The New King of Budget Rifle Lights
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- A quick look at the two kings of budget-performance ratio weapon mounted lights.
The streamlight and goonbeam HLX (2).
HLX (50,000 Candela Version)
amzn.to/3Vu3opM
GOOON~beam V1
www.goonbeam.c...
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*Casually mounts a Coleman Dual Fuel lantern to my Sharps breechloader*
underrated comment
You’ve yeed your last haw partner
HEY YOU STUMBLIN AROUND IN THE DARK
IDENTIFY YOURSELF OR PREPARE TO GET WINGED
"Is it heavy? Then it's expensive; put it back."
Jurassic Park reference!
You can just @ clouddefensive at this point.
@@Drew-v2f The original Jurassic Park movie is what he referenced.
@@Arkancidelol
"These thing's are all named incredibly confusingly, like they almost don't even want you to buy this product"
Streamlight's entire existence and market strategy synopsized in one sentence
People always ask "What is Nova?" and never "Why is Nova?"
But how is Nova?
We demand more Nova!
HOW is Nova?
I need to know where (for pets and treats)
When is Nova?
A light is not the first thing one thinks of when seeing the word “goonbeam”
My goonbeam typically has a lot more spill than throw, must be defective. Think I can warranty it?
Literally the shitty name is why I bought something else. Nothing conveys tye idea of a trustworthy quality product like ripping off an existing design, doing ? To the internals, and letting a 14year old boy name it.
I have the new version of the HLX on my conscript PSA special. Fit the bill perfect. Whole build (light, holosun, magpul sling) for 750 including a loaded 30 round mag😂
That's freedom right there 🦅
Well done!
That's the kind of shit I love. The minuteman special.
Damn!
Thinking about building a loan rifle collection. This might be the move
Didn't listen to video, heard "goonbeam", stayed for Nova, bought a Cloud OWL. That's what the video wanted me to do, right?
OWL is one of the best lighting systems hands down. Heavy but a tank. I like it. (do have a rein 3.0 in the mail though)
@@GnolomwebI think weight matters a lot on a light considering how far out on the end of the rifle it is. Especially if you have a 13.9 p/w or longer.
That's unfortunate
Yes!! Give your money away Lol 😂
Can confirm, OWL is a beast of a light. Definitely heavy but great performance and durability.
4:32 700 lumens and 80,000 candela for $130? I think I'm ready to convert to being a gooner.
I'm going to goooooooooooooooooooooooon
I have heard that it’s just hotwired stream lights that are very Chinese and sketchy. Or at least that’s what Reddit says.
I own 9 goonbeams. They're great.
@@T_for_Texas yeah, I own a lot of convoy lights too.
@@_Delta_P_Goonbeam finds cheap lights with interesting features and rebrands them
You would come out with this video LITERALLY THE DAY AFTER I ORDER THE WRONG ONE. Damnit, Brass Facts.
Lunch break, chilling in Jeep, eating cold pizza. Yup, it’s Ass Facts time
FWIW I saw the Goonbeam Backup handhelds seem to just be Convoy S6 with different emitters between the V1 and V2. I got my Convoy S6 with the SFT40 LED handheld for less than $20. Bought and used a quality battery, which costs extra and purchased from a reputable retailer. Their Backup is $89 I believe. Same programming modes, same body, same everything it seems. Do with that info as you will. The Convoy is a great cheap high candela light
goonbeam is best beam and he is actually involved and supportive of the community unlike the others
i can’t take anything seriously that has the word “goon” in it anymore i hate the internet man 😭
@@knowtheplan472took the words right outta my mouth.
@@knowtheplan472 yeah, cringe for the sake of cringe internet culture has burned me out. I'm so tired of people purposefully saying stupid things.
I’ve heard it’s just hot wiring Chinese lights basically. Reddit seems to shit on him
@@_Delta_P_if Reddit doesn’t like it thats a good sign
Streamlight are good people, glad to see they're keeping up with what people want. Their CS is absolutely top notch as well.
I recently picked up one of the new gen protac HL-X “pro” models for a more budget conscious build for a family member.
