Laser Aiming Module mega-post: MAWL C1+ vs PEQ 15 Full Power vs DIRV vs IR laser & Vampire Combo

I'm just a dude who trains under NODs a lot, I am not a cool door-kicking ninja.

Once you take the financial plunge into night vision, you will find out quickly that that is only the beginning. Now you need a way to aim and illuminate your targets. Prepare thy bank account.

Like buying NODs, buying a Laser Aiming Module (LAM) is not something you want to screw up, and have to do over. 

Do you need a LAM?

Idk. Do you have NODs, and want to be able to shoot fast and accurately with them? Then yeah, you do. 

What about passive aiming?

Passive aiming is a doable thing. (for those that don't know this is aiming through your optic with your NODs). That being said, get out and practice with it. You will find that there is an ever present balancing act between ambient light and the brightness of your dot. You are also lining up a tube with another tube, once you are moving, recoil is doing its thing, and the blood is pumping, its not the most consistent sight picture. If you are only running a single tube, its even worse. 

LAMs will get you kilt in the streets!!

Sure. If you leave it on, light-sabering around like a retard. Once the shooting starts, its my firm belief its better to be able to hit your target fast, and accurately. At that point muzzle flash, suppressor glow, and a myriad of other things are increasing your signature. 

I remain convinced that the people who preach solely passive aiming and “LAMs compromise you too much” just don't want to buy a LAM and are on the highest dose of copium allotted by the FDA. 

There are a few things you should consider when buying a LAM:

IR Laser: This is what you are aiming with. Contrary to what you may think, the power of this laser isn’t that important. Too powerful of a laser is actually a problem. It can blow out the target, or even auto-gate or damage your NODs. Having a Visible laser that is co-aligned with the IR laser gives you the ability to zero your laser in daylight, or aim using the visible laser if you wish. 

Illuminator: This is by far the most important part of the LAM. This is a wide flood or spot beam that acts like a flashlight under NODs. It is CRUCIAL to being able to see targets at distance or to provide supplemental illumination in dark interior rooms. It used to be that all Civ-powered lasers had awful illuminators (All of the DBALs minus the D2, LS321, etc). With the advent of VCSEL illuminators, that has changed. Now SOME Civ powered offerings are actually good. 

Switchology: Depending on your circumstance, you may need to be able to switch settings rapidly. Going from a tight, distance focused beam on your illuminator, to flooding a room interior quickly is something that comes up surprisingly often when using a LAM in training, competition, or in real conflict. How you go about doing that with a particular LAM is an important thing to consider. 

Cost: Imma keep it real with you chief. There’s no cheap good solution. There are knock-off lasers, airsoft-grade lasers etc. Some are turning out ok, but most fall apart with the lightest of use. Holosun has been teasing the IRIS since SHOT show, but who knows how it will actually be/how much it will actually cost. There are some other up-and-comers around the $1000 mark, like the Laserspeed M6TR, but the long-term durability is still in question. 

As a victim of restless rifle syndrome, I have collected a decent array of LAMs. There are 2 major contenders I don’t have, the RaidXE, and DBAL D2. More on them at the end. The OGL and BE Meyers DAGIR are possible future contenders but are unobtanium currently, and still cost a bajillion dollars.

B.E. Myers MAWL:

Cost- $3500

Laser: Great IR laser, not too powerful, not too dim. Multiple settings for brightness, both in the VIS and IR spectrum.

Illuminator: Amazing illuminator, has great flood, medium range, and focused beam settings.

Switchology: Best in class. Its dual fire button and slider allows you to very quickly and intuitively switch from flood to spot beams instantly. All without any remote switches, finicky dials, or jank. 

Overall: 9/10. Form factor is great, out of the way, and does not require remote switches. Downsides are weight, Cost, and the propeller style head is a potential breaking point. Suffers from parasitic drain if left on, but has been somewhat fixed from how bad it used to be. 

Full Power PEQ 15: 

Cost: $1500-$2000

Laser: Great laser on low power. On high power it is too bright to use. Vis laser is red, which isnt my preference, but is fine.

Illuminator: Strong illuminator. Great for distance and has a decent flood setting. Illuminator can range from damn near a second laser beam in tightness, to fairly wide, or full flood mode. 

Switchology: Not amazing, but workable. The rear selector switch is positive and clicky, and easy to move with your thumb, you have to memorize the settings though. The fire button is in a good spot if you are right handed. Adjusting the illuminator is clunky. You have to manually flip over the diffuser cap for full flood illumination, and twist the illuminator head to change the illuminator size. It is not fast or intuitive.

Overall: 7/10. Downsides are that they are grey market, no warranty, and the switchology is meh on probably the most important part (Illuminator)

DIRV: 

Cost: $2000

Laser: very good laser in IR and VIS. perfect amount of power, not too powerful

Illuminator: Very strong illuminator. Has a good spot for distance shooting out to 300-400yds. Very few settings though. Only one distance beam, or full flood

Switchology: Very good, but very limited. The button is in a perfect position for righties or lefties. Basically sits about where a modbutton would sit height wise. The selector knob is not very tactile on mine. But i typically find i am placing it on a setting and not touching it again, not a big deal. Flood and spill is controlled via diffuser cap.

Overall: 8/10. Good price, arguably the best form factor, the lowest weight option. Downsides are that it only has two options for the illuminator, controlled by a diffuser cap, which is a potential failure point. 

Vampire + laser Combo (holosun LS221G in my case, with unity Axon)

Cost: $1000-$1500 (depending on if you already have a scout light body, what laser you get, and if you need switches)

Laser: Good laser, no complaints

Illuminator: The vampire head is good for what it is, but you have know what it is. Its a close range illuminator, it falls off hard at 75-100yds. It can be a little too bright inside a room though. But for pulling double duty as a white light and an IR light, its not bad. No beam or flood controls at all. 

Switchology: you need to do some extra work here. If you keep the buttons on unit and manual, you need to activate the illuminator and laser separately. Alternatively you can get a remote switch system such as the unity Axon to pair the two units together

Overall 4/10. The cheapest option, but with the most jank, most weight, and worst performance. That said, its not bad for close range gun. Mine is mounted to a 300BLK JALK, that only ever gets loaded with subsonic rounds.

The remaining common options: DBAL D2, RaidXE, Perst-4, and Somogear NGAL/PEQ clones

DBAL D2: Great performance, good illuminator, good price. OFFENSIVELY LARGE AND HEAVY. Like to the point i wont even consider it for my personal guns. I wont fault you if you do have one and like it. 

RaidXE: Very similar performance to the MAWL. Very interesting remote switch option allows you the fast swap between flood and spot like the MAWL. Personally i dont like that it relies on a remote switch for that functionality, but that is a minor personal gripe. It is an incredible LAM

Perst-4: Russian laser, powerful enough to down an airliner. No illuminator as far as i know, but when you are shining the eye of sauron at people, idk if it matters. Hard to find, very russian

Somogear clones: I am hearing a lot of mixed reports. Some fall apart when it so much as drizzles outside, some seem sturdier. IDK. at the end of the day its a gamble on an airsoft grade clone laser from CHYYYYNAA.

Bonus footage: MAWL vs PEQ Side by side with other lasers for funsies