Gladius - night ops has arrived...!

My Gladius has arrived....

and God is it good...!:wow:

It's extremely light....(I always imagined they would be heavy)...

and the led has lots of throw....as well as flood....:wow:

It outperfoms my other duty flashlights....and what's better; It fits perfectly in the pouch on my body armour...

If you can aquire one at a reasonable price; I thoroughly recommend it..

:rock:

Glad to hear your excited with your new "toy" Safety1st!

Would it be possible to get a QuickTime (or other *UNIVERSAL* video format like mpeg, *not* windoze media, it doesn't play nice with Macs...) of the "strobe" effect, point the light at the camera and strobe it, maybe a 30 second or so clip?

kinda' like this video clip i made a few months ago
(Dialup warning 5.9MB)

Thanks

Try THIS

You can use your keyboard to activate ALL of the functions of the light. They're just down the road from me and have walk-in specials on the Gladius occaisionally.

TacticalGrilling said:

Try THIS

You can use your keyboard to activate ALL of the functions of the light. They're just down the road from me and have walk-in specials on the Gladius occaisionally.

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VERY cool!

Very little rivals the exitement of a new flashlight. Congradulations!!!

Longbow said:

Very little rivals the exitement of a new flashlight. Congradulations!!!

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Absolutely...

I just cant wait until i'm on night patrol this weekend...to try it out on some perps...!

Congrats S1st!
Another nice light for you.. Hope it serves you well!

I think we're both happy
I love my U2 for my use and you prefer using a Gladius....

Cheers mate!

OOK! My comment of contgratulations to S1. I can only re-itterate what people say. My Gladius is hopefully on the way! aring from the 6-9th of this month! It still would be good to get a strobe recording. the @THIS@ flash website was a good animation, however not really displaying the real power of it. If your unable to do a vid S1, Ill try on mine.

Congrats again.

What other lights do you have to compare it to? Is it really really worth it? Anybody with some long-term experience that can chime in? I keep thinking I want one and then I talk myself out of it. I don't know....

How much did you pay Gary? I have seen them anywhere from 179 on ebay to 234 on websites...seems a pretty wide margin. How would you compare it to Surefire?

I got a few questions if you don't mind.

Where are Gladius's produced?
Are they still having problems with the tailcap?
Are they all HAIII now or are some still ceramic?

KDOG3 said:

I got a few questions if you don't mind.

Where are Gladius's produced?
Are they still having problems with the tailcap?
Are they all HAIII now or are some still ceramic?

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I could not find on any of the material that came with my Gladius where the light actually was made.

I had a problem with the tailcap, sent it back, and just got it today. They must have shipped it back the same day they got it or the next. The electronics problem with the tailcap is apparently fixed, but new caps are not yet in wide circulation (per Ken Good). I don't know about the problem with breakage when dropped just right in lockout.

Black is HAIII. I *think* green is cerocoat still, and I am pretty sure tan and gray are cerocoat. I thought I read somewhere that gray would be replaced with another color HAIII. The black HAIII is matte, unlike other black HAIII lights I own. Very grippy.

I am really pleased with this light. It is a very unique design that I think is very well thought out. Aside from being effective in its intended role, it is fun to use too.

Scott

I just took a gladius on loan from my cousin and will post some beamshots up once i get the chance to take some.

others who have had both the U2 and Gladius together will be able to post better long-term impressions, but my initial take (and this is really nothing new from what has already been said) is that the U2 is definitely more floody and puts out more light in that flood pattern. operation of the U2 is very simple/basic, you turn it on/off with the tailcap button, and you adjust levels with the ring. while you can operate the U2 with one hand, it takes some doing. however, having the ring means you can jump to any of the 6 levels pretty quickly. pretty much that's it for the U2. it's bright, and it's simple to use and operate.

the gladius is not as bright overall as the U2, but beam is more focused and throws much better. keep in mind the U2 is not that bad in the throw department, coming close to the lux rating of the A2 as per Quickbeam's review. however, the gladius definitely outdoes my U2 on the throw bit.

spillbeam is dimmer, yet it is still bright enough to see what you need. i'm not a LEO type, but this might be more useful, as the concentrated beam would be more effective in the face of some perp, while the spillbeam is bright enough as to see by yet not so bright as to compromise your own night vision.

multiple levels is far easier to operate one handed than the U2 - go to constant on mode, and hold down the button to cycle up or down the levels, and you get an amazing number of levels on the gladius. however, jumping say from mid-dim to mid-bright is harder, because it has to step through the levels first.

