Even with the wide variety of tactical flashlights on the market, the Haley Strategic D3FT stands out in the crowd.
The D3FT is the first concealable EDC combat light on the market, developed by veteran Force Reconnaissance Marine Travis Haley of Haley Strategic Partners in collaboration with SureFire, LLC. Those facts alone make it worthy of merit, but you can count on it to perform as a quality combat light should.
“To me, combat light means a light that works with my weapon’s manipulation,” Haley says. “So, with a handgun, that means the light mounts with the handgun properly when using the Bill Rogers-SureFire technique. Yes, we can do a neck index [technique.] Yes, we can do a Harries technique. Yes, we can do modified FBI-style techniques. But when I really want to get two hands on the gun and get a master grip, the SureFire-Rogers technique is really the best technique ever made up to work with a handgun because it allows me to have two hands working for maximum recoil management.”
Haley saw the need for the D3FT when searching for a concealable light that could meet his demands both on and off the job.
“We always carried the bigger, two-cell combat lights in the military and law enforcement as kind of a duty light,” Haley says. “But what about when you’re off-duty? What about if you’re a civilian and a responsibly armed citizen and want to carry a good light on your body that works with your weapon? Well then, you need a combat light. If you don’t have a plunger ring on the light, then you lose the ability to do the SureFire-Rogers technique. Some people are fine with that because the SureFire-Rogers technique does take a lot more to get down, but once you get it down, it’s the one you’ll want to favor. The light still gives you the ability to do all four main handheld light techniques with your handgun. We always want options as a potential gunfighter.”
Searching for the ultimate compact combat light, Haley experimented with what was available at the time. His favorite configuration came about as a result of mixing and matching parts from some of his favorite SureFire lights.
“It was kind of by accident, honestly, like everything is,” Haley says. “I took an old Backup MV SureFire Light, swapped it to a Scout Light head, and then put a different tailcap on it. Then I took an old rubber ring from a [SureFire] CombatLight, and I slid it over. It fit perfectly between the head and the body. So we sat down with the guys at SureFire and said, ‘Hey, why haven’t you guys ever created an Executive Series combat light?’ The next thing you know, we were actually designing it.”
The D3FT is the result of that collaboration. Compact yet highly robust, it provides 500 lumens of intense, powerful, and efficient light powered by a single 123A lithium battery. SureFire’s proprietary TIR reflector shapes the output to produce a bright central cone of light for extended reach. A peripheral cone of light surrounds the central cone to aid situational awareness. As a result, you can easily see your target while remaining mindful of your surroundings.
“It has a great throw,” Haley says. “It’s kind of like having a Scout Light WeaponLight in your hand.”
The D3FT’s rugged, Mil-Spec hard-anodized body also delivers comfortable ergonomics. For example, it features a machined aluminum plunger that affords a consistent, reliable grip. At the same time, its click-on/off tailcap switch provides easy and instant momentary-on activation in stressful situations.
“One of the most important features on a combat light is the ability to have a momentary function, which means that when I press the tailcap, the light it is on, and when I let go, it is off,” Haley says. “It does have a constant-on feature as well because you are carrying it every day, and you are probably going to be using this as a task light more than drawing and shooting with it as a combat light. With that in mind, it works well when you’re changing your tire, looking for something in your house, or when the lights went out due to a power outage. When you need a flashlight, you can still go constant-on if you need to. We designed the switch so that if you press it to go for the SureFire-Rogers technique, you cannot get it to go constant-on unless you drive it in, but the chances of that are slim if you have good power authority on the light. So, I can come on target, engage, and if I had to do a reload or something, the light turns off, so my light’s not shining around in the air. It also has a robust pocket clip, which we redesigned all the way around. We really beefed it up a lot. You can mount the light up or down in your pocket.”
There truly is no other combat light quite like the D3FT. Designed by Haley, manufactured by SureFire, and guaranteed for life through SureFire’s No-Hassle Guarantee, it’s available only through Haley Strategic.
“There are so many different flashlights on the market, I know,” Haley says. “It’s like a full-time job, trying to figure out where to start.”
The Haley Strategic D3FT is an excellent choice, start to finish. For more information on the D3FT, visit haleystrategic.com.
