Crimson Trace RailLight pocket spotlight

The new Crimson Trace RailLight arrived for review.

First impression is it is bright, maxing out at 1000 lumens, and small compared to other lights I have used. I liked the large ambidextrous paddles for turning the light on. On the port side is the large button with a plus sign for increasing brightness; on the starboard is another large button with a minus symbol for decreasing the brightness. The light has a memory, so whatever brightness you set when you cut it off will be the brightness when you cut it back on.

One feature I really liked was the walking light. The small red walking light would turn on by pressing and holding the + and – buttons for over five seconds. This light would stay on until fifteen seconds of no movement and cut itself off, but any movement would trigger the light to come back on. If you decide not to have that function on, it is turned off like it was turned on.

Lumen settings start at 5 and go to 100, 250, 500, and 1000 with about an hour of run time on the highest setting. Brightness settings are controlled by the port minus and starboard plus buttons. There is a strobe feature that is accessed by holding both the brightness and dimming buttons for just over a second, but that is not a memory feature, so when you cut the light off, it will not be strobe when you cut it back on.

Crimson Trace sends one rechargeable battery in the light and a second rechargeable light in the box, along with a charging cord and all the necessary mounting hardware.

Mounting it is a little different than you may be used to, with eight threaded holes at the top; sliding the light onto your Picatinny Rail, one set of those holes will line up with the rail, and you will tighten two of the supplies set screws, through the RailLight and that will hold it fast to your pistol. If that sounds confusing, please watch my video or look at the instructions from the link I provided to the RailLight, as it is not that bad to install. While installing and uninstalling this light will be a little slower than many other rail mounted lights keeping all the mounting hardware tucked under the battery keeps it protected and out of the way, decreasing snag points and the overall footprint of the light.

I used the Dan Wesson Specialist as reviewed here, CZ SP01 Tactical as reviewed here, P10C, Glock 17 as reviewed here, and Desert Eagle as reviewed here for hosts. All of which the light stayed put and worked as it should. I went a bit above what the manufacturer says for abuse as I kept it in my freezer for a few days, and put it outside in the sun on a hot day to thaw out. I waited for it to get plenty hot to the touch and put it in a sink full of water for about fifteen seconds. Testing the light all the while, and it did not miss a beat, but according to the IPX4 water resistant rating, it is only rated from being splashed, not submerged, but I had to try to see if it would fail.

Considering the abuse I put this light through and how well it held up all the features and the rechargeable battery, I believe this is a solid weapon mounted light, especially for a pistol you intend to mount a light and leave it on. It would serve that role well, and in the unlikely event you have an issue, it has a lifetime warranty.