I suppose I could have used "and" instead of "vs" but I want to compare and contrast them a bit. I realize that not everyone is into firearms and shooting and outside of the USA most of my guns might not be legal for a civilian to own. So if you're not interested in firearms, please forgive me and just skip to the next topic! But the gun folks might find this interesting. I consider a WML (Weapon Mounted Light) to be mandatory on any firearm intended for defensive use, either at home or in the woods. Early this year I bought the OWL and have used it a fair amount. The OWL is a heavy duty, extremely powerful WML with a built in switch, designed for carbine use. I really love the light! The whole thing couldn't be easier to set up and use- just mount it where you want it and tighten down one nut and you're done. No tape switch to place nor any wired to run. To date the only WML that's brighter (that I've ever found) is the REIN. Output is surreal and the color temp is fairly warm for good CRI. The cons? Well, it weighs 10.5 oz with the battery and it's pretty large. It's also not cheap running $375 or so. Lastly there are somewhat limited placement options since you pretty much want the bezel up as close to the muzzle as you can. This works great on most carbines but if you have short arms and really long handguards, like 13"+, it would be a bit of a reach to the switch.



The REIN is laid out more like a conventional WML with a push button tailcap and a wired pressure switch. It does have a very innovative switch cover that helps hide the cable, and the tailcap is set up to run the tape switch into the body from four different positions (12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock) to further minimize dangling cord. I have to admit that getting it installed is about the most frustrating gun thing I've ever done short of maybe reassembling my Ruger MkI. It's a serious PitA! That said, the extra work does result in a very clean and tidy install. And you'll probably only need to do it once unless you transfer it to another gun. It's lighter than the OWL but subjectively bigger; narrower in the body but much longer. And it's not a whole lot cheaper. I took advantage of the 4th of July sale @ Rainier Arms (great guys!) and got the light + switch kit for $299 + a few bucks shipping. That said, the included mount is for a 1913 rail so to offset mount it as one typically does for a WML requires a mount. I went with an Arisaka which was another $45. Great mount, though.



Both lights share a very beefy and robust construction. They also were both designed to run only with an 18650 battery. Using CR123a batteries will void the warranty! Both come with a charger and micro-USB cable for that charger. The REIN comes with one battery where the OWL comes with two. Both are built with a very neutral-to-warm emitter with a very high candela beam. IIRC the OWL is rated for 50,000 candela and 1100 lumens. The REIN uses a slightly deeper reflector and is rated at 60,000 cd at 1350 lumens. Both will easily light up trees two full blocks away. If you had either on a rifle I expect shots at night on coyotes would be easy out to 150-200 yards.



I just mounted the REIN and haven't fired the gun with it on yet so these are just preliminary impressions, but I like both. I opted to put the REIN on my PWS and the moved the OWL over to my Bren 805. It's nice being able to move the switch back just a tad on the PWS since it has a 13" handguard. I could reach the switch when I had the OWL on there but it was a small stretch. We'll see if I leave 'em this way. It would kind of be nice on the Bren to be able to move the bezel out front a few inches which I could do with the REIN. Curiously, where I expected the switch to be thinner in height on the REIN I think it might actually be thicker than the switch portion of the OWL. It feels like it at least. And the OWL has a pressure pad almost 2" long vs the two round buttons maybe 3/4" in diameter on the REIN's switch.



Which is "better"? Hard to say! I need to get some trigger time but just LARPing around the living room they both have advantages and disadvantages. The REIN with its tape switch does offer more placement flexibility than the OWL. On the other hand, the OWL was designed to dispense with the tape switch and exposed wires. I'd say overall that if you have a carbine where the OWL would naturally land in the best spot for both throw and ergos, I'd go with the OWL; it's a bit more elegant, and probably more durable. If you need the flexibility in mounting and that last iota of output then maybe the REIN is the way to go.



I'll post further impressions when I've put some trigger time on them.