It’s a scenario every gun owner has considered. You’re sound asleep in the sanctity of your home. Suddenly a noise shatters the silence. In your groggy state, you realize the sound came from inside your home.

Without a moment to spare (and maybe dressed in nothing but tactical skivvies), you reach for your trusty bedside weapon. At this point, this story can resolve one of two ways:

1. You stumble through the darkness. Your eyes never fully adjust as you step onto traps like your kids’ lego sets. Finally, you come around a corner, see some vague form, and open fire. Since you couldn’t properly identify your target, this scenario can easily end in tragedy.
2. You’ve equipped your “bump in the night gun” with a tactical flashlight. With the flick of a button, you’ve illuminated everything in front of you in a glow of powerful golden light. Not only do you avoid your kid’s lego punji pit, but you can easily identify your target in the darkness.

When you have a tactical flashlight, you own the night. When you don’t, you’re functionally blind. In this post, we’ll look at some of the best tactical flashlights out there and help you choose the perfect one for your specific needs.

Why Do You Need a Tactical Flashlight?

One of the cardinal rules of gun safety is “be aware of your target and what is behind it.” In a low-light situation, following this rule may be impossible without a tactical flashlight.

Likewise, no survival or everyday carry kit is truly complete without a tactical flashlight. If you enjoy outdoor adventures, it will be a force equalizer between you and mountain lions, coyotes, or anything else in the wild areas of the American landscape.

There’s no “one size fits all” solution for emergency illumination. So, we included some options for handheld lights, rifle lights, pistol lights, and utility/survival lights from top brands. However, there are a ton of options out there, and choosing the right one for your needs can be difficult.

Let’s break down 10 of the top tactical flashlights from the best brands on the market in 2024.

Rifle Lights

You can attach any tactical flashlight to an AR, AK, or other rifle with a picatinny rail or MLOK handguard. Just make sure its placement doesn’t interfere with your sight picture. Instead of attaching it on the top portion of a handguard, consider offsetting it on the side or bottom.

Then it’s time to stock up on batteries. While some of the lights on this list feature rechargeable batteries, others don’t. Grab enough batteries to replenish your light twice. When you only have one set of batteries left, it’s time to re-up.

SureFire M300C

For top-of-the-line quality and durability, it’s hard to beat SureFire. The company has built a reputation for producing “duty-grade” tactical flashlights like the M300C. It’s waterproof with a hard anodized housing, so it’s ready for anything you throw at it.

Since SureFire lights are the gold standard of tactical flashlights, they’re usually more expensive than their competitors. MSRP for the M300C is usually around $360. But you get what you pay for — buy once, cry once.

Specs

Streamlight ProTac HL-X

If you’re looking for a functional, reliable, and affordable rifle light, the Streamlight ProTac HL-X is an excellent option.

The HL-X’s polymer and aluminum design stands up to impact or abrasion and emerges unscathed. It’s also waterproof, and boasts a strobe feature helpful for either sending a radio-less signal (like an SOS) or disorienting a target. It also incorporates an anti-roll head in case you drop it on the ground.

If you pick up an HL-X (which we absolutely recommend), be sure to grab the necessary rifle attachment for it. You can find kits that include both the rifle mount and an additional finger switch for improved ergonomics for about $120.

Specs

Pistol Lights

To cast light on your targets while preserving a proper grip on your pistol, a weapon mounted light is the way to go. These lights connect to a pistol’s frame beneath the barrel. They feature great ergonomics, and allow you to turn the light on and off while aiming (this is even doable while shooting, with a little practice).

Pistol lights also offer an advantage if a self-defense scenario turns from a shootout into a wrestling match. Sometimes, pressing the muzzle of a semi-auto pistol directly against your target will push the slide back. This, in turn, will slide the gun’s barrel out of battery. When that happens, you can’t shoot.

Pistol lights overcome this with some extra breathing room in front of your muzzle. If someone tries to tackle you, you can press the front end of your weapon up against them. Instead of pushing the muzzle out of battery, their bodies will just press up against your weapon light, allowing you to pull the trigger. However, be mindful that if you add a light to your main handgun, you’ll need a new compatible holster.

To defend your home with a pistol, you need a pistol-mounted tactical flashlight. Here are some of our favorites.

SureFire X300U-A

The SureFire X300U-A is the most rugged pistol light on the market today. Like the M300C, it’s a “duty-grade” weapon light used by police forces worldwide. It’s waterproof, and the mil-spec hard anodized aluminum housing stands up to any abuse.

Its powerful light can cast a 1,000 lumen beam more than 200 yards, orders of magnitude more powerful than your average head lamp. If you take this pistol-and-light combo out for some night maneuvers, you’ll wonder how you ever survived without it.

The only thing that keeps the X300 from being perfect is its price tag. It clocks in at $369 MSRP, but you can often find them on sale. Still, you get what you pay for with SureFire.

Specs

Streamlight TLR-1 HL

Here’s our top choice for pistol lights. Like the ProTax HL-X, the Streamlight TLR-1 HL is a great “middle of the road” light. It may not be “duty-grade” like SureFire lights, but it’ll stand up to most abuse. At about $150 a pop, it’s less than half the price of its competitor. It’s also waterproof, so you don’t need to worry about dropping your pistol into the toilet anymore (hurray!).

