Review - INFORCE WML - Weapons-mounted light.

(This product provided by the manufacturer for review.)


A few years back, Emissive Energy Corporation launched their military line of flashlights, an off-shoot of the original Inova flashlight line. At the time, these lights were incredibly unusual, relying on special polymer bodies with exposed heatsinks. They've had a few years now to refine their lineup and one of these refinements has resulted in the launch of their first dedicated weapons light, the WML.

Using a fiber reinforced polymer for the body and picatinny rail clamp, the WML is astonishingly compact and lightweight. We'll go into more detail later on in the review, but we're going to start in the usual fashion with the specs from the manufacturer.

Product Specifications:

Light Output, White LED
High Setting: 125 lumens
Low Setting: 30 lumens

Run Time:
High Setting: 2h
Low Setting: 10h

Light Output, IR: 850nm
High Setting: 75 mW
Low Setting: 25 mW

Run Time:
High Setting: 3h 30min
Low Setting: 17h

Multifunction Button/Activation Switch Features:

Primary White LED:
• Constant and Momentary High, Low and Strobe
• Reversible High/Low to Low/High Capability

• Strobe Disable
Secondary IR LEDs:
• Constant High and Low
• Momentary High

Measurements: 4.1" L. x 1" Bezel D.
Weight w/ Batteries: 3 oz.
Batteries: 1 x 123A Lithium

I really want to point out the dimensions and weight right away. 3 ounces with batteries is remarkably light! That is markedly lighter than any of the other competitors on the market that integrate both white light and IR.

However, unlike the competitors, the dimensions of the WML means that the height that it extends above the rail surface is low enough to not obscure your sights, which means you can mount this in front of the frontsight post and still have perfect access to your irons. Something that you cannot do with the Surefire RAID, for instance.

Another point that I want to address before we get to the meat and potatoes is that of output. I've seen numerous places where people have complained about the relative low output of the WML, at only 125 lumens. But here's where we need some context. Yes, without a doubt you can get LED lights that produce a far greater amount of light. But 3-400 lumens of output is simply not always appropriate, especially not in a home defense/CQB setting. Too much light and the backwash from white-painted walls will completely ruin your nightvision and temporarily blind you. The idea here is to first identify your target and if you can, blind them long enough for you to service said target, all at ranges usually not exceeding 50-70 meters. That's it. And for that purpose, 125 lumens is just about perfect. You'll note that the Surefire RAID, an 800 dollar light, outputs no more than 150 lumens. Surefire, inarguably, knows what they're doing when it comes to lights.

Below we'll continue with the video portion of the review and go into further details about the WML. Including exploring the mounting options and how the WML can integrate into your method of weapons handling.

Note: I misspoke in the video. You do not have to hold the button for 2 seconds to get momentary. It's 0.5 seconds for momentary.

In this picture you can see the WML mounted in the position that I prefer, directly in front of the front sight post. This integrates exceedingly well with the type of grip that I prefer to use. 

A front quarter angle of the WML. Note how it hugs the rail. It is very low-profile.

The WML also takes up almost no space in width. You can see here how it hardly extends past the rails at all. 

In this shot you can clearly see the white light/IR selection lever. The white dot of course indicates white light. The different modes can be immediately discerned even in complete darkness by feel.

This is the primary safety lockout for the WML. Again, immediately tactile and very positive. You can still activate the light with this bail raised, but it requires an extremely deliberate motion. Full lockout can be achieved by rotating the bezel roughly a quarter turn. 

Here you can see the business end. The LED appears to be a CREE XP-G. It has a very nice and white output with little to no bluish tint. The lens is hardened glass. 

The mode selector lever in the IR mode and with the safety bail in position. One improvement that could be done here would be to provide a tactile detent for the mode lever. 

Here you can see the IR LEDs turned on. The color here is a product of the camera. In person, what you will see is a very faint red glow from the four emitters. 

A closer shot of the IR emitters here. 

And here with the emitters off. As you can see, the LED assembly is well-centered in the reflector. 

A closeup of the on-off switch. The curve is designed to let you comfortably activate the light with your thumb. Also note that the rubber cover is ultrasonically sealed to provide water resistance. 

A shot of the hand position when using the light. Yes, I am resting my thumb against the front sight post here, that is largely the result of me being lazy and trying to hold the rifle with one hand and take the picture with the other hand. Normally, I don't touch it. 

A view of what the WML looks like from behind the front sight post. It blocks almost nothing. 

And here shown through the optic and the iron sights. It might as well not be mounted there at all for all the disruption it causes. 

A closeup of the rocker clamp mechanism. The thumbscrew is very positive and does not allow the light to budge when tightened down. One of the easiest mounting systems I've used. 

Here you can see the clamp itself. Very few moving parts involved and most of the clamp is integral to the body of the light. It is an exceedingly rugged setup. 

Another shot, mostly to show the thickness of material. 

The WML with the bezel removed. Note that the battery is installed with the negative pole facing the LED end of the light. This is opposite what most people are used to when it comes to lights. 

The inside of the LED head. Note that the contact shown here is spring-loaded, which protects the battery from recoil impulse. The light does not flicker in any way during fire.

While the threads on the WML are not square-cut as is my usual preference, they are very well-machined. These are some of the smoothest threads that I've had on any of my lights, including the Surefires.

The inside of the battery compartment. The plus-sign indicator is to help you remember which end goes first. 

Note the slots in the head. These slots expose the aluminum heatsink to outside air. This is a specific INFORCE feature and is under patent. 

With the LED head in the lock-out position. 

Here is another shot to demonstrate just how slim the WML is. 

This shot is just because I thought it looked nice. The design of the WML is really quite elegant. 

Here it is mounted on the side rail, to show how close to the rail surface the WML sits. There is very little wasted space. 

And finally, a shot of the beam profile. The camera under-exposes the effect of the light quite severely. In person, the effect is a lot more impressive. I would have no qualms using this light to engage targets out to 50-60 meters.

This is a brief video demonstration of the WML being used on the range. Mostly just cycling through the modes. Ergonomics are simply outstanding. 

All in all, I must say that I am very pleased with the WML. It is a truly well-designed product and it provides something that really hasn't been on the market before. Also very important, it does so at a pricepoint significantly lower than any of its competition.
So, the immediate advantages of the WML are: light weight, significantly less than any of the other models on the market. Compact size in a dedicated, integrated white light and IR weapons light, to the point where it is almost unnoticeable installed on your weapon. No need for tape switches, which have a reputation for being unreliable and wearing out quickly. More than adequate output to handle the vast majority of CQB-ranges. Night-vision compatible, due to the IR output capability. And guaranteed waterproof to 66 feet/20 meters.
As far as I know, the WML is the ONLY weaponslight on the market that can boast of that particular feature.
Coming in at a pricepoint well under 200 dollars and being entirely made in the US, the INFORCE WML is a fantastic bargain and a remarkably well-designed light to boot. While some may not like the mode switching, in my testing I've found it to be reliable and quickly learned. It is an intuitive user-interface and one feature that many will find attractive is the ability to lock-out the strobe function entirely. For those users that have no need of the IR functionality, there is a simple white light-only model available as well for a significantly lower price.
At this point in time, I simply can't recommend this light enough.

You can see more about the light at INFORCE.

Addendum: Since the manufacture of the pre-production sample that I received from INFORCE, they have modified the white light/IR selector lever somewhat. The finalized version is slightly humped, similar in fashion to the typical fire-selector lever on an M4. This was done to improve the ease of activation, particularly when the user is wearing gloves. As of yet, this change is not reflected in the material on the INFORCE website, but expect it to be present on any production lights that will be available in the future.