Legion Arms clone of the Streamlight TRL-1s

[highorder]

I found one of these at the gunshow last week. Has anyone seen these yet? I searched the web and found no reviews, or even mention. Strange. There is a company called Laser Defense selling similar clones like this one, but it doesn't use the Streamlight key system.

I was impressed with it's quality, as clones go. It appeared to be a very close copy of the Streamlight, but the vendor couldn't or wouldn't comment as to it's origin. I bought one for $90, and it comes with a box, flip open cap, and not much else. The vendor gave me 10 123a batteries, which was enough to convince me to at least buy one for the sake of writing this review. I suspect the vendor is making a killing on these as some web browsing shows FOB mainland China pricing in the $18-$28 range.



The emitter appears to be a Cree XR-E die of some sort, (Q5?) and it's tint is on the cool side. The reflector is smooth, providing a very tight spot with some artifacts. By comparison, the Streamlight reflector is lightly orange-peeled, smoothing out the spot somewhat. The Streamlight emitter is very small, and I've been out of the LED game for too long to positively ID the manufacturer.

ABOVE: Genuine TLR-1s on the left, clone on the right.
BELOW: clone on the left, TLR-1s on the right.
(sorry for the confusion!)



The battery door is the biggest difference between the two. Streamlight has a cam system that ensures tight closure. The clone has a simpler closure that is not as secure. Inside the battery compartment, the clone has cheap blade contacts, as opposed to Streamlights coil spring contacts. Note the genuine Streamlight has longer activation paddles.

The method of strobe activation is different as well. The TLR-1s uses the "quick tap then hold" for strobe. The clone alternates between constant and strobe with each activation, unless you wait 4-5 seconds between activations. If you do this, it will revert to constant, no matter which mode you were using last. Follow?

The TLR-1s method is much preferred because I find that I use the light for "quick looks" so I am using short bursts every few seconds... doing this with the clone would dump you into strobe mode unpredictably.


Clone on the left, TLR-1s on the right.

The fit and finish is better on the Streamlight, but not appreciably so. I haven't mounted the clone, so it's NIB if anyone wants it... otherwise it will probably go into the tradebait pile.

Comments and questions welcome. I'll shoot more pics if you guys want.

Thanks!

 

[highorder]

Has anyone seen any clones of the Streamlights?

The same vendor has TRL-2 knockoffs as well, but with green lasers.

 

[SentinelStrategic]

Makes me wonder how Streamlight feels about this... I wonder if they're going to get a lawsuit cooking.

 

[highorder]

There are two Chinese clone makers out there doing these Streamlights that I've seen, probably more. I don't know how much Streamlight worries about infringement.

At $50, these copies would be worth it. At $90, I knew I paid too much but curiosity was burning me up. I may donate this light to the CPF guys to gut it and run some tests.

 

[Rubber_Duck]

Copies of other manufacturers' lights have been a waste of money and time in my experience. I once bought a copy of a SureFure C2 (look up the UltraFire C1) and when I received it the PLASTIC lens fell out, the bezel ring wouldn't screw into the threads so I had to super glue the lens on, and the o-rings are cheap and shredded easily. Also, the light was covered on the inside with black machine dust (lead?) and the exterior finish is thin and flakes off easily. The switch seems feels extremely cheap when clicked on and off but has worked 100%. So far this is my "loaner" light if I ever need to loan it to somebody who I felt might not return it.

I just bought a SureFire C2 on eBay for 50 dollars shipped and couldn't be happier, DRAMATIC difference in everyway from the UltraFire C1 copy. I also bought an old 1st-generation A2 Aviator for 85 dollars and noticed it had the short pocket clip which I don't like. A quick e-mail exchange later and I have a long pocket clip on its way, 100% free. With the OEM manufacturers you are paying for the customer service and the warranty. Try getting that from the china man. In weapon light use the clone lights may fail even quicker due to recoil exposure.

I'm glad the OP bought the TLR-1 clone and I'm not gonna bash him on how much he paid for it because now we have a valid comparison of the two and it is obvious to me that the Streamlight is a much better deal for the same price since it is proven across many boards and accepted as a minimum of what a weaponlight should be, dollar for dollar.

 

[highorder]

I'm glad the OP bought the TLR-1 clone and I'm not gonna bash him on how much he paid for it because now we have a valid comparison of the two and it is obvious to me that the Streamlight is a much better deal for the same price since it is proven across many boards and accepted as a minimum of what a weaponlight should be, dollar for dollar.

That was my assessment as well. I spent the money to confirm it. Research doesn't come cheap, but now others have the information to make smart decisions.

 

[SentinelStrategic]

As much as I have been trying to avoid doing this, I have to go on a quick rant about this.

It comes as no surprise that the Chinese knock-offs don't stack up to the high quality originals. I have yet to see a ChiCom knock-off that even comes close. I could have told you that it was junk without ever using it. There's no way they would have been able to incorporate the build specifications into the knock-off light that Streamlight puts into their TLR-1. I have abused the living dog snot out of my TLR-1S, and it's never skipped a beat. Between the military, the gun club, training courses, and the courses that I instruct, I have seen more Chinese and Russian junk items go belly-up than I have seen dead raccoons on the highway.

It's unfortunate that people need to spend money to find out that they're NOT worth the money. It's also unfortunate that the Chinese will steal designs and clone them, and even more so that Americans would allow that theft to occur and proliferate by knowingly buying those knock-offs. I don't think people realize the damage that this theft causes. I used to be affiliated with a company as a military consultant for several years, and that company had their product copied by a Chinese company. The result was highly destructive to the company, and it caused a significant financial loss. I don't think a lot of people realize this when they buy knock-offs.

Keep in mind, I'm not trying to come down on people here. I just can't stand Chinese copying. I think once you've been on the receiving end of it, you get a much more hostile perspective.

 

[hso]

Try it in the shower and see how it handles "rain" or immersion.

 

[Ala Dan]

Not everything made in China is bad~! For instance, the Norinco 1911's that
brother Klinton outlawed; I've got a good friend that is a THR member, that
shoots some of his best groups with the Norinco. Also, Tru-Glo sights are
wonderful; and this includes their single dot red-green reticle ones as well.

PS: Sure wish I had'a picked up one of those Norinco 1911's back in the
day; as I may not have needed to spend the extra cash for a Les Baer TRS
(Laughing Loudly )

 

[highorder]

Try it in the shower and see how it handles "rain" or immersion.

Actually, it ran like a champ. I put the light (turned on) in a 5 gallon bucket of water for an hour. It never flickered or dimmed. I was impressed.

 

[SentinelStrategic]

Not everything made in China is bad~! For instance, the Norinco 1911's that
brother Klinton outlawed; I've got a good friend that is a THR member, that
shoots some of his best groups with the Norinco. Also, Tru-Glo sights are
wonderful; and this includes their single dot red-green reticle ones as well.

True. Many decent products are made in China. However, there's a difference between a product made in China, and a Chinese knock-off/fake product. A perfect example of this is how destructive Chinese knock-off Leupold Mark4 scopes are to the online market, and how Leupold has gotten stuck with having to receive scopes for repair, only to have to call the owner and tell them they bought a Chinese knock-off and that they're S.O.L.
If your product is ever made in China, it'll get copied. If it doesn't, it'll still stand a chance of being copied if it's a popular item. That's how the market works over there. The Chinese don't recognize and adhere to international patent laws.