Review- Sure Fire X300 Ultra Weapon Mounted Light

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Sure Fire X300 Ultra mounted on author’s duty Glock 35

I am a flashlight nerd.  I admit it.  I’d almost go to meetings like any other addiction if it was offered.  I am constantly on the hunt for the next biggest and brightest thing.  I’ve often stated that I am waiting around for the light to come out that has the same performance on the human body as to when the Germans looked into the Ark of the Covenant on Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Real old Testament stuff.

So when James Otto of Otto Firearms contacted me and stated he had the new Sure Fire X300 Ultra in stock finally, I broke out the plastic and one was on its way.

I did all of the research.  Sure Fire’s website (www.surefire.com) boasts that the 500 lumen output and it made me giddy waiting for the arrival of the unit.  The website also showed the length dimensions to be the same for what I could tell as the standard X300.  Another win, it’ll fit in all of my holsters.

When the light arrived, I noticed it shared the same quality of all of my other Surefire lights.  Great craftsmanship, fit and finish, and the dang thing is BRIGHT.  I quickly got my duty pistol, detached the issued TLR-1 and installed the X300 Ultra.  The X300 Ultra appeared to be a lot longer than the TLR-1.  Oh well, not a deal breaker.  I had accounted for the difference in bezel diameter by the fact that all of our issued  holsters will fit a larger M3.  Not an issue.  When I put the pistol in the holster, the extra length of the light was noticeable.  The ALS system did not want to lock without extra effort.  And conversely, it didn’t want to unlock without extra effort.  I simply removed the plastic cap on the bottom of the holsters that “protects” the lights, keeps crap from entering the bottom of the holster, and all was well.

That is the bad.  It may not fit in some holsters without minor modification.  The good is the noticeable difference in 500 lumens of output vice what you get on the standard Sure Fire X300 or the Streamlight TLR-1.  When the put them side by side in a dark room, the difference is…..ahem…..night and day.  The X300 Ultra dominates all comers in low light or no light.  Not only does it fill a room with more light, makes it simpler to “wash” non-targets with light to identify them, you also see a noticeable difference at 50 yards with the amount of illumination this torch puts out.  I also think that mounting one at the 12 O’ clock rail position on the FNH SCAR line of rifles might be the lighting answer I have been searching for.  I am a big fan of the SCAR 17, but figuring out the lighting to match my shooting style without the addition of an extended rail system has been a challenge.

Sure Fire weapon mounted lights have come a long way since the early days of my career.   Back when most pistol lights were considered crew served weapons because of their size.  Technology is getting smaller, brighter and cheaper.  And I for one am a happy dude because of it.

Check out the Sure Fire X300 Ultra.  You will not be disappointed.

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This entry was posted in Gear, Long Guns, Modern Service Pistols, Review, Weapon Modifications by Jerry Jones. Bookmark the permalink.

About Jerry Jones

Jerry Jones has been a Sheriff's Deputy in Kentucky since 1996. Jerry is currently assigned as a patrol deputy, firearms instructor and senior operator/training supervisor with a multi jurisdictional tactical team. Jerry is Kentucky POST certified to teach firearms, SWAT, and sniper operations and deployment at the Academy level. Jerry is also the President/CEO of Operation Specific Training and the Law Enforcement Representative for Apex Tactical Specialties.

6 thoughts on “Review- Sure Fire X300 Ultra Weapon Mounted Light”

  1. Given the Ultras extra length I modified 2 Raven and one other Kydex G17/X300 holster in about 5 minutes using a heat gun. On my duty belt and tactical Safariland SLS holsters I just had to reset the bottom “cap” a bit down and glued it in place with some hot glue.

    I wish there were more Ultras in stock so I could replace all my X300’s and put them on backup guns!

    Dennis.

  2. They are definitely good to go. I have them on all my rifles and pistols now. We are getting them for all of our swat rifles. They definitely are outstanding compared to other weapon lights we tried. From Surefire Scout and Mini-Scout, to the Insight lights we did try and an SF KM3 head replacement for our out dated M951 series weapon lights. Nothing even came close for flooding the room with light or firing at 100+ meters. They are very bright compared to other SF lights and their competitors but not so bright to was out your optic on a white wall. Small and fit just about anywhere without any issues.

    I mount all mine at 12 o’clock on my railed guns in front of the front sight, all others at 2 o’clock. I love the 12 position and only use the standard tail switch. I’m not one for momentary switches or wires hanging off my weapons. My light, irons, optics and laser all ride at 12 now. Well out of my way and easily accessible when I shoot left or right handed.

    Good light for your rifle or pistol. No issues in any of my holsters but on the newer ALS holsters you do have to pop out the bottom cap to get it to fit easier. My DSG Alpha holsters all fit the X300U just like they fit the X300. I wouldn’t think it’d be the same with a RCS holster. Theirs are a bit tighter.

  3. Thanks for the great review on the 300X Ultra. I have a G35 Gen 4 on order and have been researching both the TLR-1 HL and 300X Ultra. I’ve now decided that the additional $75 for the 300X is more than offset by build quality, features and performance. Your picture of one mounted on the G35 G4 pushed me over the edge!

    My next challenge is to find a duty type holster for the Glock 35 Gen 4 with a 300X Ultra. Have you found holsters (leather or kydex) for this combination and would you share your experience?

    John

    • I did see the references to the Raven Concealment Phantom and DGS Alpha holsters in the comment from Ross and have looked up both websites. Both had holsters for the G35 with the X300, but didn’t specify the G35 Gen 4 model. It is my understanding that the slide (?) on the Gen 4 is slightly thicker than the Gen 3 and holsters made for the Gen 3 may be too tight and cause excessive finish wear if used for the Gen 4. Not sure if this would be true with holsters designed for the attached weapon light. Any feedback on this?

      Are there other holsters that you would recommend?

      Thanks again,

      John

      • John,

        As far as duty type holsters go, the Safariland ALS has no issues accepting the Gen4 pistols over the Gen3. We field both Gen4 and Gen3 guns and issue the Safariland 6360. As stated, if you pop out the light “cover” out of the bottom of the holster, the Gen4 G35 and the Ultra work with no issues. I also have an ALS only thigh holster set on a DFA rig (I think it is a 6354 maybe?) and the gun works great in it.

        As to off duty holsters, I wish I could advise. I usually carry a G19 off work without a light attached in a Sparks VMII with a handheld light only.

        Thanks, Jones

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