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Insight Technologies, Inc. M3 Tactical Illuminator
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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1
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24149
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Sun April 9, 2006
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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$115.00
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9.0
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Description:
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Insight Technologies produced the M3 Light as a durable, low cost utility weaponlight, intended to fit on any 1913 rail or Glock frame.
The light has a 90 lumen xenon bulb, and uses two CR123a 3V Lithium Batteries. The light mounts to any rail without tools, and includes a momentary/constant ambidextrous tailplate switch.
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MacGyver
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Posts: 9,759
Registered: May 2004
Location: Albuquerque, NM, USA
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Author
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TehLlama
MacGyver
Registered: May 2004
Location: Albuquerque, NM, USA
Posts: 9759
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Review Date: Sun April 9, 2006
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $115.00
| Rating: 9
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Positive aspects of the product (pros):
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Bright, Compact, Affordable
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Cons:
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Accidental Discharge, Battery lifetime/cost
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By: Shane "Supergeek" Lin
The M3 illuminator, developed by Insight Technologies and more widely distributed by Streamlight, represents a versatile solution for rail mounted tactical lighting. Not only is it essentially one of the cheapest integrated mount lights on the market, it may be one of the best suited for airsoft purposes, containing a long list of features which are well adapted for use on replicas firearms. At between $80-$100 street for a new unit, they are about on-par in price with a moderately priced two lithium cell Surefire (or other) tactical light with mounting hardware and some sort of adapter to allow easy switching while mounted. Yet, the M3 offers a far smaller size and includes integrally all the above parts, making it comparable in performance and features with Surefire pistol Weaponlights many times its price.
The first thing evident upon observing the light itself is the small size. Compared with a Pelican M6 (unrelated model numbering system) or Surefire G2, the M3 is close to half as long (given the side-by-side configuration of its two 3V CR123 lithium batteries) and feels like it again takes up half the volume, even with the integrated mount. The side-by-side placement of the batteries lends a significant advantage to the perceived size of the unit. The unit along its widest section is only slightly wider than the bezel diameter of my Pelican M6. The M3 is almost completely made of a matte black plastic. It appears to match the coloration and texture of the material of real Glock frames (it is slightly darker than the color of the KSC G19 frame). The plastic material allows the unit to be very lightweight; the website claims 3.3oz with the batteries. Attaching the light to a large frame, relatively heavyweight pistol like my Western Arms 1911, there is negligible effect to aiming and feel. The Streamlight logo, with their address and phone number, are printed on the right side of the unit while “M3 Tactical Illuminator” is engraved on the left, along with a US patent number for weapon-mounted lights by Insight.
The mounting rails are formed extensions of the flashlight body and are also plastic. There is a metal bar pushed upwards by a spring which secures the light in place once it locks into the rail groove. Attaching the light to the plastic KSC Glock 19 frame requires a small amount of force to push it until the bar clicks in place. Once on, the light is very solid with no laterial movement at all. Testing with two separate KSC G19s yielded the same result, indicating a consistent fit to airsoft Glocks. A similar result was obtained when attaching to the metal weaver mounting rails of the Western Arms Shibuya custom V12 and on the GB-Tech SR-15 kit. Some very small movement along the axis of aim was common but given the nature of the movement, it presents little importance in alignment. Removal takes a bit more practice, as it requires pulling the securing bar down at the same time as the light is being pulled forward and off the rail. Especially with the Glock, removing the light takes somewhat more effort than putting it on, but with practice it could still be done as quickly.
The light is triggered by a rotating rocker switch system which reminds me of the MP5A5’s telescoping stock mechanism. There are two paddles on either side of the unit which can be pushed up or down to turn the unit on. Clockwise (given right-handed shooters, pushing down on the right side paddle with the trigger finger or pushing up on the left side paddle with the supporting hand) clicks the switch in place for constant on. Counter-clockwise is for momentary illumination. The trigger finger is very naturally in place to hit the corresponding side paddle when resting on the trigger guard, and the supporting hand with the thumb extended very easily can trigger the opposing side paddle. The switch system is very intuitive and from my experience, much less intrusive and easier to use than a bulky wired pressure switch (though an aftermarket pressure switch can be obtained – see below).
