Gun Mounted Light w/ Laser - Review/Poll -updated 7.13.10

[srt-4_jon]

With a dirty lens, you will see the ghost dot. Same as if you shine a laser at a dirty window. If its clean, there shouldnt be a problem.

[Outlaw54]

Regarding the STL-900L, the laser sits behind the lens, correct? Have you ever had issues with the light refracting and giving you sort of a ghost dot? I looked at both the Sig and a knock off and the reviews I read said both had this problem for some people, but not for everyone. If you haven't, please try just the laser on the wall in a dark room and let me know if you notice anything like this, thanks!

Yes, it does sit behind the lens.
I did have that problem at first, but I cleaned the lens too and adjusted it with the tool and the ghost went away. I have not had the problem since. I think if you run the laser adjustment all the way in, you get it pointing against the side of the lens and you get this effect. I had the same problem with an old Laser Devices, Inc that clips onto the groove under the slide on older models of my H&K USP and Walther P99. This model is laser only and has a lens that covers the laser. When you adjust the windage all the way right, it did the same thing.

Hope that helps, for the money ($170) this was a nice combo, for $85 it is a steal

[bpasky]

Updated STL-900L 7.13.10

[Outlaw54]

Updated STL-900L 7.13.10

Is there a link here that I missed? What was updated??

[f3rr37]

Updated STL-900L 7.13.10

Is there a link here that I missed? What was updated??

Check the first post.

[Outlaw54]

Updated STL-900L 7.13.10

Is there a link here that I missed? What was updated??

Check the first post.

Now I understand, thanks for clearing that up for me :clap:

Looks like the SIG is still in a distant 4th despite the cheaper price. I did a little comparison before I bought and price was a big factor for me once I was satisfied with the main features and I had experience and quality with the Sig accessories. I do see the Surefire (I have a full size flashlight w/ pressure pad on the rail of my AR-15) and Streamlights are very nice and popular. My own research was these are very expensive accesories in general. I recently purchased a LaserMax laser only for mounting on my rail on my AR. I saw them priced at $500-600 and after shopping I got it for $285. All of this stuff can be found cheaper if you Google and spend some time looking. The green lasers tend to be twice as expensive as the red lasers.

That was a great job (bpasky) BTW on the whole comparison and links. If you are shopping for a light/laser combo, you certainly gave a good review with lots of information.

Is there another poll like this for optical mounts for the FNP tactical .45? I would love to see a comparison of the Trijicon, Doctor and others to see what I want to put on mine.

[srt-4_jon]

I just got my Sig and Streamlight in today. Build quality on the two seem equal but the battery door latch on the Streamlight was very nice. The Sig puts out a wider light pattern than the Streamlight but not as bright. I did see the ghost laser when I was adjusting the laser for a 7ish yard zero. Once I got the zero, it went away. I was adjusting the elevation high and I think it was hitting the reflector bowl causing the diffraction. Buttons on it are kind of complicated out of the box but with everything else, 5 minutes of playing with it and it is second nature. I dont see why people complain its overly complicated. We will see how the laser holds zero when I can get to the range. Maybe I will put it on the 10mm to see if it will hold up to the recoil.

[Outlaw54]

I just got my Sig and Streamlight in today. Build quality on the two seem equal but the battery door latch on the Streamlight was very nice. The Sig puts out a wider light pattern than the Streamlight but not as bright. I did see the ghost laser when I was adjusting the laser for a 7ish yard zero. Once I got the zero, it went away. I was adjusting the elevation high and I think it was hitting the reflector bowl causing the diffraction. Buttons on it are kind of complicated out of the box but with everything else, 5 minutes of playing with it and it is second nature. I dont see why people complain its overly complicated. We will see how the laser holds zero when I can get to the range. Maybe I will put it on the 10mm to see if it will hold up to the recoil.

Yep that's what I found on the ghost thing too, it is aimed to hit the side and I can replicate it by using the tool and running it all the way to one side. I agree on the controls too, at a glance they seem complicated but once you use them they are easy.
I have moved it from the Five-Seven to the Mosiquito and back and now on the FNP tactical. It takes a few seconds to change it slightly and a few shots to true it up and then it holds nice. It seems like 25 yards is where it set best, the FN Five-Seven can reach a little further and out shoot the laser. It fits very snug on the rail and can take the recoil, although the 5-7 has very little recoil. I will be testing it on the .45 and now that I have 2 will probably leave one on each of the FN's, but it is nice to know that I can take it off and put it on another weapon with little trouble. I have owned some more expensive light/laser combo's that were not as easy to change out or that didn't tighten down as nice. The SIG unit is solid, well built and fits well on the length of the rail with no play on it. I have spent more and gotten less. Some of the other units may be slightly better, but I still think this is a steal at under $100 in my mail box :clap:

[srt-4_jon]

Here is a quick beam shot comparison. I underexposed on purpose to show where the light exactly ends. Excuse the messy floor, we just bought our first house and are still unpacking. All shots are ~8 feet from the wall. Ignore the colors, I left the white balance setting from a different shoot I was doing. The Insight is a warm color like a regular incandesant bulb whereas the Sig and Streamlight are a cooler white.

