Streamlight TLR-7 HL-X: The Comprehensive Review

Introduction

Streamlight has finally released the long-awaited Streamlight TLR-7 HL-X. This light is nearly identical to the old TLR-7X and TLR-7A, with a longer face-cap to increase output.

If this light performs as advertised, it could serve as a shorter, slimmer, and brighter alternative to the TLR-1HL, all while being the around same price.

Background

A few weeks ago, I took the “HPL” face-cap off a TLR-RM1 and put it on a TLR-7X to see if it would increase performance. I shared my results here:

The HPL face-cap doubles the candela of a TLR-7 or TLR-7 Sub, but this mod isn’t officially supported by Streamlight. With the TLR-7 HL-X, Streamlight brings official support of the HPL face-cap to the TLR-7, boasting 22,000 candela. This means that the HL-X’s beam should be even more intense than the full-size TLR-1HL.

I got to see the TLR-7 HL-X at NRAAM 2024:

And I’ve been impatiently awaiting their arrival at the shop since then. I received my lights a couple days ago and immediately took one down to the lab for testing.

First Impressions

I like the way this light looks. The new face-cap only makes it slightly longer than the old TLR-7A.

Here’s a comparison of the old and new face-caps mounted to a Glock 19X:

For more size comparison, I have all the dimensions of this light in the table below. The new face-cap is still suitable for EDC, even AIWB.

The body of the TLR-7 HL-X is visually identical to previous TLR-7’s, but from what I hear, it contains part of the magic that makes the head produce 22,000 candela. This means you can’t take the HL-X face-cap off and put it on your TLR-7 Sub expecting the same performance. Don’t take it from me, here’s Brian Osborn from Streamlight:

When using the included SL-B9 battery, this light gives you the option of running 50% power to increase runtime. It will also limit itself to 50% output when using a CR123A battery.

The Streamlight SL-B9.

Continuing to the rear of the light, the switches are excellent (though not quite as nice as the switches on the Sig Sauer Foxtrot2R). The user interface remains largely the same: tap the switch for constant-on, and hold the switch for momentary mode (that is, when you release the switch after holding it, the light will turn back off).

The HL-X’s switches.

There is a strobe feature for those of you that are into that. Here is the full user manual for instructions on how to program the light, and more:

Let’s see how the HL-X measures up to the competition.

Competitive Analysis

The HL-X beside its competition.

Since the TLR-7 HL-X advertises full-size performance in a compact package, I’ve chosen to compare it to both full-size and compact lights:

Spec	Streamlight TLR-7 HL-X	Streamlight TLR-7X	Sig Sauer Foxtrot2R	Streamlight TLR-1HL
Lumens	1,000	500	700	1,000
Candela	22,000	5,000	20,000	20,000
Runtime	30 Minutes	1 Hour	1.5 Hours	1.5 Hours
Battery Type	Streamlight SL-B9 or CR123A	Streamlight SL-B9 or CR123A	16340 or CR123A	2x CR123A
Length (excluding switches)	64.2 mm	54.9 mm	59.4 mm	78.1 mm
Body Width	29.5 mm	29.5 mm	29.9 mm	36.4 mm
Head Diameter	23.7 mm	23.7 mm	24.5 mm	30.1 mm
Price	$165	$139	$149.95	$160

I’ve been running the Foxtrot2R for some time now, as have most of the guys in my shop. But the TLR-7 HL-X is tempting on paper.

Let’s get some real-world numbers and see how it stacks up.

Into the Lab: Lumens, Runtime, Candela, Color Temp, and CRI

Lumens

Streamlight claims 1,000 lumens for the TLR-7 HL-X. All tests were performed using the included rechargeable batteries, except for the TLR-1 HL which uses prime cells.

I cut off the test at two hours, but the Foxtrot2R and TLR-1HL were still emitting some light when I ended the test.

Let’s get a closer look at the first ten minutes:

I’m impressed to see the TLR-7 HL-X keeping up with the TLR-1HL for the first ten minutes.

Here are the measured lumen outputs for these lights:

Light	Lumens (manufacturer claim)	Measured lumens (highest measured output from thirty seconds to two minutes)
Streamlight TLR-7 HL-X	1,000	1,103
Streamlight TLR-7X	500	590
Sig Sauer Foxtrot2R	700	842
Streamlight TLR-1HL	1,000	1,222

The TLR-1 HL performs slightly better than the HL-X during the first ten minutes, and dominates from thirty minutes onward.

