What do you guys think?

You have to charge them before using them. What if a bad guy is in a hurry and can't wait on you to do that? Seems I dunno to me...

Tritium sights or glow-in-the-dark paint?

If talking about the latter then yes, worthless.

I don't consider luminescent sights to be good for carry use. All my carry guns have true night sights. I love luminescent sights on my range guns since they are great in daylight but are little better than black sights in low light.

Do you have to charge tritium sights?

No. However, if you use a WML, your tritium may become useless.

Worthless.  If the ambient light isn't enough to charge them, how are you supposed to make use of them in a low light situation?

Concur.

Glow in the dark paint is only useful if you know you're walking into shit and have time to charge it with a flashlight. (possibly screwing with your low-light vision)

Tritium sights are great. Their light is generated by the slow decay of radioactive tritium gas, so it is always on. The drawback is the 12 year half-life of the tritium. As the gas decays, they loose intensity. In 12 years they will be half as bright as they were originally. In 12 more years, they will loose half of that remaining brightness. If you want fully functional tritium sights, you have to have them replaced or rebuilt every 10-15 years. 

The Trijicon HD sights have both and I love them.  Big bright orange or yellow dot with tritium in the middle.

The photo luminescent dots were designed for the transition from outside daylight to indoors with questionable lighting.  Like when an officer would be chasing a suspect.  

Would you need this in a CCW? Probably not. But I still dig them.

Trijicon HD:
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Fiber optic (not the same as photo luminescent):
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Personally I don't think that tritium or glow sights are terrifically useful. For me, if it's dark enough to see the tritium only, then it's dark enough that I can't identify my target. If I don't know what I'm shooting at, I shouldn't be shooting. If it's bright enough that I can see my target, then I can see my sights. If I use a WML, then it washes out the dots on the sight anyways. I'd focus on sight sizing, colors, and dot/line/other layouts that work best and quickest for you before I'd worry about if it's paint or tritium.

People often look at the upfront cost of something rather than looking at the cost of ownership for X years. Tritium sights are like that. I had a late night night but if you take one of the most expensive sights on the market at an average of $150 and replaced them every 10 years the cost of ownership is $15 a year for 10 years of use. Compared to what we spend on holsters, grips, slide machining, cerakote, base plates and so on, the cost benefit ratio for tritium sights makes sense. Ten years may seem like a long time but I just replaced some sights on a few Glock's that I bought back in 2007. Next year I will have six pistols needing new sights. I feel I got my moneys worth out of my investment. The sights still worked in the 2007 guns, they were still useful, I just decided to replace them at the 10 year mark so really if I person wanted to you could stretch it out to 15 years I think and still have serviceable sights. Some of the sights being replaced next year came from Glock and only cost my $60 at the time. If I wanted to all I need to do is run them over to Smyrna and they would replace them for free. Glock warranties their sights for 15 years but every time I have gone over there there is someone there with a set of Glock sights that are six-eight years old that they replace just because at no cost to the owner. Tritium sights are a must have item for me and it is typically the first upgrade I make to a new pistol.

You are assuming standard conditions. If that is when & where your encounters occur, no harm, no foul. 

I do find it weird that you would engage in one activity (carrying a gun) that is only useful in a non-standard situation, then dismiss optimizations for nonstandard instances when the gun might be useful. I'll agree that tritium sights are not a magic cure-all, but I will also defend them for quick sight acquisition in iffy light. I'll stop here, as discussions of target identification, weaponlights, shoot/noshoot, etc are well outside the scope of OP's question. 

Tritium certainly has a place and is a viable option for carry guns but always need to consider the bigger picture of needing adequate light to fully id a threat so a white light ( weapon mounted hand held or better yet both) need to be part of the deal. Any paint you would have to hit with white light to result in a period of glow is out for sure

You are assuming that you have to use your light to ID your threat. If I am being car jacked or mugged or robbed I don't need to use a light to ID my threat. I know my threat is indeed a threat. I can skip the ID part of the equation and go right to sight picture.