The bulb itself is xenon-filled and contains a tungsten-halogen filament, pretty much standard for incandescent tactical lights. It is not the same as in the majority of Streamlight lithium lights. Their Scorpion and TL-2/NF-2 use the same bi-pin, unseated bulb which produces around 60 peak lumens with an orange peel textured reflector. The M3’s bulb is larger and is seated on a connector base, which allows for much faster and easier replacement. The M3’s aluminum reflector is similar in size to the Scorpion’s and the Surefire P60 lamp (common to nearly all Surefire 6v personal flashlights), but is interesting because it is partially textured and partially smooth. Textured reflectors offer a uniform and “perfect” beam but reduces throw. Smooth reflectors project the shadows and imperfections (the common Mini-Maglite produces this effect quite clearly), but have increased throw with a bright enough lamp. The M3 reflector is textured within the inner half diameter and smooth on around the outer band. This produces a beam which has vague imperfections, but still projects to a significant distance. In front of the reflector is a tempered glass Pyrex/Borofloat lens rather than the plastic Lexan lens found in all native Streamlight lights (and the Surefire G2, Pelican M6, and Maglite series). Lexan is easily scratched, but essentially unbreakable. Pyrex on the other hand is relatively more breakable, but offers superior light transmission as well as a strong resilience to being scratched. Given that the light is typically mounted on a gun, direct trauma against the lens itself is presumably unlikely. Also, given long runtimes with very bright lamps, Lexan has the potential to melt from the extremely high temperatures built up inside the reflector whereas Pyrex can withstand just about any conceivably generated temperature. The reflector assembly can be rotated to adjust focus, a feature which has its pros and cons.
The front assembly is secured by an o-ring and so is apparently waterproof to a certain depth. However, the rear battery case door is not secured in such a way and so there should not be any presumption of water integrity. The rear battery compartment door contains the switch assembly and rearward battery connectors and is secured onto the light body by a simple latch. The light itself seems to be rugged enough. I can’t imagine structural failure from anything airsoft related short of tossing it down a cliff. As for internals, people have reported failures when mounted onto real steel weapons, especially shotguns. But the recoil from airsoft arms do not even approach that of real weapons, so this should not be a consideration at all.
So, the most important part of this review: how bright is it? At the moment, I don’t have access to a Surefire P60 lamp assembly to test it out, but essentially the typically accepted hierarchy of brightness goes something like this: the Streamlight Scorpion is slightly less bright and less focused than the SF P60. The SF P60 is considerably less bright than a Pelican M6, but has a nicer rounded beam. The M3 fits between the Pelican M6 and the Surefire P60 in brightness. It is noticeably, but not significantly dimmer in its hot spot than the Pelican M6. The corona of the beam is slightly dimmer than the Pelican’s, with the slight appearance of artifacts and distortions within the beam. It is rounder than the Pelican’s oblong corona and similar in shape to a Surefire P60. Given this, the 90 lumen peak brightness product specification is quite believable, and places it as moderately brighter than the 65 lumen Surefire P60 lamp. I temporarily do not have my camera at the moment, so beamshot comparisons with the Pelican M6 will have to wait.
Insight makes a variety of mounting and other accessories for the M3. A replacement back panel is available that replaces the rocker switch with a remote pressure switch. Two models for pistols and for long arms are available for around $40. An IR filter is available specifically for the M3 series for use with night vision equipment. Insight also makes a variety of rail mounts for shotguns, Berettas, and SIGs. Replacement bulbs run on the rather expensive side at $18 each. For mobile storage, Fobus makes a small belt holster for the M3.
Tehllama adds: The most affordable is the Uncle Mike's Kydex light holster, which now comes in most M3 packages.
M3 remote pressure switch, replacement bulb, and rocker switch backplate:
There are several M3 replicas available in Hong Kong, made by G&P, G&G, and Guarder. The G&P model is not quite a copy, but rather models upon the design of the M3 while using a surefire P60 lamp assembly instead. It is not immediately clear what kind of lamps the G&G and Guarder lights use. Regardless, all three models cost around $70-$85. When Hong Kong shipping is applied, buying a genuine Insight/Streamlight for $80-$90 is much more attractive, given the warranty and the availability of spare parts. Out of the box, the real M3 comes with two CR123 lithium batteries and a spare bulb. Factory warranty for the M3 is 12 months.
Surefire makes a similar product, the Nitrolon P101, which also incorporates a plastic body and side-by-side battery storage. The P101 uses the less bright P60 lamp and costs $196 retail. Presumably, it is better shock isolated, but this is a non-issue in the airsoft world. Thus, the only advantage of the P101 seems to be its ability to use the Surefire P61 lamp, which produces 120 lumens for 20 minutes. However, the real-world difference with the output of the P61 (reportedly comparable to that of the Pelican M6) and that of the M3 are essentially negligible. It makes little difference.
Thus, the M3 is quite an excellent choice for use in airsoft. It is lightweight, durable, bright, and above all, inexpensive. I would say that no other light available offers all of these properties in one unit. Insight Technologies makes a variety of quality products, from the M6 to the Mk23 LAM and the M3 is no exception.
Pictures from Insight Technologies unless otherwise noted since I don’t have my camera with me.
Insight Tech. M3 Manual in PDF format
Technical Data (from the Insight tech. site)
Image of TehLlama's M3 on WA MarSOC
Image of Supergeek's M3 on a WA Wilson V12
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