Best Budget Flashlight For AR15

(Last Updated On: June 21, 2018)

Best Budget Flashlight For AR15 – Buying Guide

Want to know about the best budget flashlight for ar15? Then read on….

By all accounts, the AR-15 Rifle is an awesome and still legal weapon available to the American public. And part of the pleasure of ownership of the AR-15 is the multitude of options for upgrading and dressing up the weapon with various aspects of tactical gear. Then there’s the visit to your favourite range and demonstrating the improved looks and the performance of the weapon to your buddies. It’s great to share the views on the various upgrades that you and your buddies have made.

Mostly these upgrades will be of a technical nature, but some will be just to enhance the overall appearance. Now there is still one tactical aspect of the weapon that could be of great significance to the AR 15 owner and that is the selection of a tactical weapon light. Yes, there are night vision upgrades and lazer options,but they do come in at quite a hefty price.

So let’s look at some of the best budget flashlight for ar15 options available…

Top 5 Best Budget Flashlight For AR15

Product	Main Features	Price
CISNO T6 LED Tactical Flashlight With Mount Pressure Switch For Picatinny AR	1. Material: 6061T Aluminium, brand new, high quality 2. Bulb: L2 3. Lumens: 1000 lumens output(Max) 4. Two switch mode:Toggle pressure switch/Tactical Switch 5. Comes with 20mm rail mount, fit for picatinny rail 6. Waterproof, can use it in rainy day
Orion H40-W LED Tactical Flashlight with Pressure Switch and Rifle Mount	1. Cree XM-L U2 2. 500 lumens Tactical Light 3. Momentary on pressure switch and constant on button switch 4. Including Picatinny or Weaver Rail mount, ready to be installed on rifles 5. Compact, recoil-proof 6. Robust one-year worry free warranty
UTG 126 Lumen Combat Xenon Light, Handheld and Ring Mount	1. Weapon-mount tactical flashlight with long-lasting Xenon bulb 2. Ultra-high 126 lumen output; combat tactical front head 3. Push button momentary switch and twist-on permanent switch 4. Remote pressure switch; mounts to Picatinny/Weaver rails 5. Easy-to-hold body for handheld applications; measures 5.22 inches long
Streamlight PolyTac LED Flashlight with MSP Offset Mount	1. C4 LED 120 Lumens 2. Attaches to any Picatinny /Mil Spec or Weaver Rail 3. Run time up to 3 hours 4. Tailcap push button provides one-handed momentary or constant “on” operation 5. High impact super tough nylon polymer for exceptional durability and a sure grip
Streamlight 69260 TLR-1 HL Rail-Mounted Tactical Light	1. C4 LED 630 lumens 2. Securely fits a broad range of weapons 3. One handed snap-on and tighten interface keeps hands away from muzzle when attaching/detaching 4. 6000 series machined aircraft aluminum with anodized finish with high temperature, shock-mounted glass lens 5. TIR optic produces a concentrated beam with optimum peripheral illumination

These days you should be looking at led flashlights due to their friendliness with our batteries.
LED tactical flashlights are far less power hungry than their incandescent bulb counterparts, and so the size of batteries needed are smaller and lighter. This in turn allows the manufacturers to design and build the led flashlight into more compact torch bodies. Smaller units make them less cumbersome when trying to attach led flashlights directly onto our weapons.

Some weapon flashlights have machine screw arrangements for ensuring that the led light will not be knocked off or bumped out of alignment with the gun barrel during the action. Other led lights are more simply fitted to facilitate fast removal from the weapon for use as a hand held torch. This can be very important in certain circumstances.

How bright can you go? Well there is the practical side to this question and that includes affordability.

Regardless of the cost factor, let’s look at the practical user friendliness options of an AR 15 Tactical Flashlight.

User Friendliness of an AR 15 Tactical Flashlight

When attached to the firearm, we need to quickly and easily switch the led light on whether momentary or constant on. To achieve this ease of access, weapon lights generally have the switch or multiple switch mode arrangement at the rear of the torch. Some torches come with a remote pressure switch which plugs into the torch and attaches at your favoured position with Velcro.