That is the reason all of my primary carry guns have night sights and a weapon mounted light or laser. I also carry a handheld light, extra mags, an auto open knife and typically a back up pistol typically a S&W M&P 340 in .357 either in my pocket or on my ankle. There is no one size fits all solution here. I see night sights as low cost insurance. I will use the sights in day light, low light and no light. If they are needed some day great, they are there. If a situation comes up where they are not needed that's okay too. They fall into the I would rather not need them and have them, than not have them and need them category. They don't take anything away from the gun functionality. They don't add weight, the cost of ownership over 10 years of use is a little over a dollar per month. It doesn't make sense not to have them on your gun.

If you like blacked out sights there are a few companies that make simple combat sights with just a small tritium dot on the front sight. This in my opinion is the best set up and I have started replacing my sights with these type of sights. Wilson Combat and Henie make sights like this. I like the simple sight picture and the clarity I get with these types of sights.

This right here tritium is only good is dim dusk lighting.  Day time it is pointless and complete darkness it is useless since you cannot identify your target or know what you are lining up on.  Weapon mounted light is mandatory for anything I carry now.  I have taken to low light no light courses and you learn real fast how the real world works.  I took my first class without my own light and the instructor had lights and rigs to experiment with and try.  I learned real fast high lumen is not necessarily a good thing, night sights are barely useful, and a weapon light is a must because half a day on earth is dark and countless places you will find yourself in the dark.  

My $0.02 is any sights are good to go night sights are ok just keep in mind that they are only useful in dim dusk light.  Glow in the dark are well.... uhhh.... um...... I got nothing because charging a sight up just seems well ....no comment.

WML FTW even an 80-100 lumen light is better than night sights.

I used to live in a crappy house in the middle of nowhere. Not much chance of thieves, but lots of dealing with wildlife - I'm talking snakes in the living room and shower, groundhogs digging up through the floor of the porch, raccoons trying to get in through the front door, coyotes after the neighbor's horse, etc. Lots of low-light shooting. First I tried a light. A light lets you see the target, but not your sights. Tritium sights let you see the sights, but not your target. Combination has always worked pretty well for me.

 This!

Weapon lights break or batteries die. I'm not saying not to use them, I have them on every gun that will accept a weapon light. I'm just saying having the night sights there as a back up. A layered approach to carrying is in my opinion the best way to go about things. There is not a one size fits all solution.

I think this is what a lot of people don't understand. When you have a WML on your gun and you point it at a wall in your house it washes out your sights and they become just black sillioute sights. However outside in the woods or where ever you don't get that light spill effect you get indoors. Outdoors your tritium sights are needed to be able to pick up a good sight picture. A WML and tritium sights play off each other in this situation.

Agreed.

Night Sights have a use and are not worthless.  Even without a weapon mounted light, they have a purpose.  Like if your target is illuminated by a light source, but you and your weapon aren't... you'll appreciate having illuminated sights.

I have night sights on my carry pistol but one has to understand the limitations of night sights.  If you cannot identify your target or what is beyond it.........  layers is correct I also carry a pocket flashlight.

Also FO sights can pick up light from the WML that is my setup on my G17 with a TLR1 HL.

The main reason I got them for my Glock was they come with plastic sights.  As others have said, if all you can see is the tritium then you likely can't ID the target.

If you think glow in the dark painted sights are useless then maybe you haven't seen what Seiko does with Dive rated watches or how that has become a significant mod for watch owners.

You can get good luminous paint off Amazon now and there are plenty of photos online showing it's intensity over 8 hours. One specific trait is that coming in from daylight luminous sights are brighter than tritium for at least half an hour - it's at the 2-4 hour mark that tritium shows it's consistency. What we don't rate well is the human eye becoming dark adapted and it's ability to see better after time.

I've suggested it for years now and the makers aren't listening - WHEN DO WE GET LED ILLUMINATED SIGHTS? They could even be light sensitive and compensate, we already have red dot scopes doing that. Battery life? Aimpoint gets years of constant on, there should be no difference. You wouldn't need to charge them and the half life is more dependent on abuse, not time.

It's not rocket science. We could even have a pulsing front sight. Lasers already do that. Imagine that with your weapon light on - it's not going to get washed out and should work in any lighting.

My Night Sight

This is a topic I have been thinking about a lot lately.  Currently I am seriously thinking about moving away from night sights all together and going strictly fiber optic front and blacked out rear sight.  

