6/25/10 - Princeton Tec is a name that's been around for years in the personal lighting industry, making lights for outdoors sports use, bikes, scuba and industrial applications. They've recently entered the tactical products arena, and shown here are the Remix headlamp, Remix Pro Headlamp, and the new MPLS Point (Modular Personal Lighting System)

Remix Headlamp - The Remix headlamp has an assymetrical single arm bracket, on which the head tilts up and down. Opposite the mounting bracket is a side-accessed battery compartment that houses three AAA batteries. There is a large rubberized push button switch on the top of the head. This turns the light on and off, switches between high and low power, and between the Ultrabright and Maxbright LEDs.

The Remix weighs about 3 oz including the batteries, which is light enough to be comfortable with the supplied 1" wide elastic head strap. The Remix is water resistant to 'Level 1', which means that it's resistant to splashing and quick dunkings. The headstrap on all Remixed can be removed and the Remix mounted to 1" molle webbing.

 

 

 

Remix Pro Headlamp - The Remix Pro headlamp is the military version of the Remix. It has the same assymetrical single arm bracket, on which the head tilts up and down. Instead of three AAA batteries, the Pro is powered by by a singe CR123 battery, which was a requirement from the military unit that it was specifically made for. Instead of the black and grey housing of the Remix, the Pro has an all-black housing and rubber button on top.

The Remix Pro weighs about 66gr (2.3 oz) including the battery; slightly lighter than the Remix. It's also resistant to splashing and quick dunkings.

The configuration of the Remix Pro is identical to the Remix, with three Ultrabright LEDs (available in white, green or red) and one Maxbright LED. The faceplate behind the LEDs on the Pro is black, whereas on the Remix it's mirrored. This is to minimize reflection either at night or in sunlight. The output of the LEDs are the same, but the burn times for the Pro are reduced. On Maxbright high, the burn time is 3.6 hours and on Maxbright low, it's 7 hours. On Ultrabright high, the burn time is 5 hours and on low, it's 40 hours. That's quite a significant different in run time than the Remix. The Remix with its AAA batteries has burn times 5 to 14 times longer than the Pro, depending on the mode. Unless you have no other batteries other than CR123s, it makes more economical sense to go with the Remix.

Another difference between the Remix and the Remix Pro is that pressing the 'on' button on the Pro always turns it on in the Ultrabright low mode, no matter whether it was left in the Ultrabright or Maxbright modes last. This to minimize impact of accidentally turning on the light. The Remix always turns on in the high mode first, and either Max or Ultra, depending on which was on last.

 

 

MultiCam - The Remix Pro headlamp is now available in tan, with a Crye MultiCam elastic head band. The MultiCam elastic is of particular interest, as it's woven, not printed. It's really quite amazingly well done. Anyways, for MultiCam junkies like me...YAY! The body of the Remix Pro is tan, as is all the associated hardware. Other headstrap colours available are black, tan and ACU.

The one small update to the Remox Pro body is that the fence around the button is taller than the previous versions, which protects the button better from accidental activation. It's a subtle change, but you can see it in the photo below - the black Remix is the older model and the tan one has the higher fence.

 

 

 

The Point boom can be positioned out of the way when not needed. It's just a matter of bending it down and directing the light where you want it when you turn it on. It's so small and light weight that you won't remember it's there until you need it. I found little use for it mounted on a weapon, but I'm sure that there was a role for it there when it was designed. I found it most useful mounted on the head, on a helmet, as it shone where I moved my head. It was easy to turn on and off, and switch between the low and high modes while wearing gloves. In high mode, it's actually bright enough to locate objects 15-20 feet away. Low mode is useful for reading, or close-up personal tasks without over-lighting the area. The boom really makes it easy to point the Point where you need it without having to screw with a mount or running out of travel. It's a neat little system - everyone can make use of a couple of them.

 

4/2/11 - Two of the new additions to the Princeton Tec MPLS line are the Switch and Remix Pro MPLS. The Switch is a dual LED version of the Point, and the Remix Pro MPLS utilizes a different modular mounting system than the regular Remix Pro reviewed previously.

