This review is kind of all over the place since it encompasses a whole system of lights, lasers, and holsters that all go together.
Several years ago I bought a
Viridian light/laser combo at the NRA show. Along with the light/laser, I also got the compatible Tac-Loc holster, which is really just a
Blackhawk Serpa CQC that's been modified to make use of Viridian's
Enhanced Combat Readiness (ECR) feature that we'll get into below.
The Viridian C5L Light/Laser ComboThe
Viridian C5L is the compact little brother of the full-size
X5L tactical light/laser. I went with the compact version since there are relatively few full size pistols in our carry stable that would accommodate the larger version. The C5L is sized just about perfectly to fit on compact handguns like a Glock 19, Taurus PT111, or Springfield XDs. The length is right on these pistols, and the width is a great match for the doublestacks, but some parts of the unit are wider than the slim singlestack.
The LaserTo be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of lasers on handguns. I feel like people too often become reliant on them as a substitute for good shooting skills and practice. They do have a place, however; lasers can be useful for people who have trouble focusing on sights, they can aid in shooting from retention or from non-traditional positions, they can be a good training aid, and, right or wrong, some people like lasers because they think it will have some psychological effect on a bad guy.
As far as lasers go, the C5L's laser performs fine. It's a 5mW beam that opens up to 1/2" at 50 feet. The standard C5L has a 532nm green beam that the company claims is visible at 100 yards in daylight and 2 miles at night. The
C5L-R model has a 635nm red laser that they claim is visible at 25 yards in daylight and 1 mile at night. There isn't much to dispute laser claims, it's physics... the light comes out and goes in a straight line until it hits something.
If lasers aren't your thing, Viridian offers a
light-only model CTL.
The LightUnlike the questionable usefulness of lasers, I think lights are a fantastic addition to a CCW setup. Unless they have super powers or carry around NVGs, most humans can't see in the dark. As turns out, with very few exceptions, it gets dark every single day and that is largely when bad guys operate. Debates on weapon-mounted or off-weapon lights aside, if you expect to be able to defend yourself with a CCW, planning to be able to see in the dark just makes sense.
The compact size of the C5L, and the smaller CR2 battery means a compromise in output of 100 constant lumens or 140 on strobe versus its big brother XL5 (with a CR123A) that puts out 178 lumens (224 on strobe). I don't think that level of output is necessarily a bad thing. For a concealed carry handgun, any engagement is failry unlikely and, if one does happen, chances are it will be at close quarters - in a parking lot, alley or indoors. Retina-scorching ultra-bright lights have their place but indoors and at close quarters, too bright of a light can wash out what you're trying to see and ruin any natural low-light vision for several minutes. Stalking around the halls and rooms of GunLink HQ and patrolling the property and fence-lines, we found the C5L brightness to be plenty to illuminate surroundings to identify friend or foe without splashing back and blinding the user.
Another nice feature is what they call their "Radiance technology" that focuses the light into a wider beam instead of a standard circular pattern. This keeps more of the bright light where it is useful - in front of you and to the sides - instead of being wasted on the ceiling and at your feet.
Light/Laser Modes and OperationThe Viridian units have a push-button on each side, right where your index finger would rest when you don't have your finger on the trigger (
your finger is off the trigger until you're on target, right?). The ambidextrous button placement makes it easy to reach and press the buttons for right or left handed users.
The buttons, when pressed one at a time, toggle the unit on or off. When powered on, the unit enters the last output mode that it was in when it was turned off. By pressing both buttons at the same time, the user can cycle through the six available modes:
- Light only, constant
- Light only, strobe
- Laser only, constant
- Laser only, strobe
- Light constant, laser strobe
- Light strobe, laser constant
Enhanced Combat Readiness (ECR) FeatureViridian has incorporated an instant-on feature into their products that they dub Enhanced Combat Readiness, or ECR. When used with an ECR-compatible holster, holstering a weapon with the light/laser turned ON will turn it OFF. From this condition, when the weapon is unholstered, the unit will automatically turn back on (in the same mode it was already in) without having to press any buttons to activate it.
How does it work? Magnets. How do they work? Magic.
There are a number of holsters that can be ordered with ECR functionality built in. The ones available directly from Viridian (and the one that came in the
light/laser/holster package we bought) is the
TacLoc C-Series holster, which we'll review below.
Viridian seems to have some sort of arrangement with GALCO, as they also produce a number of factory ECR-equipped holsters, including the
Stow-N-Go,
King Tuk, and
Paddle Lite lines.
If you make your own holsters, have a favorite custom holster maker, or already have a holster that will fit your C5L-equipped pistol, you can add the ECR functionality to just about any holster with the url=http://www.viridiangreenlaser.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=276]ECR Upgrade Kit[/url], which is essentially a magical little button that you put inside the holster to activate the magnetic switch.
ConstructionOur C5L has found its way off of our carry guns and onto a bump-in-the-night house gun, so we can't speak from experience as to how it holds up to the punishment of years of everyday carry - being sat on, frequently holstered/unholstered, banged into things, getting rained on, sweat on, etc. It looks reasonably well constructed, but it isn't perfect.
The C5L weighs a scant 2.4oz including the battery, right about half of what a
TLR-2 weighs. The more comparable X5L still weighs in at just 3.3oz. That weight saving is largely achieved by extensive use of polymer in the construction.
It isn't that polymers are necessarily bad, per se. Lots of great stuff is made out of polymer, but there are some applications where it might not be entirely appropriate. Threaded parts are one of those applications. While the mounting rails have metal inserts for the metal screw to tighten down on, pretty much every other metal component that screws into something is screwing directly into the polymer body. While we have not experienced any issues stemming from this, there have been reports of cross-threading or over-tightening causing threads to strip (including those on the water-tight battery cover). While Viridian is quick to take care of these issues, this might not be the type of thing you want to stay up at night worrying about if you are the type to mash screws into their holes with abandon.
I don't worry about the ruggedness of the polymer C5L housing, I think that it will hold up fine to just about anything I would throw at it, but I do wonder about the long-term durability of the rubber button covers on either side of the unit. We have not had any issues with our light/laser, but I have seen similar rubberized button covers on industrial equipment that have, over time, worn through from frequent use. I can see how these might have the potential to eventually wear through after years of pressing and riding in an abrasive holster. Again, however, this is just speculation - we haven't seen any such wear on our unit.
OverallThe Viridian light/laser that we have has operated flawlessly in the nearly three years that we have had it. It isn't exorbitantly priced, as far as these types of gadgets go. They are available in a variety of configurations size, brightness, battery type, red lasers, green lasers, lights only with no laser, lasers only with no lights, and as stand-alone units or in a package deal with a holster like I bought - which is also available in
green or
red options.
We have been perfectly satisfied with the unit and I would certainly put Viridian into consideration if/when I need to shop for my next weapon light/laser. Given that they are well priced and that Viridian
backs up their products with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee and a 7-year warranty, I can't come up with much reason not to.