Gladius Disappointment

[l2icel3all]

Before anyone puts all their eggs into one basket, this thread was created to express my disappointment in the Gladius I received. It is in no way an excuse to start bashing blackhawk, night-ops or gladius. I just received my gladius today. It wasn't what I was expecting. For a light that is advertised a 80 lumens out put my 6pled with 80 lumens leaves it in the dust. I'm not saying its not bright just that I was assuming it would be brighter. I love the UI. Its amazing and that gets 3 thumbs up if I had 3 thumbs. The beam is the most disappointing beam I have ever seen in my life. It is not "spotless" as advertised. Theres some sort of weird ring around it. I can understand if the ring was even through out the whole beam but the thing is it fades in and out as look at it clockwise or counter clockwise. If you look at the beam when the light is projected from 10 inches away it looks perfectly spotless and flawless but as you start to go anywhere pass the 10 inches you can see the flaws in the beam. My question is will blackhawks warranty cover this? I'm not even sure what the flaw is. The beam shaper looks flawless except for some dust on it. That is a minor disappointment since it retails at someplaces for 200+, you would think they could at least use air duster or something to try to remove as much dust as possible before they close the assembly. I can understand dust is everywhere and assembling these in one of those dust free computer rooms is a bit extreme but for 200 and up I would think they can at least try to prevent some of the dust from getting in. I got this light brand new on ebay for 123 dollars which is a steal. My question is, after viewing blackhawks warranty I noticed they require proof of purchase. If they were able to help me repair the crappy beam how would I obtain the proof of purchase? Is it even necessary seeing how I just received this today? I can easily tell them I got it as a gift would they ask me to ask the gify giver for proof of purchase? I was planning on sending it to Strategos to get the 160 lumen led upgrade and was wondering if that might fix it. Either way I have purchased many high quality surefire flashlights and thats all I've ever purchased besides the 1 fenix p1d q5. I took a chance with blackhawk/night-ops gladius and this experience has made me look at blackhawk's light of flashlights differently. Please help me out with any useful info.

 

[greenLED]

:welcome: l21cel3all

Useful info? You got a typical Gladius, no more, no less. I'm not sure that helps change your mood, but that's how my Gladius is as well.


IMO, beam artifacts are of secondary importance relative to other characteristics of any light.

 

[l2icel3all]

Really? Thats how they all are? The reason I purchase it was youtubing the videos with them in it. And the price was just so tempting. I'm glad I'm not the only person with the same problem. Did you get it fixed? Did you get it modded by stratgeos international? I wonder if them modify the led will make a difference in how the beam looks, since they are sort of a different company because it states that the blackhawk warranty would be voided but they provide their own warranty. After I got it in the mail within 3 minutes after I figured out how to insert batteries and align that tail cap stuff I quickly went to youtube and compared my beam to the ones they had. One of the videos has the brand manager Vaughn showing the features and capabilities of the light off and his beam shot looks so perfect and bright with an extremely warm tint I started to get even more disappointed. If there were gladius' out there for 50 dollars or even 10 dollars I wouldn't purchase one.

:welcome: l21cel3all

Useful info? You got a typical Gladius, no more, no less. I'm not sure that helps change your mood, but that's how my Gladius is as well.


IMO, beam artifacts are of secondary importance relative to other characteristics of any light.

 

[NextLight]

May I suggest you simply contact the manufacturer with your concerns, and simply ask them your options? In my past experience, Strategos has been responsible and pleasant to deal with over warranty issues.

There is no doubt that the original Gladius is no longer anywhere near the marketplace leader for output. Its "80 lumens" was impressive when the Gladius was announced. It is below average today. The beam quality is fair IMO, but usually exhibits star like artifacts at the hot spot. This is from reflector distortion due to irregular compression at the contact point with the LED body. Mine have all gotten slightly worse with time and extreme temperature cycles. I have had two ( of 7-8; I can't remember now) which had almost perfect beams when they were new.

Though my Gladius lights are still among my favorites, the H2 version or the upgrade, is getting to be the minimum expectation for high output from a two cell light. Once I secure a couple of really choice LEDs, I'll be doing the (somewhat painful) upgrade.

Meanwhile, I see H2s selling for $140-180 US from time to time, and find the Gladius features still outweigh its flaws for my main belt light when carrying a handgun. YMMV... err, apparently does. I suspect I would feel just as you do, if I had just bought an original Gladius for anywhere near full retail.

 

[TigerhawkT3]

A video (especially one that's been processed through YouTube, not to mention uncompressed HD) isn't really the best way to compare whitewall shots. Your own eyes are far superior for this than even a good still camera. How bad is your beam, exactly? A beamshot (or even a hand-drawn illustration, if a beamshot is difficult) would be illustrative. The main concern is the hotspot, since that's what you'd be pointing at hostiles' faces. If it's tight and reasonably smooth, that's good. Remember, this is a smooth reflector, optimized for the brightest hotspot possible, and that's bound to get you some nastiness. If you want a really, and I mean really, smooth, floody beam, get a SF FM34. Those are very handy.

 

[hivoltage]

I shelled out big bucks for one when they first came out. Sold it on Ebay shortly after. I was not impressed either

 

[Scourie]

They were good when they first came out, but technology has moved on a lot. I think the UI is pretty near perfect, and didn't want to let mine go, so I managed to put a Q5 and suitable reflector in mine. Back up there with the best again!

Rob :thumbsup:

 

[Xak]

Try the Typhoon2.

