Mission First Tactical (MFT) may be best known for their Minimalist buttstock, but that shouldn’t outshine the number of other good products they’re putting out there. Â Pistol grips, magazines, holsters and now micro-utility lights. Â Enter the Torch Backup Light. For the sake of this article I will be referring to the Torch Backup Light as the TBL.
Not designed to be a primary weapons light, the TBL is designed to have “low output illumination for signature reduction during patrol, stealth structure search, approach to target and reaching operations”. Â In grunt terms, it’s a tiny light that you can use when you need a little illumination but don’t want to look like you’re swinging a 30 ft light saber around. Â During tactical operations, I used an ever-changing assortment of little lights with red lens filters for the inevitable tasks that arise in the dark. Â Now, LED’s provide a MUCH smaller overall package, while delivering enough light to find what you dropped without blinding everyone around you.
The space and weight conscious among you will like this part. Â The TBL weighs 22 grams, or ~ .8 oz. Â About 2″ long and 1.5″ wide, this little two-LED package is sure to find room on your rail. Â Powered by (2) 2016 lithium batteries, the TBL series lights have an advertised run-time of 12 continuous hours. Â Brightness is listed at 20 lumens and the TBL has a 10-year storage life.
The TBL comes in two colors (black and tan), and three functional varieties: white/white, red/white and infra-red/red. Â Pressing the pressure pad cycles through the two brightness levels of the primary color, while holding the pad down gives you the one brightness setting of the secondary color. Â The exception to this is the white/white, which is just (2) white LED’s, both on or both off.
While the IR/red gives the most versatility for those who work under the green eye of night vision, I favor the red/white option for use with standard issue eyeballs.  Preserve your low-light sight with red, or flick onto white-light when you need to see it now.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to add a small, nearly weightless utility light to your primary weapon, look no further than Mission First Tactical’s Torch Backup Light. Â Retail is $49.99 for any flavor.
