Night-ops Gladius - NO problem(s)

Bought a Gladius off ebay for $179. That this is a flashlight with character, limns into your consciousness within the first few seconds of handling it.

That being said, the tolerance of the tailcap part/groove doesn't seem to be at the "Lexus" levels of accuracy. Hopefully the REAL warriors (I need it only for hiking/camping) will get better specimens which actually turn ON when you turn it ON? Mine seems to be a little temperamental, to put it mildly.

I'm going to call the good people at night-ops to see if they can fix this issue. Ingenious design nonetheless.

Also, does anyone have reviews of the Falcata series? I'm eyeing a 9v version.

Re: Night-ops Gladius - problem

the rotery switch is designed that way on purpose , ill try and find the thread to link you , your light should work FLAWLESSLY night ops will not tolerate a bad light , they will replace A,S,A.P, btw you didn't by chance screw up and not pay attention when you screwed the tail cap assembly on and screw up the indexing key by chance?

Re: Night-ops Gladius - problem

reviews pre production , https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/105530&highlight=falcata+review
here is a little on the rottery cap being loose
LOOSE MODE SWITCHING RING-
How about loose feeling plunge mechanism/ mode switching ring cover.
I think this is relative. It is designed to be easy to move and operate with one hand. Many people believe the eroneous belief that tight switches are good switches and loose switches are bad switches. That is not necessarily the case. The design and components of the switch make it good or bad whether it is tight or loose. The plunger/rotary dial cap mechanism is actually designed to be a switch/ break away safety cover for lack of a better term. (This does not apply to lockout mode until that issue is fully resolved in production).
When not in lockout mode the plastic plunger/rotary dial cap are designed to break BEFORE enough force can be applied to the actual plunger shaft/switch to make it break. I emailed Night-Ops about this after studying the design and asked about it. They said I was correct that was the design.
Also, when not in lockout, it takes a lot of force to break the plastic plunger/rotary dial cap. I mentioned, in another thread, I think the switch design is a stroke of genius and would much rather have a broken plastic exterior and functioning mechanism then an intact exterior and a severed or inoperably bent plunger mechanism.

Re: Night-ops Gladius

Thanks for the link. It appears that night-ops is aware of the quality control issues, and will replace the light. Searched for "gladius problems" in google.

http://strategosforum.com/phpBBx/viewtopic.php?p=35245&sid=d64be451f398ca36ed5239a581fe80a1

Re: Night-ops Gladius

I apologize for /retract the criticism of the gladius light I posted. Decided to test it out for a few more days, and it appears that the "apparent malfunctioning" was my fault; not the light's. It has not failed even once in the last couple of hunderd times I had activated it.

I had always made sure the key was aligned properly but its very likely that I hadn't always tightened the flange/lug completely, (thinking I might be breaking things if I pushed too hard?).

Re: Night-ops Gladius - problem

you may want to change you title,,,

Finrod, had I seen this thread earlier I would have let you know...

The warnings about over tightening, elsewhere and in that thread you linked to, are to blame.

Flashlightreviews also warned about over tightening and said the O-ring is "visible".

It is. But only if you look head-on down the barrel of the light.

The tailcap needs to be forced over the o-ring until the seal is completely recessed, if you have read the reviews and the various warnings, this gives impression that you are "over tightening" the tailcap as the o-ring is such a snug fit. In fact, the thread has a very definite stop. I don't think it's possible to over tighten the tailcap, not unless you are using a wrench.

All you need to do is make sure the pin is aligned (by turning it against the thread without applying any pressure, until the pin drops home).

I have a feeling that end-users not tightening the tail cap completely over the o-ring has caused Night-Ops a lot of grief.

Great light. I off-loaded my ceramic one in Jan and I'm just about to order a hard-anodised model. Hope I can find one...

LApolicegear are saying to expect delays with stock on their website. They also have the Gladius in their "closeouts" section.... do they know something we don't?!

