EagleTac G25C2 MK II XM-L2 LED 1180 Lumen Tactical Flashlight
A tactical flashlight isn’t just another flashlight. A tactical flashlight isn’t just a brighter flashlight, either. A tactical flashlight is the kind of light you’d entrust to your top military personnel, the kind of light you’d trust to function indoors, and outdoors; on clear nights under a cloudy sky, or in a rain storm after sunset; at a campsite, or or in the desert. Tactical flashlights are powerful devices, and the EagleTac MK II is one of the most powerful of these powerful devices.
Durability
One of the first things that sets a tactical flashlight apart from its normal, civilian brethren is its durability. If you drop a normal flashlight, it probably won’t break. But if you drop a normal flashlight enough, it definitely won’t hold up to the stress. A tactical flashlight, on the other hand, should be able to take repeated dropping — even if you’re doing it on purpose — and withstand even hard, unintended bumps against any surface, whether it be natural or artificial, stone or metal.
The MK II is more than capable of withstanding such bumps, even when they strike the glass that houses the lens, making it a popular choice amongst those who go tactical shooting, camping, or hunting. In my personal experience, I’ve never had a tactical light that handles such abuse as well as this one. I spend a lot of time in places like Sedona, and I drop this thing all over the rocks all the time. The paint is scuffed, but the light works just fine, and the body isn’t damaged at all. I consider that quite impressive.
Oh, and another thing that you won’t get with other tactical lights — the MK II is waterproof. I’ve submerged this thing in a river before while crossing a ford, and it didn’t even blink. You’d be surprised how well the light works underwater, as well — give that a shot if you ever go cave diving with it.
Longevity
Partially, this is related to durability — the flashlight itself will withstand just about anything you throw at it — but it also has to do with battery life. This particular tactical light has pretty impressive battery life, I’d say. At the lowest-brightness setting you can get 12 straight hours of beam, and at the highest — a whopping 1180 lumens — you’ll get 2 hours.
That doesn’t sound like a lot, but you’re never going to be shining light that bright for two hours straight, so it really works out to be quite impressive. Plus, it’s an easy EDC flashlight with few extra set of batteries, which you should be doing anyway in any situation in which you’d need a tactical light in the first place.
Light Modes
The MK II has a variety of light modes. There’s a straight beam, which can be adjusted to three different power levels, from super-bright to just . . . Well, bright; and two strobe light options, for getting attention in emergency situations. Nothing remarkable here, but all of these work just fine and function very well whenever you need them to.
Miscellaneous Features
One thing I really liked about this light is the fact that it is light. No pun intended. It weighs in at an almost-negligible 5oz, which takes almost literally no effort at all to lift and handle, so you won’t have to worry about your arm tiring out just from handling your flashlight, which is a problem I’ve had with some other models, believe it or not.
I was also very impressed with how well this thing sat in the holster that it comes with. Now, all tactical lights should fit in their holsters, yes, and all of them should stay there except for when you want them out, so this doesn’t seem like a particularly huge deal. Then again, most people and most products don’t live up to expectations, so why assume this one would? Fortunately, it does, so you’re safe to make the assumption. I find that it stays in the holster no matter how I move and slides out readily whenever I need it, so I never have to worry about having any difficulty using it.
Conclusion
All in all, I have to recommend the MK II to pretty much anyone in search of a new tactical flashlight. This one is durable, waterproof, extremely bright, very light, and easy to use. Plus, it has a pretty good battery life, to boot, and a super cool look, if you care about that. Not many tactical lights on the market outperform this one, and those that do aren’t really necessary for those of us not being sent on black-ops missions. This is the brightest tactical flashlight I have — be sure to try it out.
