I have one of those cheap $30 hilight pistol lights. I’ve put around 500 rounds through it. The bezel will come loose after a few mags, and needs to be tightened.
Other than that I’m happy with it.
But if I was going to upgrade it would be for the plight pistol light
Could you please provide a model or link to the $30 hilight ?
I just bought the Olight PL-1 Valkyrie from Fasttech for $73.00 with MAP coupon code that has just expired. Banggood has it listed for $69.00 but is out of stock. I’ll use and test this light for awhile. But for real life It’s only Streamlight and Surefire. My very best gear is that night stand bump in the dark stuff. At work or on duty you got a radio, awake and might have an idea it’s going south. Not an LEO then you’re still awake, alert. Cheap and or questionable for range use only.
Really guys it’s 0230 you just got woke up with a noise. You want your cheap night stand stuff for what?
A. It’s a neighbor wanting a cup of sugar.
B. A horny super model that want to tickle you.
C. Kids breaking back in because he stayed out too late.
D. Meth head who only needs his next fix and your in the way, and he’s not going back to jail.
E. Something evil with mental health issues.
I dealt with E. one week at court. He was still angry after killing his friend during an argument. He turns to me and says during lunch in his cell “You all are just trying to prove a point, yeah I killed him but you know they could just build a new one.”
On my 3rd gen Glock 21SF Streamlight TLR 1 HL LED Light | Bright Weaponlight Ammunition is http://winchesterle.com/Products/handgun-ammunition/ranger/t-series/Pages/RA45TP.aspx
Back up/wife might need a gun is a 3rd gen Glock 19 without a weapon light. http://winchesterle.com/Products/handgun-ammunition/ranger/t-series/Pages/RA9TA.aspx
Both weapons have 2 spare magazines in double pouches. My truly trusted light is an Armytek Doberman.
I agree 100% if you’re going to be trusting your life to something don’t trust something that isn’t proven.
However, when I’m buying one of these lights I’m mostly looking for a host that mounts well on the light and a configuration that is easy to operate. If the electronics are crap I’ll just rip them out and start from scratch. I trust my own work as much as I trust a surefire or whatever else.
I’ll try to make that clear when I’m talking about these weapon lights.
My comment was more or less aimed at people trying to excuse cheap/faulty/defective equipment as night stand only. But still perfectly good to use in a life changing moment, just not practice with. This similar thread is currently on 4-5 different forums I participate in. I’ve got people I work or shoot with that spend thousands on the very best gear then stuff it with the cheapest ammo/magazines/gadget. These same people will then excuse it as only cheap practice ammo when we all know it’s what the spare mags got in it now. I’ve got two people now that build weapon lights out of one and two led bike lights. These lights are metal pillared in tandem to a vertical fore grip/battery pack. They always work even on Saiga shotguns that kill more equipment then any other weapon. So I get asked why not use them on serious social weapons. Answer until they get 10,000 out there for 5 years it’s got no a proven track record. This is the trial time where we find out that epoxy was needed, those switches don’t hold up, Batteries need to be vertical not horizontal to the recoil, wires wear through in this spot. The wife will tell you I’ve got boxes of broken @#%^ in the garage. This is the stuff I tinker with, rebuild or Frankenstein. I’m off the soap box now.
The difference between “I’m testing this” and “I’m using this with no problems” is huge, and it gets bigger the longer “I’m using this with no problems” continues. Given enough use everything will fail eventually. Unexpected failure is not an option here
One of my “future projects” will be making a light for a .357 which will hopefully be integrated into the heavy barrel itself (at least the emitter-reflector and whatever else I can hide in there). Don’t hold your breath, my “future projects” have been known to take decades to get started but there’s enough room for what I envision even if the non-emitter components have to go elsewhere. I’ve also wondered about converting ‘bolt-on’ lasers for this- at least the case and cell-holder should be usable. A known good flashlight driver design could be used but rearranged for component layout to fit the new home. Would definitely need ‘potting’ with silicone or epoxy and heat could be an issue. If a factory can build it then you can too given the resources that takes, and yours might be better.
Just thinking aloud but subscribed to this thread as I have long wanted this to happen for me too.
Phil
Unfortunately, I’m still waiting on my light from GB. Getting the normal run-around now of ‘check your address’ and ‘check you post office’. After this I’m going to toss GB into the same pile as DX and FT.
I’ve had to file a CC dispute against Gear Best. I’ve been msg them for about a week. First it was 10-25 days shipping. Then it became 10-45 days shipping. Now in their last msg it’s up to 3 months shipping. I’ve ordered from GB before and normally received items in about 2 weeks. In fact, GB was the last dealer I planned on doing business with as FT and DX really started messing up my orders and/or sending me broken items. But GB had always come through until now. At the time the light was advertised as shipping within 3 days, yet it took 7. And 43 days is long even for China.
O’well, the search goes on.
The CC dispute was resolved in my favor. Now to begin looking again for a tac light 
Nice!
Although this is the “budget” light forum, there is also the mantra of “buy once, cry once”, which it looks like you have experienced. Personally, for WML that you may have to depend on, I’d stick with the known/proven manufacturers and (recoil-tested) designs. That narrows it down to offerings from Surefire, Streamlight, Inforce, etc. One of the better bang/buck ratios IMO is the Streamlight TLR-1 HL. The latest version is 800 lumens, and is a decent thrower. You can pick one up for around $120 shipped. The Inforce APL is nice as well and fits the Glock perfectly. However, it isn’t nearly as bright, and costs about $20 more. 