This is the Insight M3. This is the head tightened all the way down to make the best water tight seal on the head. Here you can see the dark spots I was talking about. It is VERY wide light but not as bright as the other 2. It is hard to see where the edges of the light are in the picture but it does fill the entire wall with dim light. If I dont trade the light, I will be getting the LED head.


This is the Sig STL-900. Light is wider than the TLR-1 but not as bright in the middle. No where near as wide as the Insight though.


This is the Streamlight TLR-1s. It is very bright in the center and has the least width. Again, this is only 8 ft from the wall so it is still plenty wide for around the house.


This is the Inisght M3 with the head loosened to focus the light to get rid of the dead spots but possibly more succeptable to water damage.

[irie267]

On a sidenote, does anyone know of a dropleg holster for a Five-Seven with a light attachment?

[bpasky]

On a sidenote, does anyone know of a dropleg holster for a Five-Seven with a light attachment?

Side Armor is the main one that I know of, not sure if you can use for dropleg or not. There maybe more. I think Side Armor will work with;

Surefire X200
Surefire X300
Streamlight TLR-1
Streamlight TLR-2
Insight M3
Insight m6
Insight Procyon

http://www.sidearmor.com/store/index.ph ... ucts_id=18

[bpasky]

I just got my Sig and Streamlight in today. Build quality on the two seem equal but the battery door latch on the Streamlight was very nice. The Sig puts out a wider light pattern than the Streamlight but not as bright. I did see the ghost laser when I was adjusting the laser for a 7ish yard zero. Once I got the zero, it went away. I was adjusting the elevation high and I think it was hitting the reflector bowl causing the diffraction. Buttons on it are kind of complicated out of the box but with everything else, 5 minutes of playing with it and it is second nature. I dont see why people complain its overly complicated. We will see how the laser holds zero when I can get to the range. Maybe I will put it on the 10mm to see if it will hold up to the recoil.

I would take a rocker switch that is placed right in front of the trigger finger over a 3 button layout on the side of the light any day. When SHTF, you don't have time to tell the bad guy, "Hold on let me look at the side of the light here to which button i need to turn on, I can't see which one is the one I need because there is no light."

However at half or a third of the cost, it is a great option, I will give it that. BTW, great job on the comparisons with the light output. We need more stuff like that. :thumb:

Probably 90% of us or more on this forum are guys. Guys like pictures. Pictures are worth a thousand words, and if I don't have to type a thousand words to explain what a simple picture does...by all means.

:ttiwwp:

[srt-4_jon]

I would take a rocker switch that is placed right in front of the trigger finger over a 3 button layout on the side of the light any day. When SHTF, you don't have time to tell the bad guy, "Hold on let me look at the side of the light here to which button i need to turn on, I can't see which one is the one I need because there is no light."

The 2 buttons on the rear activate the light (black for on/off, yellow for momentary). The side buttons are for light function (strobe on/off) and laser activation. Therefore, all you need is to press the button that is right in front of the trigger to turn it on. Also, it has a memory so if you turn it off when it is strobing, it is strobing when you turn it on again. Also, to make the sig light strobe is alot easier than the streamlight which requires either a really fast index finger or your left hand.

[jgreenberg01]

I would take a rocker switch that is placed right in front of the trigger finger over a 3 button layout on the side of the light any day. When SHTF, you don't have time to tell the bad guy, "Hold on let me look at the side of the light here to which button i need to turn on, I can't see which one is the one I need because there is no light."

The 2 buttons on the rear activate the light (black for on/off, yellow for momentary). The side buttons are for light function (strobe on/off) and laser activation. Therefore, all you need is to press the button that is right in front of the trigger to turn it on. Also, it has a memory so if you turn it off when it is strobing, it is strobing when you turn it on again. Also, to make the sig light strobe is alot easier than the streamlight which requires either a really fast index finger or your left hand.

+1 to what both of you said.

I just received my Sig STL-900L today (I couldn't resist for $85). I'm used to using a TLR-1 so I had the same concern re: paddle vs. push-button. As far as I can tell, because the buttons that turn the light on/off face the trigger finger, they're just about as convenient as a paddle switch however... in that SHTF scenario, turning on the laser or toggling between strobe/solid beam using the buttons on the side is way less-than-intuitive.

