years, these lights were only available with incandescent bulbs and the selection was fairly limited. Lumens Factory stepped in and began providing a variety of quality bulbs that were compatible with the E-series lights. Now they are doing the same thing with LED conversions.

The Lumens Factory E Series LED products are different than any other conversion that I have seen for the Surefire E Series lights. Rather than a self contained drop in head that can never be upgraded, Lumens Factory gives you options. They make an E Series bezel that accepts a number of LED modules that have a variety of features and outputs. These features include different input voltage ranges so that they can be used with different battery configurations and different output modes like single or 3 (high, medium, low) mode configuration. These head use Cree XP-G, R5 LEDs so the output should be impressive.

LED technology seems to improve daily so users who like to have the latest technology will appreciate the modular nature of these heads. Rather than buying a whole new head when the latest LED comes out, you can simply replace the LED module.

These are some impressive LED conversions. Check them out on the Lumens Factory website.

Elzetta Lights Are No One Hit Wonder

By on October 24, 2011 in EDC, Flashlights, Tactical Gear

Elzetta recently impressed us with a demonstration of just how water resistant their lights really are. Well, Elzetta isn’t done proving the durability of their lights. Check out this amazing demonstration of impact resistance.

If an Elzetta light will stand up to driving thousands of nails, then I suspect it will survive just about any drop, fall, or accidental impact you can throw at it.

You can read more about the entire line of Elzetta lights and mounts on their website.

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