Its a Tool, Not a Toy
Written: Sep 03 '08 (Updated Sep 03 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very birght, Rugged, Good Accessories
Cons: Expensive, Accessories Expensive, Low Lamp-Life and Runtime
The Bottom Line: Buy it if you NEED a light this bright or just want a cool light. Otherwise its not worth the money
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| tysonson's Full Review: Surefire M3T Turbo Combat Light Flashlight Hard An... |
This is one of Surefire's Special Operations line of military lights. I didn't need this but I got it at an uncommonly low price of about $210 due to an error with a vendor. Currently it retails for $329 (it was $308) and Surefire works pretty hard to keep retail the only price available.
The light measures 7.9" in length, weighs 9.8oz, and has a 2.5" diameter Turbo Head. The Turbo Head bezel tapers back at about 45 degree angle to a diameter of about 1.5" and has four 1/8" high ridges that run around the light and back another 1/2". Thats the whole lamp head and it screws onto the shaft of the light at this point. The part of the shaft it screws onto is about 1 1/4" in diameter a there is one O-Ring for weatherproofing. The threads and O-Ring are coated in a silicon lubricant. This part of the shaft has two 1/4" high ridges that run around the shaft and back about 1/3". (I think these help offload heat but I am not sure.) Its at this point that the shaft narrows to 1" diameter, with two opposite sides that have been cut out 1/8" on either side. These flat spots have SUREFIRE printed on one side and model number on the other. Also on this part of the light is a 1" long portion of X-Checkering for a positive grip. This checkering is aggressive and seems very durable. After the checkering the shaft continues back at its 1" diameter for another 1/2". At this point the shaft drops to a 3/4" diameter for a length of about 1 2/3". This portion of the shaft has three 1/4" thick black rubber rings on it that stiffly slide the length of the 3/4" portion of the shaft. Two of the three are 1" in diameter while the third tapers back from a diameter of 1 1/8" to 1". These rubber rings are used for a gripping technique which I will go into later. After the 3/4" diameter part of the shaft it expands back out to 1" diameter for 1/4" then drops down to 3/4" again for the remainder of the shaft. Its on this remaining part of the shaft that there is a 1/16" thick, 1" diameter steel ring that has a 1/4" half loop formed into it. This steel ring is used to attach the included lanyard and is held in place by the rear tailcap. The remainder of the shaft is threaded for the tailcap and there are two rubber O-Rings for weatherproofing. Both the threads and O-Rings are coated in a silicon based lubricant. The tailcap is 1" in length, 1" in diameter, and has 1/2" of the X-Checkered texture wrapping around it. On the back of the tailcap is the rubber momentary activation button that measures 1/2" across and stick up a little less than 1/4". This is not a click on/off button like some other models.
The light is activated by either screwing the tail cap all the way down for constant activation, or screwing it down just before the light is in constant activation for momentary activation with the rear button on the tail cap.
This light one of the brightest offered by Surefire, with lamps that provide 125 and 225 lumen output levels. Lumen is a term used to measure a lights output in relation to how the human eye processes light. Based on my experience, anything around 60 lumen or above is uncomfortable to look at directly. The M3T currently uses the Surefire MN15 (125 lumen) or MN16 (225 lumen) Xenon-Halogen incandescent lamps. These lamps are well made and have two springs at its base that provide shock protection from repeated impact or rifle recoil. Both of the springs extend down from the base of the lamp about 1/2", with one of them ending with a 2/3" diameter while the second spring coils down to a small 1/8" diameter. The base of the lamp is 3/4" in diameter, is marked with either MN15 or MN 16 and is about 1/4" thick. The base has about a 1/3" diameter shaft that extends up about 2/3" and holds the actual bulb, which is about 1/2" in length. The whole lamp drops into the base of the Turbo Head, via a 12/32" hole in the base of the internal, prefocused, reflector. The lamps are the biggest strength, due to the intensity of the light, and biggest drawback of the light, due to low runtimes. They have approximately 60 minute runtimes for the MN15 and 20 minute run times for the MN16. The lifespan of the lamp is also not very high. I don't have an exact figure, and Surefire doesn't provide one, but I have burned out one MN15 in casual use. Maybe its comparable to other incandescence, but if I remember right I did two battery changes on it before it burned out. So I guess that's roughly a two hour life span? Not good considering the price of a MN15 is $31 and the MN16 is $33. This is why I say this light is more of a Tool than a Toy for casually playing around with. Military personnel or Police operating on specific missions would be the logical users of the light and are certainly the targeted customers.
