It's that good - SureFire M300C Compact LED Scout Light

I've got an old 6P that I purchased as a cadet in 1999. It says "Laser Products" on it, so that's where I'm coming from. I've also had a handful of other Surefire lights over the years, first incandescent and then LED, and while they've always impressed, I would say that the value of SF lights has diminished relative to the competition. Particularly when Streamlight has such a broad portfolio of handheld lights (that rock, BTW), and then the Protac RM1, 2, and HL-X.

This was my first SF weapon light, and I paid about $224 for it. Another $80 or so for the SR07 pressure switch and tail cap. Pretty steep when you can get the HLX for about a hundred bucks, or the RM-1 for less than that. The verdict? Yeah, it's that good.

The quality is evident. It's plenty bright, and little things--like the quality of the wire on the pressure switch, and the way the switch plugs into the tailcap--definitely look and feel far more military grade than Streamlight's scout-pattern lights. That said, I still run Streamlights and love them.

So is it 3x better than an HLX, or RM1/2? It depends. If you're a casual user and just need a good light, no. Get a Streamlight and spend the extra on ammo. If you're using your gun for duty use, or just want a bombproof setup and have the money to spend, yeah it's worth it.

My only gripe is the mounting lugs. In 2019, I feel like both SF and Streamlight could to better. There's a lot of extra material on the sides that makes mounting next to a front sight or LAM a bit tricky. If you look at the bodies from Arisaka it's obvious that the mounting lugs could retain the same pattern while shedding the goofy legs that only matter if you're using the factory thumbscrew mount, which I bet more than 50% of users DON'T use. Thankfully Arisaka has great options that allow lateral movement. Also, just throwing this out there: Don't be afraid to get a Dremel out and shave material off those stupid mounting legs if you need to. That's why God created flat black paint. :)

One last thing, and I don't take credit for this (I think it was on BigTex Outdoors or something like that? Google it): The RM07 switch will work with the Cloud Defensive mount for the STREAMLIGHT pressure pad. You read that right. Cloud Defensive mounts are the bees knees, and they make them for both SF and SL. The SF one is only for the UE07 switch, which just has the pressure pad and is flat. The RM07 pressure pad (momentary + constant on) is rubberized and has a built-in rail interface, which isn't bad but the CD mount is waaaaaayyyy better. So, all you do is: Order the CD mount for the RM07 switch, then shave the rail grabbers off the bottom of the switch and make it flat. I used a sharp razor knife to get it close, then a belt sander to get it perfectly flat. Then your RM07 slides into the Streamlight CD mount like a GLOVE. It's pretty awesome. Great setup.