The TLR-1 HL (“HL” stands for “High Lumens”) is also one of the brightest pistol lights on the market. It boasts a powerful 1,000 lumen beam with a 20,000 candela intensity, so it’s a great addition to your camping gun. It also features a powerful strobe feature that’s useful for deterring or disorienting attackers without forcing you to pull the trigger.

Finally, the TLR-1 HL includes “keys” to fit a variety of different pistols. These small plastic inserts allow you to attach a TLR-1 HL to Glocks, Berettas, Smith & Wesson SW99s and TSWs, Sig Sauer P320s, and any other pistol with a Picatinny 1913 rail.

Specs

Handheld Flashlights

Sometimes, you want to be able to see in the dark without pointing a weapon, and handheld tactical flashlights are a great option. They’re also great for anyone who’s following the “gray man” ethos trying to blend into a crowd.

These lights don’t sacrifice any functionality, either. In fact, some of these we’ve listed below are actually more powerful than their weapon-mounted counterparts.

Olight Warrior X Pro

The Warrior X Pro is Olight’s best tactical flashlight hands down. It boasts the same features as the regular Warrior X — it’s waterproof, has a durable aluminum housing, and you can recharge its battery with a USB cable. However, the Pro includes a few added bonuses.

The biggest improvement is higher light output. While the Warrior X only has a 1,500 lumen output — the Pro can cast a 2,100 lumen beam. The intensity of the Pro’s beam is higher, at 62,500 candela instead of 22,400. That results in a beam that travels nearly twice as far.

Its price point is only a bit higher than the standard Warrior X. With an MSRP of $119, it’s about $30 more than the regular Warrior X. That’s basically two boxes of 9mm ammo. It even comes with a holster!

Specs

Olight Warrior Mini 3

For a more pocket-friendly tactical flashlight, the Olight Warrior Mini 3 portable flashlight is a great choice. It’s packed with features in a small size that certainly justify its $90 price tag, including a metal housing for enhanced durability and a pocket clip so you can keep it close at all times. It’s also waterproof, so you can use it to find your phone at the bottom of your pool.

In addition to being compact and lightweight, the Warrior Mini 3 can also last up to 100 days in moonlight mode. That kind of longevity will be nice if you ever find yourself stranded.

Specs

SureFire EDCL1-T

In case you haven’t picked up on it yet, we’re big fans of SureFire. They combine durability, performance, and affordability into a single lightweight and compact package. The EDCL1-T (Everyday Carry Light) continues that trend, with everything we love about SureFire in a handheld package.

Even if you don’t carry a weapon daily, you should be packing an EDCL1-T. Like other SureFire options, it’s waterproof and features a polymer and aluminum housing. Its 500 lumen beam has multiple intensity settings, and can run for between 1 and 45 hours depending on the setting. With an MSRP of $189, it’s a little more expensive than some of the handheld lights on this list, but we think it’s worth the price.

Specs

Pelican 7600

If you’re a firearms enthusiast (or play in a rock band), chances are you’re familiar with Pelican. The company makes the most durable hard cases in the world, and can protect anything from your most prized firearm to guitars on international flights.

They also make top-of-the-line tactical flashlights like the Pelican 7600. With a hard anodized finish, 3 LED colors, and rechargeable battery, the 7600 has a lot of features you won’t find on any of the other lights we’ve listed. Of course, it’s also waterproof.

The icing on the cake? It comes with an unconditional lifetime warranty that gives Vortex Optics a run for their money. It’s the ultimate “buy once, cry once” tactical flashlight. Its price tag is a little high ($130 MSRP), but when you consider all of its features, this flashlight is actually a great deal.

Specs

Nitecore P12

The Nitecore P12 is a great option for a tactical light that combines power and longevity. While Nitecore doesn’t have the same brand recognition as Streamlight or SureFire, don’t let that fool you. It can compete fully with its better-known competitors.

Part of that is due to its functionality. It boasts a 1,000 lumen output and 1 hour 15 minute run time on high, giving the Olight Warrior X Pro a run for its money.

Additionally, it has a built-in SOS strobe feature, so it’s an invaluable survival light and a great addition to any outdoorsman’s kit. Like the rest of the lights we featured here, it’s also waterproof. Its price can’t be beat, either — a Nitecore P12 runs for about $60 (that’s half the price of the Warrior X Pro).

Specs

Utility Lights

Here’s one last light that doesn’t exactly fit into any of the other categories we’ve listed here. Utility lights are meant for versatility, not tactical ability, so you won’t be using this next light to run and gun. Instead, it’s a great light source for emergencies or if you need illumination in the backcountry.

Goal Zero Torch 250

This nifty little gadget will become your next gear obsession. While not as useful in combat or a self-defense scenario, it’s significantly more versatile than the other lights we’ve included.

The Goal Zero Torch 250 is more of an emergency light than a tactical flashlight. It features a rechargeable battery with three different power sources and lights. An individual LED, spotlight, and floodlight make this tool instantly viable in a ton of different situations. You can even change the light from white to red to preserve your natural light vision.

But the Torch 250’s charging abilities are what really set it apart. You can charge the light using a built-in USB cable, solar panel, or a hand crank. Depending on how you charge it, the light can run for up to 46 hours. Plus, you get the entire package for about $70.

Specs

Final Thoughts

The world of tactical flashlights may seem overwhelming at first, but this list of curated options should help. Just go into your search for a weapon-mounted light with specific goals in mind, and choose a light that will get the job done.

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