Perhaps a 5W version is in the works? But I don't see any "build-ups" in this forum or anywhere else.

I'm sure we would have heard something.

I would love a 5 watt version with a pocket clip and a Surefire style grip ring. The grip ring that comes with the Gladius has never fit comfortably in my hand when using the Rogers technique.

I would hate the 5 watt version because I WILL have to buy one and my will WILL kill me.

I love the Gladius but would really love one with the increased output and spill of a 5 watt LED. Also a faster way of switching the mode for the constant on setting.

-Goatee

Ken Good on Strategos forum earlier in the week (emphasis added):

"The Gladius as it currently sits is still a bit anemic in some situations and it was primarily designed for room combat distances while maintaining some decent capabilities at distances beyond 10 yards."

Decent capabilities to say the least. But reading between the lines it sounds like this upgrade may be arriving sooner rather than later. I can't see them announcing it before it's ready to ship because that could effectively put sales of the current model on hiatus.

Does anyone have a Surefire Z2 combatlight AND a Gladius?

How do the beams compare(Throw, brightness, spill)?

My Gladius should be coming in tomorrow, can't wait to get it.:rock:

My son and I did an informal shootout last week in the backyard with a Gladius, an A2, a C2/P61 and an L2. The woods line was about 25 yards away. Part of my EDC is a much-carried 6Z/P60 but we didn't test a P60 in this mix. However, the C2/P61 throw and brightness at 25 yards was subjectively about the same as the Gladius, but (1) obviously the color temp is different and (2) the Gladius had roughly the same overall diameter but a more pronounced hotspot in the center (which we thought was useful or at least not a problem). Again, this was just a seat-of-the-pants subjective "test" (I hesitate to use that word). Actually, of the four lights we used, we both agreed that our pick for a general purpose light (considering factors as diverse as battery life, low-level navigation/task lighting, high-level lighting, etc.) would be either the Gladius or the A2. I like the size of the A2 better but the Gladius more or less does everything the A2 does and offers the additional strobe option. By the way, my EDC even with those choices is still the old 6Z, which has been rebuilt a couple of times over the years but combined with a couple of Freedom microlights makes a good light for specialized occasions.

What did you find that you disliked about the SF L2

Nothing to dislike about the L2, but in terms of throw, compared to the A2, the C2/P61 and the Gladius it was noticeably less useful at 25 yards. The L2 is relatively even. The Gladius had a noticeable central hotspot that really allowed us to pick out smaller/less visible objects in the treeline. The A2 did also and obviously with a P61 bulb the C2 had no problems but short runtime really limits its usefulness for many situations.

Before I got the Gladius, if I had to pick just one light, it would have been the Aviator. I need to fiddle around more with the Gladius but I'm pretty sure at this point that the Gladius has moved into the "if I could only have just one light" position for me - YMMV.

I recieved my gladius today and am very relieved to find that it is bright enough to temporarily blind a person, and the beampower actually appears comparable to my rechargeable Surefire 8nx, which is rated at 110 lumens. The beam is evenly round with just a hint of deformity, and has a bluish tint, which I don't mind. I also had the ''opportunity,'' while on duty, to drop test it from 3-4 feet onto a concrete sidewalk, where it laded bezel-down. It is undamaged and fully functional, I am happy to say.
So far, I'm glad that I purchased this light. BTW, this is a 18000 serial number, it came in a plastic lunchbox-without-handles type box and the light itself had a warning sticker taped near the tailcap about battery installation. I ordered the black one, it does resemble the finish of an M-16.
I also ordered the holster, which for some reason did not come with the rubber retention strap.

18000 - that's a lot of lights. HAIII started at 6000ish, wasn't that late last year? Sounds like they've really ramped up production.

Mine is on the way. Sold the ceramic one in Jan. I also noticed the hotspot was somewhat irregular but not really an issue.

Blackhawk will sort you out with a new holster no problem. Glad the light isn't damaged! The old ceramic finish would probably have chipped.