Also, I have that secondary laser echo with the Sig and no amount of lens cleaning is making it go away. It's annoying but because it's so much smaller than the big laser dot... for the price, I still think it's a bargain (as long as it holds zero, which I'll report on when I shoot it next).

My TLR-1 is going on my AR57 with a pressure switch on the vertical grip, and as long as the STL-900L holds its zero on the FsN, that's where they will live for now.

[srt-4_jon]

Have you tried activating the strobe feature on a Streamlight? It is a pain so with either light, I will need both hands.

[Outlaw54]

I just got my second Sig STL-900L (the one for $85) tonight and I get the ghost right out of the box. Two full turns to the left with the adjusting tool and it goes away. If the beam hits the reflecting surface coming out of the "laser hole" it will refract. Once you work the beam out of the channel it emits from, using the windage or elevation adjustments, it goes away for me twice. Not sure if this helps or it is just the guns I have put this on, both were FN's....so who knows

[srt-4_jon]

I put the STL-900L on my 10mm with some nice warm loads and the laser stayed in place.

[jgreenberg01]

I just got my second Sig STL-900L (the one for $85) tonight and I get the ghost right out of the box. Two full turns to the left with the adjusting tool and it goes away. If the beam hits the reflecting surface coming out of the "laser hole" it will refract. Once you work the beam out of the channel it emits from, using the windage or elevation adjustments, it goes away for me twice. Not sure if this helps or it is just the guns I have put this on, both were FN's....so who knows

Thanks, that did work. Sort of...

It does go away, but as soon as I re-zero it - the ghost returns. It needs a friggen tac-exorcism!

[owsi26]

This forum is KING of "use the search function". To the point of being ridiculous. Why dont we just catalog all possible topics into an excel spreadsheet, add information as we learn more and shut down the discussion part of the forum? Kind of defeats the purpose. Its one reason I do a lot more reading on this forum than posting, and it has nothing to do with being thin skinned, I can assure you. Its just not worth the hassle trying to figure out who actually responded to your question while sifting through the 37 "use the search function" replies by people who I guess feel they are on another intelligence level b/c they are more familiar with forum etiquette than others. I can assure you everyone on here is a specialist in some area enough to make others feel inadequate were the topic to arise. Sorry for the tantrum, I can just image we run off a ton of new and good people weekly on here, and its not like there is so much discussion going on that we don't need anymore.

I think your "tantrum" has merit to it.

[Splendid Bauble]

I would take a rocker switch that is placed right in front of the trigger finger over a 3 button layout on the side of the light any day. When SHTF, you don't have time to tell the bad guy, "Hold on let me look at the side of the light here to which button i need to turn on, I can't see which one is the one I need because there is no light."

The 2 buttons on the rear activate the light (black for on/off, yellow for momentary). The side buttons are for light function (strobe on/off) and laser activation. Therefore, all you need is to press the button that is right in front of the trigger to turn it on. Also, it has a memory so if you turn it off when it is strobing, it is strobing when you turn it on again. Also, to make the sig light strobe is alot easier than the streamlight which requires either a really fast index finger or your left hand.

+1 to what both of you said.

I just received my Sig STL-900L today (I couldn't resist for $85). I'm used to using a TLR-1 so I had the same concern re: paddle vs. push-button. As far as I can tell, because the buttons that turn the light on/off face the trigger finger, they're just about as convenient as a paddle switch however... in that SHTF scenario, turning on the laser or toggling between strobe/solid beam using the buttons on the side is way less-than-intuitive.

Also, I have that secondary laser echo with the Sig and no amount of lens cleaning is making it go away. It's annoying but because it's so much smaller than the big laser dot... for the price, I still think it's a bargain (as long as it holds zero, which I'll report on when I shoot it next).

My TLR-1 is going on my AR57 with a pressure switch on the vertical grip, and as long as the STL-900L holds its zero on the FsN, that's where they will live for now.

Picked up the Sig STL-900L fairly recently. The "secondary laser echo" is there for me, but I didn't notice it once when shooting, so no actual issue there (at least for me).

Ran a couple hundred rounds through it (SS197, so nothing that powerful or exciting), had no problem with it holding zero. I did notice it changes the weight and balance of the gun significantly, FWIW (It felt fine or better shooting, but is certainly significantly heavier.)

Does anyone have any thoughts on potentially taking it apart and rewiring one of the rear buttons to turn on the laser as well? Unfortunately I'm in the middle of a move and haven't found my tiny screwdrivers yet to take a look inside it to see how difficult this might be, but seems like it would solve the only real potential problem with it: that the laser is a tiny button on the side next to other tiny buttons.