Insight Technology built its reputation on producing an affordable, user-friendly weapon -mounted light, the M3. The M3 was and is compatible with Glock’s built-in light rail, works well with the Picatinny rail or Weaver rail, and it weighs a scant four ounces.

The company’s product line now includes white lights and laser aiming lights with visible and infrared laser for use with night vision. They are available in compact and full-sized versions. Insight Technology subscribes to the belief that a successful company should focus on its core strength. It only makes weapon-mounted lights, and it makes really good ones.

The latest model from Insight Technology is the M6X. This light is flexible enough to be used on your favorite handgun or long gun if it is equipped with a light rail. If your gun doesn’t have a rail, Insight has rails to fit SIG and Beretta pistols and rails for a variety of shotguns.

Not only is the M6X versatile, it’s also durable. The light is even waterproof to 66 feet for two hours. That may not seem like a lot of depth. But that level of immersion survivability means that your light will work if you fall into the local creek, get stuck in a downpour, or have to work in a flood like the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The M6X also offers the user a mil-spec visible laser that can be used by itself or in conjunction with the 125-lumen white light.

To increase the M6X’s utility, you can add an infrared filter to the white light for use with night vision devices. During night tactical situations, this gives you true stealth capability. If you need to switch to white light, all you have to do is remove the filter or flip it up.

The M6X is an extremely versatile tool. You can use it on your AR-15, then with the simple slide of the lever attach it to your Glock. To activate the light, you can use a pressure pad or a toggle switch. All you have to do to change the activation system is switch the back plate. This takes about five seconds.

The M6X is a laser aiming device, so you have to be able to adjust the point of aim/point of impact. Insight Technology provides you with a hex wrench for these adjustments. One really nice touch, the wrench stores inside the light so that you don’t have to worry about losing it, and you don’t have to ransack your house looking for it when you need it.

Insight Technology recommends that you zero the laser at 25 yards. It’s easy to do. Simply turn the toggle to constant on, fire a three-shot group with your sights, then compare the laser to the group, and adjust the laser to the center of the group. Repeat until you get satisfactory results. When taking a sight picture, the laser dot should sit above the front sight blade. I put the M6X on my Springfield Armory XD .45 ACP, and the laser was dead on.

The red dot is visible during the day out to about 10 or 15 yards. Of course, the laser is most likely to be used in a low-light situation, but you may want to bear in mind its bright light range when attempting to zero your weapon.

The M6X is a great lightweight weapons light. It offers an excellent combination of white light for illumination and a laser for aiming. Best of all, the M6X is durable and operator friendly. And that’s really important because when you need a weapons light, you don’t want to worry if it’s going to work or not. That’s true whether you’re patrolling the streets of Boston or the streets of Baghdad.

Scott Smith is a disabled veteran who served as an active duty Army MP and in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard as a security policeman. He is a contributing editor for Police Magazine.