NightOps Gladius w/ P4 LED - to buy or not?

I'm on the fence about whether I should buy one of these or not. I've always been intrigued with the Gladius and now that I can get it with a upgraded LED, it looks even more tempting. Anybody have any suggestions, opinions, or words of wisdom for me? Any negatives or problems I need to be aware of? I'd like be informed before I go plunk down the $$ for one of these. Thanks!

I wouldn't buy any single Led-light which needs more than one Lithium-primary cell. Also the gladius doesn't work well with one LIR and that's a must for me (or other rechargeables like Nimh's).
I know, that many users are happy with their lights, but IMO the power source should be more versatile.

Best regards

____
Tom

I say get it. I find the switching mechanism on the Gladius/Typhoon to be simple and intuitive. The beam, at least with the LuxIII, is not the prettiest thanks to the smooth reflector but it does throw pretty well for it's size. It is a great light even with the LuxIII.

Can someone explain the difference between the Gladius and Typhoon. I know they both are made by different companies (Night Ops and Insight), but they look and function exactly the same. How can two companies make the exact same light without patent infringement issues?

Also, I've read some things about tailcap switch reliability issues. Is this still a problem or was that limited to early versions? Are all the newer lights hard anodized or are some still ceramic coated?

I just love the Gladius, and when they offered the upgrade, I had to get it.

The upgrade is just great -- better beam, waaayy brighter without degrading the usefulness, due to the adjustable brightness. I miss the low-low of the old Gladius, though. The lowest setting of the SSC Gladius is already bright enough to be annoying with dark-adapted eyes.

Typhoon/Gladius: Both lights are made by Insight. Blackhawk/Night-Ops developed the light, and licensed Insight to mass-produce it. The licensing agreement forced Insight to initially produce only for BH/Night-Ops. After some time (1 year, 2 years? Forgot when the Gladius was introduced), Insight was allowed to sell it under their own brand name. Both lights are identical and made by the same company in the same production facility.

The current black lights are all HAIII. The other colors are still Ceracote, I believe.

The tailcap problems are long resolved. They were due to QC problems with the additional signal cable from the tailcap to the head; the cables were sometimes to long to make reliable contact with the tailcap (this signal cable necessitates the alignment pin).

I got two. One remain a Luxeon and the other modded to SCC. I used it with rechargeable battery. It works well with the new LiFePO4 CR123 (rechargeable). It won't over discharge as the Gladius blink when the Voltage dropped. Gladius remains one of the best torches out there.

Great info guys! I appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge and experiences.

AR_Shorty said:

Can someone explain the difference between the Gladius and Typhoon. I know they both are made by different companies (Night Ops and Insight), but they look and function exactly the same. How can two companies make the exact same light without patent infringement issues? Also, I've read some things about tailcap switch reliability issues. Is this still a problem or was that limited to early versions? Are all the newer lights hard anodized or are some still ceramic coated?

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Actually Insight makes the Gladius for Night-Ops, it's exactly the same light. I owned a Gladius and it was stolen from my patrol car. I heard about the Insight Typhoon and bought a Typhoon, the only real difference I have seen is the Insight can usually be found cheaper than the Gladius. The coating used on the light now as I understand it is HA Type III like found on SureFire flashlights. The tailcap issue is no longer a problem that I'm aware of. As for batteries I use the Tenergy 900 mAh rechargeable Li-Ion that I got at Battery Junction, If you have any doubt about which to get send a PM to MattK he's a member here and Matt will help you out.

I have a Gladius and I bought my son a typhoon. The only difference in the two lights is the labeling and the price. I use my Gladius around the house although I would have loved it had it been made before I retired as a Detective. My son uses his on sniper missions in Iraq. He loves it too.

I would say if you want a great light with one of the best interfaces I have found then you should get one.

i have been wondering myself for the past month whether or not to upgrade it or just now since some one mentioned it doesn't have the low, low output just to get it with the upgrade included so i have the old version.

I had to do it!

I kept my original Gladius stock and ordered a new one with the upgrade.

Now I should have the best of both worlds!

Should have the new one by the end of next week, I will let you know all about it once it arrives.

I've been toying with the idea of upgrading my gladius using the upgrader in CAN. I just looked at the site concerning the Blackhawk upgrade: it will cast $65. I think the CAN. upgrade is just $40.
The only difference would be the warranty by Night-Ops for the emitter, since I've had my light for 2 years or more.
Anybody got any idea's about this.