MPLS Overview - The Princeton Tec MPLS (Modular Personal Lighting System) comprises of different products and components in the PMLS line that allow the user to configure and personalize his lighting system, whether it be a head lamp, helmet mounted light or otherwise. The lights in the MPLS system are the Point, Switch, Remix and Remix Pro, Tec EOS, Tac Quad, Fuel and Fred. Different mounts are available for these lights which allow them to be used in different manners.

Switch-MPLS - The Switch-MPLS is the 2nd generation helmet light, based on the Point-MPLS, which was the original light in the MPLS line. The original Point was called the MPLS, which now refers to the whole system, instead of just one light. The Switch is a dual LED design, vs. the single LED on the Point, and incorporates two Ultrabright LEDs into the head. The addition of a specialty lighting colour besides white is important when accomplishing tasks that require night vision preservation. Like the Point, the head of the Switch is located on the end of a flexible boom, which allows you to point the LED where you need it. The Switch boom is shorter; 1.75" instead of 2.25" on the Point.

The Switch as the same single push button that can be activated with gloves, and has a tactile 'click' when pressed. The button is recessed to prevent accidental activation. The Switch will always turn on in the low mode of the specialty colours, and low and high modes are selected by cycling the button quickly (low, high, off). If more than 1.6 seconds elapses since the previous button press, the next press will turn the light off. Pressing the button for more than 1.6 seconds turns on the high white LED - the button is immediately released when it comes on. Pressing and holding the button down for more than 2 seconds cycles the low mode specialy colour and the high mode LED. In this case, the red and white LEDs will flash alternately.

The Switch itself weighs only 17g, and measures about 1-3/4"" long, and 1-1/8" wide. The single Ultrabright LED puts out 10 lumens for a burn time of 110 hours. The LEDs can be had in white/green, white/red, white/blue, white/IR and red/IR, while the bodies are available in black, OD green and and tan (shown here). Two 2016 lithium coin cells are used, while a single 2032 cell is used for the red/IR combination. The battery compartment is located on the back, and can be opening with a fingernail.

Mounts - The same mounts as for the Point are available for the Switch. A molle/magnetic mount, helmet mount, a rail (weapon) mount and a 'reverse picatinny" (OPS-CORE helmet) mount. The molle mount is a pain to remove from webbing, I found, and is being redesigned I'm told.

 

 

Remix Pro MPLS - The Remix Pro MPLS incorporates a different mounting plate than the standard Remix or Remix Pro. The body itself has the same assymetrical single arm bracket, on which the head tilts up and down. The Pro is powered by by a singe CR123 battery, which was a requirement from the military unit that it was specifically made for. The housing is available in black, olive drab and tan.

The Remix Pro weighs about 66gr (2.3 oz) including the battery. It's also resistant to splashing and quick dunkings.

The configuration of the Remix Pro MPLS is identical to the Remix Pro, with three Ultrabright LEDs (available in white, blue, green, red or IR) and one white 70 lumen Maxbright LED. On Maxbright high, the burn time is 4 hours and on Maxbright low, it's 7 hours. On Ultrabright high, the burn time is 5 hours and on low, it's 40 hours.

MPLS Remix Pro (black)

MPLS Remix Pro (tan)

Back plate

The main difference between the Remix Pro MPLS and the Remix/Remix Pro is the MPLS mounting plate. A new mounting plate has been designed which allows it to be installed and removed from different mounts. There are two lower tabs and a single longer center tab. The lower tabs are inserted into corresponding slots on the mount and the longer tab is pushed forward until it locks it in place. To remove it, the tab is pulled (the word 'pull' is molded into the tab) until it clicks free, then the light is removed from the mount. Very simple.

The first mount is the Butterfly Bracket which can be used with a head strap and for attaching the light to molle gear. The head strap can be removed, and the mount attached to any 1" wide webbing via the slots in the loops. The mounting plate snaps into the bracket and the the Remix Pro MPLS functions exactly the same as the Remix Pro.

