Weapon-mounted lights continue to develop and evolve. The tech behind them gets more advanced along with it. SHOT 2025 gave us several new products, particularly in regard to handgun lights and some upgrades to existing platforms as well.
Most of the lights we looked at didn’t have many obvious appearance differences from previous years. Some of the introduced features this year were to improve practicality and efficiency. Front-loading battery swaps so you don’t have to remove the light from the pistol, “dual fuel” battery capability (using rechargeable CR123 or standard ones), a locking ring to prevent activation during transport, and magnetic charging. Oh, there’s also a thermal….. A freaking thermal! The G word is back in the pistol light game, and their newest version appears that they might actually be serious about it this time.
Pistol Light Options – Big and Small and Bright and…Less so
Raise your hand if you’ve ever had to finish clearing a big building or lengthy perp search with a dying hand-held light (or Zippo or phone light) after your pistol light shit the bed during a search.
Not ideal, but I’ve seen stranger things happen.
It sure would be handy to be able to swap batteries out of a WML without having to take the light off that pistol. Some past pistol lights have allowed for that sort of switch-out, but not all of them. Happily, those who didn’t are now starting to see its utility; this is one of the WML trends we saw at SHOT Show 2025.
Options are always good in dark places. Having worked most of my career when it’s dark, a reliable and capable light on your pistol is as important as checking wind direction before you pee outside!
Here’s the brighter side of SHOT 2025
Below, you’ll find a quick synopsis of the pistol lights we looked at during SHOT Show 2025.
Surefire XC3
The XC3 is a sleek design compatible with most duty holsters. Surefire has introduced a front load battery capability and a locking ring on the front lens that will disable the light from activating during transport or extended storage.
HIGH OUTPUT 550 lumens
HIGH RUNTIME 1.75 hours
PEAK BEAM INTENSITY 7,200-candela
BATTERIES One SF123A lithium (incl.)
SWITCHING Ambidextrous push
Streamlight TLR-1 HLX
The “X” in the TLRX is for “Dual Fuel.” The TLR can now run rechargeable CR123A batteries. Streamlight purports a 500 Lumen increase from the existing TLR-1 when running rechargeable batteries. They have also incorporated a drop-down front-loading battery feature.
High Lumens: 1,500
Run Time: .5 hours
Beam Distance: 297 meters
Max Candela: 22,000
Battery Type: Rechargeable CR123A Lithium or Standard CR123A
Weight: 2.88 ounces (81.65 grams)
TLR-7 / TLR-8s and Sub models
Similar to the TLR-1 upgrades the TLR-7 and TLR-8 integrate the Dual Fuel “X” capability in their compact designs.
High Lumens: 1,000 (on rechargeable CR123A) with 22,000 Candela
Run Time: 30 minutes (default)
Beam Distance: 297 meters (default
Optional Lower Setting: 500 lumens with 11,000 candela.
Run Time: 1.5 hours (lower setting)
Beam Distance: 210 meters (lower setting)
Switching: Interchangeable high and low rear paddle switches
Glock: GTL II
Glock is taking another run at a pistol light. You may remember the first GTL (Glock Tactical Light) a few years back. It kind of looked like they stuck electrical components in the slag of an industrial 3D printing machine and sent it out. This time around, it seems like they might be investing some real effort into it. They advise it’s built with an aluminum housing with serrations for gripping and that it comes with a Glock tool for disassembly.
The GTL II mounts to any standard Glock frame. The light will be flush with the muzzle on a G19/G45 frame but will be recessed on a G17.
Some other notes on this one:
High Lumens: LED: 600 Lumens 11,100 Candela
Switching: Ambi switches can be changed to a press or push activation depending on the user’s preference
Battery Change: You’ll have to remove the light from the pistol to change the battery.
Holosun DPS-TH
Here’s something you don’t see every day. Well maybe not from everyone else, but it’s becoming common from Holosun. DPS is for Digital Pistol Sight, and the TH, as you’ve probably guessed, is for Thermal.
