Surefire XH30 Review

In this Surefire XH30 review guide, let's take a look at its new features, specs and compare it against the older Surefire X300U.

Let's check it out

Surefire XH30 Core Specs

Lumen: 1000 or 300
Candela: 11300 cd
Strobe: Yes
Runtime: 1.5 hrs on high
Beam Type: TIR
Throw: 120 meters of useable light before completely fades off
Length: 3.7 in
Weight: 4.8 oz
Waterproof: IPX7
Construction: Aerospace aluminum & Mil-Spec hard anodized

Packaging

You get:

SF XH30
2 Batteries
Sticker
Manual
Surefire Catalog
Mount key

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Core Features

Lumen & Candela

The Surefire XH30 H series pistol light has the same lumen and candela ratings as the Surefire X300U (1000 lumens & 11300 candela), and now it features a 300-lumen mode for up close low light search without blinding the user or others around.

Whether you need to lit up a room, or a hallway this light will get the job done!

Beam Pattern

The hot center is pretty strong for a pistol light with a soften beam corona. The beam appears to have neutral color tint for accurate color rendition in low light. the spill is enough to lit up a room.

After testing a bunch of pistol lights, the Surefire's TIR lens has the widest spill among all other pistol weapon lights out there.

The tight hot center gives the user couple tactical advantages:

Throw the light beam far to ID targets in low light
Better threat control with a concentrated beam while staying at a safe distance

This particular beam pattern is the same as the Surefire M600DF long gun light.

Strobe Mode

The strobe mode is added to the XH30 model for threat disorientation, however, it overrides the normal light function until the strobe mode is disabled.

Battery Life

The XH30 still uses 2 CR123A batteries the same way as the X300. It works and we also believe USB rechargeable will be the next thing coming to the SF X300 style lights in the near future, giving the users the freedom to train as much as they like without having to buy batteries.

Control Switch

The Ambi control switch is the same as the ones that come with the Surefire X300U with slight serration changes. The switch operation is mirrored for both sides, and they are very responsive, feels very rock-solid, and work well with two hands.

Up & down - constant on
Push in - Momentary
Grip Activation - The Surefire DG grip switch is compatible with the XH30.

It works the same way in strobe mode.

However, the only complaint people have is that the button needs to be longer so the shooter can easily operate it with one hand using their index fingers.

Another issue is that the switch is very stiff, which it's very difficult to operate sometimes with one finger. If you want to check out a duty light as good as the Surefire, but with a better switch, please check out the Streamlight TLR 1 HL.

Overall Construction

The XH30 is made the same way as the X300 with aerospace-grade aluminum. The unit is IPX7 rated (submersion proof), and it can handle everyday rough handling, drops, recoil, and kicks without falling apart.

The only difference is the Cam-slotted bezel that locks onto the special MasterFire Rapid Deploy Holster.

MasterFire Holster

We didn't have a MasterFire Rapid Deploy Holster at the time of doing this review.

We will update this section in the future.

Mount

The T Slot mount can go on any rail system, and it has the ability to be tightened. It's just a rock-solid mounting system as a part of the light, and it works very well.