 

 

Ops-Core NVG mount - The other MPLS bracket is the NVG Adapter plate for helmets, designed with Ops-Core and allows the user to quickly attach the MPLS headlamp into a standard shroud as well as the Ops-Core VAS shroud (shown here). The bracket is designed to be very secure, yet provide easy functionality so that the user can quickly add or remove the MPLS light from the helmet mount. The bracket is adjustable in height by loosening up two screws and sliding the bracket up or down, then tightening the screws. The bracket snaps into the NVG shroud much like a normal NVG mount does. There's a little push lever on the right side to detach it from the shroud.

The Remix Pro MPLS mounting plate snaps into the NVG adapter bracket exactly the same way as it does on the Butterfly Bracket. The Remix Pro can then be rotated up or down as needed. When in the up position, the 'on/off' button faces inward and is protected from accidental activation. There's also a detent in the 'up/stowed' position that keeps Remix Pro securely stowed. If you're not using your NVGs and need a head lamp when wearing a helmet, this mount is a clean, convenient way of mounting one without straps etc.

 

Arc AAA LED Light

7/30/06 - The diminutive Arc-AAA light from Arc Flashlight is small enough to carry on your person every day, but is amazingly bright for a light of its size. At first glance, it's easy to dismiss it as another little keychain light like the Maglite Solitaire AAA light I used to carry with my keys years ago. But closer examination reveals that this is not your common, cheap mini-LED light, but more of a miniaturized version of a higher end light, like a SureFire. It measures only 2.7" long and 0.5" in diameter, and weighs less than an ounce. Not much larger than a .308 round, it'll fit almost anywhere unnoticed. I've been wearing it on my work ID badge that hangs from a cord around my neck. It was designed to be carried every day - a flashlight isn't much use in emergencies when you don't have it on you. If you're in the habit of carrying a tactical light on your belt, the Arc is a perfect backup.
The Arc is machined out of 6061aluminum and grey Type III hard-anodized (an attractive colour I prefer to black) for corrosion resistance and durability. When I slid the metal pocket clip off the body, it was tight and I cringed as I expected it to leave a silver trail of worn-off anoziding, like it would on cheaper lights. Not a mark, even after I removed and replaced the clip quite a few times. The body and bezel are lightly knurled, enough to provide a firm, non-slip grip but not aggressive enough to be abrasive to harm what it comes into contact with. The end of the body has a hole for split-ring attachment (included) or dummy cord. The metal pocket clip can be used both ways (face it backwards and clip it to the brim of a cap for hands-free use), and is strong enough to keep the Arc in place under normal use. The gold-tinted coat on the interior of the body is Chemkote for corrosion resistance.
The head/bezel is tapered/rounded so it slips more easily into a tight pocket. It is sealed by a single O-ring to waterproof the Arc to 100 feet. There's a small foam donut on the bottom of the head which keeps the battery from rattling. Should the O-ring or donut ever wear out, Arc will replace them for free if you send in a SASE. The Arc is turned on and off by rotating the head.
As I mentioned before, it's easy for people to mistake the Arc as a Solitaire-type clone without examining it, but it's very apparent when you turn it on. The common reaction when I turn it on is 'Whoa, that thing's bright! What is that?' It's noticeably brighter than any other light of its size that I've owned. The Arc comes in two models - standard and premium. The standard has a 3 Lumen output and the premium has 5.5 Lumen output. Shown here is the premium model (marked on the body with a 'P'). A converter is used to boost the voltage of the tiny AAA battery to power the 5m Nichia LED. This was done so that the common AAA battery could be used instead of more expensive and harder to find lithiums. No matter where you are, chances are you can find a AAA if there are batteries to be found. There is no lens or separate reflector - the reflector is machined into the front of the head, with a very even beam being produced. The LED is sturdy enough to negate the need for a protective lens. For more in-depth specifications and technical information on the Arc, read their FAQs page.
The Arc is more than bright enough to navigate easily around a dark house. There wasn't much of a comparison between the Arc and a common keychain light in terms of brightness, eveness of the beam, and throw. Optimum usable continuous run time is about 5 hours on a single AAA battery, with output slowly tapering off after that. Diminished output is still usable for close-up tasks.
Carried on my badge around my neck, in my jeans watch pocket, or on a loop of PALS webbing, the Arc is forgotten almost instantly until I need it. Chalk up another one for the phrase 'Good things come in small packages'.