and the strobe. what can i say. i thought i had it pretty decent with the Flupic strobe on my JIL Intelli. but the gladius's strobe is truly far more disconcerting than anything my JIL throws out. this isn't a knock on the flupic, it's a great light and does its stuff very well, and you can adjust the strobe. but the gladius does it far better, and i can get myself nauseous by even strobing it at a shaded area in a lighted room and staring at it. i have since tried to calibrate my JIL's strobe to the Gladius's, but haven't got it quite right.. i don't know but it seems the gladius might have a variable strobe effect, slowing down & speeding up while you hold it down. suffice to say, i wouldn't want to be on the other end of the gladius strobe.

as far as a video of the gladius strobe goes, i don't know how effective that would be, that'd depend on the frames per second capability of the camera, and the subsequent encoding of the mpeg/avi/mov/whatever file. as far as the tailcap goes, i read about it but completely forgot about the nub alignment, etc. but intuitively got it at first go when i got the gladius, so it's a non-issue for me. but i think this gladius was of the batch with the tailcap problem where you might have to take it off to reset it. but this problem has been resolved already, so if you get a new one, it's a non-issue, if you have one of the problem units, send the tailcap in and they will fix it for you.

Gladius - night ops has arrived...!

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Another light in the SF'st collection ?

For someone who didn't have much use for an M3 a few weeks ago, boy, you sure is bitten by the bug badly !

Have fun with the Glladius, I like mine, been used in strobe a couple of times as well. Once, it was great, subject shielded eyes and looked away, the other not so good, no apparent effect !

Would much rather have it in my hand than not have it though. Can't wait for their Helios offering. If that is as well made and thought out, yahoooo.

Alan

WilsonCQB1911 said:

What other lights do you have to compare it to? Is it really really worth it? Anybody with some long-term experience that can chime in? I keep thinking I want one and then I talk myself out of it. I don't know....

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I have had SN 00475 (i have incorrectly posted SN 00445 several times) in daily carry for about 8 months. It has been on loan to local law enforcement agencies for weeks at a time. I have done my own shock, drop, temperature cycling, and immersion testing. It has been on an M16, M14, and an 870. It is still my favorite mid size do everything related to self preservation light.

I have had my hands on a dozen Gladius lights for characterisation. As a point of reference, I also still have Surefire's E2E, G2 6P, 9P, C3, M3, M6, and 10X, that together get carried on my person about as often as my Gladius. (These are all GREAT lights, BTW, just not quite as flexible as the Gladius, IME.) I have a dozen larger lights, but most often choose an Ultrastinger, 10X, or Magcharger, depending on the planned activity.

I love my L4, and hate my U2. I carry an Ami T3 with my backup gun, but my Gladius handles great with my Kimber Pro Eclipse II and just about everything else, and is most often my belt carry light.

I paid $250 for my first Gladius, and waited about 6 weeks. It was worth it. Others I bought from $170-$200. I presently own two, and will be adding a third soon to replace my Surefire 870 forend light.

You will find many comments (and some mistakes) by me about the Gladius in the archives. Hope this helps.

Thank you NextLight!! That was exactly the kind of review I wanted to hear about. I think a Gladius (in HAIII) is going to be my next light purchase. I prefer throw over flood and I really want a strobe featured light. Plus the fact that I can put it on my AR kind of seals the deal for me. With its size it's not going to be an EDC, but that's ok I've got plenty of those. Anyway, thanks again.

The black Gladius when first produced was covered in ceramic until number 5000. Since then the Black Gladius is now in HA111. All other colours (AFAIK) are still in ceramic. The ceramic coating has taken some stick but is actually quite tough. It does wear away on the edges of the tail flanges and bezel but lasts well on the main body. HA111 is not attracking very much negative comments and so appears to be working well.

The tailcap has had two problems (three if you include rattles). One, on some lights intermittant electrical contact is maintained to the LED causing malfunctions. Two, if dropped directly onto its tailcap whilst in lock out mode it is likely to break rendering the light unuseable.

The first of these problems was a simple engineering problem and has now been rectified. The damage to the tailcap from direct drops? No mention of it has been made by Ken Good and I can't comment on if this problem has been addressed. However, as so few instances of this have been reported it is unlikely to warrant an expensive redesign and will probably be dealt with under warranty?

