Nightstick TCM-10 and TWM-30-T Weapon Lights: Highlighted

Humans rely heavily on our sense of sight to navigate the world, and it is our reliance on vision that makes adding a light to your firearm such a smart decision. Texas-based Nightstick (nightstick.com) offers a full range of lights that blend threat-stopping illumination with long battery life and simple operation. The company’s pistol-mounted lights are available with outputs ranging from 150 to 1,200 lumens, and some models have green lasers.

Nightstick’s trim, affordable TSM-11W 150-lumen light is one of my favorite lights for my Glock G43X, but I had not previously had an opportunity to test Nightstick’s larger duty/home-defense lights until the company sent its  TWM-30-T and TCM-10 for review.

The TWM-30-T ($218) features a “turbo” beam with 900 lumens, 66,000 candela, and a listed beam distance of 514 meters. The more compact TCM-10 ($211) produces 650 lumens, 4,612 candela and offers a beam distance of 136 meters.

Lumens are a measure of the total output of light while candela measures the beam width. To help better understand the concept let’s assume you have two lights, which produce 300 lumens each.

Light Power Focus

If light A has a lower candela—say 3,000—those 300 lumens will spread out widely so a broad area will be visible at close range. If light B has the same 300 lumens and 70,000 candela, the beam will be much more focused, effectively illuminating objects that are farther away without the same close-range “flooding” effect experienced with a light that features lower candela.

This is why the TWM-30-T offers about 1.5 times the number of lumens as the TCM-10 but has a beam distance that is 3.8 times greater than the TCM-10. During testing, the TWM-30-T’s high candela allowed for a focused beam of light that extended much farther, but despite the TCM-10’s lower lumen output, its modest candela figures create a wide beam that illuminates a broader area up close.

Aside from their illumination characteristics, these lights share many design elements. Both weapon lights are constructed of 6061-T6 aluminum and both are serialized. They feature LED illumination and are powered by lithium CR123 batteries: two batteries for the 30, one for the 10.

The TCM-10 and TWM-30-T are drop-test rated to two meters and are backed by Nightstick’s limited lifetime warranty. They offer easy ambidextrous switch activation and offer a programmable strobe function. The TCM-10 has a battery run time of two hours, which is similar to the TWM-30-T’s 1.75 hours.

Model Differences

The TWM-30-T is designed to be more of a duty light; it features an IP-67 dust/waterproof rating compared to the TCM-10’s IP-X7 waterproof rating. It is larger and heavier than the TCM-10. Whereas the TWM-30-T is 3.5 inches long and 1.5 inches wide and deep, the TCM-10 is just 2.5 inches long, 1.1 inches wide and 1.2 inches deep.

The TWM-30-T weighs 4.5 ounces while the TCM-10 adds just 2.5 ounces to the pistol. The TCM-10 is also designed so the battery compartment is accessed by unscrewing the bezel at the front of the light. The larger TWM-30-T requires removing the light from the pistol to access the battery compartment.

The TCM-10 comes with five polymer rail inserts for mounting on your firearm as well as two spare Allen screws and a 1.5mm Allen wrench. The beefier TWM-30-T includes four metal cross-rail inserts, two cross-rail mounting cap screws and an Allen wrench.

I tested the TCM-10 first, attaching it to a Shadow Systems M920 FS pistol. As I said, the battery is located behind the bezel. The component parts are good, with relatively fine threads on the bezel.

Performance

Performance was excellent, and the low candela/wide beam design makes this light a solid choice for self-defense at closer to moderate ranges. For most shooters it will provide everything that they need, and with a two-hour run time you can expect many months of intermittent use before you need to swap batteries.

I let the TCM-10’s battery run for the full two hours in 30-minute intervals, and the light lasted the full advertised time—although by the end the light had dimmed substantially.

The TWM-30-T light cruised by the 1:45 mark, although the light was pretty well spent and lost most of its juice—although it still lit up a 15- by 16-foot room sufficiently. While it’s more duty-oriented, the TWM-30-T has its place even if you aren’t a law enforcement professional. It would be a great option for the hunter or hiker who lives in bear country and needs a high-candela light with a long beam to scope out their surroundings.

Both lights survived 100 rounds in the On position without issue. I like the activation button positioning because the levers rest on both sides of the front of the trigger guard and are easily accessible.

Quick Function

The lights warm quickly when left on, but that’s not unique to Nightstick products. That’s why there’s a locking option that prevents accidentally powering on the light. There were no burning smells when the light was left on, either. I experienced that once with an affordable weapon light, and it’s not the most comforting feeling.

Despite their modest price point, the TWM-30-T and TCM-10 functioned impressively in the test, and I wouldn’t hesitate to run either light on a carry or duty handgun. As far as holster fitments go, Crossbreed, Safariland, Alien Gear, Craft Holsters and others offer fit options for pistols equipped with Nightstick lights. Obviously, the more common pistols will offer a broader range of holster choices.

I don’t think the Nightsticks are as feature-rich as some of their established competition, but they both worked well. I think it’s sensible to add a light to your carry or home-defense gun since bad things often happen after dark, and these lights will illuminate a large, completely dark room with the gun held in a Low Ready position. Both are solid options to improve your odds.

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