Streamlight Protac Rail HL-X vs Surefire Scout M600

Rabbit

Member
This is my quick and dirty review of the new Streamlight Protac Rail HL-X and comparison with the Surefire Scout M600.

The SL rail series of lights work with Scout mounts, which is awesome. I have mine mounted on an Arisaka inline keymod mount. It is nice and close on the 45. One thing that I did not like is the tail end of the body protrudes further than the actual Scout. I was not able to use both the screws for the Arisaka, so it's held on by the lugs and one screw. It's secure, but I'd prefer to use both, and if I had a very short torx 90 degree key, I probably could use both. The body of the HL-X is a little bigger than the M600, as is the head. Not to the point of being obnoxiously big, it's just noticeable. The M600 just feels very sleek in comparison. It's bigger because it runs on "dual fuel", which allows it to take both CR-123's as well as 18650 rechargables. I have the handheld version also which I use for duty, and I do use 18650s, but I use regular 123's in the rifle light.

The HL-X came with rail grippers for the tape switch, zip ties, and screws. It has a clicky tail cap as well. The tape switch has grooves for zip tie attachment, and holes for screw attachment. The screw holes line up with keymod spacing, so you could potentially use longer keymod screws and nuts and screw it into your keymod. I opted for the double sided sticky tape for now. I like that the tape switch has a constant on clicky at the back. The M600 tape switch does not. Another thing I really liked about the tape switch is the tail cap allows it to fold in rather than stick straight out the back. Gives you a little more room behind the light to work with.

On to the beam...It's advertised as 1000 lumens, 27,100 candela. This isn't super scientific, however I did set my cell phone camera to pro mode with no auto settings, and used the same settings for each photo, so it shouldn't be adjusting for light.

At 10 yards, I think I prefer the M600. The hot spot is large and defined, and the spill reaches a wider area. The HL-X has a slightly smaller, but still well sized hot spot, and decent spill. At 25 yards, the HL-X has a nice, large hot spot with very usable spill. The M600 has a nice hot spot, but the spill starts to fade out pretty quickly. At 50 yards, the HL-X still has a nice hot spot and the spill illuminates a decent area around it. The M600 has a workable hot spot, but the spill does nothing. At 75 yards, the HL-X still has a very workable hot spot. You'd still be able to identify targets. The spill is still illuminating the building. At this distance the M600 is still illuminating the building with the hot spot, but your ability to identify targets is decreased. At 100 yards, the HL-X is illuminating the building with enough brightness to see targets. Identification without magnification would be more difficult, but there's still plenty of light down range. The M600 is barely illuminating the building at this point. At 150 yards, the HL-X is still illuminating the building, but not with enough intensity to identify targets very well. The M600 is no longer useful at this distance.

Obviously the Streamlight costs a hell of a lot less than the Surefire. I think I got this one for $80 on pre order, which was a steal. I haven't run SL tape switches, so I can't attest to the durability of that part, but I can say that I've been running TLR-1's for a long time and they are good to go. Streamlight customer service is top notch too.

10YARDS.jpg 25 YARDS.jpg 50YARDS.jpg 75 YARDS.jpg 100 YARDS.jpg 150 YARDS.jpg M600 tail.jpg HLX.jpg HLX tail.jpg 10YARDS.jpg 25 YARDS.jpg 50YARDS.jpg 75 YARDS.jpg 100 YARDS.jpg 150 YARDS.jpg M600 tail.jpg HLX.jpg HLX tail.jpg
 

Spartan117

Amateur
Good review. It seems like the SL really shines at 100+ yds. (Pun intended)

I'm thinking about changing my HD rifle and shotgun over to this light, replacing the SL protac rail 1 that they both currently have.

With the inline Arisaka I have to remove the flashlight tailcap to access that second screw. Not sure if yours is set up the same as mine or not.. YMMV
 

krax

Regular Member
I'm really digging their new lights.

Still waiting for a tail cap that's compatible with their plug-in pressure switches rather than the current built-in remote.
 

Bushido5150

Newbie
Great stuff!! Thank you for all of the pictures and information.
I just picked up the 1000 lumen Streamlight for my duty rifle and the 300 lumen Streamlight for my house gun.
 
Just picked the handheld version up as my EDC light. No complaints here, only 3 days in. I'm a civvie so it obviously won't get as much use as some of you LEO/Mil guys would put it through. Thanks for posting such a thorough review!
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Rabbit

Member
I've been using the handheld on duty every night since i got it, 12 hour shifts. The only thing i don't like is that when clipped in my pocket it doesn't leave much tail cap exposed so i have to dig a little more for it than with my last light, but I'm used to it now. Haven't run out of battery yet charging them after every shift. Makes a good search light and gets through auto tint well. I also get a few more "you're blinding the shit out of me" complaints from suspects.
 
I've seen the large Thyrm Switchback on a couple of them, have considered adding one, but I don't have experience using a ring. Any thoughts?
 

22Mike

Newbie
I've seen the large Thyrm Switchback on a couple of them, have considered adding one, but I don't have experience using a ring. Any thoughts?

On the Protac?
If you can get one for the Protac I would, I have one on my EB2 and another on a G2 and love them. They just make the light handier; easier to grab from your pocket, easier to use when wet, and of course you can retain the light on your finger while manipulating your weapon. I run a TLR1 on my G19 but still love having the thyrm on my EB2 just in case.


12/5
 
On the Protac?
If you can get one for the Protac I would, I have one on my EB2 and another on a G2 and love them. They just make the light handier; easier to grab from your pocket, easier to use when wet, and of course you can retain the light on your finger while manipulating your weapon. I run a TLR1 on my G19 but still love having the thyrm on my EB2 just in case.


12/5

Yep — It's not officially on the Thyrm "fit" list, but it's been making its way around. I think i'll have to give one a try.
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Matt0311

Member
I just got one for my 10.5" AR pistol. By the way, we need a name for those as a whole. I had delusions of mounting it on the top rail and being able to use my Aimpoint PRO over the top. That's not going to work. I just ordered the scout mount from Amazon and will be going that route.
 

Ben H

Member
@Rabbit anxiously waiting for a similar write up with pics on the new Surefire DF Fury vs the Streamlight ProTac HL-X. I would do one, but I’m currently poor due to a purchase on EuroOptics last week.
 

Matt0311

Member
Late update, I now have mine mounted at two o'clock on the scout mount with a Cloud Defense Light Control System. I unscientifically love it. So easy to use. Has not been put through its paces though.
 
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