The tailcap rattle is (IMHO) not really a big issue and I suspect that better manufacturing tolerances have eliminated it. I also think that in real world use it is unlikely to be a problem. The rattle only manifests itself if you vigorously shake the tailend of the Gladius and isn't apparent when the light is carried.
My own Gladius has a slight rattle if shaken but then I can hear batteries rattle in some of my Surefires if I vigorously shake them! (Who shakes their lights like this under normal conditions?)

The only problem (if you call it a problem?) is that some users have reported that the relector isn't completely symetrical at the base where it surrounds the LED. This appears to be an assembly issue rather than engineering but my light does have some minor reflector distortion at the base and if I shine the light at a white wall close up makes the beam look irregular. At normal distances it is a non issue. Does this worry me? No! Would I send it back for this? No!

Is it ideal for a flashlight this expensive? No! However, as a lighting tool the Gladius is IMHO unbeatable for use in its intended role. Compared to the U2 then it is still having less reported problems and BH are readily responding to feedback about these issues.

I am happy with the Gladius (mine is an early model, number 402 and in black ceramic) and I would gladly buy another if needed.

Doug

I've had mine for about 10 months now and carry it daily on duty. I'm of mixed feelings about it. It's definately a good light and still my primary but I'm not so sure I'd be willing to drop another $240 on them. Prices are coming down now though which makes them a better bang to buck ratio IMO.

My serial # is 00176 so I guess I have a pretty early one with the black ceramic coating. Mine has some scratches and wear at the bezel and on the falngs. Nothing severe but you can tell its been used. Its been dropped a couple times as well.

The light is certainly bright and the throw is good although at distance the light seems washed out to me. It lights up an area but it seems hard to make out detail at range. When using it in the woods or on foliage the light seems to get lost. I don't think I'm explaining that veyr well though. In closer, and in buildings its excellent. The flood is much better than on the Inova T3 I was using before this. I never had a problem with my T3 but I was surprised to see how much difference in flood there was between the two.

The strobe is neat but I haven't really had a chance to use it yet. I have used it on traffic posts to get the attention of cars at a distance (not on the highway ). Even in daylight the eye is drawn to the strobe. At distance it isn't enough to effect the driver at all but they do see it.

I'm still not sure I like the tailcap switch. Its very easy to use and hold on in momentary mode. Almost too easy IMO. It activates easily if you lean on it in its carrier and, if in constant mode, can turn on and leave the light on. You really have to get used to using the lockout feature or risk draining batteries and warming up your backside when you put it away .

The lockout is sore point with me and I discussed it with the Night Ops guys at SHOT. You can actually lock the light *on* as well as off. I've done it a few times while trying to put the light away one handed while focusing on other stuff and found it on in my carrier. They agreed that it wasn't an optimal way to do things but thats the way the switch has to work for now but its something they're looking into for later. Once you're aware it can happen you work around it, and obviously if you're locking it out with the light in front of you, you can tell if its on and fix it. Not a huge deal but I find it annoying.

The multiple modes is both useful and inconvenient at times. You have to learn the switch and pay attention to where its at when you pull your light out or roll the switch to your desired setting. I've gotten constant on when I wanted momentary; ended up dimming the light in constant mode when I thought it was on momentary and wanted the brighter light; and even partially strobed one poor woman when I made an approach on a traffic stop once! This has generally only happened when I was responding to something in a hurry but its something to keep in mind. With use you do get used to this and this stuff happens less often. A trade off for having all the options I guess. With a regular momentary button and twist on you know exactly what you have with little chance of error. To get the options you get a slightly more complicated manual of arms.

The light flicker when the battery starts to get low is nice. I like having warning before my battery gives out.

Another gripe that's moot for civilian use was the lack of duty belt carriers available during the first year. If you needed a leather carrier for work you were SOL. Guys on my department modified other carriers or found other stuff to make do (mine rides in a large size pepper spray holder right now, a less than optimal carrier IMO). The new carriers for them should be coming out as I write this and they're sized to fit a wide duty belt. I'll be getting one of those shortly. I think that was a major oversight for a light that was pimped so heavily to the law enforcement community.

Overall its a good light, and remains my primary duty light and is likely to remain so. Although I have some minor pet peeves on it the overall product is still quite good and no one else has anything else out quite like it. While I haven't got to use the strobe to good effect yet I figure if it works well once and gives me a tactical advantage I might not otherwise have had then its probably paid for itself. :tu