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<blockquote data-quote="jmoney" data-source="post: 2001464" data-attributes="member: 24661"><p>Build Quality / Design</p><p></p><p>Streamlight TLR-2</p><p></p><p>The body of the Streamlight TLR-2 is milled from a solid block of aluminum. However the laser module is housed in a molded plastic body. The Streamlight head screws onto the body but it not thread locked. There is a large O-ring to seal out the elements. There are no user-serviceable parts inside here. The LED Driver PCB is mounted to the body of the unit and not the head. One positive aspect of this is the lens housing can be changed easily should the lens break. The laser module is secured to the body via 4 small screws. Screw size is smaller, and thread engagement is acceptable. There is a good sized gasket that seals the unit from water / dust. Etc. The laser module holds the laser housing and selector switch. The switch is an off the shelf 3 position switch, the switch is held on by a nut that has a rubber gasket as well. The switch has an anti-rotation pin to keep it aligned. The pin is set into the plastic laser housing. This shouldn’t be a problem as there is no rotational force on the switch. The laser adjustment screws are very small and are threaded into brass inserts. These inserts are molded into the plastic laser module. There is a single small spring that provides pressure against the two adjustment screws at a 45 degree angle. The laser module itself is brass and secured forward by an interesting design. There is a hole in the front of the plastic laser module. The brass housing has a threaded portion that fits through that hole surrounded by a rubber gasket. A steel lock nut is then secured to the laser module. This pulls the laser module hard against the rubber gasket, sealing the front of the unit and providing a pivot point for laser adjustment. The diode is secured in the laser housing with strong epoxy. There is no exterior lens to provide protection from the collimator. The collimator is recessed; this is good to protect it against damage, but bad if you get mud in it, as it would be very difficult to clean.</p><p></p><p>The rail locking mechanism is strong, but has less thread interface than the X400. I doubt you will ever strip it though. Negative travel over stop is accomplished by a C-clip on the tension bolt. The battery door is strong and has well designed contact points for the battery. They are thick guage but wound longer than the X400. The battery door locking mechanism is a slot and tab design, where the door has a tab that fits into a slot and acts as a hinge, the locking mechanism is formed spring steel that acts as a locking tab to secure the O-ring tight. The O-ring is flat, but compresses well enough to seal the unit. The switching mechanism is well designed, though not as positive as the surefire. A single bolt holds the selector lever to the battery door housing. The screw is thread locked, but on this unit, rotates with the switch. This may loosen the threads over time and create a problem.</p><p></p><p>Comparative Summary</p><p></p><p>Overall, the surefire has a better design and build quality; this is reflected in the price. Machine work is excellent on both, but the X400 design lends itself to more time on the CNC machine. From my standpoint, surefire spent a lot of time designing the really important points that would be prone to failure under hard user. The battery door and hinge mechanism is well designed and should not wear over time. The battery door on the Surefire is semi-captive, the TLR is free floating. Everything on the Surefire has a very positive click, from the selector switch to the activation switch, and battery door latch. Surefire uses much larger laser adjustment screws with longer thread interface, Streamlight opted for smaller diameter screws into molded inserts. The laser centering design on the surefire also lends itself to long term zero retention and no problems caused by recoil. The windage and elevation springs is a night and day difference. Surefire uses two heavy gauge springs with deep seated cups. Streamlight uses one light gauge spring at a 45 degree angle. The switching mechanism is also much better on the surefire; they use proprietary PCB’s with roller bearing position locks. Streamlight uses an off the shelf 3 position switch. While this switch will probably provide years of service, it extends out the back of the unit, and may break or be damaged if something hits it. The laser diode is also secured more appropriately on the Surefire, by mechanical lock. The TLR-2 diode is secured by epoxy. This may not present a problem as the epoxy is strong. The Surefire collimator / lens design is more robust and better engineered. Having an external lens is a great design feature that should also be an operational requirement. If the lens gets muddy, a quick wipe will fix it, trying to clean the lens on the TLR would be much more difficult. I also believe Surefire spent more time on thermal engineering the light. There is more air-space and cooling surface for both the LED and Laser Diode Driver. The Streamlight is very compact. I haven’t had a chance to measure temps, so that may be untrue. But it certainly looks to be better designed. The X400 is designed with a smaller aperture bezel, but throws light just as well, this is a product of reflector design. A smaller diameter and stouter lens means less chance of breaking it.