DefendTek Weapon Light

I have to say, for $30, this light has done pretty well for me in the 3 weeks I've had it. I tried a few variants (Olight PL-2 Valkyrie, Olight, PL-1 II, Streamlight TLR-3, and Streamlight TLR-4) and while I really liked the setup/profile/brightness of the Olight PL-2, I had functionality problems with it while actually having the light on and shooting at the range with my H&K VP40. The Olight would turn-off during firing, enough where I just couldn't trust it's reliability should something go bump in the middle of the night. For $100, I needed something more reliable. So, Olight is getting ready to deliver it's latest weapon light, hopefully in September, called the "PLMINI" and so I am excited to give that a try, as the videos I have seen of it on YouTube make it look very appealing. However, I wanted something now, to bridge the gap. Enter the DefendTek DT-M1. This light is $30, has a "bad-ass" look about it, and is actually very well-constructed. I was not expecting that at all for the price-point. To activate the light, it is a simple button push on the right of the light unit...press once to turn it on "constant", push the lever on the other side to turn it off, then quickly after it goes off, activate the light again to get the "strobe" effect. Simple child's play. It holds tight on my VP40 picatinny rail (where the Olight PL-2 would not fit snug, which may be why the light would turn off when shooting the gun) and while it is longer than the barrel, this may be a good thing since the tactical end of the flashlight could put a hurt on someone should it ever come to a situation like that (thinking some "John Wick 2" type fighting there). Not once in about ~400 rounds has this light shut-off or missed a beat. The lens does get dirty after a day of shooting, but that is to be expected, given it's placement on the gun. A quick hit of Slip2000 Gun Cleaner and she's all gussied up and back to being her purdy little self once more. The one criticism (if it can really be that, since its not the fault of DefendTek) is that of holster options: there are none. For now, I am using just a basic OWB holster from a wonderful company called Soft-Armor Holsters (in case your keeping score at home, it's the "TB Series Hip Holster, #23") and it works for what I need and that is just some place to store my gun while at the range. The issue becomes when the gun/light go into that holster, it is a snug-fit at the bottom and the light switch does get activated quite easily. Again, minor problem for my needs, but that may be worrisome to others. Again, I was expecting something much less than what I actually received and for that, I have to give it 5 stars and a thumbs way-up if looking for a low-cost light solution for your firearm, yet is built at a much higher quality than the price reflects. As of this writing, I see this light is no longer available (glad I got mine when I did), but if it ever does come back in stock, I highly recommend it for what you are paying vs. what you are getting.

Pros: + It's light-weight and has a slim profile + It's solid aluminum and seems pretty sturdy - could probably take a beating + The light is an LED and is darn BRIGHT for being only 1 CR123A batteries + The battery it comes with is rechargeable, which will save money on the CR123A type batteries, (which do work in it, if you need to use them). + Lens cap/battery cover unscrews to replace the battery from the front, so you don't need to remove the light to change the battery + The mount seems to fit most picatinny/1913 rails that I've tried it on, and the spring-loaded mount retainer is very strong. + Strobe effect if switch is turned on/off/on Cons: - On/off switch can't be operated by just one finger - you can use one finger to turn it on, but you need to switch your grip or use your other hand to turn it off. - Mount can only be slid onto the rail from the front or back of rail, instead of being able to rotate the light onto the rail, making it hard to place on some rails, if other accessories are already present. My take: This is a good quality light that is most likely made for pistols with forward rails in front of the trigger guard, however it can work fairly well on a rifle setup, if need be. Pretty versatile and basic light, but more suited for pistols. I would use it on anything that has a rail that needs a light, because the light is very BRIGHT, especially for a single-celled flashlight.

SECOND UPDATE: Okay, so I have used this light for several months now and still think it is a good value. That being said, there are a couple things I should point out. 1. The charger that came with the light is pretty much useless. The battery doesn't fit in it very well and if you can get the battery to stay put, it will not charge. I bought another charger (Energitech) and the battery charges just fine. 2. The switch is a right to left on and left to right off and is easily turned on while in a Go-Bag. A couple times when I went to use the light the battery had been drained because it inadvertently got turned on while in the Go-Bag. Even with these issues I believe this is a good light for the price. I have decreased the star rating to a 4 because of the above mentioned issues. UPDATE: As I stated below, this light is well made, good looking and gives off a very strong beam. I left my original comments below because it shows even a good product can have problems. After writing that review I did a little more investigating and tried a different battery (CR123 non-rechargeable) and the light worked. Also, after writing the review I was contacted by DefendTek wishing to make good on their product. They went out of their way to make it right. It is good to see a company stand behind their product with true customer service. DefendTek Rechargable Tactical LED Rail Mounted Gun Flashlight with Quick Release is a great product for the investment made. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I ordered this DT-MI Tactical LED light December 10, 2018 and received it promptly. Very good quality construction and fit very well on my S&W SD9VE. The light intensity was great. I only went to the range once because the weather is not very conducive to shooting during the winter here in Michigan. Every time I had it out I would try the light and it always worked. I was impressed with the longevity of the battery. That's the good part. So March 23,2019, a little over 3 months since purchased, I pull out my pistol, cleared it, and tried the light --- no light. I think, it probably inadvertently got switched on when I last put it in my Go-Pack. So I charged the battery and tried it again and it did not work. There was no reason for it not working other than the electronics or the LED had failed. Of course it is way past being able to return it, I suspect I will be eating the $32 it cost me. I am truly bummed that that this has happened because it seemed like an excellent product.

