GLADIUS

Gladius, retail $249.00 (www.blackhawk.com...)
Manufactured by Blackhawk (www.blackhawk.com)
Last updated 07-26-14




The Blackhawk Night-Ops Gladius is a very versatile flashlight that has a Luxeon III LED at the bottom of a mirror-smooth reflector, feeds from two CR123A lithium cells in its aluminum body, and has several modes available via a tailcap switch and a rotating collar just below that switch.

It is waterproof and submersible to 50 meters (~164 feet), comes in an aluminum body that has a Type III hard anodized ("HA-III" as us flashlight nuts know it) finish on it, and has an AR (antireflective) coated glass window (or "lens") on the end.


SIZE



Feed your Gladius the included cells first (see directly below), and then you can go paint the town red - or in this case, white.

The Gladius has multiple modes of operation depending on how the polymer dial is set and how the pushbutton tailcap switch is operated.

With the polymer ring set to Channel 1 (rotated clockwise until it does not turn any more), you have momentary or signalling mode. The Gladius will turn on when the tailcap button is pressed and held in, and turn off when the tailcap button is released.

When the polymer ring is set to Channel 2 (rotated counterclockwise one click from the Channel 1 position), the Gladius will strobe (flash) at approximately 10Hz (10 flashes per second) when the tailcap button is pressed and held in, and turn off when the tailcap button is released.

When the polymer ring is set to Channel 3 (rotated counterclockwise two clicks from the Channel 1 position), the Gladius will enter continuous/variable brightness mode.
Press and release the tailcap button to turn the Gladius on in continuous or hands-free mode. Press and release the button again to turn the Gladius off.

To access the variable light levels, press and hold the tailcap button in for 1.5 seconds; the Gladius will then begin to dim. When the intensity is where you want it, release the tailcap button. From maximum intensity to minimum intensity takes three seconds.

When the polymer ring is set to Channel 4 (when the tailcap button is pressed approximately halfway in and the polymer ring is rotated counterclockwise three clicks from the Channel 1 position), the Gladius will enter lockout mode, where it will not turn on regardless of what presses against the switch button.

Channel 3 has multiple modes available...let's see if I can try to describe at least one of them for you today.

Mode 1: Auto-Dim from Full Power to Lowest Power Level:
When the tailcap button is pushed, the light initially comes on at full power. If the tailcap button is held down for at least 1.5 seconds, the light will begin to dim from full power to minimum intensity over the next three seconds. To reverse this process (brighten instead of dim), release the button and press & hold it again for no less than 1.5 seconds. To get the light to go to full power from any dimmed setting, press and release the button two times in quick succession.

Mode 2: Auto-Brighten from Lowest Power Level to Full Power:


Mode 3: Memory Mode:


There are more modes available in the Gladius, but let me update this web page now and finish it later...



To change the batteries in your Gladius, grasp the Gladius by its front end with one hand, and use the other hand to unscrew that flared aluminum collar. Turn it until it comes off, gently place it on the ground, and kick it in the garden so the praying mantids will think it's something to eat and strike at it...O WAIT!!! THAT'S THE GOOD PART!!! So just set it aside instead.

Tip the two used CR123A cells out of the barrel and into your hand, and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.

Insert two new CR123A cells in the barrel, orienting them so the button-end (+) positive goes in first.

Notice the groove on the inside of the flashlight's body. The tailcap will snap into this groove.

Using only light pressure, push down and rotate the polymer portion of the tailcap until you feel the tailcap drop into the groove.

Once the tailcap has dropped into the groove, screw it firmly back on using only the flared aluminum collar. Tighten it finger-tight only; do not use wrenches or other tools to tighten it any more.
Aren't you glad you didn't kick that tailcap into the garden with all those praying mantids now?

Due to the way the flashlight was constructed (I believe the "smarts" are in the tailcap), I am not able to furnish you with current usage measurements.




Photograph of the flashlight's business-end, showing the LED, reflector, and AR-coated glass lens.

The flashlight appears to be reasonably sturdy, and it is. Ordinary flashlight accidents should not be enough to do it in. I administered "The Smack Test" on it (ten whacks against the corner of a concrete stair; five whacks against the side of the tailcap and five whacks against the side of the bezel), and found the expected damage. There is some scuffing on the sides of the tailcap and bezel where it was struck, but the finish was not removed. No optical or electrical malfunctions were detected either.

