Modlite is a relatively new arrival to the weapon mounted light scene, and they brought some excellent offerings to the table. With competition names like Surefire and Streamlight in the mix, they had a lot to prove. They delivered, in exceptional fashion, while defying industry standards for what makes a “good light”, and instead went for a purpose built, highly functional weapon light.
Firstly, this is a review of two separate parts, the OKW light head, which attaches to the body of the light, and the Modbutton Lite, which is a tail cap switch that mounts to the rail on your rifle.
The Modlite OKW
Durability
The OKW is a durable, beast of a light. It’s made of hard anodized 6061 Aluminum, which is an alloy that has magnesium and silicon, and gives the OKW a higher heat tolerance (1,085F) than aircraft grade aluminum (932F). It’s also resistant to cracking, and impact. It also means you can push that light far forward on your weapon without worrying about the muzzle flash damaging your light. This also allows you to eliminate muzzle shadow by putting the light as far forward on the gun as you need to. Muzzle shadow is at best distracting and at worst dangerous, so the ability to push that light as far forward as possible and keep a clear, unobstructed light on target is an excellent feature.
Beam Details
The beam on the OKW is a tight, focused spotlight. According to Modlite, it’s about 680 lumens (That’s the total amount of visible light), and a Candela (The measurement of how far you can see your light from) of 69,000. What this means is you have a high power spotlight, perfect for making positive identification at distance, or for blinding someone in tight spaces. This also prevents the splashing effect a really high lumen light can have in enclosed spaces and blinding yourself by hitting the lights on a reflective surface (Which I can personally attest to after temporarily screwing up my vision in the dark with a 2,500 lumen beam on a piece of polished steel.)
Disadvantages
The OKW’s disadvantage is establishing awareness in wide open spaces. The tight beam doesn’t allow for a wide field of view, which means if you are using this light as a standalone, you’ll be moving the light back an forth to maintain awareness of your surroundings in large dark spaces. With this in mind, if I’m going into a space where search and rescue is the goal, over large terrain, I might choose a higher lumen light with a less focused beam, to allow for a better view of my surroundings.
One of the other disadvantages is the power needs of the OKW, which can take two different battery types, the 18650 or the 18350, depending on which body you choose (These also must be batteries with an 8-10 amp discharge rate, so make sure you do your research and buy from a trusted dealer). The maximum constant on with the 18650 battery sits at 80 minutes according to the manufacturer, while the competing Surefire M600DF claims 90 minutes. None of the Modlite offerings are compatible with CR123a batteries, and using them can cause many, many bad things to happen.
Third Party Support
This is one of the areas where Modlite absolutely shines. The third party support for these lights is extensive and ever growing, and cross-compatibility with parts from Surefire, Unity Tactical, and Arisaka Defense allow for an extensive range of mounting solutions, switches, and tailcaps. This is true to form for a company with the catchphrase “Modularity is King”.
The Modbutton Lite
The Modbutton Lite is a joint project between Unity Tactical and Modlite to provide a switch that maximizes the function of high powered weapon lights and minimizes use of your rail space. It’s a great concept, and it works perfectly. And I still don’t like it. For me specifically, the ergonomics on this device absolutely suck. It just feels wrong to press the switch down from the top of the rail, and I find that applying enough pressure to keep the light from flickering is just not going to happen consistently.
Secondly, there’s no option for a constant on. I think this would be preferred for me with this type of switch, where one press turns the switch on, another press turns it off. The flickering issue has persisted for me no matter how many times I’ve adjusted it’s location on the rail or how I’ve adjusted my grip. I just can’t seem to operate the switch with enough pressure to keep the device functioning while also operating my rifle, and the result is that every time I pull the trigger or change angles to work a corner, the light flickers a ton and prevents me seeing what I need to. All that being said, HRF Concepts may have the fix for my ergonomics issue, and I look forward to picking up a Ramp mount for this switch and trying it again.
Summary
So there you have all the facts as best as I can lay them out. I’ll probably come back through and do an updated review in a year or two, but as it stands, I would definitely buy the Modlite OKW, and I probably wouldn’t buy the Modbutton lite, instead swapping it for the Unity Tactical Hot Button for a little bit more cost. Sorry Modlite, I really wanted to love it.
Another quick side note, Modlite Customer service and social media representatives have been fantastic about answering questions and addressing the issues I had with the Modbutton, and I really look forward to working with more of their products in the future.
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