Streamlight appears to be all in on the TLR-7 design. They took the market by storm a couple of years in the past with a compact 500-lumen gentle and have constructed the essential TLR-7 head into a whole sequence of lights. The TLR-7 head occupies the TLR-8, the TLR-9, the TL RM1, and the TLR RM 2. Streamlight has launched two new TLR-7 designs. We now have the TLR-7 X, and the topic of at this time’s dialogue is the TLR-7 HL-X.
The most important gentle firms have needed to step up their recreation lately. Firms like Modlite and Cloud Defensive have produced brighter and brighter lights, and Streamlight and Surefire have every responded by doing the identical. The TLR-7 HL-X is Streamlight’s try to show up the brightness with their seemingly favourite compact weapon gentle.
The Energy!
The ability is considerably amplified from 500 lumens and 5,000 candela to a powerful 1,000 lumens and 22,000 candela. To accommodate this improve in energy, we’ve got barely bigger lights. The unique TLR-7s had been 2.58 inches lengthy and weighed 2.64 ounces. The brand new HL-X lights are 2.98 inches lengthy and weigh 2.88 ounces. The CR123A battery is one other sacrifice to the Lords of Lumens and the Creators of Candela—nicely, sort of.
The TLR-7 HL-X gives versatility in its energy choices. You may nonetheless use CR123A batteries, however your energy drops to 500 lumens and 11,000 candela. To get probably the most energy out of the sunshine, it’s a must to use the included rechargeable SL-B9. The SL-B9 gives half an hour of full energy, or an hour at an non-compulsory 500 lumens and 11,000 candela. The CR123A gives 1.5 hours of energy.
The TLR-7 HL-X makes use of ambidextrous controls to work the sunshine. The twin switches present an immediate and momentary mode. The sunshine comes with further paddles to supply assorted size choices, however I discovered the inventory choice to be good. Streamlight makes use of a programmable system that permits customers so as to add a strobe mode if they need one.
Why Energy Issues
How a lot gentle do you want? Much less is never the reply. The extra highly effective the weapon gentle is, the extra succesful it’s for self-defense. A lift within the TLR-7’s energy takes it from a hid carry gentle to a possible obligation possibility. The sunshine is smaller and lighter than the TLR-1 HL however gives barely extra energy. The bigger TLR-1 places out a thousand lumens and 20,000 candela. The TLR-1 additionally makes use of two CR123A batteries and lasts as much as 90 minutes.
With 1,000 lumens and 22,000 candela, you’ve got a lightweight that may throw itself fairly far. Streamlight claims a beam distance of 297 meters; I’m certain some gentle shivers make it that far. For reasonable use, the sunshine can exit to 50 yards fairly competently. At 50 yards, I can reliably make out a man-sized iPSC goal. At 25 yards, I’m overwhelming the goal with gentle.
If somebody hides from you, they aren’t more likely to current their total physique, so that you’re looking for a fair smaller goal. This implies the elevated energy nonetheless has elevated worth at shut vary. One other profit to the facility of the TLR-7 HL-X comes from the sunshine’s capability to pierce by means of photonic obstacles.
These obstacles embrace different gentle sources and issues like smoke, fog, and many others. The TLR-1 HL-X did a fantastic job of overpowering the brights from my automobile and permitting me to see previous the brights and into the motive force’s seat. Even dim overhead lights can have an effect on your lights’ capability to see a possible risk, and the TLR-7 HL-X can lower proper by means of them.
Working and Gunning
The TLR-7 HL-X incorporates a sequence of rail keys that make it straightforward to mount the sunshine on varied weapons. This consists of weapons as small because the P365 XMacro as much as full-sized duty-type handguns. The buttons sit completely for straightforward entry, and utilizing the sunshine takes no effort. You don’t have to interrupt your firing grip or make any effort to search out the button visually. It’s simply there, sitting alongside your set off guard, positioned completely for straightforward attain.
I mounted the TLR-7 HL-X to a Polymer80 Glock clone and labored quite a few drills with the sunshine. You wish to use the sunshine as little as potential in a defensive occasion. Utilizing a shot timer, I labored on drills from low-ready and high-ready positions. For the drills, I set a random beep timer with a large variably on my Pocket Professional 2 and walked left to proper on the vary. My new berm is very large, so I’ve loads of room to maneuver.
As quickly because the timer beeped, I activated the sunshine, discovered the goal and shot. The beam from the TLR-7 HL-X gives a centered hotspot with a corona of white gentle that gives a reasonably extensive beam sample. This makes it straightforward to rapidly find the risk and get the gun up and goal. For handguns, this beam extensive beam is smart. Handguns are close-range weapons and also you need periphereal filling gentle when in any respect potential.
Mild It Up
Withstanding recoil was by no means a difficulty, and the white gentle by no means flickered a lot between photographs. Essentially the most I ever needed to do was wipe the lens off after any vary journeys. The battery lasts longer than half-hour. I received 33 whole earlier than it dimmed considerably. The cost time took 2.5 hours earlier than the battery absolutely recharged.
Streamlight has an actual winner with the TLR-7 HL-X. I’d like to see what they’ll do with the TLR-1 by including energy. If I had to pick a draw back, it might be holster compatibility.
The longer head will make discovering holsters troublesome in the intervening time. Nonetheless, give it a couple of months, and I’m certain we’ll have a handful of choices for the extra common weapons available on the market.
SpecificationsLumens – 1,000Candela – 22,000Length – 2.9 inchesWeight – 2.88 ouncesStreet Worth – $165
Rankings (Out of Fireplace Stars)
Total *****Streamlight scored excessive with the TLR-7 HL-X. It’s an impressively highly effective gentle for its dimension. With the appearance of weapons just like the P365 XMACRO, it solely is smart that we see extra environment friendly and smaller lights storm the market. The controls are improbable, the lights brilliant, and whereas the battery life is brief I doubt you’d run it for a half hour in any violent occasion.