Holosun has integrated thermal sensors into a pistol light and blue toothed the images from the thermal to an RDS on top of the pistol. The thermal sensor and the light are used independently from one another and not in conjunction. However, the shooter can switch back and forth between the two capabilities fairly easily.
To use the thermal, the shooter toggles on the thermal sensor in the pistol light housing. The sensor then bluetooths the digital image of the thermal to the window in the RDS. To view the thermal images, the shooter flips up a screen cover on the the front of the RDS. The red dot and the thermal can be used in tandem to engage thermal targets.
For non-thermal circumstances, the pistol light and RDS can be used as a normal setup.
A couple of things to note: holster compatibility may be an issue. They expect it to be available for purchase at the end of 2025 and the SRP will be in the neighborhood of $1000 USD.
I’ll be listing the specs a little differently on this one:
- Red Dot Sight w/ Fusion Thermal Overlay
- Refresh Rate: 50FPS Overlay
- Modes: White Hot, Highlight, Outline
- Multi-Reticle System™ (MRS): 32 MOA Circle & 2 MOA Dot; 2 MOA Dot; 32 MOA Circle
- Battery: Camera: 1x 18350 / Red Dot: LiPo
- Sensor Resolution: 256 x 192
- Reticle Brightness: 8 Daylight & 4 Night Vision
- Window Size: 1.1 x 0.87 in
- IP Rating: IP67
Viridian C5L Microlights and laser/light combinations
The C5L is not a “new” light. Viridian introduced some new features to this existing light / laser combination. Prior iterations of the C5L were black this year the C5L is out in an FDE for the aesthetics of some of the FDE pistols. The C5L micro fits most compact and sub compact pistol frames. The C5L is offered in some brand and model specific light and laser combinations to account for some of the variations of rail systems. Glock, Springfield Armory, and Sig to name a few. The C5L series are 550 Lumens and 55,000 candela.
Viridian also introduces a Safecharge system whereby a magnet is placed on the light and charges the battery from a power pack. An additional magnet feature is the instant on function when drawing your pistol. Affixing an earth magnet inside your holster aligned with the pistol light activate the light as it is drawn from the holster and breaks contact with the magnet.
Nightstick TWM-30 and TWM-30T
Nightstick TWM 30 and TWM 30T are full sized pistol mounted lights with most of the standard features found in similar platforms. Ambidextrous activation switches that function independently of one another for momentary or sustained “on / off”. Powered by 2 CR123 batteries etc.
Compared to some other models on the market. The TWM are fairly robust light emitting platforms and with the introduction of the Turbo variant, 66,000 candela is piercing.
Nightstick purports the TWM series fits most duty holsters and many TRL-1 style holsters.
- 900 lumens
- 66,000 candela
- Enhanced single-motion switches
- User-selectable battery safe and strobe modes
- Momentary or constant-on flashlight
- Sharp focused beam for distance illumination
- Aircraft-grade 6061-T6 aluminum housing
- Type III hard anodized finish
- Beam distance rated at 514 meters
- 2 CR123 batteries (included)
If you are an armed citizen, do you have a light on your carry pistol? Why or why not? Take a look at this Safariland Dispatch article: CCW weapon lights.
Whether you carry a pistol in a professional setting or as a citizen. Pistol lights are as integral to a shooting platform these days as holsters and magazines. And there is no shortage to choose from. Just like any other platform, pistol lights continue to evolve. Some of the evolutions are practical and insightful. Others are just gimmicky solutions looking for problems to solve.
Along those lines, what are some of the things you feel are must-haves, and what are just gimmicks? Tell us in the comments below.
We didn’t make it to all of the new lights this year. Hit us up about that, too – which ones do you prefer? Which ones did we miss? Besides the Cloud Defensive EPL that is…
Let’s hear it!
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