I’ve seen mixed reports online, but we were in fact able to use a standard crane button Modbutton light with the included streamlight ds-00 style tailcap. Fit was a tad looser than factory and seemed orientation dependent like some lasers, but it did work just fine for activating the light.
Hahaha, the "you" "him" on the batteries got me. God bless you and yours.
If you're still wondering what that large cell is, it's probably a 21700 modified with protection/charging.
The 21700 is a Tesla designed/requested cell size for their battery packs.
It has been a standard in the flashlight space for years now.
It normally has a minimum of 5,000mAh vs the max of 3,500mAh in 18650s.
I have several of the 1,000 lumen hlx rifle lights with 50,000 candela and they’ve been great lights for a few years now. Great video
Hey Hey Solid video, I use to have the First Gen HLX for a few years & than picked up the RM version of the 2.0 ... disappointment in throw was severe at the time until I realized it made for a decent choice on a shotgun thanks to the flood aspect. But was able to pawn them off on a buddy for about $220 & picked up a CD Rein 3.0 as my primary weapon light.
Thank you SO MUCH. I always look at these product lines and, partially because of the names, I'm baffled. When I ask certain communities they treat me like I'm an idiot for even caring about these details.
I have been using Fenix flashlights and they work very well their weapon lights haven't failed me yet and their headlamps kick ass too
While I hate the name, I've been happy with my Goonbeam. I have the TLR1 clone with 50K candela and 700 lumens on an 11.5 at 12 o'clock, and it works really well.
I want to like Streamlight, I really do. But every one of my Streamlight protac series lights have failed at some point. Whether it's their rifle mounted or handheld. They've been good for a year or two but eventually become so inconsistent that I can't trust them. I have since bucked up and switched everything I own over to Surefire, Arisaka, and Modlite and there's a huge jump in quality of life. The only Streamlight product that hasn't failed on me is their TLR series pistol lights.
Wow wait do tell about the protac series experience please I have the dual fuel hand held as the standard go to.
I have the protac hand held, & the small streamlight AA, both have worked good for the last 3 years. I have noticed when the battery is about 50% the output has been inconsistent but I've never had them turn off while using. What issues did you have?
Literally came to say this. I have 3 HLX lights that flicker under recoil.
O-ring
@@Tjcarbon9 sounds like the o-ring fix solves this issue
This vid did the thing and got me another good quality budget light. Thanks Ass Facts!
Streamlight protac hlx is my go to…. Because I’m poor and it’s solid
The Streamlight Protac Rail Mount HL-X must have changed. I just scored one. It's 1,000 lumen, 50,000 candela and takes 2 CR123A. Got it on sale right after Christmas for 130 bones. I'm pretty eff'nn happy. Its throw is great. It spill is good. Totally satisfied.
it can also take their rechargeable battery, B26 i think they call it. longer runtime than 2x cr123s.
@ryanashby3640 It's true, it can. But it doesn't come with it. I'm thinking about getting one and seeing if there's a big difference. But there's always that potential with rechargeable lithium ions of blowing up. And I'm not crazy about the idea of having to have a battery out of the light for a while to recharge. The two cr123s you just replace them, you know. I think I will try it out though and see the extended life is really worth it.
@MattCellaneous cr123s are lithium. You can get a twin pack of the B26, i have an edc light that uses them as well, takes an afternoon to charge then back in before dark.
@@ryanashby3640 Yeah but it's the rechargeable lithium ion ones that people really worry about. It's more about the heat they generate when taking a charge I think but I'm going to check one out
I just Velcro a stream light wedge to the front t of mine. Enough light for the typical defense rifle. Plus the ability to quickly pull it off and slap it on without having to look at really fast is nice. Sometimes you may grab the rifle but don’t want the barrel pointed at anything you wouldn’t want flagged. It’s easy to hold the rifle in one hand and have a light in the second for a non aggressive pid. Sometimes that bump in the night outside your home is the neighbors kids playing (I did this as a kid growing up around my neighborhood). Plus it’s rechargeable
Weltool W65C with LH8 head (18650)
.....you're welcome
Almost 2k lumen and 80k candela
The most insanely underrated weaponlight in existence
Btw, just to clarify, the two different Rail Mount HL-Xs that you compare at 7:16 both have the 50,000 candela head. They implemented that new head a while ago, before they rolled out the DS00 style tailcap and arisaka knockoff mount. I bought a couple of those HL-Xs a couple of years ago which came with the old remote switch and just the pic mount, and they still have awesome throw with an 18650. I think the item number is 88066, but it now comes with the arisaka-like mount too. So the only difference between that and the new one (item number 88126) is just the DS00 style tailcap vs the legacy streamlight options of pressure pad only or clicky tailcap only.
sorta. You can still buy the wrong/old HLX places that have backstock (like amazon). Ask me how I know :(
@@BrassFacts Ah brutal.
