I had a chance to play with the newly delivered Gladius last night, - in short, I'll be keeping it. It is a quality piece, and the options with it are very much to my liking. The 3 modes available within the one click setting for 'channel 3' are terrific for their functionality.
The beam is what you would expect from a smooth, deep reflector - tightly focused with a little spill, a bit uneven against a close wall, but smooth enough at distance.
Light color is quite blue compared to my HDS Basic 60 GT, SF L2, and Inova T3 - in this regard I may have slightly 'lost' the Luxeon lottery, although it is actually kind of nice to have one light that leans toward blue compared to my other 3.
It is bright. It appears to be really well made. I played with a U2 and although I love the L2, am really glad I decided on the Gladius instead of the U2.
I've got a neighbor with a young son who sometimes sits in his parked car listening to loud rap a little past my bedtime - from across the street, a 3 second blast of the strobe mode accomplished more than all my past attempts at talking to him about his listening habits - music was off instantly and he was on his way into his house. The Gladius paid for itself at that instant. Plus, it is really nice to have one light that doesn't roll on a flat surface when set down...
I'd be happy to post comparative beam shots from my 4 LED's if anyone is interested.
John Friederich
LV, NV