The Best Light for Glock 19 Illumination

Streamlight has been around for a while now. And they’ve built a great reputation as a quality, affordable alternative to some of the more expensive weapon lights. The Streamlight TLR-1 Weapon Light is one of their most popular lights that offers a good blend of performance and price.

First, it’s bright. Not crazy bright. But it puts out 300 lumens of white light. That’s easily enough for target identification at typical handgun engagement distances. And it’s bright enough to be blinding, if you use your light for that purpose.

The light comes from 2 CR-123 batteries that provide 2.5 hours of continuous operation. There are very few lights that offer a longer run time than this one. It’s more than enough for typical weapon light operation.

The controls are ambidextrous. So you can operate your light with your strong or weak hand, regardless of which hand you shoot with.

The Streamlight TLR-3 Compact Weapon Light is a very capable weapon light that won’t add much bulk to your gun.

For a small weapon light, it’s impressively bright. This light puts out 125 lumens of white light. It’s definitely bright enough for target identification at most handgun shooting distances. And it’s bright enough to be blinding. But those who plan on using their light as a disruptive tool may prefer something a bit brighter.

1 CR2 battery provides the power. One battery lasts up to 1.5 hours of continuous use. It’s not a super long battery life. But it will do just fine for most weapon light operation.

The controls are ambidextrous for strong and weak hand operation, as you might expect.

And the housing is reinforced polymer, with an aluminum lens housing. The housing is waterproof under 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes.

The Inforce-Mil Gen3 White Pistol Light is a very simple and streamlined light that will do the trick in most situations.

First, it puts out 400 lumens. That’s impressive, especially considering the size of the light. That’s more than enough for target identification. And it will work for blinding and disruption, if those are part of your tactics.

The light is produced by 123A batteries. And a single charge will get you 1.5 hours of continuous operation. The battery life is good. But not great. However, most shooters won’t have any issues during standard weapon light operation.

This model offers ambidextrous controls. And the controls are simple paddle buttons that make it easy and intuitive to operate the light with either hand.

The body is constructed from a proprietary fiber composite. This light is plenty durable and impact resistant. 

The Streamlight TLR-4 Weapon Light certainly isn’t the only compact light on the market. But it’s definitely one of the most capable compact weapon lights around.

This model puts out 125 lumens of white light. That’s respectable. But not as bright as some other lights in this price range. However, this light is perfectly capable for defensive and tactical shooting. It just may not be bright enough to be a reliable disruption tool.

But this light comes with an integrated red laser. So you get some aiming enhancement with your illumination. Or you can just use the laser.

This model will run for 1.5 hours of continuous illumination on a single CR-2 battery. Or you get 11 hours of operation with just the laser. Both runtimes are adequate for a handgun light.

The controls are ambidextrous and easy to reach with either hand, using any operation technique.

The Streamlight TLR-1 HL Weapon Light is an enhanced version of their flagship TLR-1 light. It’s got all the same features as the standard TLR-1. But this light is much brighter…

This light is the same size and shape as the standard TLR-1. But it puts out 800 lumens of white light. That’s a lot of light. More than enough for target identification at any realistic handgun engagement distance. And plenty for reliable use as a disruptive tool, if that’s your plan.

There’s also a strobe mode, for those who really want to use their light for disruption.

It takes 2 CR123 batteries to produce all that light. And the extreme brightness is a bit less efficient. This model only gets 1.25 hours of continuous use from a pair of batteries. Not bad. But you’re definitely trading some runtime for brightness.

The controls are ambidextrous and easy to use with either hand, using your fingers or thumb.

Surefire has been a staple in the weapon light industry for a long time. The Surefire X300U-A Ultra Weapon Light is one of their flagship tactical lights.

So this light is super bright. It pumps out 1000 lumens of white light. This is wildly bright. Far more than enough for standard handgun engagement distances. You can use this light for target identification at exceptionally long distances.

And it’s bright enough to reliably blind anyone.

You’ll get 1.5 hours of runtime from 2 123A batteries. That’s decent battery life. But you can see the impact that the brightness has on the battery life.

The controls are simple, ambidextrous flip switches that make this light easy to use, regardless of whether you run your light with your thumb or index finger.

And the body is waterproof aluminum. This light is submersible up to 22 meters, just in case you need it for a beach landing or river operations.