Introduction
Modlite dropped the AMP v2 into my inbox this week, and it’s the kind of update I like: no new footprint, no new body, and on paper, no new holster problem. It’s the same 1-inch compact head as the original AMP, at the same 1.5 ounces, with a new emitter and driver behind the lens. Modlite claims 900 lumens and 26,000 candela, up from 876 and 18,000, and more than double the runtime on an 18350 cell. The head is $209 in black or FDE, in Single Mode or Multi-Mode, and it’s available now as a bare head or already installed on the PL350c G3 pistol light.
If you carry a PL350c, run a Modlite 18350 handheld, or have an AMP on a PDW, this one is worth a look. Here’s what changed, what didn’t, and what we know from the original AMP in our lab.
What’s new
Modlite’s own comparison, straight from the product page:
| Claim | Original AMP | AMP v2 |
|---|---|---|
| Lumens | 876 | 900 |
| Candela | 18,000 | 26,000 |
| Color temperature | 6,500K | 6,500K |
| Runtime, High, 18350 (1600 mAh) | 35 min | 75 min |
| Runtime, Admin, 18350 | 1 hr 35 min | 4 hr |
| Runtime, High, 18650 (4000 mAh) | 2 hr | 2.5 hr |
| Runtime, Admin, 18650 | 9 hr | 12 hr |
| Admin mode output | 15% of High | 125 lumens |
| Weight / diameter / length | 1.5 oz / 1 in / 1.25 in | 1.5 oz / 1 in / 1.25 in |
The lumen number barely moved, and that’s fine. The change that matters on every platform is candela: going from 18,000 to 26,000 in a 1-inch head is a real difference in how far out you can identify what you’re looking at. The runtime gain matters a lot on some platforms and very little on others, and I’ll sort that out below.
Everything else is carried over: fully potted drivers that Modlite tests against select-fire SCAR 17 recoil, a BOROFLOAT lens, a 6061 aluminum bezel in Type III hardcoat, lifetime guarantee, made in the USA. The head comes two ways. Single Mode heads are High only, full stop. Multi-Mode heads, engraved as such on the bezel, can be set to either High Only or High plus a 125-lumen Admin mode, and they leave the factory set to High Only, so you have to switch the Admin configuration on yourself. The head runs on one 18350, one 18650 or two CR123s, and as always a single CR123 won’t power any Modlite head.
Where it fits
This is one head for three very different jobs. Modlite says the AMP v2 fits every Modlite 18650 and 18350 body, including the PL350 G3 pistol light, plus the “Dual-Fuel style” bodies from other makers that already take Modlite heads. If you already own an original AMP, the swap is a head and nothing else. But what you get out of the upgrade depends on where the head lives.
Handheld. This is where the AMP v2 makes the most sense to me. On an 18350 handheld you go from 35 minutes to 75 on High, and on an 18650 body from 2 hours to 2.5. The 125-lumen Admin mode is a handheld feature: walking a dark property, working under a hood, finding something in a truck. A Multi-Mode head belongs here.
Pistol. The new PL350c G3 AMPv2 package is $319 with the charger, or $309 without, in black or FDE. Here the story is the candela, not the runtime. Once a pistol light comes on in a defensive situation, it typically stays on, and more runtime is always better. But a typical pistol confrontation doesn’t last 35 minutes, let alone 75, so the original PL350c’s runtime was never the problem. Admin mode has no business on a pistol light. A weapon-mounted light is for identifying and engaging a threat, and you don’t point a pistol at anything to see it better. Get the Single Mode head, or leave a Multi-Mode head in High Only. Modlite’s spec table for the package reads 3.54 inches long, 1.36 inches wide and 4.6 ounces with the battery, exactly what it listed for the original PL350c.
PDW and rifle. On a PDW-350 or any 18650 rifle body the compact head is about keeping the light short and light, and this is the other place the runtime matters. A rifle light may stay on through a long search or a stage, and an extra half hour on an 18650 is real. As with the pistol, run it High Only. The same rule applies: the light is for identifying and engaging, not for looking around.
The switch stop screw
Buried in the Gen 3 body changes is the feature I’d call the real adder for pistol shooters: a switch stop screw, included with every G3 light. Here’s the problem it solves. The PL350 switch bar rocks through center, and on the original bodies I’ve run, turning the light off is where things can get tricky. More than once I’ve pressed to shut the light off and found it far too easy for the bar to carry past the off position and turn the light right back on. In a dark room that’s worse than a light that never went off, because you think you’re dark and you aren’t. Thread the stop screw in on one side and the bar simply can’t travel past off in that direction. Modlite describes it as fewer unintentional activations and more consistency, which is true, but that overrun is the specific problem it heads off, and it’s the one I’ve run into. The G3 also adds a metal Picatinny rail lug alongside the polymer ones.
What we measured on the original AMP
We haven’t had an AMP v2 in the lab, but we did test the original AMP on the PL350c in 2024, and the PL350c was one of the few lights we’ve tested that beat its claims on lumens, candela and runtime: about 940 lumens against a claim of 876, 18,410 candela against 18,000, and 39 minutes of runtime against a claim of 35. That gives me some reason to think the 26,000 candela claim is realistic, but we won’t know until we measure one. It also puts the original AMP roughly even with the Streamlight TLR-7 HL-X in intensity, with the HL-X a bit ahead at 30 seconds, which you can see side by side in our Light Lab Comparator: PL350c vs TLR-7 HL-X. If the v2 measures close to its 26,000 claim, it moves clearly ahead of the HL-X on candela while staying the smaller light. That’s one we’d like to get into the lab.
Holsters
Disclosure: Low Light Defense is affiliated with Werkz LLC, which makes light-bearing holsters, so this is the part of any new light I pay the closest attention to.
Here the news is good. Modlite says the AMP v2 keeps the same compact footprint as the original AMP, and the PL350c G3 AMPv2 package carries the same length, diameter and weight on its spec sheet as the PL350c it replaces. If that holds, a holster molded for the PL350c should accept the new light as is. Werkz already has PL350c holsters for Glock 17 and 19 length pistols, the Walther PDP and the Staccato XC, but we haven’t had a G3 AMPv2 in one of them yet. If you’re carrying a PL350c on a pistol we don’t list yet, the holster request form is how we decide what to build next.
Your turn
Modlite users tend to have opinions, so let’s hear them:
- If you run an original AMP, is 44% more candela and double the 18350 runtime worth $209 for a new head?
- Does 26,000 candela in a PL350c-size light change your mind about a compact pistol light, or do you still want the full-size head?
- Where would you put it first: handheld, pistol or PDW?
Drop your answers in the comments. If there’s enough interest, we can get samples in for lab testing.
Sources: Modlite AMP v2 product page, Modlite PL350c G3 AMPv2 package, Modlite original AMP head, and our review, The Modlite PL350C: A More Compact Solution.
