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Industry News

SMSLaser 3-in-1 MFAL announced

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You’re tired of hearing me talk about SMSLaser, I know. But let’s face it: I love these guys, I love the HFXC, and I definitely love that they’ve just announced a follow-on device.

No name for this device yet, but let’s talk about the high points:

  • It’s a 3-in-1 MFAL ala the PEQ-15, NGAL, IRIS, etc., with an IR illuminator, IR laser, and visible laser. It omits the white light that was on the HFXC.
  • It uses a center mount. The lasers looks like they will be slightly off-bore, but not a ton.
  • There is, supposedly, a built-in defuser cap.
  • The mode selector, battery compartment, and crane port are all on the sides of the device. This is reminiscent of the BE Meyers DAGIR.
  • It keeps the power level buttons, and centerlines the fire button, but now has a top-mounted slider to control the illuminator focus. Also on top: much bigger zeroing turrets.
  • It is supposedly going to CR123s. In a perfect world, I’d rather have 18350s, but it’s certainly workable.
  • It is still a somewhat sizable device compared to the IRIS or NGAL.
  • It is supposedly more waterproof than the HFXC.
  • They have implied it is coming out next month (July).

All in all, it looks pretty good, and will probably dominate the budget market just like the HFXC did. I’ll certainly be grabbing one as soon as they come out.

Reviews

SMSLaser HFXC Review

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You may recall that I reviewed the SMSLaser XK68-IR in a previous post. The XK68-IR was an interesting attempt at converting a budget white light device to IR, and while it overall missed the mark, it was a good enough try that I felt SMSLaser had some promise and was a company worth watching.

Well, fast forward a year from the review, and SMSLaser has sent me a new device to test and evaluate: the HFXC. The HFXC is a 4-in-1 device that combines a white light, IR light, IR aiming laser, and visible aiming laser. You don’t really see a lot of 4-in-1s that are popular because they tend to do something badly (generally the illuminator(s)). As you’re going to find out, SMSLaser did their homework in a big way on this device, and I think it’s going to surprise you.

Continue reading SMSLaser HFXC Review →
Reviews

SMSLaser XK68-IR Review

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You’ve seen me doing a lot of night vision related posts lately, mostly because that’s a shooting trend I’ve been deeply investing in. I still shoot competition as much as I can, but getting out to night vision shoots is a big priority for me now, too.

In my personal opinion, if you’re shooting with night vision, you need an “active” option for aiming. Passive is great, and I practice it often, but if you need to shoot on a cloudy night with no ambient IR to fall back on, you’re going to need to generate your own IR to see what you’re aiming at.

One budget option that has recently come to market is the SMSLaser XK68-IR. This is a ~$160 MFAL that provides visible laser, IR laser, and IR illuminator capabilities. I mounted it up on my AR-9 (running Maxim Defense Roller-Delayed Buffer) to see how it would work out.

Continue reading SMSLaser XK68-IR Review →