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. Pistol grips, magazines, holsters and now micro-utility lights. 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”. 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. 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. 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. The TBL weighs 22 grams, or ~ .8 oz. About 2″ long and 1.5″ wide, this little two-LED package is sure to find room on your rail. Powered by (2) 2016 lithium batteries, the TBL series lights have an advertised run-time of 12 continuous hours. 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. 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. 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. Retail is $49.99 for any flavor.
