Crimson Trace is the top of the mark when it comes to firearm mounted laser systems. They make a set of lasergrips for damn near every handgun out there, but if that doesn’t work for your special snowflake then there’s always the Rail Master line of rail mounted devices. They released the red laser version a while back, but now there’s a combination green laser and white light box that straps to your gun’s accessory rail. MSRP is about $379, and for a nightstand gun it seems like a perfect solution.
Man, that’s pricey.
Yikes! No kidding.
A little cheaper: http://www.crimsontrace.com/products/type/rail-master/cmr-205
How does that compare with Viridian?
Viridian is $349 for the comparable product
The Viridian’s control’s are hard to use when switching between modes (in my opinion) however the biggest fault is that the battery drains on its own without use. (If I recall my battery died after 6 months of no use)
This Crimson looks like it is activated in a similar fashion to my Surefire X300 which I find real easy to activate so that is a big plus. If there is no battery drain issue on the Crimson then that would justify the purchase of the Viridian itself just for reliability sake.
I’ve never been able to find a way to mount either a decent laser or a dot-point on my DP51. At least not without involving a gunsmith. I might need to talk to one…
In the future tho a front rail has become an important selling-point, in part because of things like the subject of this article.
Personally, I would stick with a weapon mounted light. I like lasers (especially green) for escalation of force but if it my butt on the line, I’ll stick with tried and true XS big dots rather than look for a dot.
I have the Viridian and while it performs like it should it has active circuitry so it eats up the battery even when its not in use. For a nightstand gun its best to just have the flashlight on your accessory rail.
I had the Viridian version of this mounted on a walther p99.
As previously stated, it ate through the cr23 battery in no time flat. The push button controls were needlessly complex and faled twice, necisitating a trip back to the manufacturer both times. I finally got sick of the proprietary rail and sub-par laser and sold the entire unit.
Crimson trace is head and shoulders better than viridian despite both companies having excellent customer service.
Don’t get me started on lasermax.
As of right now, Crimson trace and insight are the only companies to produce a dedicated laser that has held up to prolonged use—though I haven’t tried surefire yet.
+1 on the Lasermax BS. Mine ate batteries every month from sitting in the safe. Sent it back and they did something and it magically worked like it should.
Def digging this CT model for my bedside gun…a Bersa UC9. Anybody knows how it fits? I tried their little mini laser that came with my Browning Buckmark and it was the wrong shape. I hate to order and have to return it.
Still waiting for Crimson Trace to put out a green instant activation laser that will fit 4th generation Glock G26 and G27 so many of us conceal carry. One day…
I’ve had my Viridian C5L for more than six months and I’m still on the first battery, with plenty of use.
It’s about time Crimson Trace did some green lasers, as I find the red ones to be fairly useless in daylight.
Is the Crimson Trace one of the new ‘true green’ laser modules or is it a diode pumped IR laser with a frequency splitter like almost all other green lasers on the market (including Viridian)? The advantage of true green is power consumption and possibly longer life, but they are still very expensive.
I also have the Viridian X5L and still on the same battery after 8 months and plenty of use. I don’t understand why some folks have such poor battery performance.
the viridian laser sight works good but with the best battery you can buy you might get two weeks if your not using it. i get two weeks with a new $5.00 battery when the gun is just laying in the case.