Regarding brightness, tactical gear led flashlights are available starting around 150 lumens giving a blinding light when shone directly into somebody’s eyes which might be all you want, and won’t cost a lot of your hard earned cash. They will penetrate around a hundred meters.

However you can get some 500 lumen or more flashlights that will give you a range of 400 meters and more. Clearly these will be more costly, but it’s all a matter of how much you want to impress your friends down on the range.

LED illumination is still a developing technology and I see that you can now get led
flashlights over a thousand lumens.

So you see it’s up to you, go dress up that AR 15 and tailor it to suit your needs.

How To Choose The Best Budget Flashlight For AR15

When it comes to getting the best tactical flashlight for the money, you have to determine which features are essential for you. Opting for a low-cost unit that has all of the bells and whistles is not likely to give you the best measure of reliability. There are a number of relatively low-thrill designs that are perfect for a variety of activities and needs. These make it possible for consumers to spend less and still get dependable and highly functional products. Below we will list the few things to consider when picking the best budget flashlight for ar15.

What You Don’t Need

A good tactical flashlight is going to serve two main functions: it will disorient attackers and help you identify threats. 120 to 300 lumens should be sufficient for accomplishing both of these things and thus, you don’t have to spend more in order to get a heavy-duty, 600 lumens design. Buying a unit that will suffice under any conditions is far better than spending beyond your means to get excess illumination and power. Moreover, a unit that supplies 300 lumens will invariably need to have its batteries charged a lot less than one with 600. Most of these units will operate on AAAs and this means that in addition to lower upfront costs, they’ll also be a lot cheaper to maintain and run.

Size

A lot of shoppers make the mistake of thinking that bigger is better. Handling is critical as is the ability to easily transport your unit wherever you go. You can take your light places where handguns and knives aren’t allowed. This makes it important to select a design that isn’t too cumbersome to keep on hand. If you choose a heavy, clunky light, it won’t be comfortable to tote around and you’ll be less likely to pack it when heading out. Much like pistols and knives, tactical flashlights should be selected according to lifestyle, common weather conditions and the ability to tailor your wardrobe for increased portability. This is another reason to look for smaller, low-cost designs as they will prove far more versatile and much easier to manage.

Illumination Modes

The best tactical flashlight for the money, irrespective of its cost and size, will have a variety of illumination modes. You don’t want to pay too little and get a basic unit that simply switches on and off. There is a big difference between the brightness that is necessary for lighting up dark spaces for increased visibility and the brightness that is necessary for temporarily disorienting an attacker. Try to look for options that have at least three illumination modes, but don’t bother wasting money on Studio 54 or strobe light effects. This extra feature isn’t really necessary, especially if you are spending on a tightly controlled budget.

The Problem With Studio 54 (Strobe Light) Effects

In addition to costing a bit more, Studio 54 effects or strobe light effects are really only appropriate for a handful of situations. While they might make your flashlight seem more interesting, these are not going to provide the ideal amount of visibility when it comes to determining the location of your attacker, they actions that he or she is taking and what he or she has in hand. When using a weapon, this type of lighting can have an impact on your judgment and your response times. People like this feature because it provides short flashes of light that allow them to begin identifying people and objects in their paths, without necessarily giving away their exact locations. Unfortunately, these flashes of light could be too brief to be effective and thus, they may wind up doing more harm than good. It is far better to manually toggle between lighting and no lighting, especially when using a cheaper unit. This will give you optimal control.

Switching Between Illumination Modes

One of the most important factors to consider when attempting to get the best tactical flashlight for the money is how you will switch between illumination modes. Many low-cost models have just a single button that you have to push in order to move from mode to mode. This means that you will have to move through all of the different lighting options before arriving at the one that you want. Moreover, you won’t be able to toggle between a solid stream of light and no light at all. This means that you will not have the ability to manually make your light flash off and on, especially if there is a Studio 54 feature in the way. Ultimately, when choosing a lower-priced light, you want to look for a lightweight unit and one with a simple, easy way for you to choose between the different illumination modes that are available.

Our guide will surely help you find the best budget flashlight for ar15.