I got a fake HLX from Amazon once, and when I tried to return it the seller just gave me the money back without having me send in the return, and I told Streamlight about it, and they sent me a new one for free on the condition that I would mail them the fake so they could take a look at it. So I ended up with a brand new HLX for free. Pretty epic customer service.
The acebeam L17 will push 180,000 cd (1400 lumens), and can be purchased with a weapon mount and remote switch. Admittedly, it does use a 18650 battery but also has the best performance I've seen from a weapon light for only ~$75. I use mine for airsoft and love it.
You lost all credibility 🤷♂️ sorry guy Lol 😂
Will it hold up to recoil and me slipping down a hillside in the middle of the night because I want to be an oper9or but can’t afford nods?
@@joshmajor8662 keep spending $500+ on your weapons lights just cause they’re advertised as “duty grade.” Anything advertised as tactile costs absurd amounts of money because people like you will shell out absurd of money
bought a goonbeam cause this video, very impressed and pleased. about to order more
I can also vouch for GOON beam
Oh hey Reno. Shouldn't you be commenting on a General Sam video or being a lawyer or something?
Heard that Goonbeams are just rebranded Convoy lights.
So is streamlight lol
I bought the 2.0 awhile back it’s good enough for what it is and battery life is decent, but it does lack for punching out far. It works further than my eyes do without glasses.
A few years back, someone was selling old, Surefire Millennium series lights for nothing....I put a Malkoff LED head on both and now have a spotlight on two boom sticks.
I moved off streamlight to battle torch recently for my cheap lights. I don’t regret it at all
I have 3 Goonbeam products and 2/3 of them are quite good. The handheld is a modified version of a light that was popular among light nerds and it has really great throw. The Short V1 is a monster with output BUT it runs into an issue with the battery compartment not staying perfectly closed...this results in the light not turning on occasionally, but it's easy enough to fix. Lastly the Long V1 is a throw monster, and I haven't had a problem with it.
The Short V1 issue isn't something I have looked into fixing. I know they are really responsive at Goonbeam, but I just haven't been interested in trying to fix it.
I was out at an event yesterday, and there were reps from Nightstick. I checked out a bunch of their stuff, their LGL-160-T seemed like the kinda thing I was interested in. I went looking earlier today to see if I can buy one. I've always kinda gotten the feeling that this was a janky company marking up cheap chinese made flashlights, because periodically I'll see them advertised very inexpensively, apparently the MSRP on this thing was better than $200, but street price is floating around $140. I've been working up to order this the new Protac HLX 2.0 for a while, but hadn't been a priority, until my current WML ate shit last weekend, this video saved some some coin on not knowing which one to buy. Well worth my $5/mo.
Why brass facts not have more subs? Brass facts good video maker.
I used your affiliate link for the HLX, please give Nova a treat or something for me. Wishing you and her both all the best Brock 👍🏿
treat dispensed.
dog. Happy.
I ordered the Long v1 (max candela) based on the comparison here. I was disappointed that I’d missed that the Goonbeam has a fixed wire from the tape switch to its tail cap. This makes it much harder to swap batteries. Fortunately it seems to be made so the tail cap can be unscrewed without twisting the wire and breaking it.
I just installed a HL-X (new, non-pro) and it fucking rocks. I'm new to tape switches (but not WMLs) and have no complaints about the Streamlight one.
I commend you! Very well made vid with good humor and valuable info. Thank you!
Yes the names are so convoluted!!!!
