5 Things To Know Before Buying The Modlite PL350

At 1350 lumens, 54,000 candela, and a color temperature of 5800k, the $319 Modlite PL350 should be the best pistol light on the market.

I purchased 5 of the lights at a cost of over $1609 and put them to the test to see if they live up to the hype. Here are 5 things I believe you should know before buying the light.

1. This Light Looks and Feels Great Out of the Box

I love the light’s clean design, and with the optional heads, I can set this light up to suit my needs. For this initial run, I tested the PLHv2 head, but other heads allow you to change beam pattern, color temperature, candela, or lumens. It’s also helpful that the PL350 uses batteries that are rechargeable in a standard battery charger. We are going to be seeing a lot more lights using standard removeable, rechargeable batteries.

The switches are smooth with a tactile and audible “click” when you turn them on or off.

The light mounts up securely with the torx attachment, and fits tightly on the Glock and Sig pistols that I’ve mounted it on. The attachment system is solid.

2. The PL350 Candela Output is Impressive

Light	Measured Max Candela
Modlite PL350 PLHv2	38050
Streamlight TLR-1HL	14960
Inforce WIld 2	18460
Surefire X300U	8837
Olight PL-Pro	14910

Candela is more important than lumens. Candela measures how well lights can throw long distances, show details in the subject you’re identifying, and punch through photonic barriers. Candela is also what causes a subject to be blinded by the light and want to turn away.

The PL350 has double the candela output of any pistol light I’ve tested.

My equipment measures candela about 25% lower than manufacturer ratings, but I can compare one light versus another accurately. I tested against a selection of full size lights, and the Modlite dominates.

The PL350 maintains its candela lead over all the lights for almost 40 minutes, which should be sufficient time for me to clear my house and property. The PL350 provides the brightest hotspot to help identify details or control a threat. If I am indoors and need more “splash,” then I can use baseboard or umbrella lighting to help diffuse the illumination.

My practical tests verified what I saw in the lab. The PL350 had the tightest and brightest hotspot. This helped me see further, punch through truck headlights to see the threatening passenger, and even to see across a pond.

In our warehouse space, our subject reported that the PL350 was the brightest pistol light he has ever looked at, rating it “Painful +” on our scale.

3. Runtime is About 30-45 Minutes

Per Modlite, “The 18350 cell supports Modlite heads for about 35-40 minutes of continuous use.” I didn’t expect the same runtime as the TLR-1HL because of battery differences. An 18350 rechargeable has a capacity between 700mAh and 1200mAh. The TLR-1HL uses two CR123A batteries, each with 1550mAh, for a total capacity of over 3000mAh. The TLR-1HL batteries have over twice the stored energy of the PL350 battery.

Runtime is the amount of time that a light is at or above 10% of the rated lumens. For the PL350, that’s at or above 135 lumens. Excluding a light that I am returning (more on that in a minute), our six test runs showed a runtime from 32 minutes to 44 minutes.

Test Run	Runtime (Minutes)
Light 1 Run 1	32.17
Light 2 Run 1	40.75
Light 3 Run 1	9.08 (RMAed)
Light 2 Run 2	37.92
Light 2 Run 3	44.83
Light 2 Run 4 (Trustfire Battery)	42.17

This 30-45 minutes is acceptable, but it’s about half of the TLR-1HL’s runtime. If you’re running a low-light class with the PL350, I suggest you stock up on 18350 rechargeables and to swap out when one dies. Thankfully, Modlite uses a standard button-top 18350 battery, so it is easy to order backup batteries and keep them charged.

4. Measured Light Output is Not 1350 Lumens

While we emphasize candela, lumens are currently the most popular spec to compare lights.

My testing captures all lumen output from a light, from initial peak to when the light cuts out. ANSI specs, which is what manufacturers use to measure, require that the measurement be taken after running the light for 30 seconds. As a result, we get both peak lumens at the very start, and ANSI lumens, which is as the light dies down a little bit.

I charged the included Modlite 18350 battery on a Modlite charger, put the light into our integrating sphere, turned the PL350 (again, using the PLHv2 head) on, and measured an initial peak 1056 lumens. Using the ANSI specification’s requirement of waiting 30 seconds to measure, I captured 1029 lumens.

