It’s one of my favorite times of year — Christmas! It’s that time where we all buy thoughtful gifts for our loved ones. Gifts that we hope will brighten their days — or their nights!
This year, we are picking our favorite pistol, rifle, and handheld lights in a few categories. These lights are some of our best bets, each having some great qualities that are sure to be appreciated.
With no further ado, here are our picks:
Best Compact Light: Sig Sauer Foxtrot 2R
I’m going to start off with the newest light of the bunch. My first pick is a relative newcomer to the stage of pistol lights. Sure, they had a couple pistol lights before this offering, but none of them were better than more established products. This light is so good that it is my current every day carry light, fitted up on my Sig Sauer P365 X-Macro.
What I love:
- Great size: This light fits quite well on a compact Sig Sauer P320, an X-Macro, or even a Glock G19.
- Class-leading candela: This little light has higher candela than any other light in its class, rivaling the much larger Streamlight TLR-1HL.
- Excellent user interface: I love the switches. They are tactile and responsive, providing momentary activation by pressing down on either side, or constant by pressing up. These are the best electronic switches I’ve used on a pistol light, even better than the TLR-7A from Streamlight.
- Rechargeable or not: Sig provides two of their rechargeable batteries that are similar in size to the CR-123A. However, you can also run the easily-found CR-123A batteries.
Reasons Not to Buy
- May not fit: If you’re running a Glock G43x or a Sig Sauer P365 / P365X / P365XL, then this light won’t fit on your proprietary rail.
- Size: While this is a compact light, it’s slightly larger than the popular Steamlight TLR-7 Sub.
- You want more output: If you’re looking for the best possible pistol light, then you might want to step up to a full size offering.
- Holster support: I expect support to grow for the F2R over time, but for now, holster support is limited. Werkz offers holsters for this light with the P320, P365 X-Macro, and the Glock G19/G17 family. Use the holster finder at Werkz.com to find your fitment.
Street Price: About $150 at Werkz or elsewhere.
Check out our full review of the Sig Sauer Foxtrot 2R.
Next Best Compact Light: Streamlight TLR-7A
If the Foxtrot 2R hadn’t come out, this light would have continued to top my list. However, the TLR-7A still has an important place on the list because it’s been proven reliable, and has huge holster support.
What I love:
- Compact: The TLR-7A was made to fit flush on a compact pistol.
- Proven reliability and quality: I have torture tested the TLR-7 light family multiple times, and the lights have shown themselves to be toward the top of build quality all the time. Further, Streamlight is incredibly consistent in terms of each light providing similar light output, something I cannot say for all manufacturers.
- It will fit: The TLR-7A will fit just about any railed pistol on the market. While there are a few exceptions (proprietary rails and the Springfield Hellcat come to mind), this light with its set of rail keys will fit just about any popular pistol on the market.
Reasons Not to Buy:
- Activation: Perhaps you’re not well trained on using light mounted switches, and want something more intuitive. (See “Tip” below for an option).
- Batteries: Perhaps you don’t like CR123A batteries, and want a rechargeable option.
Tip: If you want grip activation on a Glock or a Sig Sauer P320, then you want the “Contour” version of this light which runs a switch under the trigger guard to the grip.
Street Price: About $140 from Werkz or elsewhere.
Best Full Size Light: Surefire X300T (“Turbo”)
This next light is one I ran for many months.
What I love:
- Huge candela numbers: The 60,000 candela produced by the X300 Turbo makes it one of the highest output pistol lights available.
- Excellent switching: The X300 switches have been known to be an excellent user interface since introduction, providing momentary activation with a push forward motion, and providing constant by rotating the big paddle switch in either direction, from either side.
- Surefire is behind it: Surefire is not only known for making things in the USA, but they are also known for excellent customer support.
- You’ll always find a holster: The X300 family has been around forever, and consumer / LE / military demand has resulted in a huge variety of holster support.
Reasons Not to Buy:
- Size: This light is huge, which will cause the holster to be large, and that could be an issue if you’re concealing.
- Prime cells: While I very much appreciate being able to run common CR123A batteries, some people prefer the rechargeable cells.
- Cost: This is one of the most expensive lights on the list.
Tip: I personally prefer the “B” version of this light; the screw does a great job of locking the light to the rail.
Street Price: About $300 at Amazon, and slightly more at Werkz.com.
Check out our full review of the SureFire X300-T.
Best Budget Full Size Light: Streamlight TLR-1HL
What I love
- Switches: I like Streamlight’s implementation of mechanical switches better than Surefire’s.
- Proven in duty: A lot of departments run this light on their duty weapons, and I’ve heard repeatedly that this light stands up to the daily demands of patrol.
- You’ll always find a holster: The TLR-1HL is perhaps even more popular than the Surefire, meaning you’ll most likely be able to find a holster.
Reasons Not To Buy:
- Size: This is a large light
- Prime cells: This light uses non-rechargeable batteries
Best Subcompact (Sig Sauer P365, Glock G43x MOS / G48 MOS, Hellcat) Light: Streamlight TLR-7Sub
In my testing, this light has all the power of the Streamlight TLR-7A, but is smaller, and fits on proprietary rails.
What I love:
- Small but powerful: This light performs identically in my testing to the Streamlight TLR-7A, and that’s pretty good. In addition, it’s a little bit smaller, which allows it to fit on subcompact pistols.