</p><p></p><p>Across the spectrum, Surefire chose larger and stouter components, from spring gauge, to the quality of the switching mechanism, materials, and machining time. These are complex units build to suit a specific need. And those that use them operationally cannot have them fail at the wrong time.</p><p></p><p>Here is a quick tally sheet formed from my opinion.</p><p></p><p>Overall Design &#8211; Surefire Wins</p><p>Build Quality &#8211; Surefire Wins</p><p>Thermal Engineering &#8211; Surefire Wins</p><p>Materials - Surefire Wins</p><p>Operational Considerations - Surefire Wins</p><p>Locking Mechanism - Surefire Wins</p><p>Battery Contacts - Surefire Wins</p><p>Switch Design - Surefire Wins</p><p>Selector Switch Design - Surefire Wins</p><p>Waterproofing - Surefire Wins</p><p>Price &#8211; Streamlight Wins</p><p></p><p>I always disliked Surefire because of the high price; I just always thought they asked too much when other products performed just as well. Granted I am not “in country” beating my light up day and in and day out. But if I were, I would definitely grab a Surefire anything over any other brand of light. I have completely taken apart several lights from several different manufacturers in the past, across the board Surefire builds higher quality kit. Now, keep in mind, I have several Streamlights and never a problem, so their design may be solid and well thought out. No doubt the engineers there spend some time building a quality product. </p><p></p><p>I actually prefer the TLR switchology over X400. I like that one side of the switch is momentary, and the other is constant on. And you can quickly turn constant on off without activating the other side. Surefire does make additional switch plates, so I may have to give one of those a shot in the near future. I have used a TLR-1s on a pistol and absolutely hated it. For the simple reason that during fire, my finger would double bump the switch and put it into strobe mode. Maybe that’s a good thing, and maybe it’s a training issue. It bothered me though.</p><p></p><p>SMEs would be the Subject Matter Experts in the industry, including the most sought after trainers and training academies who manufacturers ask for help in designing their products. Their opinion is nearly uniform on the matter.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jmoney, post: 2001464, member: 24661"] Build Quality / Design Streamlight TLR-2 The body of the Streamlight TLR-2 is milled from a solid block of aluminum. However the laser module is housed in a molded plastic body. The Streamlight head screws onto the body but it not thread locked. There is a large O-ring to seal out the elements. There are no user-serviceable parts inside here. The LED Driver PCB is mounted to the body of the unit and not the head. One positive aspect of this is the lens housing can be changed easily should the lens break. The laser module is secured to the body via 4 small screws. Screw size is smaller, and thread engagement is acceptable. There is a good sized gasket that seals the unit from water / dust. Etc. The laser module holds the laser housing and selector switch. The switch is an off the shelf 3 position switch, the switch is held on by a nut that has a rubber gasket as well. The switch has an anti-rotation pin to keep it aligned. The pin is set into the plastic laser housing. This shouldn’t be a problem as there is no rotational force on the switch. The laser adjustment screws are very small and are threaded into brass inserts. These inserts are molded into the plastic laser module. There is a single small spring that provides pressure against the two adjustment screws at a 45 degree angle. The laser module itself is brass and secured forward by an interesting design. There is a hole in the front of the plastic laser module. The brass housing has a threaded portion that fits through that hole surrounded by a rubber gasket. A steel lock nut is then secured to the laser module. This pulls the laser module hard against the rubber gasket, sealing the front of the unit and providing a pivot point for laser adjustment. The diode is secured in the laser housing with strong epoxy. There is no exterior lens to provide protection from the collimator. The collimator is recessed; this is good to protect it against damage, but bad if you get mud in it, as it would be very difficult to clean. The rail locking mechanism is strong, but has less thread interface than the X400. I doubt you will ever strip it though. Negative travel over stop is accomplished by a C-clip on the tension bolt. The battery door is strong and has well designed contact points for the battery. They are thick guage but wound longer than the X400. The battery door locking