Hi all.  I'm thinking about purchasing an M900A-WH for my carbine.  Are these things pretty sturdy...or are they flimsy and rattle around?

Also, can anyone share a picture of an M900A mounted on their weapon?

Thanks for your help!

- N20

I have the M900A and it is pretty solid. I dont think I could break it accidentally. Whats the WH? I know I have the A model.

No pics, sorry.

Thanks for the reply, that's what I wanted to hear.  I meant to type "WHITE" as opposed to "WH"...designating the white LED's.

Regards,

- N20

I would reccomend against white LEDs, as they are harder on your eyes than red or blue. I hear that blue is actually the brightest too. I have red, and it works OK.

I have an M900A with the blue LED's. I chose the blue because the appeared to be the brightest from the operator standpoint and the hardest to see the light reflecting off of foliage and buildings by persons who are not the operator. It is very solid and well made. It is built to survive.

Here are some pics of my rifle witht the M900 on it.
[url]http://community.webshots.com/photo/29311300/80908974dUQFJf[/url]
[url]http://community.webshots.com/photo/29311300/80909360hpUVgT[/url]

Here are some pics I snagged from here and there.
[url]http://community.webshots.com/photo/29311300/64315239PUmhLs[/url]
[url]http://community.webshots.com/photo/29013824/51720213mIEcvz[/url]

Thanks ya'll.  My dealer has the white and blue in stock.  I will try them both out and see what I like best.  Great pics Lucystiff!

- N20

Blue led's produce more visible light per milliwatt of input.  The blue LED also enhances contrast with red dot sights.  I find some white LED's to be harsh on the eyes as well, since "white" has varying tints from greenish to bluish, sometimes in the same LED. :(

I have a M900A with RED nav. lights and find them to be superior to the white.  I haven't tried the blue yet.  

I choose the RED lights because they don't impair night vision like the white ones.  A RED tipoff filter is also available for the M900A and works great in navigating hallways in total darkness.

YMMV, but I like the RED.

As far as "rattling", there isn't any.  It does "flex" somewhat on an ARMS SIR, but thats the SIR's fault, not the M900A.  

The white LEDs have a blueish tint and have never ruined my night vision.  The unit will move fore and aft on a rail about 2mm and has some flex to the side where the ARMS throw lever attaches.  All the M900s do this due to the throw lever designs clearances.  It is fairly solid and wont ever break but can be mildly annoying to anyone who is anal about things fitting tight, most people will not even notice.  It fits about as tight as the KAC panel it replaced, which also had some fore/aft movement.  The unit over all is built like a tank and you wont really appreciate it till you hold it in your hot little hands.

The LEDs are not sealed.  If you get water behind the LEDs they will glow very dimmly for about 12 hours till the water evaporates.  There are two covers that come with the M900 to cover the LEDs to reduce the light output or prevent the glowing LEDs from giving you away.  If you cut main power on the bottom of the grip the LEDs quit glowing.

I have white LEDs on my M900A.  I have not had any problems with them degrading my night vision.  They are only something TWO lumens.  Reflected light from that feeble source just doesn't seem like much of an issue to me.  Watch-Six

An interesting thing about the tip off filters that you might want to be aware of.

I've been running a 900A/B turbo head for some time now, excellent product. I enhanced it with an IR filter and discovered that the rubber rim that encircles the actual filter lens would very slightly press against the bayonet lug. I didn't think too much about it but one night while firing I noticed the light went out. I presumed that I'd lost battery supply and just carried on.

Later while cleaning the gun I replaced the batteries and discovered that it still wasn't functioning. I flipped open the filter and found the bulb shattered. Evidently the contact with the bayonet lug transmitted enough vibrations under recoil to disable the bulb.

A short while later I upgraded to an FF RAS MRE and it comes with two different rail heights. You can roll it over and use the lower rail on the top for mounting IR lasers (which is what I did) and have the tall rail on bottom. As a side note of how I set it up it turns out that the tall rail on bottom is thick enough "down" that the turbo head now completely clears the bayolug and extension rails of the new RAS system.

As a footnote, I'm running the red LED's.

The Surefire M900 is one of the best weapon lights you can buy on the market today. If you like the vertical pistol grip and you need a light on your rifle the M900 is a great option.

Check out the M4 link with pictures under the AR Dissussion section for picture of the M900.

The white light can give you away.  Red is ok, but you can't see a blood trail as easy.  It also makes reading a map near impossible with red light.  Go with the blue

A few questions...

Who reads maps with their weapon light?

If the blue is brighter how is it less likely to give your position away since you can see the diect light from the LED in about a 160 degree arc?

Since the Nav LEDs only work for about 10 feet or less why do you care about the visability of the reflected light since if they can see the reflected light they can more than likely see the actual LED that's producing it?

Posting two months after the thread died, but wtf...lol

M900a with white LED's.  Low natural light is a blessing for nocturnal navigation.  Remember they're navigation lights, not 'map reading lights.'  Bring a lil red flashlight for that if you feel the need.  The white LEDs are much less bright than the main bulb and hey, if you're gonna be navigating unknown hallways in the night, aren't you gonna want to have your hi beams on?

Trip wires, claymores, zombies, ex girlfriends....it's a nasty world out there boys, better see what's around that corner.

LED's are so you don't trip over fallen trees or ram your shin into a coffee table while you're tryign to get where you're going.  Great for the approach, but when the SHTF you need to light em up!

Go white.  I've got a blue flip cover on my M900, it's cool with the TA31 and I can do that "track blood in the night" thing everyone keeps talking about.

[:D]

The white LED's are very soft and do not degrade night vision.  

Even if the BG sees the LED's outside, their "star camouflage" effect will throw him off.  (Can't do that with the colors) I bet blood trails AND maps could still be seen with white light.  Green would be cool though, I could pretend I was looking through NVGs.  Or maybe alternating blue and red so they think its the cops off in the distance.

LOL [:D]

I've played with various colors of LED in the dark.  The light level has to be very low and make everything appear to be grey.  If you can see any color at all, of objects or the LED's beam, your dark adaption is gone.

A bright red LED will ruin dark adaption just as well as a blue or white one.  As it is, I run white LED's in my A2 (don't have a M900 yet), to render colors correctly.

Human eyes are less sensitive to red, so the red LED's will appear dimmer than white, and blue will appear brightest.  I hear that blue throws the red-brown of blood into contrast and some EMT's use it to spot blood easier.  I've never tried it.

Importantly, though, some people can't "stomach" certain colors of light.  I like blue better than red.  Some like yellow, or green, or blue-green.

I guess all of this changes though if NVGs are involved.

I agree with Hokie: the best point is that whatever color, the LED's are dimmer than the main lamp, save battery life, and lamp life.  

If you want flashing red and blue, mount a Ergolight Rav'N to the rail:
http://www.techass.com/el/raven2/raven2.php
;)

are the LEDs swapable?

The LED's are not swappable.

You have to choose the color when you purchase.

I got the blue LED's.

I bought the red filter/cover for the main light to use for night.

I LOVE mine, very sturdy.

May I make a suggestion........get the M910A. It has the dual thumbscrews instead of the throw lever for mounting. Just as good a mount, less expensive.

Look into pricing and availability [url=http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=7&f=25&t=182234]here.[/url]

Grant has great prices and ships quickly. I'm pretty sure he has what you need in stock. Support the dealers who support AR15.COM.

I bought my M900-RD from Grant too, could'nt be happier with his service and the prices are the lowest you will find around here. A+ for Grant!

I too prefer the green, and where available, the blue-green ("Aqua" or "Turquoise") LEDs over red or blue.  Often, though another observer will complain about the tint.