This light impressed me. I’m skeptical of the cheapest price point of a product like a light because we all know quality can be on par with the high dollar items or suspect. This light is going to do it’s job here are my takeaways. PROS: The switch is easy to reach The light is brighter than pics make it seem. The metal build feels like quality and impressed me (Side note:consider the added weight to the barrel end. It is noticeable) The thing slides on and fits snug on my smith and Wesson. CONS: The switch flips instantly to a flashlight mode then you turn it off and the next time you hit the switch it’s strobing so you have to repeat the process to get back to the regular steady stream light. The only other con to me is the light is not flush with the barrel BUT the purpose of a light is usually to see what you are looking for inside your home in a self defense situation not to carry in a fitted holster. If you have a safe made for it that is snug consider measuring to make sure. Overall for the price point you get more for your money considering most options that fill all the CONS above are well above double the price here

The housing of this flashlight is rugged aluminum. I do worry a bit about the ears of the plastic switch getting snagged on something and breaking off, but both sides would have to be shorn off for it not to work. The spring-loaded mounting system is solid and robust, and yet fairly easy to remove if you would ever want to swap it between different weapon platforms. The product info claims 300 lumens, and I think that’s accurate, if not slightly understated. The strobe function is particularly effective: it would certainly be disorienting to anyone you might aim it at. For home defense, it throws more than enough light to be sure you won't be poised to accidentally shoot your drunk next-door neighbor who stumbled into the wrong house after going out on a bender. I haven't tested battery life, but since it comes with a charger, I say pick up a few rechargeable spares and keep one handy to swap out if the installed one starts going dim. You'll have plenty of room in your budget to do so, since this thing was less than $30 shipped (as of 7/18/21--future prices always subject to change, of course). This is not quite quality in the Olight or Streamlight category, but it costs 5x less, people. Get one now and start a savings plan for one of the big-name lights. Odds are you won’t even need to pull the trigger on an upgrade anyway (pun intended). For the price, this thing is great. Highly recommended.

Let's be clear, I didnt like this at first but being on a budget but I got it anyways, reviews seemed great. I was under the impression that 300 lumens isn't bright enough(having seen people brag about their 1,000 lumen lights) oh boy was I wrong, 300 lumens is enough to blind you if someone points this thing at you even WITHOUT the strobe feature. Its light weight, the touch of this thing you can tell its case that houses everything is built for toughness. The latch that holds onto the rail will bite down, took it to shoot this 4th of july morning and it never budged, never wiggled, NOTHING. The buttons used for this is actually well placed, I'm on the smaller size of your average man hand size and I can reach the levers easy. Overall a good product, i think the only things you lose buying this budget light is ...: it's not AS compact, wouldn't recommend for a conceal carry but some don't care, great for home defense Compared to some lights that have built in chargeable batteries you have take it out and make sure it gets charged from time to time or just keep spares around. It's a solid buy.

So I was searching for a light and really didn't feel like spending a $100 on a flashlight, so I decided to go with this one. Its reasonably priced and works really well. Unfortunately this light has one fatal flaw. The on/off switch for this light is a switch that you push to the left to turn on and push to the right to turn off. Doesn't seem like a flaw but it is when you go to holster a pistol with this light on it. The holster will almost always push the switch to the left to turn it on. Even if you manage to carefully put it in your holster the slightest brush up against you and your new pistol light is turning on. This alone makes this light impractical for any carry use. Its also hard to find a holster with this light as its not one of the premier lights so not a lot of holster manufacturers make one for this particular light. I would argue you could use one of the OWB holsters that don't cover the bottom of the pistol but again your running the risk of something brushing up against it and turning it on. This is my major issue and the reason why I returned this light as I was looking for something I could put on my pistol and carry concealed. Now if your buying this for a rifle or a home defense pistol that you don't plan on carrying I would 100% recommend this over the more expensive alternatives. Just remember you gotta lay the pistol on the left side or else the switch will get pushed in and turn on the light. Now as for the actual light itself, it worked great, not as bright as some of the higher end ones but it gets the job done. It was a good weight to it and not gunna lie looks pretty cool on my Glock 19. So with that being said, don't buy this if you plan to carry with it, but do buy this for a rifle/home defense pistol.

Just received this literally minutes ago. I wasn't expecting too much out of this product for the price, but am I pretty blown away! The aluminum casing it's made of feels like it's pretty durable. The quality of the coating isn't bad at all. The light is extremely BRIGHT for indoor use and possibly outdoor as well. The front spikes are great and feels like it can do light damage to any intruder at close range. Functionality is pretty straight forward. You press the button once for the flashlight then turn it off. Turn it on again to engage the strobe light and then turn it off to reset. I feel it's meant for right handlers as the right index finger can easily reach the button. But you can easily accidentally press it when your finger is not on the trigger. All in all, great light for half the price and it comes with a battery and charger. Can't beat that. Fits directly and snugly onto my Smith & Wesson SD9VE 9mm hand pistol.