Product Review

You have seen it in the movies; an officer or soldier makes his/her way through a dark building, holding his/her service gun in one hand and a flashlight in the other. This method leaves both hands full and in the event he/she needs to use his/her hand to grab a suspect or pick up a piece of evidence, he/she has to put something down. If the flashlight, he/she loses his vision; if the weapon, he/she loses protection.

Mounting the flashlight to the weapon was obviously the only option. There are a variety of solutions on offer and the Streamlight TLR-1 is a great light. The mounting hardware is easy to use, both spring-loaded and screw-on, which provides security in the knowledge the light will not come off. Its light weight means it no interference with the balance of the weapon.

The light functions with a toggle switch that you can reach with your trigger finger, to either flash the light or set to permanent on. The light allows you to reset the switch to enable a strobe function that you can turn on and off again with just your trigger finger. There is a relatively complicated series of clicks to make this happen that is contained in the manual.

Because of the high recoil of a handgun, the TLR-1 is built to withstand high stresses. I have dropped the light from one metre onto hard concrete and the it still works. As a bonus, the light did not flash when it hit the ground. The internal electronics are completely sound. The aluminium shell is also strong, and water-tight. Replacing the batteries requires popping open a strong water-tight door that feels very secure. My tests show the light working well submerged in a deep sink full of water. And if anything untoward were to happen to your TLR-1, Streamlight offers a lifetime guarantee.

For more information please see MILITARY TECHNOLOGY #1/2017, available at SHOT Show 2017; and frequently check back for more NEWS FROM THE FLOOR.