Damn, Brass Facts mentioning my hometown off the bat, put weapon lights on your weapons folks
This is ridiculously helpful sir!!! ❤
Brassfacts, when do we get a vid explaining how to buy armor plates. I’ve been looking for a while and I just cannot fathom how I can try to get a good deal while also knowing that the plates are actually up to spec
Go watch Buffman Range for that, he shoots A LOT of plates and tries to keep to the NIJ testing standards as much as possible
If you want tried and tested, grab some Hesco SAPI multi curve level IV ceramics. A bit old school at this point but they work well.
Great work yet again!
Sounds good, I felt like I was buying an outdated light when picking up the protac 2.0 for my HD pump action S590 not too while ago. Only thing is I don't want a huge honking light on where it mounts to, so that's about the only thing going for it at this point. Wish these other brands made smaller versions of their mainline products especially for my 11.5" AR. I just replaced the barrel to a geiselle CHF and eventually want to update the protac 2.0 that's on there with a more modern equivalent.
Look at arisaka during a holiday sale. Stick with a clicky cap as well if you can position it in a comfy orientation
@@erics.5785 cool, I'll check it out.
PSA currently is selling surefire 640 pro DFT for $280 shipped so I snagged one and it was a nice step up from my protac 2L
I picked one us for $250. At that price it’s well worth it
Unfortunately i bought one of their blems and have had tape switch issues where it interfaces with the tail cap. It can rotate a bit which could be the difference between full light, dimmer/flickering, or just no light at all. Definitely approach with some skepticism and I hope you win the goonbeam lottery.
I can't wait to buy a Streamlight Pro Tac 2.0 Rail Mount RM Pro 2.0 Giga-Fuel HL-X Pro 2.0.
Awwww Man ! Goon beam ! Getting ready for a huge influx of orders bro ! Love love love Goonbeams!
They're just rebranded Convoy flashlights that you can buy for $20
@@Swamp_Donkey_ the shell is but he rebuilds the entire device and hardness the durability and improve performance tremendously
@@RedDawnReadiness not according to like a dozen nerds on r/flashlight.
"The owner is on here and has talked about this before
>Goonbeam is Nothing special to the lords of /flashlight I have half a dozen convoy on the site. Everything I sell is rebranded hotness from this community marketed to the tactical guys that are used to paying many 100$ for similar performance."
"It's a 20 dollar convoy s2+ that they're charging 70 dollars for. Don't fall for it."
"They're rebranded Convoys (and possibly other budget brands), so probably come close to spec but not quite (Simon gives theoretical specs, not real-world), but overpriced compared to just getting a Convoy."
Person 1: "That goon beam is just a Convoy S2+ with a short tube and clip."
Person 2: "The convoy don’t got throw like this"
Person 3: "Sorry but that goon beam is just a Convoy S2+ with CSLNM1 and on the official Convoy store it's only about $20."
"I was trying to let him down easy but yeah I made the same light with a W1 for $19 from Ali and it even comes with an 18650 tube."
"From the looks of it, it's not even modded (other than the new logo), it's a $20 light that someone rebranded and sold for $40 more. Convoy are great $20 lights but I wouldn't pay $60 for an 18650-sized one."
"Wow even the firmware is the same. I mean there's a lot of lights out there that look like convoys because those hosts are sold to a lot of different shops, but that's literally a convoy. Marked up 200-300%. The audacity"
I could keep going. Even if he were upgrading the internals, paying an extra $100 is ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, I'm not mad at him, it just made me realize that ALL tactical flashlights are grossly overpriced.
@@Swamp_Donkey_ well mine have held up Great and have great performance
@@RedDawnReadiness yeah I'm not saying they're bad, just that the Goonbeam guy is a scalper and I think people should know. I'm planning on getting one from the Convoy store because of this video.
So... Yeah... Went and bought the Rein 3.0 head + their Legacy body. Now I have the Rein 3.0 god mode power + Surefire tailcap compatibility. Couldn't be happier.
Thank you for doing this research and answering my question. I was struggling with this for a while. I almost said screw it and was going to buy the old one as a known quantity. Also I would uld have like to seen your thoughts on nightstick lights.
I'm guessing you've tried all kinds of other chew treats and Nova just keeps going back to wood?
back in the day yeah. Now she doesn't really gaf unless we're camping
Gib dat dawg antler
Dude when I bought the 50k candela HLX last year I spent several autistic hours bouncing between amazon descriptions, streamlights site, YT videos etc trying to concretely figure out the correct part number/product.
