LaserLyte Center Mass Dual Lens Laser Sight
There is just something so science fiction-y about lasers. At the same time, there’s something flat out miraculous about them. To think that light can be concentrated in such a way that it can be bounced of planets at mind bogglingly long distances or cut through even the most strong materials. Heck, when we finally achieve nuclear fusion, chances are it will be lasers that help accomplish it.
If you think back, it was the movie Goldfinger in 1965 where a “real” laser first made its cinematic appearance (“real” in that its design and functionality were like real lasers. It was still a special effect, in the end). Before that point, most people outside of research labs had never seen a real one at work and sci-fi’s portrayal of them up until this point were…lacking in reality. It made headlines at the time. Amazing how far we’ve come, isn’t it? Lasers are so commonplace now that we have them all over our houses, cars, workplaces and we even use them to play with our cats.
It’s only natural that lasers would eventually find their way to firearms. After all, they’re perfectly suited for the task. They maintain a perfectly straight line and, while they will eventually spread out, it’s only after a long distance. Even then, there is no dropoff. The laser will follow its path truer than the bullet. That’s one of the reasons why lasers are great for close quarters stuff for not long distance. They disperse too much over a long distance and won’t give you as accurate of a spot as you would need for long shots. Put them on an AR, AK or pistol, however, and you’ve got a great accessory.
Also, a gun is a pretty harsh thing to mount a delicate device like a laser on. Think of the force that ever shot creates. Look at the super slow motion videos of pistols firing to see the kind of trauma a shot causes to the gun. Some of the cheaper models will completely fall apart after only a few shots. You get what you pay for, really. That’s why, while there are a lot of companies out there making lasers for firearms, there’s only a couple that consistently put out good and reliable stuff. The one we’re talking about today is LaserLyte. Specifically: the LaserLyte Center Mass Dual Lens laser sight.
Let’s take a step back for a moment. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I’m a huge fan of Alton Brown. To say I “idolize” him would be an appropriate…if not slightly understated assessment. One of his main rules, one of the things he lives by is “no unitaskers” (with the exception of the fire extinguisher). I try to follow that rule with my life and especially with my firearms. I don’t have hardly any single purpose firearms or accessories.
That’s why I love the Center Mass sight. It’s made for both carbines and shotguns. Granted, you can attach a pistol laser to a carbine or shotgun and it will work just fine. The difference here is a neat lens cap that fits over the laser when you’ve got it on a shotgun. The cap scatters the laser beam in such a way that approximates the spread of the shot once it’s fired. This allows you to quickly gauge where your blast is going to line up. Conversely, you can put it on to your AR-15, pop off the cap and you’ve got a g
reat laser sight for close quarters combat.
The Center Mass also utilizes a green laser. I don’t have much experience with green lasers because A) they tend to be a lot more expensive than red laser devices and B) they really do tend to be more expensive than red laser stuff. The prices have come down in recent years but it’s still out of my price range for toys so this was my first time playing with a high quality green laser. I have to say, I’m impressed. It is significantly brighter than red lasers. There’s no “well, yeah, it’s kinda brighter” here. I’m talking “holy crap that is freaking bright!”
The green laser is so bright that you can actually see the beam itself, not just the dot at the end. It will light up a whole room. You can easily pick the dot out among foliage and trees while outside on a bright sunny day. Strangely enough, as bright as it is, it doesn’t give me a blinding sensation. I sat in a near pitch-black room for a while to let my eyes adjust to the darkness then I turned on the laser (after saying “I attack the darkness with magic missile!”) and it didn’t bother me. This is an important factor because you don’t want your gun’s sight system to make it impossible to see the intruder at night. It was so bright, in fact, that my camera had trouble taking pictures of the dots. I had to really fiddle with the settings to finally get a couple shots of it. With all the trouble I was having, I didn’t want to push it too much for fear of messing up the camer’s sensor. It’s really dang bright.
So from my testing, the laser itself is pretty darn rugged and I’ve put it through the ringer pretty harsh. It holds its zero perfectly after fire. It even held up against the “full auto” of my slide fire. If I had one complaint, it is the activation button. You can press it for momentary power to the laser or you can “double-click” it to have it stay on. Personally, I would prefer two separate buttons for this. I want to be able to just push a single button quickly turn something on. Now, the Center Mass does come with an external switch that you can attach to your forend or your gun’s main grip. The problem is that my AR’s configuration doesn’t allow me a comfortable way of using the external switch. The same goes for my shotgun. To me, having to time a double press of a button just right to get 100% on is extra fumbling that I don’t like to do. It’s nto a deal killer, but still.
Ultimately, if that’s my only complaint, that’s not that bad. With a little configuring the problem goes away. Also, if LaserLyte ever decides to come out with a remote switch with a longer cord that would fix the problem as well. A couple of final details, by the way: the center mass comes in either black or tan for those that like to color coordinate your rifles. It uses a CR123 battery and will run for about 6 hours’ worth of on time.
In the end, I would certainly recommend this to someone who own either an AR or shotgun for home defense and especially to those that own both. The versatility of the Center Mass, combined with the awesome green laser makes for a great addition to your chosen weapon.
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