Got my Gladius and Problems already!

[Ken J. Good]

LowBat...My spelling error...I hope it was not Freudian in nature...

I meant LongBow....

 

[SJACKAL]

:shrug: :shrug: :shrug:

I too had noticed the often verbal spars between Ken Good, Beezuar and Longbow regarding the Gladius product and... even self defense threats?

:touche: :touche: :touche:



:sick2: :sick2: :sick2:

 

[LowBat]

LowBat...My spelling error...I hope it was not Freudian in nature...

I meant LongBow....

LOL, I wasn't sure as I've voiced my opinion too.


Regards,

Larry

 

[kukula]

Today while I was playing with my Gladius, changing it from one mode to another and hitting the light, I suddenly noticed my light dimming and flactuating. For example, when in strobe mode, the strobe flashes weakly, intermettently, and sometimes not at all. Then while in mode3, while i was gradually increasing or decreasing the light, it would flutter and suddenly stop. This really surprised me so I checked my light. After some tweaks, I found out that the tail cap had moved on the course of my playing with it by about one tenth of an inch. Really small but apparently enough to cause the Gladius to act strangely. I tightened it up fully and it fixed the problem. So guys make sure that your light has the tail cap fully screwed down to avoid this problem. Just wanna share this info

Chris

 

[beezaur]

See if you guys can repeat this:

Tighten everything normally, activate the light in momentary mode.

Loosen the tailcap 1/4 turn (or so).

Activate momentary mode several times, until the light blinks or flickers badly at least once. Maybe try varying your thumb position.

Turn to the strobe or constant on channels. They shouldn't work. Only momentary works.

Retighten the cap. Still only momentary should work. Strobe and constant on should be completely disabled.

Scott

edit to add:

I have gotten mine to do the above behavior so that all modes are disabled after a blink with as little as 1/8 turn "out of battery." I have to completely remove and replace the tailcap to get function to return, but that is a reliable "reset."

 

[Ken J. Good]

LowBat: Opposing opinions, negative critisism based on fact are part of the deal; that I fully expect and they challenge us to simply do a better job.

Needless barbing are a waste of everybody's time.

 

[Wolfgang_Ludwig]

When I buy a new Flashlight I usually buy two or three of them. So I had two Gladii. One is just perfect. The other is a bit weaker: the switch feels loose, there is half a millimeter space between the body and the rotating plasticring. And the beam is not so fucussed and white. The last I gave away. But both lights WORK under every circumstance. I wouldn't dare to throw a SF M3 on a conrete floor. The gladius, because first I didn't like its martial and tactical outfit, was "punished" by very bad treating. It survived in completely perfect working condition. Best flashlight I ever had.

 

[NextLight]

See if you guys can repeat this: SNIP

Scott

I can understand how this might occur with a microcontroller based device (from an engineering standpoint) but can not duplicate the behavior on either of the two lights I have with me. On my first (early) Gladius I could very occasionaly get intermitent switch operation if I unscrewed the tailcap "a bit", but only before I lubricated the threads with silicone grease.

On the two Gladius lights I have presently have in my posession, if I unscrew almost two turns, I can get far enough away (magnet to sensor) my light won't come on reliably. Just over two turns, and I can get the intermittent connection & dimming, but I can't seem to goof up the microcontroller. (And I am pretty good at breaking things.)

Curious. This is more Ken Goode's area, but if I may: During my first Gladius experience (again with unlubricated threads) I thought I had the tailcap on all the way, but it was not. Half the o-ring was still exposed. With a stronger thumb and forefinger effort, it went down more than a half-turn farther. Intermittent problem solved.

Once lubricated, "normal" force seems to get me there easily. When properly tightened down, the o-ring should be fully covered by the tail cap. The o-ring is then not visible whan the light is viewed perpendicularly, only when examined at an angle from the front.

One more thought. The behavior you describe should be much easire to create with low battery voltage. The Gladius will output useful light on heavily depleted cells, but I imagine the operation in this condition might have some unexpected behaviors, too.

YMMV

 

[mtbkndad]

LOWBAT,

Mr. Good was referring to me.

BEEZAUR,

I can't respect any manufacturer or product that markets and or prices a product using "hype". A spade is a spade, not a "compound machine material handling device". By the same token a flashlight, even a multi-featured flashlight, is still a flashlight not an "illumination tool". But hey, that's just me. I even almost left a brother-in-law's (firefighter) funeral because the "pomp and circumstance" was driving me to the point of distraction.

