tater_salad

UPDATE: Hey all, just like to report that the red lens filter (pop-open type) fit perfectly on this light. I figured it would because I thought the bezels were the same diameter, but I was at a local mil. surplus/camping store today and noticed they had some in stock so I drove home (about 5 minutes) and grabbed my light to bring it in. It fit on the light perfectly and the guy charged me $14 for it, brand new sealed in the plastic!

Also, here's a quote from Ken Good, brand manager of Night-Ops on TheHighRoad.com forum to me:


Talk about customer service!



Well, I got a Gladius today from a buddy of mine that works at a leather place in Milwaukee. (They primarily supply belts/holsters to local police, security, etc. but also are dealers for many tactical companies) Overall, it seems like a very nice flashlight, but this is my first tactical so I have nothing to compare it to. The coating is pretty impressive; I thought it was weak when I scratched it with a fingernail and it left a mark - until I wiped the mark off and realized that it scraped my fingernail with it's coating. :)
Light output is pretty impressive at full power (I have no way to do calibrated tests, but the fact that I'm still seeing spots in a brightly lit room tells me it works just fine.) I also thought the 'strobe' function would be more of a joke then practical, but I'll tell you that it works well. Between the bright light and the strobe action, if it's getting shined in your eyes you either have to shut your eyes or turn away. The dimming function is pretty nice and fairly intuitive too, just hold down the button any time and after 1.5 seconds it starts to dim until you let off or it gets all the way to low (.8 lumen), then it stays at that level. If you need it back up to full brightness quickly, just click the button twice and it's back on full power. There are some other modes for dimming as well including a memory mode, but I won't get into that here.
Some things that I don't like so much about the light are the tailcap and button, they're just cheap (appearing) plastic. I guess I was hoping for rubberized. I also hope there's some gaskets or O-rings in the tailcap area as well as I can wiggle the tailcap around and see about 1/32" gap to the inside, I don't think it will be a problem though as they are waterproof to some depth, and I don't dive. The button is another issue, every now and then it will hang-up halfway depressed, and then if you push a little harder it will make a clicking noise like it was hung up on something and will then depress fully and activate the light. (This only seems to happen for the constant on setting, the strobe and momentary settings do not seem to do this)
Their lockout is kind of odd as well, insted of just making it another click on the rotary dial to lock out, you have to push the button down half-way, and then turn it one more click. (I can understand the reasoning behind it, but every now and then I'll accidentally push the button a little too far and it will be locked out with the light on, and I'll have to take it off lock out, turn the light off, and then do it over again. None of these seem like major problems (save the button hanging up, which I'll call night-ops if it gets worse) just little quirks, which every new product has.
Overall I am very impressed with the light, save a few quirks. I bought this light because It was my first light, and I couldn't decide between a couple lights, which is where I think this light excells. I think that the best thing this light has going for it is that it is a great comprimise between light technologies. At 80+ lumen, it has output that surpasses many 6v xenon lights, and because it's LED it is inherantly more impact resistant and the bulb has much longer life. Combine that with battery output regulation circuitry as well as the ability to dim the light to whatever output you need easily, it makes for a pretty complete package - a great combination of features. It is solidly built and seems like it will hold up well, and the design looks like it would be easy enough to operate under duress. I look forward to seeing future products from Blackhawk/Night Ops.

__________________
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.

Conceal This.

Tangle

tater,

Thanks for the report. I've been trying to decide between the Gladius and the Surefire U2. I like the strobe feature of the Gladius and read some good stuff about it.

I'm leaning toward the U2 right now, although not much. I almost ordered a Gladius yesterday and then hesitated and that was that. But today is another day!

I've read that you have to be kinda careful replacing batteries because there's something in the tail cap that has to be positioned just right or it could damage the light beyond use. Does that make any sense to you?

What do you figure a decent price would be for the Gladius?

P95Carry

Yes - price would be useful.

The features sound good and I like the dimming option - so many times we need light but not high intensity.

TRx for the write-up.

__________________
Chris - P95
NRA Certified Instructor & NRA Life Member.

"To own a gun and assume that you are armed
is like owning a piano and assuming that you are a musician!."

If a BG dies as the result of pointing a gun at me, then he has merely succumbed to an occupational hazard of being a thug

Tangle

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

Tangle

One other thing. If I understand the Surefire U2 correctly, it has a "ring" that selects the brightness rather than holding the tailcap for 1.5 seconds to start dimming light.

Rgr5280

Ken Good is a former SEAL and the President of STRATEGOS International. He's also the creator of the GLADIUS. He's partnered with Blackhawk. It's a good light. Ken is our SME for our operating in low-light conditions course.

__________________
"May God be with you and may the devil be crushed underfoot as you march for peace on the skulls of our enemies, for goodwill, security and a quality of life that comes only with democracy, " - Ted Nugent

DDGator

Hate to sound like a broken record, but I just did a review of the Gladius that you can look at here:

http://www.rohrbaughforum.com/rwcg.pdf

Although I am a confirmed SureFire fan, I do like the functionality of the Gladius a lot.

__________________
DDGator (Duane)
www.RealWorldCarryGear.com

Bud White

How about a Pic?

tater_salad

When the instructions tell you to 'be careful' when you change batteries and to follow their instructions, you do have to take a second to see how the tailcap goes on, but after you do it once you know how it works and it's no biggie. There is a small notch inside the threads on the body of the flashlight that a small dot (for lack of a better term) on the inside of the tailcap slips into to keep the rotary dial in the correct position. The easiest way to do it is just how they say, place the tailcap on the body of the flashlight and grip the plastic part of the tailcap (the rotary dial) and twist it slightly, you will definitely notice the tailcap slide down the rest of the way once everything is lined up and then you just tighten the tailcap up and you're ready to go. (I recommend turning the tailcap counterclockwise to get it lined up, that way if you accidentally put too much pressure on it, you won't catch a thread and strip it out, I think that's what they're worried about.)

As far as price goes, the lowest you'll probably find is around $180 shipped, I've seen many on eBay at this price, and that's what my dealer said they paid for theirs - which I in turn got for the same price.

__________________
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.

Conceal This.

clipse

I think the Gladius is very interesting and would like to have one. Maybe with my tax refund I'll be able to get one. :)

clipse