Cloud Defensive has swung hard into the world of weapon lights and made a stale industry take note. Cloud Defensive doesn’t just make the average weapon light. They’ve produced a series of insanely powerful weapon lights known as the OWL and the Rein. I’ve got my hands on the reportedly very powerful Rein Micro model. This is a rifle series weapon light designed to give users the most powerful weapon light option available in a relatively small package.
The Cloud Defensive Difference
What makes Cloud Defensive different from the competition is its focus on producing lights with high candela ratings. We hear over and over again all about lumens. Lumens are the main advertising method for weapon lights and have long been the bragging point for companies. Lumens are important, but candela is just as important, if not slightly more.
Lumens are a measurement of the raw power of a light. A high lumen count makes a bright light, but without a high candela, that light doesn’t have the power to make use of that bright light. Candela allows that bright light to reach its maximum range. Lumens are raw power, and candela is the power to propel that light.
The Rein Micro packs 1,300 lumens and 55,000 candelas. That’s more than double most competitors, and the difference becomes rapidly apparent when you fire up the Rein Micro next to something like a Surefire. In fact, without a magnified optic, you likely can’t use the Rein Micro to its maximum potential.
With a magnified optic, you can look out and really make use of all that light power. Outside of range, the higher candela blasts through photonic barriers created by other forms of light. You can see through overhead lights like streetlights or light points directly at you.
The Complete Kit
The Rein Micro comes as either just a light or a complete kit. I have the complete kit, and it includes the Rein Micro, a remote switch, a Nitecore charger, a battery, and all the mounts you need to make it work. The kit adds a little extra cost to the package, but it’s well worth it for a plug-and-play option with high-quality components. The kit starts at $369.99.
The difference between the Rein and Rein Micro mostly varies in length. There is a weight difference, but it’s minimal compared to the length difference. The Rein Micro is better suited for carbines or short barrel rifle variants. Heck, it’s well suited for PCCs like the Scorpion if you want a short and powerful weapon light.
The Rein Micro is 4.91 inches long and weighs 5.75 ounces with the battery. It’s small for its power but has a massive head. That massive head is a must-have for all the power the Rein micro generates.
Lighting Up Your Life
Oh, man, is this thing powerful. A press of the button casts one mighty beam downrange. It’s massively bright and extremely powerful. The light reaches out to several hundred yards. Prior to mounting it on my rifle, I shined it down the road and could see a green street sign that is nearly 400 yards away.
The beam has a very visible hotspot that would be painful to find yourself on the wrong side of. With a good set of glass, we saw the targets without issue, and the same goes for old pieces of clay pigeons, shotgun hulls, and various other parts of pieces of things downrange.
The light also grants plenty of spill, and at 100 yards, it lights up a massive part of my berm. We also ran across the rabbit using the peripheral portion of the beam, and we then tracked the rabbit as it ran across our open field. The spill of the beam made it super easy to track the rabbit as it sprinted across our field. It couldn’t outrun the beam and the spill.
The Rein Micro provides a tremendous amount of power and casts light impressively far, and makes establishing positive identification very easy. A light this powerful makes it easy to spot facial features, identifying information, and most importantly, weapons in the hands of the bad guys.
Beating Down Barriers
The Rein Micro kicks light outwards and lights up with a warm yellowish beam. I prefer the yellowish beam over a cool white beam. Warm beams do better against those pesky photonic barriers. The beam rips through fog and rain, and since it rains nightly and daily here in the summers, I found out just how important candela is in these situations.
The Rein Micro kicks its way through the brights of my car’s high beams without issue, and I can see through and to the driver’s seat. If someone pointed a light at me and I pointed the Rein Micro at them, it would blind them without issue and allow me to see through the photonic barrier their light generates.
From An Ergonomic Perspective
The Cloud Defensive Rein Micro comes with an awesome pressure switch. The two-button design provides an option for both constant on and momentary. Cloud Defense textured one button and left one smooth. By just feel you’ll be able to tell what button does what.
The switch connects to the light in one of four directions. The pressure switch attaches in a unique manner that allows you to route the cord in one of four directions. Cloud Defensive’s design makes it easy to put the pressure switch wherever you want it, and you can mount the light at any angle and have an easy to mount switch system.
The combination of the switch itself and switch placement design makes the Cloud Defensive Rein micro very easy to use. The switch doesn’t replace the ‘clicky’ cap, and you can still activate the light without the switch if necessary.
Seeing the Light
The Rein Micro provides users a very potent and capable light that combines a high lumen count with a massive amount of candela. Establishing PID has never been easier at a multitude of ranges than with the Rein Micro. It’s a blinding bright light that will certainly blind a home invader and buy the home defender a second to react. Toss to n your next AR 15 building kit, and you won’t regret it. The impressive ergonomics combined with the unbeatable power makes the Rein Micro an awesome option for defensive use.
Sounds like this guy is pretty exited about this light. I would like to know a little more about it, like how long does the battery last,how long to charge it. I guess I’ll go to the web site to learn more.