dano
Flashlight Enthusiast
I had the light for a few days in February:
The Night-Ops Gladius
Intro:
During the early 1990's, a new light was developed, incorporating features never seen in a flashlight. These features included a tail-cap momentray on/off switch, prefocused lamp modules and the use of high power lithium cells. This was a huge jump in flashlight design, especially for the Law Enforcement Officer, who was using a traditional duty light: aluminum bodied, with body mounted switch, powered by large C or D cells. The Tactical Light was stagnant in terms of technology: regardless of the number of battery cells used, or how large the reflector was, the lights still used incandescent light technology, limiting their design potential.
An innovative new LED started a change. Instead of the match stick head sized LED's with poor light output, Lumileds developed a new high powered LED, The Luxeon. The Luxeon LED brought LED's into the realm of high powered applications. 5 watt and 3 watt LED's are now used in several models of high tech lights from Streamlight, and Surefire (not to mention the large amounts of LED/Luxeon lights coming from China).
Surefire, who perfected the "Tactical Light" led the tactical light market for several years, adding many different models and configurations for the end user. Surefire also started the Surefire Institute, led by former Navy SEAL Ken Good, offering low light combatives courses to military and law enforcement. A rift developed and soon, Mr. Good started his own company, Strategos International (www.stategosinternational.com) offering low light combatives, force-on-force simulations, and conflict resolution courses. But, he wanted a design of his own, a light with certain features and technology not available from any other light manufacturer. Years in development, The Gladius is now upon us.
The Light:
The Gladius utilizes two CR-123 lithium cells that power a 3 Watt Luxeon LED. The LED is mated to a smooth 27mm reflector.
The body of the sample I assessed was hard anodized. Production models will feature a new hard ceramic coating, which will be available in four colors: black, grey, tan and olive drab. This ceramic coating is chemical and solvent resistant and offers superior hardness. The body also features four wings milled towards the tailcap. These wings facilitate the use of various grips with the light, and also prevent the light from slipping out of the user's hand. One wing has a small hole to mount a landyard, etc.
The tail cap is nylon, and houses the rotating selector ring that allows the user to choose from four different operating modes. The tailcap/switch also has a lock-out feature to prevent the light from accidental activiation. The tailcap communicates to the electronics in the head via a proprietary system that uses no electrical contacts. This prevents some of the issues associated with multi-positional electrical contacts.
The Operational Modes are:
--Lock-out: to prevent the light from activtaing accidently.
--Momentary: Similar to a tradtional tac light; press and hold for on. Release for off.
--Strobe: Press and hold the switch and the LED will pulse with maximum brightness (releasing the switch will turn the strobing off). The strobing light can be used to disorientate a subject.
--Constant on/adjustable: Press and relase the switch, the LED will light at full brightness. Press and hold and the LED will dim until the switch is released. This mode will feature a user programmable interface; allowing the light in this mode to start dim when switched on or when programmed, the light will strat at a user determined brightness level.
During usage, another mode of operation can be selected while one mode is in use. For example, while using the Momentary Mode, the user can rotate the selector ring to Strobe Mode. When the light is reactivated, it will be in Strobe Mode.
LED protection is a top priority in the newest LED light designs. Eventhough LEDs are more durable than an incadescent bulb, measures must be taken to prevent the LED from overheating. This is accomplished by heatsinking; adding material to the light or LED fixture to dissapate heat. A secondary level of protection can also be done electronically, with the Gladius, the internal electronics will detect an overheat situation and reduce power levels by 50%. If the temperature contunes to rise, the light will switch off to preserve the LED's and batteries from possible damage. The light will reactivate if turned back on.
The Gladius also features low battery alert (via a short blinking pulse in the constant on mode).
Instead of a polycarbonite lens/window, the Gladius uses a 3mm thick UCL glass lens. The UCL lens allows for maximum light transmission due to a anit-reflective coating.