Runtime

Here are the runtimes:

Light	Runtime (manufacturer claim)	Runtime (to 10% of the output measured at 30s)	Runtime (to 10 lumens)
Streamlight TLR-7 HL-X	30 minutes	40:09	52:02
Streamlight TLR-7X	1 Hour	55:40	1:03:20
Sig Sauer Foxtrot2R	1.5 Hours	38:32	2:00:00 +*
Streamlight TLR-1HL	1.5 Hours	1:31:36	2:00:00 +*

*Test ended before reaching 10 lumens.

As always, Streamlight is right-on with their runtime claims.

The TLR-1 HL dominates in the categories of lumen output and runtime. But if you’re okay with slightly less output, and forty minutes of runtime, then the TLR-7 HL-X is worth considering.

Candela

Candela is a measurement of a light beam’s intensity at its center-point. A high-candela light will be capable of blinding nearby targets and identifying targets at greater distances.

Light	Candela (manufacturer claim)	Measured Candela (0s)	Measured Candela (30s)
Streamlight TLR-7 HL-X	22,000	19,690	19,150
Streamlight TLR-7X	5,000	4,488	4,067
Sig Sauer Foxtrot2R	20,000	16,190	14,840
Streamlight TLR-1HL	20,000	17,160	17,350

Impressive results from the TLR-7 HL-X! It produced 19,690 candela at turn-on and 19,150 at thirty seconds. This is higher than the full-size TLR-1 HL’s 17,350 candela.

Here are some beamshots to illustrate the high-intensity beam of the TLR-7 HL-X:

Even though the TLR-1 HL produces more light overall, the HL-X does a better job of focusing it into a tight hotspot. Which beam shape you need depends on your anticipated usecase.

Color Temperature and CRI

Color temperature and CRI are measures of light quality. Tactical lights generally have high color temperatures and low CRI, meaning they will portray colors inaccurately.

Light	Color Temperature	CRI
Streamlight TLR-7 HL-X	6595K	69.7
Streamlight TLR-7X	5676K	70.2
Sig Sauer Foxtrot2R	6491K	69.5
Streamlight TLR-1HL	6048K	69.7

Since all these lights perform similarly in this category, I wouldn’t let these numbers influence your decision on which light to purchase. That being said, I prefer the color of the TLR-1 HL-X’s beam to that of the TLR-1HL. The yellowish tinge from the TLR-1 is a bit distracting.

Holsters

If you do end up buying this light, note that it will not fit in closed-end holsters designed for the old TLR-7. At Werkz, we have a wide selection of precision-fit holsters for the TLR-7 HL-X.

Here are some of the headliners. I included the link to purchase them from my website as well:

Link	Compatibility	Handedness
https://werkz.com/streamlight-tlr-7hlx.html	–	–
https://werkz.com/m62gl940asttlr7hr.html	Glock 17, 19, 45, 47, etc.	Right
https://werkz.com/m62gl940asttlr7hl.html	Glock 17, 19, 45, 47, etc.	Left
https://werkz.com/m62sgp320asttlr7hr.html	Sig Sauer P320 (Multiple Slide Lengths)	Right
https://werkz.com/m62sgp365msttlr7hr.html	Sig Sauer P365 X-Macro	Right
https://werkz.com/m62wapdp45sttlr7hr.html	Walther PDP	Right
https://werkz.com/m62czp10cfsttlr7hr.html	CZ P-10C / P-10F	Right
https://werkz.com/m62bfpx4fssttlr7hr.html	Beretta PX4 Full Size	Right

If you don’t see the holster you need in the table above, we may have released it by the time you’re reading this. Use our holster finder to find out if we have the holster for your TLR-7 HL-X setup.

Takeaways

The new Streamlight TLR-7 HL-X isn’t messing around.

It’s so good, it basically obsoletes the TLR-1 HL for those that don’t need the runtime. Compared to the Foxtrot2R, the HL-X is slightly larger, but it performs better in every measurable metric. However, the Foxtrot2R is still ergonomically superior. Its switches are second-to-none and its low profile allows for great trigger guard coverage in light-bearing holsters.

I’m curious to see if Streamlight will give the TLR-7 Sub the HL-X treatment. I suspect they will, which is why I’ve started preparing holster designs for a theoretical TLR-7 Sub HL-X.

Will I switch to the HL-X myself? Not yet. I’m currently running a Foxtrot2R on my HK P30, and I’m quite happy with the setup. But if you’re in the market for a new pistol light, or if you have an older TLR-7, I would highly recommend the TLR-7 HL-X.

What do you think about this new light? Was there anything I missed? Will you be picking one up? Let me know in the comments below!