- Support for pistols with proprietary rails: If you have the Sig Sauer P365 / P365X / P365XL, then the P365 version will fit on your proprietary rail. If you have a Glock G43x MOS or G48 MOS, get the Glock version. If you have the Hellcat (not the Pro), then get the Hellcat version.
- Good switches: These are the same as the very nice TLR-7A switches.
Reasons Not to Buy:
- Not enough candela: The problem with the 7Sub is that it isn’t exactly a powerhouse when it comes to candela, producing a factory-rated 500 candela. My testing always had the light falling far short of that. If you’re looking for a higher candela option, see my alternate light below.
- Lack of grip activation: I’m not aware of Streamlight coming out with a grip activation option as yet. However, if you’re running a P365, see alternate below.
- Non-rechargeable: These lights, just like the TLR-7A, use a single CR123A, and are not rechargeable. If you need that option, then the TLR-7Sub doesn’t meet your needs.
Alternate Light: If you have a P365 with the proprietary rail, Sig does have a grip activated option for you, the Foxtrot 365XR. This light is super slim, which makes for a super slim, super comfortable holster.
Street Price: About $140 from Werkz or elsewhere.
Check out our comparison of the TLR-7Sub for Glock or our comparison of the TLR-7Sub for Sig P365.
Best Rifle Light: Cloud Defensive REIN 3
The high end rifle light space is competitive, with offerings from Surefire, Modlite, Cloud Defensive, and a recent manufacturer, HRT. However, the most recent Cloud Defensive offering edges out the others.
What I love:
- Output Balance: While I often talk about candela, flood (e.g. lumens) is also important. The REIN 3 balances both fairly well.
- Switches included: Cloud thoughtfully includes the switches with their package
Reasons Not to Buy:
- Switching: The switches can be a bit stiff.
Read my premium rifle light comparison article for more info. Or, watch us destroy nine of the best rifle lights on the market, including the Cloud Rein 3.0.
Honorable Mentions: Rifle Lights from Surefire and HRT
I don’t want to leave the rifle light section without saying a few words about other excellent lights. The new Surefire Scout Light Turbo has excellent output, and is the standard for rifle lights for years. The Turbo has great output, and you can buy all the accessories you need for it.
The HRT AWLS has perhaps the strongest output of all the premium lights, coming in over 100,000 candela. In addition, the mounting is super strong, and I love the activation when rail space is limited.
Best Budget Rifle Light: Streamlight ProTac 2.0 Rail
What I love:
- All the lumens: This light produces over 2500 lumens when first turned on
- Great situational awareness: The large amount of lumens allows a great flood for better situational awareness
- Pressure switch: Comes with remote pressure switch.
Reasons Not to Buy
- Candela: The ProTac 2.0 has a little over 10,000 candela in my testing, giving it pretty poor ability to punch long distances
- Large size: The larger battery and body and head may be too big or heavy for your rifle
Street Price: About $160 from Amazon.
Watch our budget rifle light review on YouTube.
Best Tactical Handheld: Surefire EDC-DFT2 Turbo
This is my personal handheld that I’ve been running since the light was available. It’s been dead reliable, has great output, and I love the UI. No flickering, no “battery low” flashing stepdowns, and never a concern that the light won’t come on in “high” at the first switch.
What I love:
- First press is always high: You want a tactical light that is going to always come on in the highest mode possible at first press. The Surefire does this every single time. I’ve had lights that I’ve had to guess, or fiddle with button presses. Not so with the EDC Turbo. It is programmed from the factory to operate this way, and I don’t know if I can even change it.
- No light ND in the pocket: We’ve all had that light that comes on in our pocket. For me this usually results in a overly hot pocket, fidgeting with the light, then some discontent with the light. I have yet to have my Surefire turn on accidentally. I think this has to do with the switch. It’s higher than competitive offerings, but it’s a hard & long press to get the light to click on.
- Super high output: The light meets its candela claims, and has great runtime.
- Reliable switching: I’ve never seen the light flicker
- No low battery stepdown flash: Some lights strobe the light slowly shortly after turning on if they need to step down. This is irritating, especially since I need the light (that’s why I turned it on!), and delays effective use for seconds. I’ve not seen the EDC Turbo flash.
- Long life: The batteries seems to last a long time with the light.
- Admin / low mode: I use this every day. Second press of the switch puts the light into low mode, perfect for admin tasks.
Reasons Not to Buy:
- Price: This light is expensive, at over $300.
Street Price: About $310 from Surefire, and slightly less from Big Tex.
Best Handheld You’re Not Afraid to Lose: Noctigon KR1
You may complain that we have a Chinese light in the lineup, but keep in mind that most (if not all) of these lights either are made in China, assembled in China, or have Chinese components.
This light is for those of us who want a cheap truck or utility light that has great output.
What I love:
- Price: About $43 to your door
- Output: Over 1000 lumens for the first two minutes, and 90,000 candela is a lot of light.
- Lots of options: this light can be a warm, high-CRI floodlight, to a tactical thrower, or anything in between, depending on which emitter you choose.
- Tailcap switch: This light has a nice electronic tailcap switch. As you may know, tailcap switches are one of my requirements for a tactical handheld.
Reasons Not to Buy:
- User interface: There are so many options for setting this light up, it may be difficult for the end user to program it correctly
- Negligent discharge: The tailcap switch is sensitive and often turns on the light while in the pocket. However, Cole designed a shroud / ND protector that you can 3D print at home. Read about it in the article linked below.
Street Price: About $35 from Intl-Outdoor.