Fortunately I did buy the correct light and agree it’s a great package for the price but frustrating is an understatement.
I still think Crimson Trace is a viable option when it comes to pistol lights. Thanks for this video, Brassy. This sort of stuff is good watchin'.
I have to admit, I honestly have no idea where to go with how to make the firearms be more than just a means to shoot projectiles. Which it just shows how many people actually knows firearms compared to those who actually knows what they're talking about. And thanks for the review for the rifle lights.
Would be interested to see this same comparison and include Weltools and ZBolts
I just bought the new streamlight. After the end of the video, I panicked and had to double check that I got the right one. You hit the nail on the head with their naming convention. I remember quadruple checking when I was buying
How do you know if you're buying the new HLX vs the old HLX?
@@TK-mj9rd it's listed as new on their website and under the HLX Pro section
@@TK-mj9rd Either buy the HLX Pro or make sure that the product page for the HLX specifies 50,000 candella. But they're the same price, so I don't see any reason to buy the legacy HLX despite the HLX Pro tailscap and tapeswitch being dooky.
I've got a modlite, a couple of Surefire lights and several Stremalighg TLR 1-HL and pro-tac rail mount HLX.
The pro-tac HLX is fine, but nowhere the throw of the Modlite.
Honestly the only lights I've had to send in for issues is Surefire. In their defense I have used the Surefires harder than the others.
The Modlite eats batteries, but my gosh it has so much throw.
The HL-X pro is awesome
Goonbeam rocks, especially the IR lights, best 850nm IR for the money. I will never give surefire another dollar. I rock the Goonbeam TLR-1 clone too. Best WML for the money
Great informative video, and I love the dog.
Brass, you should compare the Goonbeam V1 long vs the V2 long vs the HLX pro. Maybe sprinkle in some photonic barriers.
6:30 Slurp Lord! Slurp Lord! Hail the Slurp Lord!!!
I’m kind of at the point where I just don’t know how much light I need for basic use. I mean, for inside the house and directly around the house a Streamlight Microstream (updated 250 lumen) is more than bright enough.
Moving up from there I feel like most lights 500 lumens or up and it will light up my entire yard and surrounding terrain up to about 100+ yards.
I’m here and ready to buy more lumens and candela though.
Good beam is neato. Bought the surefire turbo on sale instead lol.
I just bought some protected button top 18650s and used 1-2 orings and it beats streamlights expensive asf batteries.
I have 2 hlx protac lights (one is 2.0, the other is a pro) and i just want better tailcaps that dont shut off during literally any amount of shock, and springs that don't break.
Atleast you can still make it take industry standard tape switches with the Ariska adapter but that drives the price way up.
The OWL was, allegedly (from an anonymous Cloud employee speaking off the record) discontinued because it was too unprofitable. This is incredible in the modern age, and really gives you an idea of how high quality it was. The last-run OWLs, with the much higher candela? I strongly believe they should have raised the price $100, because a lot of people would have paid it. All the criticisms about weight, forcing you to have your hand all the way at the end of the gun, making a rifle front heavy, that’s all true.
The thing is, when you’re using it on a gun with a shorter barrel, say an 11.5? This simply wasn’t an issue, as a gun that size is going to naturally be balanced such that “front heavy” isn’t really a concept that affects them, and the OWL is so durable, so simple, that the benefits outweighed the drawbacks on a pistol length AR, in my humble opinion. Frankly I think people would have paid a higher price, especially with the guns ability to be removed almost instantly with a flathead screwdriver, allowing you to transfer it between various “daily drivers” a person might have.
I owned two, and I gave one to my brother, as he was just getting into AR’s and I helped him with a very nice Frankenstein type build. It was a pistol, 11.5”, and he had used mine before, and loved it, but this was last the discontinuation. Since I love my brother I gave him one, and I miss it to this day lol.
I hope they bring this back at some point
Thank you Brass, I was about to buy a Crimson Trace.
The new 3rd gen wmlx is pretty good so far, I like 12 o clock mount
Vindication for my goonbeams
Streamlight supremacy!!
