Viridian Weapon Tech.

DepJ136

Newbie
Does anyone have any experience with their stuff? I don't. Not looking for validation on a crappy purchase. My current LE admin may try to ram the FACT Duty Camera/Light down our throats.
 

Chriscanbreach

Established
Incredibly shady company. They are PNG in our city.
That being said the concept is an excellent idea. Their rechargeable lights are a other great idea I’m just not sure of their durability. Hit me up in PM and I’ll detail
 

Chriscanbreach

Established
Actually easier here. They’ve been pushing the gun camera hard since shot 2017. The were in our town making contacts with city Council members and we were told to T&E the camera system.
Without even talking to our department they met with a local news channel and did a story about how we were going to be using their system.

This obviously went out side the bid process were required to use and raised questions with our current body camera provider.

After that we were given a direct order not to return emails or talk to them on the phone.

It seems they’re traveling the country trying to “influence” elected officials and department command staff.
So limited experience with the gear but plenty with the company.
 

DepJ136

Newbie
Well we have conducted a T&E on the FACT Duty. It worked... The button hole camera is wide angle so everything 10 yards and in is detailed. However the further the range the smaller people/objects appear. The 500 lumen light is totally inadequate for police work at night. (I work straight night shifts) The beam of light the weapon light puts out disperses quickly, and really isn't worth a darn past 5 to 10 yards on a moonless night in the country. "Switch-ology" is weird with mushy activation buttons. Obviously it mounts to the pistol's accessory rail, but it just clamps and a cross screw/bolt holds the tension. The screw/bolt serves as the only recoil lug to keep the unit from sliding back and forth.

They also sent a long gun "prototype" model, which is the same light/camera with a cheapo tape switch added. Otherwise performance is exactly the same... poor. But the long gun model lacks the "instant-on" technology, which is half of their marketing ploy. Speaking of marketing, they really cherry pick the video they use to sell this thing.

I like the rechargeable battery setup, but otherwise everything else just feels cheap. They are NOT worth $500 a piece in my opinion.

Lastly, I can definitely believe that the company maybe shady. They are basically taking advantage of insecure admins and elected officials who believe that more video will prevent them from being tied up in civil court. Cops being sued is a cost of doing business, even if everything went according to law/policy. Its just the way society is now.

I like the holster activated camera idea, but having it mounted on a weapon isn't my favorite. I would rather see a glasses/head mounted camera instead. I'm sure people know, but the holster activation technology is available from other companies besides Viridian.
 

weaver1032

Regular Member
Pretty sure that Safariland has, either already available or in the works, a holster activated setup which will allow a Safariland duty holster to be Bluetoothed to an Axon camera. The camera will turn on upon the weapon being drawn. Obviously not weapon mounted but it will help eliminate the need for remembering to turn the camera on when drawing a firearm under stress.

As far as Viridian, a coworker bought one of their light/laser combos to try after deciding that a Surefire or even Streamlight were too expensive. The light beam was very much a flood style and also substantially dimmer. At the time, the 1000lumen X300U wasn't out yet and the Viridian was marginally better than an old school Streamlight/Insights Tech M3 illuminator.
 
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