Modlite advertises 1350 ANSI lumens. So I was baffled at the result. I have tested dozens of lights and found our lumen test equipment accurate. So I measured a second light, with the battery freshly charged on the Modlite charger. This one provided 1034 max lumens with 1007 ANSI lumens. To add insult to injury, the light went completely out at about 10 minutes, and when I swapped in a fully charged battery… it still didn’t work. I swapped heads with my handheld PLHv2, and it worked. Sadly, it appears that this third light failed within 10 minutes of the very first time I used it. Modlite has issued a RMA for us to return this PL350.

Figuring the first two readings were not accurate, I double checked the equipment, and gave it another run. I tested a third light with a different fully charged battery. This light provided 1021 max lumens and 982 ANSI lumens.

I continued running tests, including one using a Trustfire battery, but this battery showed lower output than the included Modlite batteries. I didn’t get anywhere near the 1350 lumens Modlite advertises. Maybe our batch of lights doesn’t meet their expectations — I mean they are in the light business and likely have calibrated equipment on which to base their claims. On the other hand… I’m not sure manufacturers expect us to test lumens with calibrated equipment. If you can measure lumen output, let us know what you find with your modlite.

Here is the chart for the PL350 runs:

I also compared versus other full size lights. Here is the best of the Modlite runs against other manufacturer lights:

You can see from the above chart that the Modlite does not have the highest lumen output of the group. You can use the legend to select & deselect lights to reduce the clutter. Dare I say that it compares closest to the other rechargeable in our test set — the Olight PL-Pro? On the other hand, if a light appears bright, does it matter if it doesn’t meet the claimed spec?

I contacted Modlite about our issues, and specifically asked why the PL350 did not to meet the lumens spec, along with a couple other questions. During the email conversation, I asked 3 times about why their light did not appear to meet their 1350 lumen spec. All 3 times, Modlite ignored the question, but did answer my other concerns.

 Update: If you want the real answer on how many lumens the PL350 puts out, check out our 3rd party test results. 

5. Switches On Two Of Our Five Lights Lost Their On “Click” Within 50 Cycles

The Modlite switches are controversial because they lack a momentary mode. I like the feel of the switches — they have a positive click on (either direction) and a positive click off. However, for two of the five units, the switches lost one on “click” within 25-50 cycles, then lost the opposite direction click shortly thereafter. The light turned on, but the switch felt “mushy” without the tactile and audible feedback. They did retain their “off” click.

I did take one pristine unit and test it to see how long before the switches lost their click feel & sound. After testing it for 300 cycles, it still retained its all clicks on and off, both directions. Not understanding why two of our lights stopped clicking, I reached out. Modlite’s customer service said, “as far as the “clicks”, please be aware that not clicking when activated counter-clockwise is completely normal and within spec for all of our light bodies.” Once we told Modlite that the “on” clicks didn’t work either direction, they asked if we wanted to return the lights. I returned the lights, and don’t believe the loss of clicks is a deal breaker, but I was disappointed two of our five-unit sample had an issue.

Finally, I find the switches require getting used to. If I activate the switch with my offhand thumb, de-activating is usually done by rolling my index finger up the switch. With the PL350 switches, I “overran” the off position, turning the light back on, multiple times. It took some practice to get to the point that I was able to activate and deactivate the light reliably; I no longer believe this is an issue.

Conclusion

I’ve run through the emotions on these lights. First was excitement, with the great look and feel and bright hotspot. Then was disappointment as I couldn’t get a single light to meet the lumen spec, plus I had one head and two sets of switches fail. I’m now getting to the point that I’m not sure I care. I’m guessing Modlite is still working through some production issues, and maybe the next lights will be perfect. I doubt they’ll get the lumens up to spec, but with the candela output, does it matter? It’s difficult to overstate how big a step forward these lights are in terms of brightness. It’s painfully (or “painful +”) bright, giving a strong advantage in terms of seeing details in the environment or individuals at a close or far distance.

What do you think of the PL350? Let us know in the comments below…