The Beam:
White LEDs have no red in their color spectrum. As such, white LED's may appear tinted, especially if the observer of the white LED has been exposed to incandescent light sources that have a high red count in their color spectrum; indoor incadescenet lighting and natural sunlight both have large amounts of red in their spectrum. Encountering a white LED after using an incadescent light source may lead the user to believe that the white LED has a green tint. Prior to using the Gladius outdoors at night, I had my eyes acclimate wthout any incandescent light (to prevent any perceived tint issues). The sample Gladius' beam was a nice cool white with a slight hint of blue. The smooth 27mm relector gave the beam a really far reaching tight hotspot with a lesser outside corona. At distance, the Gladius allows easy identification of objects, though the beam is not as intense as a high powered 6volt incandescent light. The corona was surprising as it was strong enough to illuminate peripheral objects. At various distances, the Gladius' output is more than sufficient to light up and identify targets. There was a minimum of shadow problems (which can plague some LED lights: when the light is shined, the lighting properties of the LED cause shadows around the illuminated object. This is due to the more focused nature of an LED light compared to an incandescent). Due to the tight focus, the Gladius did not have a lot of ambient light washout. Ambient light washout occurs with a LED light when other light sources dilute the LED's beam.
I tried the Gladius in some make-shift law enforcement duties, including a vehicle stop and outdoor search. The light was more than adaquate in all the simulated uses. Especially useful was the adjustable beam feature. This allowed reduced light levels for adminstrative duties that did not require a full powered light source, and eliminated the carrying of a secondary lesser powered light.
The Strobe
Never seen in a hand held light before, the Gladius' strobe feature is new and exotic, only made possible by the latest in LED technology. When the tailcap switch is depressed, maximum power is delivered to the LED at a pulsed rate. This strobe is bright and fast. I decided to try it out on various humans, unbeknowst to them. The reaction was immediate: hands covered their faces and no one knew what had happened. The element of surprise in addition to the disorientation of the strobe could offer great benefits to those who'd use it. Using the strobe to search or locate, I found that it afforded ample "sight picture" to distinguish between objects. This mode of operation will need to be explored further for its capabilities to be known.
Conclusion:
The Gladius offers features never seen on a hand held light. It can be used tactically or as a duty light, and offers some mode usage customization. The LED beam is tightly focused, offering both good throw and a nice corona for peripheral illumination. The technology and various modes of operation will allow the Gladius to jump ahead of the competition. I highly recommend this light to those who will use all its functions.
SPECS (from www.night-ops.com):
Bezel and tail cap diameter: 1.25".
Body diameter: 1".
Length: 6.23 inches.
Weight: 6.63 ounces.
Waterproof: 50 meters
Power: two CR-123 size lithium cells.
Output: estimated 85-90 lumens on brightest mode.
Runtime: 72 minutes full power, 18 minutes diminshed power.
Contacts:
www.night-ops.com
-dan
The Night-Ops Gladius
Intro:
During the early 1990's, a new light was developed, incorporating features never seen in a flashlight. These features included a tail-cap momentray on/off switch, prefocused lamp modules and the use of high power lithium cells. This was a huge jump in flashlight design, especially for the Law Enforcement Officer, who was using a traditional duty light: aluminum bodied, with body mounted switch, powered by large C or D cells. The Tactical Light was stagnant in terms of technology: regardless of the number of battery cells used, or how large the reflector was, the lights still used incandescent light technology, limiting their design potential.
An innovative new LED started a change. Instead of the match stick head sized LED's with poor light output, Lumileds developed a new high powered LED, The Luxeon. The Luxeon LED brought LED's into the realm of high powered applications. 5 watt and 3 watt LED's are now used in several models of high tech lights from Streamlight, and Surefire (not to mention the large amounts of LED/Luxeon lights coming from China).
Surefire, who perfected the "Tactical Light" led the tactical light market for several years, adding many different models and configurations for the end user. Surefire also started the Surefire Institute, led by former Navy SEAL Ken Good, offering low light combatives courses to military and law enforcement. A rift developed and soon, Mr. Good started his own company, Strategos International (www.stategosinternational.com) offering low light combatives, force-on-force simulations, and conflict resolution courses. But, he wanted a design of his own, a light with certain features and technology not available from any other light manufacturer. Years in development, The Gladius is now upon us.
The Light:
The Gladius utilizes two CR-123 lithium cells that power a 3 Watt Luxeon LED. The LED is mated to a smooth 27mm reflector.
The body of the sample I assessed was hard anodized. Production models will feature a new hard ceramic coating, which will be available in four colors: black, grey, tan and olive drab. This ceramic coating is chemical and solvent resistant and offers superior hardness. The body also features four wings milled towards the tailcap. These wings facilitate the use of various grips with the light, and also prevent the light from slipping out of the user's hand. One wing has a small hole to mount a landyard, etc.
The tail cap is nylon, and houses the rotating selector ring that allows the user to choose from four different operating modes. The tailcap/switch also has a lock-out feature to prevent the light from accidental activiation. The tailcap communicates to the electronics in the head via a proprietary system that uses no electrical contacts. This prevents some of the issues associated with multi-positional electrical contacts.