Hi Longbow,

I do not like marketing hype either and have even privately taken diffferent companies I work with or am a regular customer of with to task for using marketing hype to try to sell products.
I do not think the term "illumination tool" is marketing hype, it is just a fair, accurate, and VERY BRIEF way of saying the following without sounding arrogant or alienating customers that may not be the primary marketing target.

"This light is designed for a specific purpose, for specific professionals. If you are not one of these people, this light may not be for you."
The Gladius intro. video makes this very clear when Mark Warren says "... The Gladius is designed from the ground up to be immersed in the realities of close Quarters combat. ..."

Definition 2 of the illumination link and definitions 3 and 4 of the tool link make the accuracy of this term very clear.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=illumination

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=tool

I own lots of lights and a good number are WAY brighter then my Gladius. However, the Gladius is the only light I own that I can comfortably wear on my side and could enable me to do the following.

I live on a very dark street. I was walking up the street when a very close friend of mine was walking down. We were walking directly toward each other. My oldest daughter was with me. I turned the Gladius on, in strobe mode, when I was about 30 feet from him. He continued to walk toward me and I walked toward him. (Note- he knew it was me as I am the only person around with a Gladius and he has seen it before, but never like this.). When we were right next to each other I tapped him on the shoulder and scared the c__p out of him.
He said "Oh my God, I saw you turn the light on and could not tell you walked right up close enough to touch me." My daughter, who is about to move out of state said. "Dad out of all the lights you own, if I could have one it would be that one." I would give it to her in a second if she really decides she wants it. She is debating it's size. I hope she decides to take it and carry it all of the time. Before she saw it in action she thought of the strobe as an annoying gimmick. She does not think that way anymore.

I am not trying to pick an arguement with this post. I am just seeking to demonstrate that "illumination tool" is an appropriate term for the Gladius and any other purpose built flashlight. One of my favorite illumination tools I have yet to get is a Streamlight LightBox. A Uhaul emergency mechanic had one as he was fixing the truck I rented a 1:00 AM a few months back.
I was very impressed with it's size, head adjustability, beam, light output, and runtime. It is another example of a great illumination tool made for a different professional purpose.


Regarding the actual topic of this thread I may try to duplicate those conditions on my Gladius. It has never been an issue with me as I always screw the tail cap on till it is snug. Snug is a relative term and I have made a point of making sure the tail cap is on tight enough to not come loose due to the design of the switch.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

 

[xpitxbullx]

Name: Gladius
Description: Flashlight
Extra Features: Yep!

Alternate marketing ad champaign? Sorry, just being humorous.

Jeff

 

[kukula]

Thanks for sharing mtbkndad! I too had a similar experience with my wife. She was able to walk up right in front of me without me knowing. The Gladius rocks :rock:

 

[beezaur]

Sometimes I can't get my light to do it for some reason. The worst case version is that, in either strobe or constant modes, the light would blink out with a slightly unscrewed cap. If the next button push was in either of those modes, then all modes were completely disabled.

My primary concern was catching the lanyard on something and pulling the cap unscrewed 1/8 turn or more, not noticing, and having the light disabled as above. If I am using the light at a fire or something, there I would be dripping with foamy water or whatever and having to open up my (lithium-powered) light to reset it. Sounds rare, but that kind of luck seems to follow me around.

My solution is to screw the cap on good and tight. (Duh )

I was thinking this was a fatal flaw, but I think I'll just keep an eye on the cap. It is only a problem to the extent that the cap comes loose, so probably it is a non-issue. Just good to keep in mind that if the light stops working, remove and replace the cap.

Just for the sake of completeness, I have used the Duracells the light came with, SureFire batteries, and a Li-Ion cell at 3.7 V nominal. All allowed the behavior.

This light really raises the bar in my opinion. It is a great step forward in flashlight design and function.

Scott

 

[KDOG3]

Where can I see good beamshots of the Gladius? Especially side by side with other lights...

 

[beezaur]

Here is the Night-Ops list of reviews.

http://www.night-ops.com/Gladius-Product-Reviews.htm

There is also a new review at www.flashlightreviews.com .

The beam of the Gladius is different than those I am used to. It has two distinct regions: a very even and bright hotspot, and an even sidespill. The spill gives you the feeling that the edge of the beam, which is very distinct, is just as bright as the part right next to the hotspot. It seems to help "peripheral vision" within the boundaries of the beam; the edge of the beam is brighter than with most lights.

