Picked up a Night-Ops Gladius today... - Page 2

ExSoldier · February 17th, 2006, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tangle

So far the best price I've seen are on E-Bay - "Buy Now" for $199 + 13.50 shipping or somethin' like that.

Somebody post a pic! My God, $190? I thought that SureFire was outrageous. How many lumens for a flashlight costing $190? We talking lithium batteries here? What's the run time per set of batteries on average?

Tangle · February 17th, 2006, 12:24 PM

The Gladius uses two CR123 batts and runs about 90 minutes at 80+ lumens. The Gladius uses a 3W LED where the Surefire U2 uses a 5W but the Galdius is a little more sharply focused than the U2 and could appear to be about the same brightness.

After using the Surefire L2 (LED with relatively broad beam) I have found the broad beam is significantly better for peripheral illumination like in a room, and the more focused beam is better for longer ranges and seeing less in the periphery.

The Surefire X200A and X200B have this same beam issue; the A is more sharply focused and the B is more broadly focused.

Either beam is capable of that blinding effect we all probably over rate.

Oh yeah a pic:

Tangle · February 17th, 2006, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExSoldier762

Somebody post a pic! My God, $190? I thought that SureFire was outrageous. How many lumens for a flashlight costing $190? We talking lithium batteries here? What's the run time per set of batteries on average?

I think that's outrageous too - just never had the courage to say it out loud before.

Ridiculous comes to mind too.

But, the market seems to suffer the price.

Bud White · February 17th, 2006, 05:48 PM

200 Ill pass ill stick with the little g2 sure fires they work well enough

DDGator · February 18th, 2006, 12:16 AM

ExSoldier -- did you take a look at the review I posted? It answers all those questions and has a photo.

Street prices have come down a little bit since I wrote the article.

How outrageous a price seems is directly related to how much money you have. ;) Plenty of people around here probably have $350 pocket knives (like the Sebenzas). If you think about it, you will get a lot more use out of a $180 flashlight in your everyday life than a $600 carry gun. And, a flashlight can be just as much of a lifesaving device as a gun.

Optr23 · February 21st, 2006, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DDGator

ExSoldier -- did you take a look at the review I posted? It answers all those questions and has a photo.

Street prices have come down a little bit since I wrote the article.

How outrageous a price seems is directly related to how much money you have. ;) Plenty of people around here probably have $350 pocket knives (like the Sebenzas). If you think about it, you will get a lot more use out of a $180 flashlight in your everyday life than a $600 carry gun. And, a flashlight can be just as much of a lifesaving device as a gun.

I agree with your input, don't let cost drive your decision. However it is an innovative light but too many features? I want a light to be clean & simple too many options can make it hard to properly discriminate your target. Just some thoughts...

tater_salad · February 21st, 2006, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Optr23

I agree with your input, don't let cost drive your decision. However it is an innovative light but too many features? I want a light to be clean & simple too many options can make it hard to properly discriminate your target. Just some thoughts...

I also agree with your point. I think that this is definitely a tactical light in the purest form, in the sense that it's mostly only useful to combat troops and law enforcement - me being the former with a decent tax return, I was able to justify the purchase ;) For a very nice review and more information on this particular light, check out the review by flashlight reviews here: http://www.flashlightreviews.com/rev...ps_gladius.htm

Tangle · February 21st, 2006, 08:55 AM

I think the Gladius is a quality light. The strobe feature seems to be a definite asset. But after a lot of consideration, it is my opinion that the Gladius is too complicated to be operated reliably under stress. It has a multifunction tail cap switch plus a multi-position ring switch to select various functions and operational modes.

IMO, a tactical light needs to be simple to operate for times sake and reliable operation in stressful conditions. For example, I have a SureFire L2 LED handheld. The L2 is a dual intensity light. If you press tail cap lightly, the low intensity comes on. If you press it harder, the high intensity beam comes on. Sounds simple enough, right? It's not simple, it's complicated. It proves to be difficult to keep the tail switch pressed so that the low beam stays on. There is a tendency for your thumb pressure to change and flash on the bright beam or let the light go off. If it flashes up to bright when you are reading a map or building floor plan in the dark, it messes up your night vision.

If I'm doing something I find it difficult to maintain that steady pressure on the tail cap. I can only imagine what it would be like in a stressful situation.

Of course one saving factor is that if you are in a stressful situation, you'll probably want the beam on high and you'll have more than enough pressure on the switch to maintain the high beam.

