Product Spotlight: Steiner DBAL Night Vision Laser Sight

Steiner Optics describes their DBAL as an "intelligent dual beam aiming laser" that provides "extreme accuracy in low light and no light" conditions. Brownells Gun Tech™ Caleb Savant has DBALs to explain to us how the Dual Beam Aiming Laser system works. Steiner's flagship DBAL-A3 model has an IR (infrared) illuminator, a sort of infrared flashlight whose light beam is visible only when you're wearing night vision (NV) goggles. It's aiming laser has both IR and visible laser emitters. The visible laser lets you use the DBAL-A3 as a standard laser sight without NV gear.

The DBAL-A3's IR illuminator has a range of 175 to 250 meters. You can adjust the width of the beam AND the aiming lasers' point of impact. A "FIRE" button on top activates both the IR illuminator and the laser, while a control knob on the rear lets you switch between various output levels and combinations of IR and laser operation. Press and hold the FIRE button for momentary operation. Double tap it for constant-on operation of the emitters. They'll shut off automatically after 5 minutes.

The DBAL's bult-in quick-release Picatinny mount clamps to the MIL-STD 1913 rail on your rifle's handguard, which gets the laser close to the bore axis. The DBAL-A3's low profile lets you mount it on the top rail without obstructing your view through most optics. Zero the DBAL laser to the same point of impact (POA) as your optic. Caleb explains why the DBAL-A3 comes with TWO remote pressure switches.

What about the DBAL-D2? This model has the same dual visible/IR laser illuminators, but it has a much larger, more powerful illuminator with a range of 1,000 meters. The DBAL-D2 has the built-in QD Picatinny mount, but the fire button is on the back of the housing, and there's only one remote pressure switch.