QUIQLITE

2/6/04 - Here's another neat item I picked up at the SHOT show. I've got a bunch of mini-LED lights - on my keychain, in my bags and gear etc, but none of them are hands-free, so when I saw the QuiqLite, I thought it was a pretty neat idea. It was designed by Brian Quittner - a LE officer. The QuiqLite clips onto your clothing, pocket, or PALS webbing - just about anywhere you can find a spot. The plastic housing forms the clip, and houses the battery. The LED swivels up on an arm through a 90° arc and can be angled anywhere in between to suit your needs. A rubber button on the front is the constant on-off switch. 2 lithium batteries provide about 40 hours of continuous use and it features a 7 minute auto-off timer. They're available with white, blue, red or green LEDs. It's very unobtrusive (about 3" long and 1" wide) and prove very useful when clipped to the front of your vest or LBE when you need that little bit of hands-free light. (Note: this model is now known as the 'Classic Quiqlite')

Update 2/4/05 - Another year, another SHOT show, almost to the day. Quiqlite now has a dual LED model - the XP-440, which incorporates 2 super-bright LEDs (available in white/white, blue/white, red/white, green/white, UV and IR models) into the same package as the Classic. The light arm swings open 180° instead of 90°. It also has a removable 'Quiq-clip', which enables it to be clipped to thicker objects. You can turn on one or both LEDs, and it's bright enough to read by when clipped to the collar of my t-shirt with a book in my lap. It can be mounted just about anywhere and is a good alternative to a headlamp for hands-free use.

3/22/06 - The little SO-LED (Special Operations LED) available from County Comm is the same one Crye uses for their Visorlites cap. Instead of a push button, it has a slide switch so you don't have to keep pressure on the switch to keep it on. It's mounted to a small metal clip which rotates 360° with 8 detents. They come in red, white and blue LEDs, and are also available without the clip as simple keychain lights. They're so inexpensive that the batteries cost more than the keychain lights! They'll clip just about anywhere and positioned correctly, you can aim them in the needed direction.

OTHER HANDHELDS

The hand held flashlight has come a long way from the Maglites that were so popular a decade ago. SureFire is at the top end of the quality and price range (but well worthit, IMHO), with a plethora of other manufacturers snapping at their heels. A good light can distract or blind an attacker momentarily, and is always useful when walking in darker areas. There are literally hundreds to choose from - I have a few 'old school' SF 6Ps, and the C2 is my only other handheld from SF. I chose it because it can be used with the SF/Rogers technique when using a handgun.
Shown here as a curiosity is a Vital Gear light (from HK I believe). They offer three different bodies (1, 2, and 3 cell). The bodies are essentially the same diameter/design as the SF Scout lights and are compatible with Scout heads, but not tail switches.

The MK6 Fingerlight on the right from CountyComm can be bought in red, white or green LED configurations and comes in a kit with includes a variety of attachment options and a little pouch. It's a hands-free alternative to the little micro LED lights. The different mounting options are: Velcro finger attachment, swan neck clip, and spectacle clip (visit the website for more details). The plastic housing has a rotating thumb switch at the rear and a clip to which the other attachments are snapped onto via a ball-and-socket configuration. The only complaint that I have is that the LED used doesn't provide an even spot of light, like the other microlights. It has bright and dark rings. It's the LED, not the clear plastic protective lens, as I took the lens off and it didn't change anything. Personally, I'd like to see a better LED used that provides more even light.