I like the Gladius and its features, but IMO, it's just too complicated for stressful situations.

tater_salad · February 22nd, 2006, 02:03 AM

I wouldn't say that its abundance of features is a detriment. There is nothing keeping the user from only using whatever features they want to use or need. For example, most people could probably leave this light on the 'constant on' channel and still benefit from the majority of this light's technology (high output led & long runtime, very simple adjustable dimming/brightening, heat protection, battery run-down circuitry/protection, etc.) If anything this light probably has the most simple design as far as dimming/brigtening of the light, most lights do not even have this feature or have a 2 bulb system that is not very adjustable.
While it's not the best light out there, I don't think there really is one 'best' light out there, otherwise everybody would know about it and everybody would buy it because it's the 'best.' All lights are going to comprimise somewhere, and that's probably this light's biggest comprimise, you get a lot of technology and features, but that's all packaged into what's still just a flashlight.
I bought it MAINLY for the fact that it was an LED which is inherantly tougher than xenon and lasts a lot longer. Not only that, it has output that surpasses 'most' xenon flashlights of it's size with over twice the runtime. Add to that the fact that I can adjust the light output to whatever I need and it's a winner in my book.

Tangle · February 22nd, 2006, 08:17 AM

tater,

Well said, and I agree. I consider the Gladius as one of the best.

February 18th, 2006, 12:16 AM	#15
DDGator Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Tampa Bay Area, Florida Posts: 144	ExSoldier -- did you take a look at the review I posted? It answers all those questions and has a photo. Street prices have come down a little bit since I wrote the article. How outrageous a price seems is directly related to how much money you have. ;) Plenty of people around here probably have $350 pocket knives (like the Sebenzas). If you think about it, you will get a lot more use out of a $180 flashlight in your everyday life than a $600 carry gun. And, a flashlight can be just as much of a lifesaving device as a gun. __________________ DDGator (Duane) www.RealWorldCarryGear.com

February 22nd, 2006, 02:03 AM	#19
tater_salad Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 34	I wouldn't say that its abundance of features is a detriment. There is nothing keeping the user from only using whatever features they want to use or need. For example, most people could probably leave this light on the 'constant on' channel and still benefit from the majority of this light's technology (high output led & long runtime, very simple adjustable dimming/brightening, heat protection, battery run-down circuitry/protection, etc.) If anything this light probably has the most simple design as far as dimming/brigtening of the light, most lights do not even have this feature or have a 2 bulb system that is not very adjustable. While it's not the best light out there, I don't think there really is one 'best' light out there, otherwise everybody would know about it and everybody would buy it because it's the 'best.' All lights are going to comprimise somewhere, and that's probably this light's biggest comprimise, you get a lot of technology and features, but that's all packaged into what's still just a flashlight. I bought it MAINLY for the fact that it was an LED which is inherantly tougher than xenon and lasts a lot longer. Not only that, it has output that surpasses 'most' xenon flashlights of it's size with over twice the runtime. Add to that the fact that I can adjust the light output to whatever I need and it's a winner in my book. __________________ Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt. Conceal This.

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February 17th, 2006, 05:48 PM	#14
Bud White VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Elsewhere Posts: 17,476	200 Ill pass ill stick with the little g2 sure fires they work well enough

February 21st, 2006, 08:55 AM	#18
Tangle Senior Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chattanooga Posts: 5,801	I think the Gladius is a quality light. The strobe feature seems to be a definite asset. But after a lot of consideration, it is my opinion that the Gladius is too complicated to be operated reliably under stress. It has a multifunction tail cap switch plus a multi-position ring switch to select various functions and operational modes. IMO, a tactical light needs to be simple to operate for times sake and reliable operation in stressful conditions. For example, I have a SureFire L2 LED handheld. The L2 is a dual intensity light. If you press tail cap lightly, the low intensity comes on. If you press it harder, the high intensity beam comes on. Sounds simple enough, right? It's not simple, it's complicated. It proves to be difficult to keep the tail switch pressed so that the low beam stays on. There is a tendency for your thumb pressure to change and flash on the bright beam or let the light go off. If it flashes up to bright when you are reading a map or building floor plan in the dark, it messes up your night vision. If I'm doing something I find it difficult to maintain that steady pressure on the tail cap. I can only imagine what it would be like in a stressful situation. Of course one saving factor is that if you are in a stressful situation, you'll probably want the beam on high and you'll have more than enough pressure on the switch to maintain the high beam. I like the Gladius and its features, but IMO, it's just too complicated for stressful situations.

February 22nd, 2006, 08:17 AM	#20
Tangle Senior Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chattanooga Posts: 5,801	tater, Well said, and I agree. I consider the Gladius as one of the best.