Streamlight or Surefire?

[CodyGT46]

I had a streamlight on my Glock G30 and it worked pretty well, only reason I don't have it anymore was trading away that gun, Never had a weapon mounted Surefire, but I do have one of their flashlights I got for my birthday and it works great!

In terms of compactness I have a Viridian light mounted on my S&W Shield and looks like it'd come from the factory that way.

[fritztkatt]

Streamlight. Price, lumens (most surefire are over powered IMO). Have you ever turned that 800lm beast on inside your house!? Good lord, that's like canned sunlight. 300lm makes me want sunglasses. 800 and I'd want a welding shield.

[madoka]

I own every tactical light from both Surefire and Streamlight, so I'm not playing favorites.



I prefer the controls on SF. Subjectively, SF does feel like it's 10%-20% more solid than SL. Whether that's worth a 200%-300% premium is up to you.

If it's for home defense use, then I prefer Crimson Trace's Lightguard. It's cheaper, easy to use, and at 120 lumens, it won't blind you.

[Wallabing]

I dealt with Streamlight warranty repair, and they were quick, and sent me a new flashlight.

Affordable great quality flashlights with good customer service.

[AEtrane]

I've had the opposite experience with streamlight warranty.

Had a tlr-1 hl go dim all of the sudden (like it ran out of battery despite changing them twice)

Called streamlight and they claimed it would be covered under warranty and to send it in, but I have to pay shipping.

Ok cool, ship it out with detailed account of problem and every possible way to contact me. Hear crickets for three weeks then just get my defective light back with a note saying it's fine and to check the batteries.

So I spent $20 on insured shipping and was out of a weapon light for three weeks just to be told there's no problem with it. As though I was simply making it up and wanted to waste a bunch of time!?

Used to be a die hard streamlight fan for their price and perceived quality, but I don't think I'll be buying any more of their products.

[NIB]

Several years ago on another message board, a poster took apart a SF X200 and a Streamlight to do a comparison. It was obvious that the SF had a much better quality fit and finish than the Streamlight. The Streamlight wasn't bad, but you could tell the difference in quality on a SF X200.

That said, I chose the Streamlight because I just prefer the controls on it over the SF. I can tell the LED bulb is not centered on the Streamlight but for the price I got it for I didn't care.

[D.A.V.I.D.]

I have a streamlight tlr-1 hl and surefire x300 ultra. I couldn't tell you why the sf cost more. I guess it seems more solid but they both work fine and I like the switch better on the streamlight and it's brighter than the sf

[T6pilot]

Surfire or nothing, warranty service [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

[sloppy joe]

Surefire for sure

[ScottsBad]

Surefire is not that great.
A lot Fan boys are brainwashed, must be the free stickers.
Maybe the military contract. Slot of money for plastic.
They've controlled the market so long.
I save bucks with
Streamlight TLR-1 for handguns. Better controls.
Tlr-1 HL with pressure pad for AR is a great light too.

I'm sure that someone has pointed out that the Surefire can be purchased with aluminum mounting hardware now.

I have a Streamlight TLR HL 500 lumens. And I have a Surefire M600 I just bought from a CalGunner.

One of the problems with the Streamlight is the color of the LED. It is too white and washes out color which makes it harder for me to make identification quickly. I knew about the LED color before I bought the TLR, but bought it anyway.

At the time the reason I did not buy the Surefire X300 was because of the plastic mounting. Now, I would buy the Surefire X300? over the Streamlight TLR.

As for the M600 it appears well made and has the warmer colored LED which brings out color better. After I try it out for awhile I'll probably buy another M600 and maybe an X300 too.

For me the TLR and X300 are too large for a pistol IMHO.

[ScottsBad]

BTW - I cannot stand the TLR silver ring on the bezel.. I bought an Industrial Sharpie and boom, now its black

[omgwtfbbq]

For the money, Streamlight hands down. I would their products at work (LE) and have had no issues.

That's not saying SF isn't a good brand. It's fantastic. I just don't see such a marked improvement in quality to justify the price tag.

[arod7615]

I like both SL and SF lights but have to agree that the toggle switch on the TLR is a bit smoother than the SF. My duty gun was issued with a SF X300UA and i like it especially with the DG pressure grip. I say you play with both lights and see what works for you. I still use the old Insight M3's on my glocks and they do the job that a weapon light was intended to do. I recently bought the TLR-1 HL 800 and its a very bright light.

[EspoMan]

I use a TLR-1 HL for my HD pistol and a X300UA (issued light) for my duty pistol, and I like my TLR-1 way more.

[drunktank]

I've owned and used plenty from both camps over the past 15 years. The controls on some of the SF's are a little easier for me to manipulate so I prefer them in general. On a different website a few years ago, a poster took apart a light from each brand. The SF was built with better quality but most agreed they both did the job fine and the price point was the deciding factor for many.

I've dropped lights from both companies off of an elevator (about 20 stories high) and they both still work. Good enough for me.