I have always had night sights on my guns before. I started with Tru-Glo TFO's on my Glock 22, then I bought Ameriglo I-Dots for my Glock 19.  Then I put a 10-8 rear sight on my Glock 19 with the high def front and I really like that set up. Eventually I put a 10-8 front and rear on my Glock 22, I use that for shooting USPSA Limited now.  My Glock 19 has the Ameriglo FBI contract sights, and my Glock 43 has Ameriglo Cap sights. 

Since I started shooting USPSA I put way more rounds through my Glock 22 than anything else I have grown to prefer a fiber optic front and blacked out rear. I like the precise yet fast sight picture so much that I might put them on my Glock 19.  I don't feel that I will miss the tritium on that gun since I always carry it with a weapon light.  

I would like to put fiber optics on my Glock 43 as well but since I don't carry that with a light this becomes more difficult.  I shot my 43 today at 25 yards and it was hitting 3 inches low at 25, the Cap sights are nice but they aren't very precise at that range.  

Essentially this comes down to I want precise yet fast sight pictures, and poi/poa dead on at 25 yards.  I think fiber optic sights can deliver that better than night sights can. 

Have you tried using your WML outdoors with your FO sights illuminating a target at 25 yards in low light? In my experience FO's can grab enough light to illuminate when you are lighting something up further down range. Personally I don't care for FO sights, they are too fragile for their intended purpose and they require ambient light or spill from a WML to function. A plain black rear sight with a serrated front that includes a small tritium dot is preferable in my opinion.

Because lights never break, batteries never die and lights can't be dropped in a fight.

Get them all!!  Tritium illuminated fiber optic...

TRUGLO TFX Pro

Flashlight...

Nope, this just isn't true.

All my carry guns have some brand of tritium sights on them, or they aren't carry guns.  My wife and I walk around our neighborhood most nights twelve months a year. It has to be windy and raining hard for the weather alone to stop us. On moonless and clear nights my sights and any target close enough for me to shoot are visible. Same on moonless and heavily overcast nights. Like many neighborhoods, most homes in mine have some form of outdoor lighting in security lights or landscaping lights. Same as parking lots in businesses.

If I go into my downstairs bathroom, the only room in the house without a window, and turn off the lights I can see nothing. How many places are like that.?If you can't see a close target you can't see to walk around. How did you get there and how are you getting out? And if you can't see the threat it most likely can't see you.

Tritium night sights are very practical for most situations we might find ourselves in. In the modern world with so much light pollution it's hard to find a truly dark place outside a closed in windowless room, like my bathroom. Ask yourself how many times you find yourself in a situation like that in your everyday life.

Just because the area you're in isn't illuminated doesn't mean the area the shoot-ee is in is dark. I tried to find the pictures (and failed), but there  are plenty of examples of situations where your area might be dark enough to have a hard time picking up sights, but you can still identify your target. If your living place is anything like my shitty living place you can test this by turning on a small light in a room at the end of a hallway, but keeping the lights in the hallway off. Is this situation common enough for you to really care? Who knows. I love the bright front sights on the CAPs or HDs so they're worth it just for the day as well, but tritium sights do have their purpose.

That said, if I had to choose between night sights and a light, I'd go with the light every time.

e: Well crap, should've refreshed the page. I agree with the post above.

For me the price of night sights is essentially nothing when you factor in how many rounds I shoot per year. However for some people, $100 for night sights is a lot of money. If you can afford them, get them. If it comes down to rounds for training or nigbt sights, i would suggest more ammo for training. My duty G17 has Trijicon HDs and my off duty G19 has Ameriglos. I actually prefer the Ameriglos.

That being said I think people put too much thought into sights. During force of force simunituon training I rarely actually get a good proper sight picture. I almost always get a stress sight picture and don't have time to actually use my sights. This is why repetition is so incredibly important. You really shouldn't "need" to use your sights at MOST self defense distances. Night sights are cheap insurance however and I would like to be prepared for as many situations as reasonably possible so I always put them on my serious use guns. I can only remember getting a proper sight picture once during force on force training and that was to make a headshot during a hostage scenario.

That's just my opinion however so take it for what it's worth. I would always recommend a good set of night sights but I wouldn't feel unprepared if I didn't have them. YMMV and I'm no expert... Just my opinion.