3/22/06 - Digilight USA offers quite a range of tactical flashlights, from incandescent/Xenon types to Luxeon LED lights. I've begun preferring the whiter light of the Luxeon lights, and have been using one of their LXK-53B's for a while as a general purpose light. It's a 3-watt, 70 lumen light with a 180-minute run time. It uses two 3V CR123's. The machined body allows a secure grip and is designed to be used as a hand held light, as it cannot be mounted in rings on a weapon. The push button tail cap switch is on/off, and doesn't have momentary capability, which is my only gripe. The beam is as focused as the P60 incandescent bulbs on my SureFires.
The 1 and 5-watt S-series lights shown here are slimmer lights (pre-production samples pictured). They have momentary/on push button tailcaps. The beams are wider than the LXK-53B. (note: Digilight USA has closed and is no longer in business).

Inova 24/7 LED Smartbright

This is one of the neatest little gadgets I've come across. Just about everyone I show the multi-functional Inova 24/7 to wants one - my wife commandeered my yellow one just after I got it from Woody at TRGear. The 24/7 is personal light/signal that can be worn or mounted in a variety of positions. It measures 3" high by 1.9" wide and 0.9" thick. It has 4 white, 2 red and 2 yellow LEDs and is powered by a DL123 battery. The plastic housing has an octogonal dial/bezel covered with a rubber coating that rotates to 8 different positions, which make the LEDs light up in a variety of combinations:

TAD Gear Battery cases

6/4/07 - Okay, so you've got all these lights, electronics and optics - where do you carry the batteries? TAD Gear offers their compact BC4 and BC8 pouches made specifically to fit the Batuca battery cases.

The Batuca battery cases are made of translucent injection molded polymer, and measure 2.7" wide x 2.3" tall x .75" thick. The lid is a flip-top, and is not waterproof. Each Batuca will hold 4 AA, 6 AAA or 4 DL123 batteries, or combinations. There are internal ribs to hold the DL123 batteries at the top of the case, since they're shorter than AAs, and you can fit Aimpoint batteries in the space underneath the 123s. The Batuca cases are pretty much the most compact way of carrying batteries as there is very little wasted space. Two Batuca cases can be joined together at the bottom by sliding them together.

Batuca battery cases

2 cases attached

BC4 pouches

BC8 pouches

MultiCam pouches

The BC4 and BC8 cases are sized to fit one or two Batuca cases exactly, and add only about .1" to the overall dimensions. They're made out of 500D cordura and lined with smooth Oxford nylon. Both cases have 1" wide velcro belt loops to fit up to 2" wide belts. They're molle-compatible and will fit on 2-inch systems like on the FAST pack waistbelt, where the 2" webbing is sewn down 2 channels of PALS apart. The BC4 and BC8 have velcro-closure lids with a pull tab. The pouches can also be used for small items other than the Batuca cases - the BC8 fits my compact digital camera perfectly without bulk, and the BC4 is the perfect pouch for the SureFire helmet light shown below. The BC4 holds my pager horizontally on my belt, which is more comfortable than the vertical holder it came with.

Mounted on riggers belt

Rear view

BC4 on molle webbing

BC4 on FAST pack belt

TAD Gear Ranger Eyes

8/5/06 - These are TAD Gear's Ranger Eyes; cool little glow-in-the-dark skulls that can be used the same way luminous tape is used on USGI helmet bands with cat eyes - for identification at night.
The Ranger eyes are 0.75" X 0.64", and molded out of flexible PVC. The black base has hook velcro sewn onto the back, with the luminous TAD "Terminator Skull" logo molded as part of the base. They can be attached anywhere you've got loop velcro - packs, shoulders, caps, helmets etc. If you want to have the ability to hide them without having to take them on and off every time, an option is to get one of EMDOM USA's ID Marker Panels (shown in the bottom right photo). It has two little velcro panels that fold down or up to show or hide whatever ID patch you put on the panels.
The Ranger Eyes are 'charged up' by illuminating them with a flashlight before use for a few seconds (about 10 seconds is all that's necessary). They'll glow brightly immediately after charging, and quickly fade to a more subdued glow which lasts for a few hours, very much like the Luminova used in good watches. I tried charging them at night, and could still see a faint glow after 4 hours in the darkness. They're very bright under night vision, though, even after a few hours.