Review courtesy of Todd Kramer

My Marine Corps enlistment began in the early ‘90s and at that time I was introduced to several things, most of them involved a very loud and un-pleasant voice and push-ups. One of the items issued to all new Marine Corps recruits was the “Moon Beam”. A heavy and cumbersome flashlight that was hooked to the left side of your H-Harness and carried while on fire watch or clanking against your chest during night humps.

The military nomenclature for the USMC “Moon Beam” is actually a MX-991/U or "Flashlight, anglehead". The 90 degree angle head flashlight first saw military service during World War II and was known as the TL-122A. The body housing was olive drab painted brass. Plastic flashlights were introduced in 1943. During the Vietnam War an improved plastic flashlight was introduced labled the MX-991. The new flashlight was waterproof and included a spare bulb and colored lens covers in the screw on base. The MX-991/U is still in service today poorly lighting the dark and burdening our soldiers.

MX-991 shown with the much smaller and higher performing Pentagon MOLLE light.


Pentagon has taken the angle head flashlight and engineered it with modern technology and materials. The Pentagon MOLLE light is 3.4” long vs. the 8” MX-991. Powered by a single AA vs. 2 D-cell batteries thus weighing only 1.5 oz. The MOLLE light rests on your gear without even being noticed until you actually need it.

Once powered the MOLLE light’s LED will run for up to 3 hours with a brightness of 40 lumens. I left the MOLLE light on and I figure the 40 lumens is measured after being on for a minute or 2 and then for really only about 3 hours. Usable light was available through at least 5 hours and by the 6th hour was pretty well dimmed but could be used for map reading and for lighting the way to a new battery. The manufacture lists the LED life at 5000 hours. Sorry. I couldn’t test that for this review. Like the original anglehead flashlight a red lens cover is included and housed on the tail cap.

The quality of construction is very high with the battery housing made of aluminum and the head and tail cap made of a polymer plastic. The MOLLE light has a clip that will securely attach through PALs webbing and can be rotated to shine the light where needed. The tail cap houses a small compass that has to be detached to be accurately used. I wouldn’t want to have to rely on the compass to shoot an azimuth but is certainly accurate enough to align and confirm a map for navigation via terrain association.

There really is nothing else on the market that compares to the Pentagon MOLLE Light. I figure the most common light in use today is the Surefire G2. The Pentagon does not shine as bright as the G2 but has a much longer run time and compliments the G2 very well. This light really is a great piece of gear and has found a nice hiding place on my BOB. I will be getting another one of these in the future.