mechanism is a slot and tab design, where the door has a tab that fits into a slot and acts as a hinge, the locking mechanism is formed spring steel that acts as a locking tab to secure the O-ring tight. The O-ring is flat, but compresses well enough to seal the unit. The switching mechanism is well designed, though not as positive as the surefire. A single bolt holds the selector lever to the battery door housing. The screw is thread locked, but on this unit, rotates with the switch. This may loosen the threads over time and create a problem. Comparative Summary Overall, the surefire has a better design and build quality; this is reflected in the price. Machine work is excellent on both, but the X400 design lends itself to more time on the CNC machine. From my standpoint, surefire spent a lot of time designing the really important points that would be prone to failure under hard user. The battery door and hinge mechanism is well designed and should not wear over time. The battery door on the Surefire is semi-captive, the TLR is free floating. Everything on the Surefire has a very positive click, from the selector switch to the activation switch, and battery door latch. Surefire uses much larger laser adjustment screws with longer thread interface, Streamlight opted for smaller diameter screws into molded inserts. The laser centering design on the surefire also lends itself to long term zero retention and no problems caused by recoil. The windage and elevation springs is a night and day difference. Surefire uses two heavy gauge springs with deep seated cups. Streamlight uses one light gauge spring at a 45 degree angle. The switching mechanism is also much better on the surefire; they use proprietary PCB’s with roller bearing position locks. Streamlight uses an off the shelf 3 position switch. While this switch will probably provide years of service, it extends out the back of the unit, and may break or be damaged if something hits it. The laser diode is also secured more appropriately on the Surefire, by mechanical lock. The TLR-2 diode is secured by epoxy. This may not present a problem as the epoxy is strong. The Surefire collimator / lens design is more robust and better engineered. Having an external lens is a great design feature that should also be an operational requirement. If the lens gets muddy, a quick wipe will fix it, trying to clean the lens on the TLR would be much more difficult. I also believe Surefire spent more time on thermal engineering the light. There is more air-space and cooling surface for both the LED and Laser Diode Driver. The Streamlight is very compact. I haven’t had a chance to measure temps, so that may be untrue. But it certainly looks to be better designed. The X400 is designed with a smaller aperture bezel, but throws light just as well, this is a product of reflector design. A smaller diameter and stouter lens means less chance of breaking it. Across the spectrum, Surefire chose larger and stouter components, from spring gauge, to the quality of the switching mechanism, materials, and machining time. These are complex units build to suit a specific need. And those that use them operationally cannot have them fail at the wrong time. Here is a quick tally sheet formed from my opinion. Overall Design – Surefire Wins Build Quality – Surefire Wins Thermal Engineering – Surefire Wins Materials - Surefire Wins Operational Considerations - Surefire Wins Locking Mechanism - Surefire Wins Battery Contacts - Surefire Wins Switch Design - Surefire Wins Selector Switch Design - Surefire Wins Waterproofing - Surefire Wins Price – Streamlight Wins I always disliked Surefire because of the high price; I just always thought they asked too much when other products performed just as well. Granted I am not “in country” beating my light up day and in and day out. But if I were, I would definitely grab a Surefire anything over any other brand of light. I have completely taken apart several lights from several different manufacturers in the past, across the board Surefire builds higher quality kit. Now, keep in mind, I have several Streamlights and never a problem, so their design may be solid and well thought out. No doubt the engineers there spend some time building a quality product. I actually prefer the TLR switchology over X400. I like that one side of the switch is momentary, and the other is constant on. And you can quickly turn constant on off without activating the other side. Surefire does make additional switch plates, so I may have to give one of those a shot in the near future. I have used a TLR-1s on a pistol and absolutely hated it. For the simple reason that during fire, my finger would double bump the switch and put it into strobe mode. Maybe that’s a good thing, and maybe it’s a training issue. It bothered me though. SMEs would be the Subject Matter Experts in the industry, including the most sought after trainers and training academies who manufacturers ask for help in designing their products. Their opinion is nearly uniform on the matter. [/QUOTE]
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