I remember when I first joined the military and we were issued those Vietnam-era flashlights. They needed 3 “C” batteries and would only last for a few hours.

Nowadays, many headlamps are available, but one of my favorite pieces of gear has always been the helmet light. When you have to quickly check your map, inspect your weapon, or draw a range card in your trench, the helmet light is always your friend.

SureFire has always been one of the leaders in the industry. They have some great flashlights, weapon-mounted or not, and amazing helmet lights.

Helmet lights really help soldiers who are conducting searches in compounds during the night time or in dark corners. The helmet light also helps you keep both your hands on your rifle, ready to fire.

The SureFire HL1-A can illuminate up to 19.2 lumens with the white light. Illuminated by LEDs, the Surefire has three different light settings: White,  Blue, and Infrared IFF. It only require one CR123 battery, which has 10 years of shelf life, to operate it.

Output/Runtime

White High: 19.2 lumens/6 hrs
Blue High: 2.5 lumens/20 hrs
White Med: 5.0 lumens/28 hrs
Blue Med: 0.8 lumens/48 hrs
White Low: 1.4 lumens/48hrs
Blue Low: 0.3 lumens/96 hrs
Tertiary IFF beacon: 1.72 mW/120 hrs

The HL1-A is made of durable glass-filled nylon polymet and neoprene. It is o-ring sealed and offers a watertight body. The size of the HL1-A is 2.2 W x 2.6 H x 1.3 thick including mount.

It only weights 3.1 oz. with battery and mount. The HL1-A is available in black or Desert Tan body color.

The price: $190.00 and you can get it now on Amazon.

Checkout SureFire’s Youtube video.