The Gladius has what appears to be a Type III hard anodized ("HA-III") finish on it, so it should stay newer looking for longer, even if it goes up against keys, coins, or other metal flashlights during storage or transport.

This flashlight is rated to be waterproof and submersible to 50 meters (~164 feet); so "The Toilet Test" would be an excersize in futility here, since the deepest water in the cistern is only approximately 12" deep.

The fins near the tailcap function well as an anti-roll device, so you can set the Gladius down on a nonlevel surface and it won't get away from you. Not by rolling away, anyway.

A slight rattle can be heard from the tailcap when the Gladius is shaken; you do not have to shake the Gladius vigorously in order to hear it. This is perfectly normal for the Gladius, and is nothing whatsoever to be concerned about.



Beam photograph on the test target at 12".
Measures 3,250,000mcd (high) and 25,600mcd (low) on a Meterman LM631 light meter.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight (lowest setting).


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight (highest setting).


Spectrographic plot
Same as above; newer spectrometer software & settings used (lowest setting).


Spectrographic plot
Same as above; newer spectrometer software & settings used (highest setting).


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this flashlight; newest (01-13-13) spectrometer software settings used. Minimum intensity.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this flashlight; newest (01-13-13) spectrometer software settings used. Minimum intensity. Spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 440nm and 450nm to pinpoint native emission peak wavelength, which is 442.700nm.

The raw spectrometer data (tab-delimited that can be loaded into Excel) is at http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/46/gladiusl.txt


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this flashlight; newest (01-13-13) spectrometer software settings used. Maximum intensity.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this flashlight; newest (01-13-13) spectrometer software settings used. Maximum intensity. Spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 435nm and 445nm to pinpoint native emission peak wavelength, which is 440.220nm.

The raw spectrometer data (tab-delimited that can be loaded into Excel) is at http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/46/gladiush.txt

USB2000 Spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.


ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis.
Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.




Beam photograph on a wall at ~15'.

That red star thing is from an American DJ Laser Widow, and that rectangular graphic thing near the lower-left is a marquee from a Williams 'Stargate' upright coin-op video game from the early-1980s.

Quicktime movie (.mov extension) showing the strobe mode of the Gladius.
This is ~2.1 megabytes (2,318,824 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than ten minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
I cannot provide it in other formats, so please do not ask.

*** VERY VERY IMPORTANT!!! *** This movie does not show the strobing correctly! In reality, it is significantly faster (~10Hz) and the flashes are evenly spaced apart!!!! The difference is because the human eye operates differently than the camera's CCD does.




This is a video on YourTube showing the flashing mode of the Gladius.

*** VERY VERY IMPORTANT!!! *** This video does not show the strobing correctly! In reality, it is significantly faster (~10Hz) and the flashes are evenly spaced apart!!!! The difference is because the human eye operates differently than the camera's CCD does.

This clip is approximately 5.053458741230 megabytes (5,276,860 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than twenty five minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.



TEST NOTES:
Unit was purchased on Ebay on 10-17-05 and was received on 11-08-05.

The Gladius comes with colors of black, olive drab, coyote tan, or sniper grey.


UPDATE: 03-22-06
I have decided to rate the Gladius 4½ stars and place it in The Trophy Case on this website.



UPDATE: 01-02-07
Some users have found that the battery change procedure is a bit on the difficult side, so here is a video of it:
Battery change procedure .
Used with permission of the person who made this video.



PROS:
Tough and durable casing
Water-resistant - waterproof to 164 feet actually
Multiple operating modes
Very bright for a 3 watt LED


CONS:
Operating & battery change procedure may reqire some learning
Batteries could be expensive or difficult to find in an emergency


    MANUFACTURER: Blackhawk
    PRODUCT TYPE: Small handheld/tactical flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: White Luxeon III LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Medium spot with dimmer corona
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/momentary/off on tailcap
    BEZEL: Metal; LED and reflector protected by glass window
    BATTERY: 2xCR123A cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes
    SUBMERSIBLE: Yes, to 50 meters (~164 feet)
    ACCESSORIES: 2x Duracell Ultra CR123A cells, lanyard, hard-sided storage case
    SIZE: 1.25" D, 6.125" L
    WEIGHT: 6.63oz (without batteries)
    WARRANTY: Lifetime

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star RatingStar Rating





Gladius * www.blackhawk.com...






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