A skinny guy review of the Laserlyte RL-1 Glock red laser

[Delerius]

I have always had a fascination with lasers and when it came time to find one for my Glock, there were plenty of choices. At the time I didn't want to spend a lot of money so that eliminated the higher price models such as Lasermax's guide rod laser and Crimson Trace grip laser. I really didn't want to eliminate the guide rod laser for it had so many appealing factors but I couldn't find a decently priced used one to fit into the budget. One of the most important things I was looking for in a laser was being able to holster the gun with a laser attached. I just did not want to give up my wonderful holsters for a laser which also eliminated all lasers that got mounted on the accessory rail. After crossing off all the high price lasers and rail mount lasers, all that I had left was the Laserlyte RL-1.
Before purchasing the Laserlyte I did a lot searching about this product and almost all the reviews I came across were positive and the price was reasonable at an average cost of $129. Some of the more interesting reviews of the RL-1 were a video of it being abused by a hammer and another showing how it continued to operator after thousands of rounds went through a gun with the laser mounted. After what I read and seen, I was confident that the RL-1 was the laser for me and order one through an eBay dealer costing $130.
When I first received the package I was ready to jump right in and install my new toy. Opening the package not only do you get the laser, four extra batteries and two allen wrenches but to my surprise, a small brass punch to ease installation was also included. The instruction manual was very well written showing diagrams of just how to install the unit. Before starting I had decide how I was going to clamp the slide fast since you do need to use the punch and a hammer to remove the old sight and install the RL-1. I couldn't see spending the money on a sight removal/installation tool so my options were either to use my massive metal vise or the wood blocking method. I went with the wood blocking method since it's nearly impossible to damage a metal slide with wood. I first screwed fast a small block of wood to the work bench then placed my field stripped Glock slide tight up next to the wooden block. You then take your other block of word, sliding up tight against the slide and screw that one fast. My vise was ready and slide was tight between the blocks of wood. Removal of the old sight and installation of the RL-1 was not difficult but you must take your time and follow the directions in the manual. The measurements of the RL-1 were right on the money compared to the original rear sight and after installation I had no worries of it falling off.

In the photo below, the "on" gray button is on the left side of the unit. Pressing the button once gives you a steady laser stream, pressing it again gives you a pulsing stream and the third press turns the unit off. On the right side there is a little led indicator that tells the user what mode the laser is in.


Once the Glock was back together it was time to go sight in the new laser and put it to work. What I did before even sighting the laser was to look at what the max distance I would ever use the laser and possibilities of where. Odds are most laser users use them in there home and with that in mind I looked around my home and measured at what the maximum shooting distance would be. I decided on 10 yards and outside I went with my newly mounted RL-1 to sight it in. The fastest method to bring anu laser to where it needs to be is with a laser bore sighter. With the Glock in a support stand, the laser bore sighter on and the RL-1 on, I started to turn the two small allen screws in the RL-1. All was going well until I turned the left to right allen screw a little to far. I backed off the allen screw so the laser could go the opposite direction but to my surprise, it didn't move. Looking over the directions, it does state that if you back off on the screw, it can take a half hour for the laser to redirect itself. This was a little inconvenient which could have been avoided if the company would have placed an allen screw on both the left and right sides of the unit instead of relying on a spring. With a unit that uses springs for sighting, I feel that over time this is something that will need to be checked so that your point of impact does not change. Once I got everything set on target at ten yards, it was time to go shooting. With the RL-1 there is a push button that you press to turn the unit on and if you press it again, it goes into pulse mode which was nice to have although I preferred the steady stream while target shooting. Outside on a cloudy day the red laser could be seen on the target but not very strongly and the strength of the laser was right on par with my Laserltye bore sighter that I used to sight in the laser. After shooting 50 rounds I went and check the alignment of the RL-1 against the bore sighter and all was well. At this current moment I was really happy with the RL-1 and it's performance, compactness, value, and the ability to use my current holsters with no issues. Walking around with the Glock and RL-1, I did not have any issues with the unit being turned on accidentally due to clothing or elbow bumping.

Why I decided to sell my RL-1...
If my Glock was strictly for home defense the RL-1 would have never left the Glock. It did everything I expected a red laser to do but it fell short when it came to target shooting at greater distances. Part of the reason of purchasing a laser was also to be able to record with a camcorder, the muzzle lift shown with a laser on a target when the Glock was fired. At 25 yards on a sunny day, the laser was pretty much useless and on a cloudy day or evening, the laser was visible but poorly. Going out to 50 yards the visibility got worse but that wasn't the biggest problem with the unit. Where the RL-1 failed is how the laser is mounted to the right of the barrel. Being mounted to the right, when you adjust the laser, you are actually angling the laser to line up with the point of contact at a certain distance like I did at 10 yards. If now you go and shoot at 25 yards, the laser point of contact is way left at 25 yards and even worse at 50.
Granted, I probable would not have used the RL-1 much for target shooting but I just couldn't live with knowing that if the laser was needed in a life or death situation greater than 10 yards, things could go terribly wrong if I depended just on the laser.



In both the photos above and below show the little lumps on the laser barrel which is where you would use the allen wrench to adjust the laser. The "barrel" on the other side of the laser is where the batteries are located.