What's the verdict on the Gladius??

Reading the reviews, threads etc it seems as though it's a mixed bag. I have to admit that the light looks like a true tac light and less of an enthusiast type light like say the U2.

I just found out that the company (Blackhawk) is about an hour down the road from me in the Norfolk industrial park off Princess Anne road.

I have a couple of questions.

1. Is the Galdius made in the us? Doesn't say anywhere on their site.

2. They don't recommend RCR's but neither does SF and my E1L runs perfecly on them. Can you use them?


Thanks

MB

My verdict on the Gladius is that I like it, and its one of my most-carried lights. Don't know where it is made. As for rechargeables, I use a Pila 168S in mine.

Initially I had some strong concerns about the design, and was not especially impressed (Gladius - Darn it I'm not impressed). Eventually I discovered that the initial light I tested was kind of a dud and did not represent the Gladius in general. I also learned that several of my concerns were just plainly non-issues so I was "converted" to the Gladius (and of course the converted are often the biggest zellots ) :laughing: .

Now the Gladius is my primary Camping/Backpacking light and I honestly can't give a light a stronger personal recommendation than that because if a light doesn't do what it's supposed to on the first try, every time, when I'm out in the back country then that light gets retired and something else takes its place.

In general I'm not especially rough on my lights but then again I'm not particularly gentle and items can wind up taking a lot of abuse inside a backpack. The Gladius has held up very well so far under moderate use and the way my schedule is stacking up it's going to get some pretty heavy use this spring/summer.

The best overall summary of my opinions is this thread -Three Way Shootout-

The bottom line (for me) is that I really like the Gladius a lot and it suits me very well.

I just got mine from Botac (shocking, I know, it was actually shipped the same day I ordered it), and based on playing with it for a couple of days, I am liking the light a lot. Nice form factor, nice build quality, if not quite up to SF standards. The supposed finicky nature of the battery change is way overblown and light output is good (a bit throwy but I knew that going in).

The versatility of the light is very nice, with the ability to customize output levels, and the multiple channels are easy to use (although I do find the strobe a little underwhelming for supposed disorienting purposes, but would be useful for signalling generally). This has taken over from my C3 as my bedside flashlight. I do, however, admit to missing the raw output of the P91, but it's honestly overkill for 95% of the time you actually need a light.

As part of the Botac deal, I got 20 123s, but I will probably use 168s as the low battery indicator doesn't bother me much.

I too bought mine from Botach (I buy a number of items from Botach, so I just included the Gladius special offer on one of the orders). Botach has great prices, but poor inventory management. I'm convinced that unless it's an item advertised as a special, they do NOT have it in inventory and just pass thru the order to the manufacturer. I've seen that happen time and time again. "Specials" ship from Botach. Anything else ships from the manufacturer.

Re the Gladius, I like the weight, but I'm also concerned with the durability. Just "feels" a little cheap. Probably the plastic tail cap. Time will tell.
The beam (throw vs flood) falls somewhere between my L5 (very even "flood" with no center hot spot) and my C2 with a Turbo Head (very, very bright hot spot and little spill).

SO, I keep the L5 on my nightstand, next to my Kimber .45 ACP (if something goes bump in the night I want as MUCH surface lit as possible and I don't care bout lighting something more than 20 ft away indoors), and the Gladius AND the C2 with the Turbo Head go into the car so I can illuminate things on the side of the road where I need as much throw as possible (I patrol our neighborhood early mornings looking for graffiti and illegal signs posted on poles - the graffiti I paint over and the illegal signs I tear down)

zespectre said:

Initially I had some strong concerns . . . Eventually I discovered that the initial light I tested was kind of a dud . . .

Now the Gladius is my primary Camping/Backpacking light . . .

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Pretty much the same here. I had a gray one, basically a dud, returned it for refund. I got a second after I read that the tailcaps had been fixed for intermittent activation. As luck would have it, I ordered a tad too early and by bad luck had one with a problem. But they did fix it with about a 1-day turnaround.

It works great now. I consider this to be my most reliable light both for durability and design features (thermal shutoff, low batt indicator, etc.).

