SIG Sauer lives up to their motto of being a “Total Systems Provider.” They make everything. This includes weapon lights. It’s pretty easy to strap your logo onto a basic 1,000-lumen 10K candela light and call it a day. However, SIG’s weapon lights lineup impressed me and slightly confused me. This is my second experience with a SIG Sauer weapon light, and I’m mostly impressed with the SIG FOXTROT-MSR Compact weapon light.
I absolutely hate typing FOXTROT-MSR. I’m not sure who broke the caps lock and space bar at SIG, but they need to be put on the fight-on-sight list. Luckily, CTRL+C and CTRL+V work on my keyboard. That’s the only thing I hate about the light and the only thing I dislike. Sure, I have some questions, but let’s dig into the light and see if I find answers.
The SIG FOXTROT-MSR Specifications and Features
The FOXTROT-MSR Compact features a fairly impressive degree of power. We get 1,350 lumens backed by 33,000 candela. It’s not quite reaching the level of Surefire Turbo, Modlite, or Cloud Defensive, but not bad for the price point of less than 200 dollars.
Compared to the similar-sized SureFire Mini Scoutlight, which costs $340 and only packs 500 lumens and 7,600 candelas, it’s an impressive bit of power. Lumens is the overall raw white light measurement, and candela should be thought of as the ability to project that power. You want a decent mix of both, but there is some give and take.
This mix seems fairly balanced to provide bright white light at most shotgun and carbine ranges. The light is powered by a rechargeable 18350 battery with a battery life of 1 hour.
The light measures 4.42 inches and weighs 3.6 ounces with the battery installed. It’s fairly compact and lightweight, but unlike some pistol lights, it’s made entirely from 6061 aluminum.
What’s In The Box
For less than $200, you get not only the FOXTROT-MSR but a full complement of goodies to set it up. We get two 18350 batteries. You can also drop in CR123A batteries, but they will not reach the same lumen and candela count. I couldn’t find any numbers for the use of CR123A lights, but they are noticeably dimmer.
We also get Picatinny and M-LOK mounting systems, and the light is compatible with Surefire Scout mounts. It comes with a remote tape switch. What’s fantastic is that SIG didn’t develop a proprietary plug; they just used the Surefire plug.
This makes it easy to swap to a chosen plug or an aftermarket control system. With the tape switch, we also get a mountable device to help manage the wire. It’s handy and quite useful. It’s also quite a surprise to see it included. Along with all of this, we get the tools to install everything with ease.
FOXTROT-MSR There Will Be Light
I installed the light on my PSA JAKL, and the installation took very little effort. I got the tape switch positioned where I wanted and secured the excess wire. The tape switch allows for momentary light only. With the switch installed, we still have access to the clicky rear button that allows you to pick between constant and momentary.
The clicky rear button is super tactile, and you can feel and hear it when engaged. The tape switch lacks a tactile feel and requires a dedicated press to activate. Simply touching the button doesn’t illuminate anything.
I prefer the need for a dedicated press to avoid a negligent discharge of white light. The button itself is fairly large and easy to find in the dark. A raised SIG Sauer logo lets you know when you’ve found the button in the dark.
Hit the button, and the light fires up. The beam itself is fairly wide and allows for a decent amount of peripheral coverage. The beam’s lack of focus limits its overall range. Outside the beam, it is capable of seeing targets out to 50 yards.
The target is a steel IPSC target, so it’s not camouflaged or trying to hide. Still, outside of effective camouflage, you can make out threats and potential targets. If you’re chasing maximum range, then the FOXTROT-MSR Compact might not be for you.
Being Balanced
The general theme of the light seems to be based on balance.
It’s balanced in terms of lumens and candela, as well as range and width. The extra peripheral beam makes it well-suited for indoor environments. The wide beam fills rooms with white light, making it easy to find and identify threats. The FOXTROT-MSR fills the room and makes it impossible to hide from the light effectively.
For home defense, the FOXTROT-MSR Compact excels. It’s a great indoor or urban use light. The high candela and lumens count make it solid for defeating photonic barriers, especially those created by other light forces. It easily cuts through overhead light and shoots right through my porch lights to the other side.
The lightweight and short design makes it accessible for guns, both large and small. I tend to forget about ounces equal to pounds, and such. A suppressed rifle with LPVO and light gets quite heavy, so being able to reduce weight helps keep the gun balanced as much as possible. On small guns like my CMMG Mk 17 Banshee, the short light works well on the short rail and doesn’t throw the gun into a tailspin of front-heavy.
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Live fire showed the light withstands recoil without a problem. Lots of weapon lights work until they start moving back and forth. The FOXTROT-MSR Compact doesn’t flicker or flutter as the weapon recoils. Sure, 5.56 isn’t that tough on lights, but circuit problems appear quickly.
A Solid Contender
At $190, the SIG FOXTROT-MSR Compact isn’t exactly budget-priced. It’s not cheap, but I do think it offers a great overall value. It’s a solid light with a good bit of power. It also comes with the battery, the mount, the tape switch, and even a small tab to provide some wire control. That’s not a bad count.
I appreciate the design’s adherence to the well-established Surefire Scout design. It’s a smart design and consumer-friendly. I think SIG Sauer has a winner with the FOXTROT-MSR Compact. Unlike a lot of their pistol lights, I don’t have questions about their design, their power, or size. It’s a great step forward for the “Total Systems Provider.”
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