I got a Gladius, and I'm not sure I am impressed. Help

I got a Night Ops, and it does not seem to put our much more that my KL1 that is rated at 30 lumens. The light color is a slight greenish, and it doesn't throw any further than the KL1 with TIR optics. Does this sound about par for the course?

I'll conceed that the electronics in the switch is great, but I am not sure it is worth the extra money I paid for it.

Thanks

I feel your pain brother. I bought one and was not impressed, sold it on Ebay and got most of my money back.

All the top LEDs are similar in output and throw, we just harp on the minor differences Seriously.

The advantage of the Gladius will be recognized as you start to use it, not in the brilliance of a beamshot.

I'm a bit mystified by your problem? There is no way that the beam from the Gladius should appear similar to the KL1. My Gladius demolishes most of my other LED lights and only appears lacking in total light output when compared to a U2 (3 watt v 5 watt LED). Even then the major difference is spill and not throw.

Although the Gladius shouldn't show any dramatic drop in output (due to drained batteries) without a 15 second warning flash, have you tried new batteries?

If you have and the situation doesn't improve I'd contact the dealer you bought it from for a replacement as the output should be greater than you are descibing.

Doug

I think you got the defect one, my is super bright, much brighter than my kl1.

He probably has it at medium level or so. Turn it to momentary and then see if it is much brighter

Yes the Gladius puts out more light, but the hot spot doesn't *appear* any brighter than my E1L on RCR123a. It measures more but the spill takes the crecendo from the hotspot.

I agree w/ the other guys my Gladius is way bright......Brighter than any other LED I have seen! Now it does not match up to my SF M-6 but hey it doesnt go thru 6 batteries every 30 min either!! LOL

dougmccoy, Luna, glockboy => I could not agree more. The Gladius I used was more of an "using" light or "tool" than something just really bright that I could use to "impress" others. For an LED light the Gladius is excellent. If you want to impress or have something really bright, you need to build a M*g 85

Will

rkboyer911 said:

Brighter than any other LED I have seen! Now it does not match up to my SF M-6 but hey it doesnt go thru 6 batteries every 30 min either!! LOL

Click to expand...

There is more difference between my L2 and Gladius (L2 being the better) than my U2 and L2(U2 being better) Just for reference, my u2 is less than an UltraStinger by the same margin as my L2 vs U2. This is a stout U2 and the L2 is right on par (around 100Lumen when compared with lights of known output)


The Gladius is good for a 3w light, but it is bested even by the afterglow of the MN21 lamp

Luna said:

The Gladius is good for a 3w light, but it is bested even by the afterglow of the MN21 lamp

Click to expand...

You had to bring the M6 into the picture, didn't you? That is just not freaking fair for the Gladius

Still, I much prefer the MN20

Will

There's definitely something wrong with your Gladius! Your Gladius should out-throw the KL3-G2 which in turn out-throws the KL1!

wquiles said:

Still, I much prefer the MN20
Will

Click to expand...

But it is only 250lumens

He probably has it at medium level or so. Turn it to momentary and then see if it is much brighter

Click to expand...

No I don't. I do know enough about the light to program it, and insure it is on high when comparing it to my KL1 on a E2 body. It is still no brighter at 10 feet, and I have access to a 125 foot dark tunnel to compare the 2 lights with. The light at end of that tunnel when compared between the lights is just about the same. I would have expected more from the gladius. I will acknowledge it has a wider corona, but it still is not putting out much more light than the KL1.

Bravo25 said:

I will acknowledge it has a wider corona, but it still is not putting out much more light than the KL1.

Click to expand...

The difference is precisely in this sidespill; light dispersed over a larger area would seem dimmer at a distance. The KL1 is great at collimating the beam.

What lights are you comparing it to that cause you to be unimpressed?

I recently purchased a Gladius and I am happy with it while being unimpressed with the output of the emitter... but I am comparing it to the LUX V lights that I have.

At the present time, I would probably pick the Gladius over my Surefire L2 but not over my U2 and possible over my L5 but not for the output; for the usefulness of the various settings.

I do like the strobe feature, I just wish that I could decrease the frequency of the strobe a little... not for tactical purposes of course.

-Goatee

I am compaing it to a Gneration 4 KL1, on a E2E body with Z57 tailcap. Both lights have fresh batteries. The KL1 is rated at 30 lumens, for 3 hours. Even considering the side spill I would expect the reflector size, and shortned (90 minute) runtime to double the brightness of the KL1.

I can see your point. I am going to bring my KL1 out tonight and compare it to the Gladius. To my memory, the KL1 is a little bit less intense than the Gladius but I will need to see it again.

Regarding the rated output, I have read where others believe that the 90 Lumens rating is overstated... I would have to concur with this but I am not an expert... just going by what my eyes see.

-Goatee

Go here http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/night-ops_gladius.htm
for review of gladius. Looks to be about 50+ lumens, and 3000 lux, which is more than KL1, which is about 30 lumens, and 1600 lux.

Bill

I can see your point. I am going to bring my KL1 out tonight and compare it to the Gladius. To my memory, the KL1 is a little bit less intense than the Gladius but I will need to see it again.

Click to expand...

Please let me know what you think when you compare the 2. I did check out flashlightreviews.com, which was another reason I am perplexed. I even called Night Ops, and they assure me the Gladius should blow the Surefire away.
I have made arrangements with the seller to exchange the light. If the next one is the same way perhaps I'll ask Blackhawk if they would like to borrow my KL1 to do their own comparrison.

I am hoping I just have a fluke here. I am really starting to like the lights abilities. I could do without the star lug though, just so that it would fit a regular holster. However I am finding that even that lug fits my hand well.

you know what, I guess I'll take it off your hands.... free of charge

-David