 

[Double_A]

Is it possible the eBay seller sold this particular light for the same objections you have?

I have had a previous experience where the seller bought several of the same item, cherry picked through them all and sold those that didn't make his expectations at a "Good" price. He was willing to take the price hit to find that "PERFECT" one.

I guess I'm very cautious about buying stuff from private parties on eBay, if this was a eBay store that might be different.

 

[Justin Case]

A video (especially one that's been processed through YouTube, not to mention uncompressed HD) isn't really the best way to compare whitewall shots. Your own eyes are far superior for this than even a good still camera. How bad is your beam, exactly? A beamshot (or even a hand-drawn illustration, if a beamshot is difficult) would be illustrative. The main concern is the hotspot, since that's what you'd be pointing at hostiles' faces. If it's tight and reasonably smooth, that's good. Remember, this is a smooth reflector, optimized for the brightest hotspot possible, and that's bound to get you some nastiness. If you want a really, and I mean really, smooth, floody beam, get a SF FM34. Those are very handy.

IMO, the hot spot lux spec doesn't justify using the smooth reflector. I measured 2200 lux at 1 meter for my Gladius. This web site says 2400 lux, with the Seoul P4 upgrade boosting that to 3600 lux:

http://www.order-gear.com/product-nop.asp?0=973&1=1368&3=8214

Well, I get 6600 lux from my DX6090 drop-in in a 6P, and the DX6090 reflector is an orange peel. Also, I paid about $9, not $60 for my "upgrade".

My Gladius hot spot is somewhat oval, not round. The corona is badly misshapen (looks vaguely like the Crab Nebula, with similar filaments of light).

Functionally, I doubt these small irregularities matter in real life application. The hot spot covers about the width of a human torso at about 10 feet, which is a good balance of tightness/width. But when I spend SureFire prices on a light, I expect a beam quality comparable to a SureFire.

I agree with others that the user interface is excellent. Unfortunately, the beam output and quality is lagging. The problem is that the design of the light is such that you can't simply unscrew the bezel and drop in a P60 sized lamp to upgrade the LED to the latest and greatest. IMO, that is a huge advantage of the SureFire 6P series. And now with some interesting new tailcaps, you can also get multi-mode operation:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=187573

 

[Nitroz]

Send it to me and I can fix it for you. PM sent.

 

[Justin Case]

Nitroz,

What do you do to mod the Gladius to improve the beam?

 

[fletch31]

If there were gladius' out there for 50 dollars or even 10 dollars I wouldn't purchase one.

I'd pay 50 dollars for it :laughing:. I'm sure you could unload it on the marketplace and recoup some funds but if I were you I would just throw some strap wrenches on it to crack it open and mod it with a Seoul. Its really not that difficult and there are some good threads that describe how. You can double the perceived output with a little bit of time and 6 bucks for a U-bin P4 emiter from DX. Its output is too outdated otherwise. The UI is the most appealing thing about this light and I would be interested in another one depending on your selling price should you decide to go that route. I recommend modding it yourself though. The factory upgrade price is too much IMHO for the end result and total investment. Even with the limited warranty.
Fletch

 

[Nitroz]

Nitroz,

What do you do to mod the Gladius to improve the beam?

I have upgraded mine with the new style K2 and the beam is ok. I plan to replace the IMS27 with a Gizmo McR27.

 

[greenLED]

Really? Thats how they all are? ... I'm glad I'm not the only person with the same problem.

Yup. You get variations from light to light, but they don't have perfect beams.

I never considered it a "problem", so I never saw the need to "fix" anything. But... I quit "wall hunting" a long time ago. Our expectations of what a light should do obviously vary.

If it really bugs you, then I'd contact the manufacturer about it.

 

[Nitroz]

The only problem I had with the Gladius was the dated LED. That was easily corrected with the new beautifully tinted K2.

 

[Rossymeister]

Be Glad! Its A Gladius

In all seriousness, Did you take a look at any written reviews of the light before purchasing?

-Aaron

 

[Gunner12]

The light was new and great at its time(the UI is probably still quite innovative) but the LED could sure use an upgrade.

 

[bagman]

I had one of the very first Gladii (108) and used it as a duty light for several months, as has been said the UI is excellent although it does have a tendency to turn on even when locked out if it is in the hard holster and you are in and out of a vehicle as the anti roll lugs catch on the car seat/body/clothes (although the function to ramp down the output if it gets too hot works as well as I have found on more than one occasion when its been put locked out and on in a covered holster )

A problem with it draining batteries gave a new replacement from Blackhawk via thier GB importer

I stopped using mine at work because it does not cut the mustard outdoors but with a SSC U/G by a member here to my replacement, it is now back on my belt light rotation

With the upgrade it is still an excellent duty light and with the dimming facility, very versatile.

 

[l2icel3all]

The seller I purchased it from on ebay was selling all brand new tactical gear such as streamlight flashlights and insight m6xs and such. I doubt he tested the gladius and didn't like it and decided to sell it. He only had one for sale and its not impossible that he tested it and disliked it; but I find it highly unlikely since all he sold on ebay was tactical gear.

Is it possible the eBay seller sold this particular light for the same objections you have?

I have had a previous experience where the seller bought several of the same item, cherry picked through them all and sold those that didn't make his expectations at a "Good" price. He was willing to take the price hit to find that "PERFECT" one.

I guess I'm very cautious about buying stuff from private parties on eBay, if this was a eBay store that might be different.