Possible Gladius Tailcap Problem

For all the Gladius owners out there, I'd like to ask you all for a very simple favour:

Turn on your Gladius in constant-on mode, and unscrew the tailcap ever so slightly. Now, take note as to whether the light turns off or not. If it doesn't right away, at what point (if any) does it turn off while you're unscrewing the tailcap?

The reason I ask this is because if I unscrew the tailcap of my Gladius even a little bit, the light doesn't work in any of the modes with either SF123A's or a 17670 Li-ion:thumbsdow. I find this a little unsettling as I have been planning to use this as my duty light, but am now reconsidering due to the possibility of the light not working when I need it to if it were to be dropped or disturbed in any way. I'm considering getting a Surefire L5 for duty if this problem can't be fixed.

Thanks for your help!

Tom

My "newer" version in Black HA shuts off the moment you start to unscrew the tailcap. The "older" model in OD stays on when the tailcap is loosened at least 1/8 turn, maybe more. Are you having trouble keeping the tailcap secure?

Paladin

It is a known issue with the older caps. Contact Night-Ops or Blackhawk. All the cases I have heard about (and one light of my own) have been taken care of as a warranty issue. Caps are normally re-machined inside or replaced.

The light should not be doing that.

Scott

Welcome to CPF, Tom.

I think the chance of the tailcap becoming dislodged like you describe is very slim, but I'm not sure I'm understanding what your concern is.

I'm not clear on this either. It seems self-evident that unscrewing the cap will turn off the light. Have you had other flashlights with a tendency to unsrew during normal use? Why would you think this light would give you a loosening problem? Perhaps you could focus on tightening the cap frequently for a few days to see if there really is a problem. It may be an unnecessary concern.
I hope you don't mind as this may be OT, but I'm having a problem with my 25xxx Gladius in that it suddenly stopped being reliable with Tenergy rechargeables. They work fine in other lights but the Gladius will sometimes work and sometimes act as if it's only getting partial current. At other times it won't work at all with them. It works fine with primaries. I'll call Blackhawk tomorrow.

My tailcap unscrews at least 1/2 turn before the light goes off.

My Gladius is at work. I work for the OPP up here and a Gladius is attached right in the front of my belt just next to the front buckle for quick access. The tailcap that came with the light would sometimes simply not work. (early tail-cap). A phone call to Night-ops fixed this. They sent me a new tailcap right away followed by 2 more tail-caps so now I have 3 or 4 tailcaps. Also, someone suggested putting a thin piece of wire in the tailcap way up in the back in kind of a ring (hard to explain) to make the contact better. I tried this (took little time) and my origonal tailcap has never failed me once in well over 1/2 year. The light has been dropped, banged around and it's always worked...everytime. It's a very good light.

I have a black HA Gladius in the 17k serial range, and it shuts off when the tailcap is unscrewed even a tiny bit. Should I call Blackhawk?

My Gladius used to have the problem with the cap unscrewed maybe 1/10 trun. It worked its way loose a couple of times. I'm not sure how, probably from bumping up against things that pushed the flanges the wrong way.

Scott

cabindriver said:

I'm not clear on this either. It seems self-evident that unscrewing the cap will turn off the light. Have you had other flashlights with a tendency to unsrew during normal use?
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What I mean is that if the tailcap is unscrewed by even a few degrees, the light turns off. To clarify my concern about this, I am using the Gladius in the Night-Ops mod-u-lok hard plastic holster and I sometimes need to twist the light at the same time as pulling in order to get it out. I just wouldn't want to accidentally and unknowingly unscrew the tailcap a bit as I'm removing the light from it's holster and find out during a crucial time that my light isn't working (I want to use this light as my primary duty light).

Schnotts said:

My Gladius is at work. I work for the OPP up here and a Gladius is attached right in the front of my belt just next to the front buckle for quick access. The tailcap that came with the light would sometimes simply not work. (early tail-cap). A phone call to Night-ops fixed this. They sent me a new tailcap right away followed by 2 more tail-caps so now I have 3 or 4 tailcaps.
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I think my best bet is to give Blackhawk a call and see what they say about it. Hopefully they can send me a newer tailcap like they did for Schnotts that will work even if accidentally unscrewed a little.

By the way, Schnotts, I'm starting this week with Peel Regional Police and I'm hoping they let me carry my own light. I don't know if there are any rules stating that we can only carry what's been issued to us, so I just wanted to know if you've heard anything like this about Peel?

Thanks everyone.

Tom

I haven't heard anything about any police force in Canada not allowing their boys to carry whatever light they want. I know I carry on me all kinds of lights. I use everything but the piece of crap they issued us!!

I'll have to try my light and see if it turns off when unscrewed slightly. I think it does but it doesn't bother me as the light has never failed me once. When the tailcap is screwed on it simply doesn't come undone....unless I unscrew it. I use the soft Gladius holder and not that huge plastic beast as it is too large and takes up to much room on the belt.

The way the tailcap is designed it bay be made to turn off when unscrewed.

Have fun with Peel!! Congrats on getting on!

Schnotts said:

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Also, someone suggested putting a thin piece of wire in the tailcap way up in the back in kind of a ring (hard to explain) to make the contact better. I tried this (took little time) and my origonal tailcap has never failed me once in well over 1/2 year.
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I was curious about this idea and tested it out for myself. It actually worked! I can really unscrew the tailcap a lot now and it won't turn off. Now I don't have to worry about the light not turning on if those flanges get caught on something and it unscrews the tailcap.

I guess I don't have to fork out cash for that L5 now, but I probably will anyway just to add to my collection.

Thanks for the idea Schnotts!

Tom

I still want an L5 too. One of these days.