Here at Aeontac, we spend a lot of time trying out nightvision gear and accessories. Our whole philosophy is one of finding the highest performing product with the best VALUE PROPOSITION.  What do we mean by that? Well, for example;

Let’s say we’ve spent more than a decade using, testing, working with and just generally nerding out on every kind of intensifier tube available and realize, say for example, that an Elbit YH tubes generally provides say 25% better overall low-light performance than a comparable Elbit XLSH tube, and usually has less spots, for only 10%-15% more cost. Then the Elbit YH tube is generally the better value, and that’s the product we offer. 

This is why we primarily offer GEN2+ tubes: on average, they deliver roughly 85%-90% of the performance of the best similarly specified GEN3 tubes from Elbit or L3Harris, and usually at only 50%-65% of the cost. But dont take OUR WORD FOR IT!

The same is true for the accessories we offer. While the WML (Weapon-Mounted Light) market has been dominated by offerings from MODLIGHT, CLOUD DEFENSIVE* and SUREFIRE in the last decade, just like NNVT Tubes, SMS Laser Trinity, Holosun IRIS and others, the China-Made WELTOOL lights have turned the market upside down, providing exceptional, and in some cases clearly superior performance compared to the old favorites, and for much less money.

So, below is the story of how we settled on WELTOOL weapon and IR lights, after testing nearly everything else on the market! Strap in, it’s a long but very informative read!

We should start with a warning: this will be a long post, because there’s quite a bit to cover. It’s also only our opinion, but one we’ve personally evaluated every major entrant in this category in a variety of use-cases, and over long periods. If you want technical specs, you know where to find them. Here we’ll only be discussing the practicalities, and all the stuff the manufacturers’ websites won’t tell you….

Light Heads & Complete light systems:

HRT AWLS (6): This is THE ANSWER for your “Do Everything” Rifle, your “Contingency Rifle”, or your favorite MSR in 5.56. The HRT light head is the practical performance KING, edging out the CLOUD REIN 3.0 throw distance, spill divergence, and natural color, but only slightly. This head, when paired with an 18650 battery and a high-quality body, will light up a target sufficiently to identify friend or foe out to AT LEAST 500 yds, and light up anything inside 300 yds like Christmas Day. The spill is very wide and overall extremely usable. Power management is staged, and drain is nonlinear. The system keeps the light as bright as possible for as long as possible, then steps down a level. Overall, it seems at least as tough as the Modlite heads, is far less heavy & bulky than the Surefire heads, but only time will tell for sure. I have never experienced any flickering or malfunctions of any kind. Due to the relatively wide spill, you’ll want to mount this right at the edge of your rail, or use an extension arm if you have a good length of barrel past your rail, and especially if using a suppressor. 

Cloud Rein 3.0: I’ve always respected Cloud for being strong enough to offer a complete system: light, body, dual-function tailcap, and remote pad. What you lose in flexibility (more on this below), you definitely gain in overall savings. While the dual-function tailcap is a much better unit than the Surefire options, you’d better be sure you like their pressure pads, because you’re stuck with them. This can pose a problem if you’re using additional triggers, such as for an aiming laser, doubly so if you’re using a shorter rifle with little space to arrange these in an ergonomically usable way. (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve installed light/laser / remote setups only to find these arrangements difficult or even unusable when shooting prone, with heavy winter shooting gloves on, and/or subject to ND’s in darkness). Useful multi-pads, such as the AXON, can’t be used with CLOUD products. Both the GEN2 triggers and the new GEN3 certainly seem rugged, but there have been widespread complaints about the GEN2 units; lack of tactile response, poor waterproofing, etc. One thing nobody complains about, however, is the output. The 3.0 can seem objectively brighter than the HRT, because the spill gets more light and the spot less, but again, I personally find the HRT’s illumination more useful. That said, I DO own several of the MCH Duty handhelds and use them frequently.

NOTE: There have recently been a lot of rumors circulating about CLOUD DEFENSIVE as a company; bad business practices, poor customer service, orders and money being taken, and only unexpectedly long lead times and excuses being given in return. We don’t want to get into that here, and suggest you investigate these claims on your own if you’re interested in Cloud Defensive products.

MODLITE PLHv2: This is a very popular head, and with good reason. Wide spill, a very good spot, and compatible with just about any body or other component in the UNITY / MODLITE / ARISAKA universe. Another great option for your “Do Everything” rifle. In practical use, the difference in power output between this and the Cloud & HRT units is not as great as the manufacturers’ output specs might suggest. I’ve always found the MODLITE heads to be rugged and capable, but recently outclassed by newer entrants into the field. 

MODLITE OKW: Until recently, this was the head I chose for my AR-10 and 16” AR-15’s with magnified optics. With a very concentrated spot and little to no spill, this head excels at beautifully illuminating targets at distances outside 200yds, and wooded areas look especially crisp and well illuminated through a 1-8X scope. Tough enough to get the job done and just as trouble-free as other MODLITE products, I used both the V1 and V2 versions of the OKW head for years in this capacity. However, I have recently replaced it with ….

