Is the concept of combining white and IR that inefficient that Modlite and Arisaka/Malkoff can’t produce a competitor?

I have wondered the same thing.

You have to understand, the cost to develop and produce such a design would be astronomical. Compared to the amount of people who would line up to buy it, they probably couldn't make their R&D dollars back. There simply aren't enough guys on the commercial side running night vision who would buy it, and while they could compete for government contract dollars, that's a huge financial risk.

I think it would be really cool, but I don't see it happening. The modlite head works differently than a surefire TIR lens, and you also can't pot a vampire-style head which is a big feature of modlite's design. You would also have to reduce the size of the LED to make room for a second one, which would significantly reduce output. Surefire already does this, which is why the vampire lights are so behind in output compared to white-only offerings.

I don't even like having to spin heads and then only getting one...  I do it on x300v, but that's because of a lack of room.

I'd rather have seperate white and IR lights, with appropriate tape switches and routing.  Button for IR, button for white


Or barring that, something like the wmlx that can be changed with a rapid flick of a lever.,...  Yanking and twisting out by muzzle/can on a carbine doesn't sit right with me.  In comparison.

Also I doubt twisting vampire heads are potted like malkoffs, etc.

It would be interesting to see a light with both white and IR led in the reflector, with dual leads out the butt, but that would be an undertaking.

In addition to what tlandoe mentioned above, a lot of users are moving away from a universal head that requires the user to manually set the head between white light and IR.

It takes too much time and attention to do so on the fly, especially with white light being an essential "need it right this second" tool in some situations.

Even if the option of a vampire head that has the durability and output of Modlite's white light and IR offerings existed, I would still personally choose to run a separate white and IR unit despite the additional bulk and complexity.

I thought streamlight would have done it by now but I guess not ?????

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/02/15/friday-night-lights-review-pk-designlabs-m51-white-ir-weapon-light/

PK was the senior VP of engineering for Surefire for many years and is responsible for many classic lights going all the way back to the 6P and later the millenium and executive series. His new stuff since he left Surefire is... something of a departure from his classic aesthetic

I have several vampire models.
But, after all, I still prefer the incandescent flashlights with blacker than black IR filters that snap closed over the end like a Butler Creek cover.
They can be made inexpensively by anyone who cannot afford to buy an old Surefire, the state of the filter is instantly obvious even in the dark, and all operations can be done with one hand.
I guess I am just old fashioned.