The Operational Modes are:
--Lock-out: to prevent the light from activtaing accidently.
--Momentary: Similar to a tradtional tac light; press and hold for on. Release for off.
--Strobe: Press and hold the switch and the LED will pulse with maximum brightness (releasing the switch will turn the strobing off). The strobing light can be used to disorientate a subject.
--Constant on/adjustable: Press and relase the switch, the LED will light at full brightness. Press and hold and the LED will dim until the switch is released. This mode will feature a user programmable interface; allowing the light in this mode to start dim when switched on or when programmed, the light will strat at a user determined brightness level.
During usage, another mode of operation can be selected while one mode is in use. For example, while using the Momentary Mode, the user can rotate the selector ring to Strobe Mode. When the light is reactivated, it will be in Strobe Mode.
LED protection is a top priority in the newest LED light designs. Eventhough LEDs are more durable than an incadescent bulb, measures must be taken to prevent the LED from overheating. This is accomplished by heatsinking; adding material to the light or LED fixture to dissapate heat. A secondary level of protection can also be done electronically, with the Gladius, the internal electronics will detect an overheat situation and reduce power levels by 50%. If the temperature contunes to rise, the light will switch off to preserve the LED's and batteries from possible damage. The light will reactivate if turned back on.
The Gladius also features low battery alert (via a short blinking pulse in the constant on mode).
Instead of a polycarbonite lens/window, the Gladius uses a 3mm thick UCL glass lens. The UCL lens allows for maximum light transmission due to a anit-reflective coating.
The Beam:
White LEDs have no red in their color spectrum. As such, white LED's may appear tinted, especially if the observer of the white LED has been exposed to incandescent light sources that have a high red count in their color spectrum; indoor incadescenet lighting and natural sunlight both have large amounts of red in their spectrum. Encountering a white LED after using an incadescent light source may lead the user to believe that the white LED has a green tint. Prior to using the Gladius outdoors at night, I had my eyes acclimate wthout any incandescent light (to prevent any perceived tint issues). The sample Gladius' beam was a nice cool white with a slight hint of blue. The smooth 27mm relector gave the beam a really far reaching tight hotspot with a lesser outside corona. At distance, the Gladius allows easy identification of objects, though the beam is not as intense as a high powered 6volt incandescent light. The corona was surprising as it was strong enough to illuminate peripheral objects. At various distances, the Gladius' output is more than sufficient to light up and identify targets. There was a minimum of shadow problems (which can plague some LED lights: when the light is shined, the lighting properties of the LED cause shadows around the illuminated object. This is due to the more focused nature of an LED light compared to an incandescent). Due to the tight focus, the Gladius did not have a lot of ambient light washout. Ambient light washout occurs with a LED light when other light sources dilute the LED's beam.
I tried the Gladius in some make-shift law enforcement duties, including a vehicle stop and outdoor search. The light was more than adaquate in all the simulated uses. Especially useful was the adjustable beam feature. This allowed reduced light levels for adminstrative duties that did not require a full powered light source, and eliminated the carrying of a secondary lesser powered light.
The Strobe
Never seen in a hand held light before, the Gladius' strobe feature is new and exotic, only made possible by the latest in LED technology. When the tailcap switch is depressed, maximum power is delivered to the LED at a pulsed rate. This strobe is bright and fast. I decided to try it out on various humans, unbeknowst to them. The reaction was immediate: hands covered their faces and no one knew what had happened. The element of surprise in addition to the disorientation of the strobe could offer great benefits to those who'd use it. Using the strobe to search or locate, I found that it afforded ample "sight picture" to distinguish between objects. This mode of operation will need to be explored further for its capabilities to be known.
Conclusion:
The Gladius offers features never seen on a hand held light. It can be used tactically or as a duty light, and offers some mode usage customization. The LED beam is tightly focused, offering both good throw and a nice corona for peripheral illumination. The technology and various modes of operation will allow the Gladius to jump ahead of the competition. I highly recommend this light to those who will use all its functions.
SPECS (from www.night-ops.com):
Bezel and tail cap diameter: 1.25".
Body diameter: 1".
Length: 6.23 inches.
Weight: 6.63 ounces.
Waterproof: 50 meters
Power: two CR-123 size lithium cells.
Output: estimated 85-90 lumens on brightest mode.
Runtime: 72 minutes full power, 18 minutes diminshed power.
Contacts:
www.night-ops.com
-dan