ATIBAL Ai-1: This is a new LEP (Laser Excited Phosphorus) light head that recently came to market. There’s been a lot of hype about these LEP heads, and I have tried several others from Z-Bolt, Weltool, and Nitcore. Like most of these heads, the Ai-1 produces an unbelievably bright and focused spotlight, with ZERO spill. IMHO, these lights have absolutely no practical firearms use outside of long-distance shooting. The spot this light produces seems to be no more than 12’ wide at 100yds, but a very usable 50’ at 500yds, and this head will light up targets at 800+ yds like daylight. When you see these lights being used or tested in videos, they have a distinctly green hue, but this is not the case in real use, it produces a very white light, but do have some differences not easy to describe when compared to LED light. My main AR-10, and my new 277 Fury Bolt-Gun, each wears this head now. TBH, I believe this head is an OEM from Weltool. It looks almost identical to the Weltool LH3 LEP head, and the beam is identical, as are their rated output specs at nearly 200,000 candela! Although limited to just this one specific use, it absolutely excels in that use beyond anything else available. Weltool has recently released a series of “with spill” LEP heads in handheld and weapon-mounted formats, which I look forward to trying out next month. 

WELTOOL LH2: I’ve tried a couple of IR-specific heads, and all have their limitations. The MODLITE units come in either “Flood” or “Throw” varieties, with the latter doing its job less well than the former. It just isn’t strong enough to really illuminate well at a distance. Not so with the LH2. This is an incredibly powerful IR head with a tremendous amount of throw and extremely usable spill. If you have a dedicated night rifle, this is the answer. Weltool also offers diffuser flip caps for the LH2, which transforms it into the most powerful IR flood available on the market. I keep a diffusor-capped 18650 LH2 in my dangler bag on an ADM QD mount, so that I can quickly install it on any rifle at need.

SUREFIRE Heads: In my opinion, Surefire simply wasn’t ready for several challengers appearing on a field they used to entirely own just 5 or 7 years ago, and has lagged behind these new competitors ever since, on every metric except absolute toughness. While the newer Turbo 6V heads are good performers and have earned their warfighter pedigree, the combination of cost, weight, and certain compatibility issues has left them at the back of the field in my view. One thing Surefire DOES have going for it, and a thing I really cannot believe has not yet been challenged by other brands in the marketplace, is the KM2 “Vampire” heads. Being able to switch between day and night illumination in a single device, I find it eminently usable in a PCC or PDW. The IR aiming laser market has seen massive upheaval in the last 18 months. Between FDA chokeholds on output and radically lower cost units flooding the market, I find the onboard IR illumination to be the weak point in these units, and having this dedicated, very excellent near-field secondary illuminator is awesome. Neither the white light nor the IR is effective at any great distance, but they do quite well for anything inside say 75 yards. 

WELTOOL WL heads, MODLITE HOG, Z-BOLT, etc: I’ve tried a bunch of heads and complete units that I knew weren’t going to work for me before I ever had a chance to really evaluate them. The Modlite HOG was just too big and bulky. Weltool already has some serious competitors in its stable, and the quality and depth of offerings just get better and better. 

I will be checking out more of these in the near future. I have never had anything but BAD experiences with Z-bolt. From malfunctioning units to long-promised and never delivered products, not to mention a needlessly belligerent and unpleasant owner, in my experience. Too many great companies out there to bother with someone like that. 

ACCESSORIES – Overall, I find I much prefer the Surefire bodies with the HINGE attachment, versus the MODLITE / ARISAKA / Everyone else “double post attachment method. These are actually an outdated leftover from when Surefire shipped these with QD picatinny attachments, which clipped onto the two posts. The Surefire unit allows me to keep the light snug against the rail (or against the suppressor when using extension bars such as the T-REX, which I love) to prevent snag hazards while on the move, but I can also swivel it out away from the rail or suppressor to reduce shadow when in use. It’s just a better system. As far as aftermarket remote triggers are concerned, I think the MODBUTTON MBL + GASCAP is about the best thing going out there, and has the largest amount of compatible cool goodies and other tactical plastic. As far as the multifunction remotes, like the AXON line and TAPS … I think these ALL SUCK. They’re all too bulky, none of them is confidence-inspiring in terms of build quality (although the now-discontinued Unity HOTBUTTON, an all-steel unit, was an exception), and they’re none of them an ergonomic improvement over two MBL units in series. This is an area in which I wish these companies would innovate a bit more. I don’t see why we cant have a 1/3″ thick ruggedized tape switch (roughly the width of most popular handrail sections without any snaggy overlap or weird adaptors needed), with two or three very tactile buttons, programmable as to function with internal dipswitches on the underside, the requisite number of leads, and some very tough connector at the end of each lead to snap on your Crane Plug, or Surefire Plug, or LA23 or whatever. WHY CANT WE HAVE THAT LOL?

Well, I warned you it was long, but I hope this does some good for folks like me who can neither afford to do a lot of trial-and-error with this shit, nor live too far away from anything that carries these items retail. I’m sure there will be some inappropriately hateful heat from folks who disagree with me on any number of points, this IS reddit after all … but satisfy yourself that, just like everything else on reddit, the loudest voices are the ones least likely to have ever even SEEN whatever is being discussed in real life, let alone owned one lol