I will confess that I am a bit of a flashlight nerd. Before this modern age of LED bulb and lithium-ion batteries, I had a AA-powered Maglite in my pocket at every waking moment, then graduated on to other brighter lights as they became available. I consider a bright light to be an essential element of my everyday carry, which is why I was particularly interested when Nightstick sent me a selection of its lights to take a look at and put to the test.
One of the bedrock rules of gun safety is “Be aware of your target and what’s behind and all around it.” This task gets a little hairy when the light starts to get dim, which is why a weapon-mounted light, or WML, makes a lot of sense in certain situations. For example, if there’s enough ambient light around you that a bad guy can select you as his (or her) target du jour, there’s enough light around for you to see that yes, in fact, they are a bad guy, and you need to do something about it. However, I consider a WML to be absolutely essential for any firearm that’s meant for home defense. If you’ve chosen to use a pistol for this task, Nightstick makes a selection of first-rate lights for this task. Let’s take a look at three of them.
TCM-365
The firearms world was turned upside down when SIG Sauer introduced the P365. That pistol represented an unheard-of combination of small size and large capacity and remains a best-seller to this day. Therefore, it makes sense that accessory companies like Nightstick would build accessories to use with this pistol. The TCM-365 weighs just 2.25 ounces and is designed to slide onto the rail underneath the dust cover of a standard P365. The light is made from aircraft-grade aluminum and is powered by a single CR123A lithium battery. Because it’s been designed from the start with the P365 in mind, the controls of this light are right where you want them to be when attached to the gun, and I found it easy to use and switch between momentary-on and constant-on modes. There is also a user-programmable strobe mode and battery saver mode, and the light is dust and water rated to IP-X7. The TCM-365 has 650 lumens, which is right around what you’d expect from a single-lithium light, and has 4,612 candela. Runtime for the light is two hours, and the MSRP is $210.
TCM-10 GL Light/Laser
The utility of a laser sight on a pistol seems to have been forgotten in the frenzy to mount a red dot to any handgun which has a reciprocating slide. A laser, though, brings some unique things to the party. For example, that laser dot on a target lets an attacker know that, unless they change their ways, a large hole will suddenly appear where that dot is positioned. In addition to a green laser, the TCM-10 has 650 lumens, which is more than enough to light up a room.
This brings up an important point: A WML, any WML, is not a substitute for a flashlight. Remember how I started off by mentioning one of the rules of gun safety? Well, another one of those rules is “Don’t point your gun at something you don’t want to poke a hole into,” (or some variation thereof). If you’re using your WML as a flashlight, sweeping the walls and doors of your abode as you move, are you following that rule? No, you’re not. Keep the gun and the light pointed in a safe direction, and use the backscatter and spill from the light to find your way around.
Besides all of that, the TCM-10 is powered by a single CR123A battery and has 4,612 candela. The switches on the side of the light are programmable for light only, laser only or light and laser on simultaneously. Made from anodized aluminum, the light has an IP-X7 rating and a battery life of 2 hours on high. MSRP is $388.
TWM-30 Light w/ Strobe
Doubling the batteries (there are two CR123As in this light) means that the TWM-30 has 1,200 lumens, almost double the power of the other lights we’ve been talking about. The shape of the beam of this light has been optimized for greater ranges, so it has more than double the candela (9,379 in total) of the other lights. Higher candela means a tighter, narrower light is kicked out the front, making it ideal for situations where you have to engage targets which are at the upper limits of your pistol’s effective range. The TWM-30 also has a strobe feature, which can be very handy handy in distracting and disorienting your target. The case is made from anodized high-strength aluminum, and the light is rated IP-67 for dust and water. MSRP is $217.
For more information on these lights or other products from Nightstick, please visit nightstick.com.