You're gonna wanna go take a look at Nite Core lights. They have a few pretty sweet budget offerings. I've taken their stuff to combat and used it as a fist responder including in hurricanes and other disaster response. They might not be the worlds best, but they beat the pants off of any surefire I've ever used. EX: Nite Core MH25 V2 1,300 lumen and 57,000 candella 18650 or 21700 battery and it's USB rechargable... for $90 not a gimick I've beat the tar out of them and they come back begging for more. The MH25 V2 is just 1 example, they have other offerings with more lumens and candella that can be mounted, such as the SRT7i 3,000 lumens 87,500 candella CR123 or 21700 batteries usb rechargable... for $130, and the list goes on....
Hey man, I know it's a long video but have you checked out the video classic firearms released touring q facility? It really is an eye opener with why they do the things they do. I know it's over 3 and a half hours long, but I think it's really cool and worth the view.
I rock'in a Gmconn 1200 Lumens Rail Mounted Compact Pistol Light LED Strobe Tactical Gun Flashlight Weaponlight for Picatinny MIL-STD-1913 and Glock Pistol Weapon Light with 2 x CR123A Lithium Batteries..... it was $32
And also rock'in a Skyested WF-502B Single Mode 1200 Lumen Mini Portable Tactical Clip Handheld Flashlight Torch Lamp,for Outdoor Sports and Indoor Activities (Camping, Hiking, Hunting, etc.) (Black)..... that was $18
😎
I put a goonbeam on my AK and I've been happy with it so far.
Data point - the new 50k candela hlx plug is compatible with Crane laser switch plugs, so while it's not surefire compatible, you now do have options ouside of the Streamlight product catalog.
Is that an adapter on the goonbeam that lets you use scout pro swivel mounts?
What’s your thoughts on the new holosun raider white light it’s 1,000 lumen and 80,000 candela or so they claim
I have a custom GPS satellite linked reflector light focus system mounted on my SBR.
Freefloat Japanese fused quartz lens with multicoated nanopolished mirror surface interface nodes Starlink thru multiple interglobal stratosphere points to bring my weapon 6840000000000000000000000000 lumens if needed. 10 lbs 3oz without tape switch. 15lbs rifle in all. Still lighter than most of y'all rifles lol!
Thank you for this
Feel more secure with my Arisaka/Malkoff head for middle of the road pricing
I gotta say, and I came here solely to say, the HLX Pro is awesome - except for that jack. Jesus… I too have an intermittent tape switch. Frankly, racking the rifle dislocated the jack enough to fail 100% of the attempted times after I noticed it. One range trip, less than 100rds. Wack. That said, everything else rocks. The value of the MLOK and pic rail mounting is awesome with the upgraded specs
Any concerns with performance under recoil or long term durability? I’m guessing just given you are recommending them you didn’t run into problems with this? Awesome video !
I personally have not had issues with the HLX over roughly 10 years
no show notes with links?
Is it really worth removing an old HLX to put on a new one, though?
nope
Incremental upgrades like that are never budget-friendly.
Was wondering when you’d cover goonbeam. It’s what I run on my rifle
What do you think of the nightstick 160 turbos - 100k candela and 700 lumen for the same price?
Streamlight has been the answer.
Although is the cloud owl the definitive gucci ak light. And can an AK actually be Gucci?
I dont think its that big of a deal. Lights are for indoor use unless you're hunting varmints or coyotes at night. I have a Surefire mini scout with upgraded Malkoff head and its ok. I bought the Streamlight HLX for a hunting AR and its insane. I just use the Streamlight Rail Mount 1 on all my new builds now. Its 350 lumens, 12k candela, and 219m beam distance. Costs less, weighs less, and has 1.75 run time.
I have one of those 1000 lumen HLX lights. Got it for free so the price was right. It's big and chonky but it works good.
Will the MLOK mount that comes with streamlight hlx fit on the goonbeam v2 ?
Best light video
Love it
What about HPX Pro?
4:42 Either Streamlight uses a third party or they license their designs out. Look up Nightstick lights, they are literally all copies or clones of Streamlight products. Especially the pistol lights.
I just buy arasaka m600s.
Its 180$ and works and is in the surefire category for switches and tapes