NOTE: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW IS COPYRIGHT 2011 BY James Bell Jr.
ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED.
Laser Devices, Inc.
70 Garden Court
Monterey, CA 93940 USA
800-235-2162 [VOICE]
831-373-0701 [FAX]
A good firearm-mounted light is a good thing on a firearm designed or designated for CQB. Used properly, it will allow you to get a 100% positive ID on a target and the background/surroundings prior to firing. I don't recommend them for search illumination - use a hand held light in that capacity. But if you are "in the stuff", it's a good thing to have on your firearm.
I have looked at a good number of lights designed for handheld use, and many for firearm-mounted use over the years. I really like the lights from Streamlight - especially the TLR-1 for firearm use. When I got the chance to test out the Operative OV-2 from Laser Devices,I knew it would have to make a great impression on me to compete.
I'm very happy to report that it did.
The OV-2 is an LED-based light which can be used either hand-held, or mounted to a firearm via picatinny rail and an adapter for the light. Several adapters are available for different configurations. It is also a modular package - you can get different tailcaps, remote switches, and more for this light. Being LED, it gives you great battery life too.
The unit is constructed from 6061T-6 aluminum for light weight (about 100 grams) but high durability. The LED is rated at a bit under 200 lumens, which is VERY bright . In a package measuring 5 3/8" long by 1" maximum diameter at the head (with the body being about 7/8"), it's one of the best designed lights I have ever encountered.
The LED light output is a very pure white, with a solid center and a good area of illumination around that. It is bright - bright enough to light up an entire large room indoors and provide excellent illumination outdoors.
The fact that it can serve in both handheld and firearm-mounted roles is a big plus in my book. It even includes both a pocket clip and a wrist lanyard that can be optionally attached.
It's easy to see that the folks that designed it have taken input from the field.
There are three different tailcaps available for it. All of them are fully gasket-sealed. We tested two of them in this review.
The push-button tailcap is momentary when pressed in part way, and click on/click off if pressed in all the way. The click is not overly loud, and the button is rubber-covered. It has several projections surrounding the button to prevent activation if it is pressed onto a flat surface.
If you take off the tailcap, you will find that the two 123-type batteries won't fall out. They are captive even when the tailcap is removed - which is a complaint I have heard from some folks in the field with other lights. On the OV-2 light, you replace the batteries by unscrewing the head end. Someone was thinking when they made this light.
The other primary tailcap is designed with a connector to attach a remote tape switch. I like to see this type. Tape switches can go bad, and it's generally cheaper to replace just the switch rather than an entire tailcap with a captive tapeswitch.
The connector makes a VERY solid engagement when plugged into the tailcap, but they also include a captive nut on the cable which screws into the tailcap - making sure that the whole assembly can't pull out. After many hours of testing we had no issues.
The default mount is a low-profile mount, designed to hold it in close to a standard AR-15/M4 rail configuration (4 rails on a curved surface).
We found that this mount does not work on the PS90 due to the rail setup - there is a flat surface around the rails, and this mount brings the light in close enough that it tends to hit either the top rail or the side of the receiver casting.
In terms of mounting the OV-2, we ended up going with the standard mount that they include with the Operator OP-6 light. This mount isn't designed to go as close in as the standard mount with the OV-2, but it works perfectly with the PS90.
This mount - positioned with the thumb screw up - puts the light in a great position. In fact, I found that you could activate the light relatively easily this way, and even hit the button for activation with it mounted on the PS90 like this.
Of course, a tapeswitch would be an even more ideal method for activation, and the included tapeswitch works well with the PS90.
When you start to look at rouding tapeswitch cables and such, I recommend that you have a bunch of ZIP ties standing by. You will want to test out various wire routing methods to make sure that they don't interfere with any functions in the manual of arms for the firearm - especially the functional or operating controls - before you permanently mount the switches and wires. In fact, some folks use them for mounting these items in place of the sticky-backing on the velcro that is included.
In the case of the PS90, you are working in and around the area where the magazine inserts into the firearm. You need to make sure that the cable does not run the risk of snagging on the magazine, or on the charging handle on the side. In the configuration pictured, it does not interfere with either - even when using the ZIP ties.
They include a sticky-backed cable catcher with the tape switch, and that can go right on the side of the PS90 receiver to keep the cable close to the receiver.
The tape switch itself I found to mount ideally in the location shown. I can hit it easily with my thumb, and it doesn't interfere with anything else.
As you can see, the Laser Devices Operative OV-2 works very well on the PS90, and can easily serve as your hand held search light too. It is a well designed light that I expect to see working many years from now. It's made by a company that knows what they are doing, and that makes them in the USA! That says a lot. You can pick them up at many firearms dealers.
-- James Bell, Jr. -JeepGunner / ATVGunner / HondaGunner