Gladius quality of craftsmanship ?

Hello
I just received my First Gladius. Should I be worried of artifacts on reflector ?
See picture:

I'm not happy.

does it effect the beam... that should answer your question...

regardless... gladius has good customer service if you contact that one guy

Uses IMS 27 smooth reflector

That one looks a little rough though...

The beam is not so good. My much cheaper led light's give better beam.
Who's "that one guy" ?

That one = your gladius reflector


The IMS 27 is a cheap reflector and will have artifacts. Other than shining on white walls it functions as a good longer range reflector...


It's hard to tell from your photo if it is a defective relfector or not. Maybe another photo to help see it better...


Cheers

Mine looks like that on the lowest mode too. It depends on which angle you look into the reflector. I would say it's normal.

As for the beam, it's pretty normal for an IMS 27mm to produce an imperfect round beam. You can try replacing the reflector with a McR 27mm to give a much better beam.

"That one guy," I believe, is Ken J. Good. He is the guy who came up with the Gladius.

The Gladius is not really intended to have a beautiful beam. It is intended to be a combat flashlight. However, if there are dark spots in the beam, a highly distorted hotspot, etc., then it should go back. Nobody needs to pay that kind of money for something that is basically defective.

Scott

P.S. You can also contact www.night-ops.com or Blackhawk Industries. They have done a good job for me in the past. Ken might well send you to either of them.

They all look like that. I've quit "wall hunting" a while back, and it doesn't bug me in real use.

$250 and a artifact filled beam... thats sad. I mean, my pm6 2390 has a PERFECT beam.... you might want to try to get ahold of a pelican reflector.

-David

cheapo said:

$250 and a artifact filled beam... thats sad. I mean, my pm6 2390 has a PERFECT beam.... you might want to try to get ahold of a pelican reflector.

-David

Click to expand...

Hi David,

It's not sad for everybody - The reflector on my Gladius dosent have those imperfections and cost nowhere near $250.
I am very happy with mine - wouldnt trade it for anything....

Thehappyman

My Gladius just arrived today and in no way looks like yours. You may want to send it back. Also I've heard of problems with the tailcaps and mine seems to be working fine at the moment (serial range 17xxx). Stan

My gladius had a rough reflector. I put a new on from the shoppe in an it worked great. It now sports a Ubin star as well

My gladius has a McR20 Reflector, UXOJ bin Star, and runs rechargeable 18650 protected cells. Don't loose the bb in there...

Your experience with the Gladius which is a otherwise top-notch light shows that it still needs some changes. My list of changes would be:

1) Brighter K2 LED as soon as available in quantity
2) Better quality reflector
3) Shorter/Smaller overall length if possible
4) one 3mm or 5mm red LED (similar to the SF A2) for low-light night vision preservation.
5) O-ring not visible at tailcap attachment point
6) Removable anti-roll/grip ring
7) Tapered tailcap for improved ergonomics
8) HA III coyote tan finish

carl said:

Your experience with the Gladius which is a otherwise top-notch light shows that it still needs some changes. My list of changes would be:

1) Brighter K2 LED as soon as available in quantity
2) Better quality reflector
3) Shorter/Smaller overall length if possible
4) one 3mm or 5mm red LED (similar to the SF A2) for low-light night vision preservation.
5) O-ring not visible at tailcap attachment point
6) Removable anti-roll/grip ring
7) Tapered tailcap for improved ergonomics
8) HA III coyote tan finish

Click to expand...

Hi Carl,
Let me add to your list -
9) A "re-worked" METAL tailcap asembly

Thehappyman

thehappyman said:

Hi Carl,
Let me add to your list -
9) A "re-worked" METAL tailcap asembly

Thehappyman

Click to expand...

Hi Happyman,
A metal tailcap won't be possible any more so than a metal selector ring on the U2/Kroma because the magnets inside are molded into the plastic. Its a nice idea though. I will add to the list a higher voltage tolerance to use rechargeable lithiums. The present max voltage is 7V which may be exceeded with rechargeables. Also Night-Ops does make a removable anti roll/grip ring on their newer incandescent models.