The beam of the light is prefocused and non-adjustable. There are two parts of the beam, a concentrated narrow beam and a wide-angle softer portion. The concentrated center of the beam measures only about 6" in diameter at about 3' away. The softer outer portion of the beam seems to have a 45 degree angle and it softly illuminates the surrounding area. Both portions of the beam are smooth and even with no shadows.
The body of the light is made of aerospace grade aluminum and is Mil-Spec Type III Hard Anodized in an OD/Gray-Green color. The Turbo Head window is made of tempered Pyrex.
The light use 3 123A Lithium batteries (also called SF123A or CR123A)
The Lanyard
The lanyard is about 18" long, made of two lengths of nylon gray/green 550 parachute cord, and has a 1" long, 1/3" wide black metal carabiner type clip that attaches to the metal lanyard ring on the light. On the tail of the lanyard is a flat plastic clamp that holds the two strands of 550 cord together. In the middle of the lanyard are two 2/3" diameter ball shaped push button cord locks that basically allow you to segment the lanyard into different portion for attaching to you wrist or what ever. You just push the plastic button them and slid them where you want.
Uses
Obviously the M3T can be used hand held in the normal fashion, but the rubber grip rings on the light aid in different holds on the light. One of which is called the Rogers/Surefire technique and is performed by placing the 3/4" thick portion of the shaft in between the index and middle fingers with the tail cap in the base of your palm. With the tail cap screwed down to momentary activation, it allows you to have partial use of you hand when gripping a pistol. So at this point you can have a two hand hold on your pistol while keeping the light pointed in the same direction, as well as having the ability to momentarily activate the light only when needed. The light can be weapon mounted with third-party accessories that clamp around the light and latch to an accessory rail on a weapon. There are also click on tail caps and tail caps the have corded, pressure activated tape switches that can be screwed on to the light. These would make more sense for a weapon mount light.
Accessories
Tail Caps
There are four different tail caps that fit the M3T, all are click on type, with two of them being the same except ones gloss black (Z49) and the other is a brownish color (Z48). A third has different back to it and is a matte gray finish (Z58.) All are in the low $40 range. There is also the tail cap switch assembly that has the rubber click on button as above, but also momentary on tape switches that are connected to the tail cap by a 7" or longer cord. These are designed for weapon mounting so you can place the tape switch in a practical location on the weapon. Its the XM07 and it costs $129.
Filters/Covers
Surefire makes very rugged light filters and covers that clamp around the bezel of the light. One is a blackout cover that protects the lights window and prevents light leakage during an accidental activation, which could be an issue for military and police. The other filters change the color of the light in either red or blue. Plus the infrared filter that's used with nightvision devices. The IR filter model for the M3T is the FM23 and its costs $172, while the red (FM25) and blue (FM26) filters are $64. Pretty pricey huh.
Spares Carrier
SC2 Spares carrier is a polymer impact resistant, watertight, container that holds one MN15 or one MN16 lamp and 6 123A lithium batteries. It costs $19.
Holster
V71 polymer speed holster that attaches to belts up to 2 1/4". Cost $29.
The package contains the following:
M3T Light
MN15 125 lumen lamp
MN16 225 lumen lamp
Three rubber grip rings
Three SF 123A batteries
Lanyard
Steel ring for lanyard
Manual
Surefire warranties the light and will repair any defects or replace the light. I think like most of the their products the warranty is for life, but my manual doesn't specify.
As it stands now, Surefire only has the incandescent lamps for this light, but I hope they can eventually develop high output LEDs for this light, as they have done for other models.
Due to the short runtimes, I consider this light better suited for select applications where this much light is actually needed. The cost is just not worth it if you dont need this much light.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tysonson
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Location: Denver, CO
Reviews written: 24
Trusted by: 2 members
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