Welcome back to Night Chenanigans. Last week we took a look at the RovyVon GL4 Pro MFAL. Well today we take a look at an older MFAL, the Insight PEQ-16.
Insight PEQ-16
Above I have two photos of a PEQ-15 LA5 next to two different PEQ-16s. The tan one is the more common one. In fact there are photos of GIGN and a US Marine using HK416s and an M27 IAR respectively, all with PEQ-16s mounted on them.
The tan PEQ-16 is a departure from the Insight PEQ-15. While it is made of a similar polymer, the lasers are all clustered on the left side. Both aiming lasers, VIS and IR, are next to the IR Illuminator. While the incandescent white light is on the right side of the laser.
The incandescent bulb is a bit dim compared to the lumen battle going on now for the brightest VIS white lights on a firearm. However just like the PEQ-14, you can upgrade the incandescent bulb to a 600 lumen white LED from LumensFactory,
The PEQ-16 is powered by two CR123 batteries. There is a lanyard loop centered in the back out the housing and at the bottom left corner is the Insight/Crane remote switch port.
Controls are rather straight forward. They are similar to a PEQ-15 only there is an L for VIS light. There is no VIS override for this type of PEQ-16s. You will notice the activation button is oval shaped rather than a circle like the PEQ-15.
The Other PEQ-16 She Told You Not To Worry About
I came across this other variant of the PEQ-16 from a private collector who I have personally dealt with before. According to Alex Pelc, the PEQ-15 whisperer, this is a PEQ-16, while the tan version is a PEQ-16A. The PEQ-16 predates the PEQ-16A. You can see it more commonly resembles a PEQ-15 with a white light head growing out below the IR illuminator. And just like the PEQ-14 and PEQ-16A, you can upgrade the incandescent bulb to a white LED from LumensFactory. Here are some photos side by side with a PEQ-15 LA5.
While it is a little bit taller and longer than the PEQ-15 LA5, the PEQ-16A seems tiny in comparison. They just made there PEQ-16A wider to accommodate everything.
Just like the PEQ-16A the PEQ-16 is powered by two CR123 batteries. The rear is just like a PEQ-15 with the lanyard loop and remote switch port in the bottom right of the housing. What sets The PEQ-16 apart are the dual laser buttons and dual mode selector switches.. One for VIS and one for IR.
The operation of the laser is interesting since it has dual selector switches but only one remote switch port. The remote switch port prioritizes IR over VIS. So it you have both selectors set to anything other than O for OFF. then the IR laser will be activated with a remote switch. However you can always press the VIS button for VIS override. If the IR selector is switched to OFF, then the remote switch will activate the VIS setting you have chosen.
The LL for Low Laser, does not do anything. The sticker on the side says the VIS laser is <5mw and the IR laser is 45mw. Insight probably left the LL marking and position in case they need to make a version with a full power VIS laser.
One concern for this PEQ-16 is how low the white light bezel hangs down. I mounted it to my Steyr AUG Heresy Designs .300blk barrel quad rail and it does not touch my Omega 36M suppressor.
Final Thoughts On the PEQ-16
It is nice having an all in one device for guns that do not offer a lot of real estate to mount accessories. However you do compromise some performance. 600 lumens is not a lot. That is just a little bit brighter than what a single CR123 Led can produce, which is around 500 lumens. Compare that to the 18650 or 18350 powered flashlights pumping out 1,000 lumens with good candela to throw a couple hundred yards away. The PEQ-16, with LumensFactory upgrade LED helps boosts its meager performance in VIS illumination but it is a bandaid solution. The laser on the other hand is just like a PEQ-15 save for the PEQ-16A, the tan one. I am not sure why Insight switched to the short but wide version. It is all polymer. It is not uncommon for the PEQ-16A laser cluster head to break. In fact mine was broken and was fixed by Alex Pelc. The older PEQ-16 seems like a better setup. It is a bit longer and weighs 10.7 oz instead of 8.7 oz like the newer PEQ-16A, but you have VIS over-ride. Unfortunately I have not seen many of these older PEQ-16s. So trying to find one is difficult.