If you're reading this and have been following our suggestions, there's a high likelihood that you already own at least one pistol, rifle, or shotgun for home defense. Actually, you might own several of each. Those home defense guns are also probably equipped with flashlights for better nighttime target identification — if they're not, go read our weapon-mounted light buyer's guide for a better understanding of the importance of WMLs.

Most of us who own guns with lights and practice with them at the range on a regular basis have encountered one annoying problem: the muzzle blast from your gun gets your flashlight lens dirty. This can drastically reduce the performance over time, and it's a pain to clean off completely. You might have paid hundreds of dollars for a high-lumen light, only to have its brightness degraded by carbon buildup on the lens.

Various improvised solutions to this problem exist, including smearing your light with gun oil, petroleum jelly, or lip balm to create a barrier that prevents carbon from sticking. These methods can be somewhat effective, but they also diminish light output by smudging the clear lens, and tend to make a greasy mess that must be cleaned up later.

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Thyrm has developed a simple solution to this weapon light problem, called the Thyrm Clens (pronounced “cleanse”). It was inspired by the adhesive tear-offs used by off-road racers to instantly clean their helmet visors and goggle lenses of mud.

The Clens is a sheet of clear polymer that adheres to the lens of a flashlight, and peels off easily to remove carbon and debris. These clear lens stickers may seem like a simple product, but that's exactly the idea. Also, they sure beat smearing your light with grease or constantly scrubbing off the carbon.

The Thyrm Clens is available in $9 sheets of 12 protectors, with each sheet including three sizes for common weapon-mounted lights. These sizes are directly compatible with the following lights:

• Small – SureFire X300U, SureFire Scout
• Medium – SureFire G2X, SureFire 6PX, Streamlight Strion
• Large – SureFire Fury, SureFire Intellibeam, Streamlight Protac HL and HL-X

While these are the lights Thyrm officially recognizes, it's very likely that one of the three sizes will fit your flashlight of choice, even if it's not on the list above.

Thyrm says the material attaches securely enough to withstand repeated muzzle blasts, and won't leave any sticky residue unless the lens is already dirty or damaged. To learn more about the Thyrm Clens, watch the video below from co-developer Aaron Cowan of Sage Dynamics, or go to Thyrm.com.

Written by Patrick McCarthy