Compared to my SureFire G2 or 6P (P60 lamp), the Gladius does not throw quite as far. The Gladius' hot spot is very even whereas the P60's peaks sharply in the center. This is a benefit for the Gladius in the dimmest setting, said to be 0.8 or 3 lumens depending upon where you read -- I'd say 3 lm. The dimmest setting is perfectly good for walking around with adjusted eyes, and throws its even spot surprisingly far.

The beam in my Gladius is artifacty, and the hotspot has an "inverse donut hole" with a very slightly brighter center that is a different color than the rest of it. A little bummed about beam quality, but it is a working light after all.

The Gladius' hotspot is more distinct, brighter, and about half the size of my SureFire L4 and L2 hotspots.

Scott

 

[Kiessling]

...Compared to my SureFire G2 or 6P (P60 lamp), the Gladius does not throw quite as far. ... The beam in my Gladius is artifacty, ...

As this light uses a 27mm IMS reflector with a high-driven LuxIII it should outhrow the P60 easily. You might wanna check again or change some batteries? :nana:
The beam quality is less than perfect because the reflector is a relatively cheap plastic part and not a stippled alu super-duper reflector.

bernie

 

[Longbow]

xpitxbullx,
I enjoyed your humor, a great example of non-irritating ad copy. Perhaps a trifle more feature discription needed/allowable.

 

[beezaur]

As this light uses a 27mm IMS reflector with a high-driven LuxIII it should outhrow the P60 easily. You might wanna check again or change some batteries?

Is this light supposed to outthrow a P60 lamp?

I was thinking the same thing, so tried head-to-head with both my 6P and G2 (plastic lenses BTW -- 10-yr-old 6P) and swapped batteries between the lights. No difference. There are two blemishes in my Gladius that might be contributing. The LED has some splotches of glue or something on it, and the reflector has some tiny "bent" edges where it contacts the black LED base. I was wondering about the reflector material because of that. I wonder if, in my particular specimen, the blemishes are diverting more light out into the corona.

The way I test throw is to shine the light down a "lane" in my back yard between trees. The target is brush and trees about 40 yards away. With the Gladius I can barely make out the dark green fir boughs at the target. P60 lamps show the green boughs better and also illuminate brown twigs and such in the brush. Obviously there are problems with the method: 1) gray tree trunks are visually near the target, so a brighter corona will cause them to decrease contrast compared to a dimmer corona, and 2) there are spectral issues comparing a dominantly blue LED to a dominantly yellow incan on a colored target.

I still get the feeling the Gladius is being outthrown from other observations, but I haven't paid enough attention to them. I'll do some more looking (provided I'm not fogged in again) and maybe try some outdoor beamshots.

Scott

 

[Kiessling]

Hm ... I have a bunch of 27mm / LuxIII lights (which should be roughly similar in principal beam pattern to the Gladius from my experience with a few Gladius I was allowed to handle) and normally those lights are very good throwers.
Lux readings tend to be 3000+ lux at a drive current of 1000mA. Now ... if the Gladius would be a tad less efficient but drives the LED harder you should get similar results. Maybe I am mistaken here though ... I have no big experience with incans, but my E2D measures 2100 lux on fresh batteries ...
Got a light meter to confirm?

bernie

 

[xpitxbullx]

The P60 lamp will barely outthrow the Gladius. With that in mind, I prefer the LED setup of the Gladius over the incand.

(according to the numbers at flashlightreviews.com)

Jeff

 

[beezaur]

Got a light meter to confirm?

No, I don't. From my subjective observation, I would roughly concur with the relative brightnesses from flashlightreviews.com:

Gladius lux: 3000
G2 lux: 3534

The ratio of those is 3/3.534 = 0.85. I would say that the apparent brightness on my target is about the same ratio, i.e., my Gladius is ~85% of my G2 in throw. I was surprized by that.

See:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/night-ops_gladius.htm
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/surefire_g2.htm

I would guess that two law enforcement tasks requiring "throw" (besides looking into the distance) would be 1) messing up the subject's vision, and 2) peering into things like tinted windows. The Gladius wins in (1) by a very wide margin via the strobe. Both are probably underpowered for (2), but the P60 lamp does have a small advantage there.

Throw is a very minor part of what the Gladius does.

Scott