Wish list for next overhaul of Gladius

I love my Gladius with FM34. It's super awesome.

Of course, being a flashaholic, I can think of several "improvements" I'd like to see:

-Able to take highest-capacity, protected 18650 with no flashing
-When using constant-on with momentary channel at the ready, make the light go right back to constant-on when momentary is released. Strobe should still always go dark when deactivated.
-High-bin XR-E
-Aspheric lens
-Adjustable focus
-Momentary should drive the XR-E at a full two amps.
-Low should be just as dim or, if possible, dimmer than the LuxIII version
-Really, really, insanely thick anodizing

That's all I can think of for now.

If the Gladius still uses the current ring selector, returning to constant on mode after releasing momentary will still leave the ring at momentary mode. Kinda like the hardware is in momentary channel, but the software jocked it back to constant on. A bit confusing and illogical.

The Lux III dimmest now is reeeally dim, I think any lower and you'll probably do better using a cigarette butt. Haha...

But I like the rest of the suggestions An XR-E Gladius or high bin LuxV will be nice (as some modders have attested to)

LEDcandle said:

If the Gladius still uses the current ring selector, returning to constant on mode after releasing momentary will still leave the ring at momentary mode. Kinda like the hardware is in momentary channel, but the software jocked it back to constant on. A bit confusing and illogical.

Click to expand...

Actually, that's how the SF A2 works. If you're navigating with the low beam and hear a noise in the bushes, you can just push the tailcap to get a burst of high beam. Releasing the tailcap puts the light right back into low mode for further navigating. This has proven quite popular.

LEDcandle said:

The Lux III dimmest now is reeeally dim, I think any lower and you'll probably do better using a cigarette butt. Haha...

Click to expand...

Actually, my Gladius's low was too bright once. See this thread:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1628361

LEDcandle said:

But I like the rest of the suggestions An XR-E Gladius or high bin LuxV will be nice (as some modders have attested to)

Click to expand...

Indeed!

Make my favorite flashlight even better! How about it, Ken J. Good?

I'm pretty happy with the way the Gladius is, especially in terms of operation.

However, improvements can come from having a stronger sidespill like a Lux V to make outdoor and jungle searches more effective. The existing Lux III already produces very good throw but if it could be made even more intense to throw further -hence more blinding, then the Gladius II will be a clear upgrade while still fulfilling its original purpose as a tactical tool.

I think an evolved Gladius would be great - I hope everyone's ideas will be used constructively for an even better flashlight! It's hard to please everyone, and I think the Gladius has done a great job at meeting many needs.

Flea Bag, do you think that a focusable XR-E would provide the extra throw and spill you wanted? NewBie has shown that an XR-E behind an aspheric lens can throw like no other, and I believe someone else made a floody XR-E with a defocused aspheric. Fully variable focus would go well with the Gladius's fully variable brightness.



EDIT: It was Amonra who made a focusable VB-16. This thread shows his work, with focused throw and defocused flood.

No doubt, if they could make the Gladius a variable focus light that could produce a quality beam, I would be all in. In my opinion, this is the next step in the process after variable output. A quality variable focus light would be great.

I am not so sure that variable focus is so desirable in a light like the Gladius, however, as reliability is paramount in the situations that the Gladius is used in and the current designs appear to be fairly complex and that causes me to think that the complex design would be less than reliable at the most inopportune momen. Like I said earlier, that would not stop me for a moment from buying one as I don't use my lights in combat situations.

For me, I agree with your recommendations with the clarification that I would be satisfied with the current low level settings and that I think that I would be satisfied with something less than 2 amps at the high momentary setting. 2 amps makes me think that the LED would be in danger off overheating very quickly... but that may just be my ignorance on the matter.

My recommendations would include either a redesigned grip ring or a removeable grip ring that after removal would allow the installation of a pocket clip to be installed.

Also, my bigges gripe with the Gladius was that the spill on the light was so week in comparison to the hotspots intensity that I finally decided to sell it. If they could package their beam into a reflector the the 27LT's reflector, it would be an instant winner with me even now and I would have multiple Gladius lights.

Ditto on the thick HA III coating.

If they could make the whole package a little slimmer too; that would be nice for me.

I am looking forward to their newest offerings.

-Goatee

I'm looking forward to a new version also, love the current one. No telling when we'll see it or what will be different though.

http://strategosforum.com/phpBBx/viewtopic.php?t=6012

Andrew

TigerhawkT3 said:

Flea Bag, do you think that a focusable XR-E would provide the extra throw and spill you wanted? NewBie has shown that an XR-E behind an aspheric lens can throw like no other, and I believe someone else made a floody XR-E with a defocused aspheric. Fully variable focus would go well with the Gladius's fully variable brightness.



EDIT: It was Amonra who made a focusable VB-16. This thread shows his work, with focused throw and defocused flood.

Click to expand...

I would definitely love to see an XR-E in a Gladius! I'm sure that with the right reflector/optic, the Gladius can produce a beam with spill like a LuxV and throw of a LuxIII. But I agree with Goatee that perhaps a focusable beam would not quite fit the tactical nature of the Gladius. A SureFire style flip-on beam diffuser would be better IMHO.

Encouraging to hear from Ken Good that the Gladius is under consideration for an upgrade. For a while I feared that the Gladius would be a one-off design.

Well, I thought of something else.

How about having everything in my OP, except use 4xC or 4xSC NiMH for the battery? Since it would be substantially larger, they could call it the Pilum. :laughing:

No joke, though; I do want that.

Two improvements I can think of:

1) A Better grip-ring. The one on my Surefire C2 is not as wide, yet feels more secure than the bare metal one of the Gladius.

2) A tailcap switch that's not made out of shallow plastic. (Yeah, I said it. Flimsy does not = durable).

I'm pretty happy with the current grip-ring (tailcap lugs) on the Gladius, but if it were a larger light like I suggested above, it would need to be totally redesigned, since you couldn't really use Rogers/SF with a 4C or 4SC light.

The polymer parts on the tailcap seem fine to me, but... carbon fiber?? :naughty:

TigerhawkT3 said:

The polymer parts on the tailcap seem fine to me, but... carbon fiber?? :naughty:

Click to expand...

Oh, yes!