Swiss Huber+Suhner Schutzmaske 3

While the Forsheda F2/Skyddsmask 90 is still my personal favorite gas mask in terms of form and function combined, the SM-3 is a strong contender on sheer aesthetic alone.

American Defense Mfg. AD-DBAL-SF Light/Laser Base

The Steiner DBAL A2/PEQ-15A comes from the factory with an A.R.M.S. #17 Trilock Mount, which is all well and good, but I enjoyed the thought of combining my white light and laser on a single, monolithic picatinny base.

I gotta say, I'm very satisfied with this arrangement. The cable management is a little more convenient, the setup feels slicker, and the light body is suspended slightly further away than on an Arisaka MLOK Mount, allowing my Z-Bolt Tailcap to tuck in more neatly against the rail.

Though it's kinda funny - the only thing the MLOK is holding now are a couple Magpul Wire Control Clips. If not for that, I could use literally any other free-float handguard with a stable picatinny top rail lol

I'd run a KAC URX 3.1 Rail with this setup if I wasn't a perpetual broke bitch

The only potential downside to this type of mount is that any bumps on the weapon light would transfer force into the laser mount, too - potentially shifting the point of aim.

Both on Dual IR Laser/Illuminator Mode Illuminators on both units were focused at their widest divergence without the use of diffuser caps (neither have any right now anyways).

Dual Low Mode:

Steiner DBAL A2 Holosun IRIS-3

Dual High Mode:

Steiner DBAL A2 Holosun IRIS-3

It really is quite amazing that a $900 civilian laser can match the performance of a $1,500 full power military laser, all with smaller form factor, better control ergonomics, and a full warranty to boot.

Obviously not the "best" laser on the market, but if your only goal is getting similar capability as 'fell-off-the-truck' FP MIL/LEO units, within a lower price bracket, without buying lasers from less reputable companies, the IRIS is incredibly hard to beat.

From where I was standing, I believe the treeline was around 200-300 yards away, if not more (I'll measure it later). Phone camera through my NVG's obviously looks 1000 times worse than the naked eye, but both units performed roughly about the same.

The IRIS's VCSEL illuminator is definitely much cleaner than the DBAL A2's EEL-based illuminator, and a bit more visible on low power than the latter.

The dreaded 'ring' artifact that initial IRIS buyers were reporting is also not present on my unit in both wide and small cone divergence.

I decided to move the DBAL A2 back a little bit to clear up space for a dedicated flip-up front sight.

Something about the lack of anti-rotation geometry on the Railscales LEAF just rubs me the wrong way :V

Having it back here also gives me more instantaneous access to the controls on the unit itself. Though I'll need to see how much (if any) IR splashback I get from the illuminator before I fully commit to this arrangement.

Some of you may have noticed that my DBAL no longer has its default rubber dust caps and I've since added a neutral density filter to the laser side to cut back on the bloom of the full power laser.

Also got an AXON SL from Unity today since one of my Hot Buttons was dead and they were willing to RMA it.

While not as streamlined as a Hot Button, it is growing on me.

took the opportunity to get some updated photos of the You Are Gee Eye while I had the lightbox running since it now has a DBAL A2 that isn't a steaming lump of shit

though in hindsight, I probably should've waited until I got my backup iron setup on this build before taking new pics

So I bought another DBAL A2/PEQ-15A lol

old one was too crusty to use, but I liked the aesthetic and the form factor so much I just bought a minty one off the 'gray market'.

Now god willing this thing doesn't give me any trouble cause if it breaks, there's no way to get it serviced unless FDA full power laser regulations magically disappear.

So update on the PEQ15A

Turns out this unit wasn't just handled rough, it was purposefully demilled - glass in both apertures are busted out and while the laser seems to work fine, the illuminator pattern is fucked, focus knob won't diverge or converge the beam.

Thankfully I paid literally nothing on this unit so it's zero loss to me outside of being a little disappointing.

But honestly? I might try to buy one in better condition later down the road. I hate the idea of buying gray market FP lasers, but this thing is just so damn pretty with its colors and the form factor is just what I like for a long gun laser.