I am not much of a "tactical" guy, so can't speak to that, but as zspectre says it is a heck of an outdoors light. It has so many features that make it very well suited to the backcountry. Lots of throw, waterproof and durable, runs just about forever on low (which is plenty to navigate the wilds with by if you have to), and the strobe is a great signal (tested at 4 miles, easily visible way beyond that). I wist I had one made of a yellow nitrolon type material like my SureFire G2.

As far as switch reliability goes, it is tough to trust something as loose as this thing is. They did a bunch of drop testing and allegedly came out shining. The only problem was that they did not drop test in lockout, and the cap can be broken if dropped hard on the button in lockout. However, if you do shatter the cap the light will still work -- whether by design or by accident it can withstand a cap failure and still give you light.

I normally use primaries, but also use Li-Ion 17670 cells (protected) that CPF user AW sells. They work great, but the low batt indicator blinks every 15 seconds (no bother to me). I don't think you want to use RCR123 cells. I have a vague recollection that the light is only safe to 7.0 volts.

Speaking of batteries I like the way the light runs them dead. You gradually lose bright levels over a few hours before the light finally won't turn on. No being left in a lurch with "sudden death" syndrome.

I like mine more all the time.

Scott

I've got one coming....will post something after I've had some time to play with it.

So if you use a single Pila does the low batt flash from the get go and is it as bright on an 4.7V Pila as on 2 primaries?

Same brightness with Pila 168S. The Pila will start the blink from the get go. Blinks every 15-20 seconds. Not really a big deal.

The Gladius is USA made and designed.
IIRC the factory and warranty service are out of Montana of all places.

BTW:
US made products for domestic consumtion do not require markings. Imported products must be marked in a permanent manner somwhere

I liked the Gladius a lot. I own an Inova X03 as well as a couple of mags..one U bin 3 watt rechargeable mag. The Gladius has great output and is very user friendly. I liked having the ability to lower light output as opposed to the Inova where I'm stuck with a very bright hot spot. The distance this thing shines is insane. It seems to get brighter the further you throw it. I found the stobe light useless because I never use strobelights for anything but I suppose it could be useful in scaring something away at night or maybe trying to be seen from long distances. Never the less it is a great light and it is very easy to hold. One thing I don't like is the plastic on off button. All in all it's a great light though. I dunno if I would pay as much as the asking price is..I'de rather have a USL!

What about that liquid/powder finish? Does it seem like it would scratch over time as opposed to Ha/Ha III?

mykall said:

What about that liquid/powder finish? Does it seem like it would scratch over time as opposed to Ha/Ha III?

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i bet all the black ones who can buy now from retailers are haIII (everything after 5000 or 6000 is haIII, but only in black), i know mine was. that said, i just picked up an OD gladius in trade and the finish doesn"t seem as bad as some have said, and it looks better than the black. i may keep it and sell/trade the black haIII.

Some cerakotes are quite good (primarily the later ones is my understanding). Some cerakotes aren't good at all. I had a bad one in gray and I now have a black HA3. The gray one would scratch very easily. I'll take HA3 just because it's tough, common and lots of places can do it well. Night-ops seems to have the HA3 down. Very nice.

I'm confused now. Are they using HaIII or just certain colors of Gladius?

MB

mykall said:

I'm confused now. Are they using HaIII or just certain colors of Gladius?MB

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You can get a Gladius in several different colors (Mine is sniper grey for example).

HAIII is only available in black. The rest of the colors are the ceramic coating. The HAIII wears better but I liked the unique apperance and the "grippy" feel of the cerakote so that's what I went with. The tips of the "star" lug on mine are chipped but the rest is holding up very well (better than I expected to tell the truth).

mykall said:

...1. Is the Galdius made in the us? Doesn't say anywhere on their site.

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I just checked mine, and it does not specify on the case or in the instructional materials furnished with it.

Are the color tints fairly uniform on these, or is there the lottery effect?

Also the star ring, is it removeable?

The Gladius uses a 3 watt LED, not an incandescent light blub.
So in normal use, you should never need to replace it.

Bravo25 said:

Are the color tints fairly uniform on these, or is there the lottery effect?

Also the star ring, is it removeable?

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So far I haven't heard of a lottery with the Gladius and no you can't remove the "star lug" as it's part of the tailcap.