I may very well be in the minority here, but I'd leave the innards alone and focus on waterproofing or other methods of longevity insurance. The goal of a pistol light is twofold, illuminate a dark area and temporarily blind a potential target. The tertiary factor here is your own vision, which is often not considered. A collapsed sun under your pistol will indeed blind someone and light up the desired area, but it will also make a stronger "light stamp" on your own vision, which I don't want. These lights may not be retina burning bright, but they do the job. That's where I come out with them.

If Streamlight won't service the lights anymore, someone does or can. What it could cost might not be worth it to some, but I personally know a friend of mine who does custom automotive 12v work could do it if he was asked. I'd also imagine that anyone experienced with small electronic repair or construction could redo the innards with waterproof connections and new, stronger epoxy. Hell, might make the thing a hair brighter even. Now I just need to find my own HK marked UTL.......

Enjoy it first and foremost, worry about fixing it when it fails, my guess is it'll be a long time unless you jump into pools with your USP .

 

I may very well be in the minority here, but I'd leave the innards alone and focus on waterproofing or other methods of longevity insurance. The goal of a pistol light is twofold, illuminate a dark area and temporarily blind a potential target. The tertiary factor here is your own vision, which is often not considered. A collapsed sun under your pistol will indeed blind someone and light up the desired area, but it will also make a stronger "light stamp" on your own vision, which I don't want. These lights may not be retina burning bright, but they do the job. That's where I come out with them.

If Streamlight won's service the lights anymore, someone does or can. What it could cost might not be worth it to some, but I personally know a friend of mine who does custom automotive 12v work could do it if he was asked. I'd also imagine that anyone experienced with small electronic repair or construction could redo the innards with waterproof connections and new, stronger epoxy. Hell, might make the thing a hair brighter even. Now I just need to find my own HK marked UTL.......

Enjoy it first and foremost, worry about fixing it when it fails, my guess is it'll be a long time unless you jump into pools with your USP .

thanks dude! I appreciate and value your insight as well as the recommendations on what to do next. I find the light suprisingly bright in a Pitch dark room. flashing myself with the light is still blinding, but I can’t help but feel like I’m in a survival horror movie with how small the difference is the compared to modern LEDs.

I’ll pm you a lead on possible UTLs, because I picked mine up for a decent fairprice for its condition.

i guess for now, this combination will remain a safe piece until I can perform what needs to be done.

 

Jump on eBay and look for Lumens factory. Very good dude and he makes excellent gear.
he has a replacement LED and bezel assembly that will push the UTL unto 500 Lumens. the new bezel is aluminum so it deals with the heat significantly better.

these are the only upgrades that in aware of.

 

Ahhh so that was what the aluminum bezel was for. Jesus, one class and I would have melted the cap of my UTL. Thanks for the info! I’ve seen some lumens factory stuff and it ships from Hong Kong I believe. Guess I’ll bite the bullet and pay the 18$ in shipping lol.

I’ll miss the Silent hill/ The Thing vibe when using the original incandescent light 😂

 

No light looks as correct on a USP as the UTL. It’s the light the gun was designed to be used with. The bezel upgrades listed above are about as far as I would venture as far as an upgrade. But I wouldn’t. The polymer body is just nowhere near as water resistant, rugged, and bright, as the aluminum Surefire/Streamlights (maybe others, I have only used those two). When these lights became a thing the polymer models were first, then they were quickly made as the cheaper option before the industry switched to aluminum primarily and hasn’t looked back. Current polymer offerings are generally cheaper options I would not consider because I am not willing to make that trade off.
If you have a USP you need a UTL for pictures if nothing else!-lol. But for use I think the adapter and Surefire you were using is towards the top of the list of best choices for a USP. Ymmv.

 

No light looks as correct on a USP as the UTL. It’s the light the gun was designed to be used with. When these lights became a thing the polymer models were first, then they were quickly made as the cheaper option before the industry switched to aluminum primarily and hasn’t looked back. Current
If you have a USP you need a UTL for pictures if nothing else!-lol. But for use I think the adapter and Surefire you were using is towards the top of the list of best choices for a USP. Ymmv.

I agree with all of the above. In fact, I think the modern day equivalent would probably be something bulky but also functional, like the Surefire XVL2 or the
Steiner DBAL pistol light. On second thought, those two options may have the price point and functionality of the MK23’s LAM component. Would it hurt to have HK/stream light make a “return to the past” run of the UTL, but in aluminum or updated plastics?! I’m even thinking of commissioning someone to make a 3D printer equivalent. Thank you for your contribution to the discussion!

Like others, I used Lumens Factory parts to refurbish/upgrade my M2 UTL's.
Any light corrosion on contact parts can be removed with rubbing alcohol and a Q-Tip. Heavier corrosion may require some 600 grit wet/dry sand paper with a dab of alcohol.

I used Nyogel grease (two types) for seals and contacts, since that is what Surefire uses on their lights and I don't know what Streamight uses on theirs. That being said, I'm sure hardware store greases could probably be used if chosen correctly.

I appreciate your advice on upkeep for the light. I hope others will be able to use this information for keeping their own lights in fighting shape. I’m not really a Motörhead, but if there’s one thing I can understand it’s keeping a heritage belonging preserved for my progeny.

I especially appreciate the advice on the grease for battery contacts! That could definitely assist with flickering and such due to recoil.

 

Like others, I used Lumens Factory parts to refurbish/upgrade my M2 UTL's.

I upgraded to Lumens Factory LED bulbs (you have to reverse contacts compared to Streamlight), then used their aluminum bezel.

Any light corrosion on contact parts can be removed with rubbing alcohol and a Q-Tip. Heavier corrosion may require some 600 grit wet/dry sand paper with a dab of alcohol.

I used Nyogel grease (two types) for seals and contacts, since that is what Surefire uses on their lights and I don't know what Streamight uses on theirs. That being said, I'm sure hardware store greases could probably be used if chosen correctly.

 

The Modlite PL350 will fit the USP without any adapter, if the adapter is the aesthetic issue; though this is not an official configuration, you can find a number of folks that have been able to do it without issue.

500 lumens is rather weak for a floody pistol WML these days. If it's just a nostalgia piece, then whatever, but if it's for serious use, there is absolutely zero reason to use the UTL, upgraded with the Lumens Factory or not.

I personally am very fond of the DG switch, and SureFire accounts for the shift in the vertical axis when using an adapter, so I would argue that an X300U with a DG switch is probably the best solution ergonomically if light NDs aren't a huge concern (the X400U can be locked out to prevent this issue), though I am unsure as to how much the grip is altered with the DG switch for the USP due to the fact that it has an extra bit of clearance to allow the magazine release to function normally.

 

R/E the modlite, the company did not initially advertise using the light without an adapter on a USP. However, anecdotal reports came in via Reddit that under sustained shooting the modlite has marred some plastic receivers of the USP. Whether this is due to improper attachment or just the the way the materials interact with one another, I don’t know.

I have yet to try a DG switch so thank you for the recommendation as well as the snap back to reality for modern lights. Some older accessories look cool but serve no real purpose in comparison to modern offerings. Case in point paying over a grand or the same cost of a mk23 for a working LAM unit.

 

get a can of DeoxIT - Used it back in the day when I built computers – it works wonders on any sort of switch or contact