All my guns have tritium sites except my HD gun which has a light.

If you can't see anything, what the fuck are you shooting at?

First I would not need a NS or FO sight if I am able to illuminate my target I will be working with a black rear and black front and that is all you need.  I have and still practice often with my WML at my range at dusk\dark and what I have seen and experience tritium\FO whatever is pretty much useless if it is pitch black or if you are illuminating your target.  If it is pitch black you cannot identify your target therefore you should not shoot it, if you have it illuminated your eyes are only going to see black post with a high lumen WML, but if it is dim lighting where their is just enough light to illuminate a target to identify it but not enough to see sights then tritium come into play but still with a WML you should illuminate to get positive identification.  I strongly encourage you to take a low light no light training course it is an eye opener.  You will find yourself in scenarios where even if you can see the tritium sights they are not as beneficial as many make them out to be.  I have taken two of these course one a basic class and an advanced class.  The first I took it without owning a WML the instructor provided rigs with different setups (high and low lumen, & NS\FO\black steel sights) and it gave me a new perspective.  NS are very limited in their capability..... I am not say not to get them but I am saying have reasonable expectations of what the equipment is capable of so if you find yourself in a situation where you believe this will save your life or you plan to rely on something you have a reasonable expectation of what is going to happen.  Once the adrenaline starts pumping that tritium vile becomes even harder to see trust me.

This is what I am talking about just because some ambient light is out does not mean you will be able to readily identify your target.  This is dangerous mindset and could get you in a situation where you shoot the wrong thing.  Like I said above I encourage you to take a low light no light training course seriously.  I can name at least a 100 situation where you could find yourself in a pitch black area where you will not be able to identify your target.  Also remember you have to be able to identify what is beyond your target because you own every round that leaves your firearm and you do not want it going through your neighbors window and hitting his baby in a cradle on the other side, your neighbor walking at night, or someone sitting in a vehicle you cannot see beyond your target.  Never assume you are in a perfect scenario or that you plan is going to hold up.  Your plan A and B will almost always fail so stack the deck in your favor.

That's not necessarily true. If you go outside in any neighborhood at night with normal street lighting you can't see your sights (non-illuminated), but, you can see and identify people. If you're in such a lighting situation (which is exactly what tritium night sights were designed for) than you can clearly see a person, can identify them, and can shoot back at them (effectively and accurately) if they shoot at you. When my agency started a yearly night firing course of fire for qualifications I was one of the few that had tritium nights sights and my shots were clearly more accurate (with tighter groups) than those who did not.

From my experience it sounds like he's assuming daylight only or inside, well lighted conditions only, which is only half the time and doesn't cover the times when bad things tend to happen. I challenge you to go outside at night and try to use your non-illuminated iron gun sights using only street lighting. We're not talking total darkness, we're talking regular street lighting which does allow you to see and identify people to look for possible threats. In total darkness is where weapon mounted lights excel and allow you to illuminate, identify, and if required, accurately neutralize a threat(s).

I see no reason not to have Tritium sights if the handgun allows.
I run night sights on every handgun that will accept them.

Dave N

This.  If your shooting at night you should be using a flashlight which will backdrop your sights so you'll see them anyway.  The only situation I see for night sights are if you're in a scuffle in the dark with no light at which point you're likely going to be point shooting without the sights anyway.  If it's so dark you are staring at your dimly lit front night sight to aim, there's no way your going to see your target.  I would spend money on a decent light before I'd upgrade to night sights.

Just curious how many of you carry a weapon mounted light?
How many go out at night and carry a flashlight?

Dave N

" Like if your target is illuminated by a light source, but you and your weapon aren't"

You will be able to tell when the front site is in the notch.

When investing in anythinf above factory sights I only do trijicon.

I carry both.
G19.4 w/XC1
G43 w/TLR-6
G17.4 w/TLR-1 HL
Any serious defensive weapon system includes a light.  Living life on planet Earth you will experience darkness at some point that is a fact.  You may not have access to power at some times to flip a switch or a street light.  The fact is you should never rely on light being available or provided by other means you should carry light with you.

Streetlight type conditions, night sights are a huge advantage.

In the dark/shadow shooting into light, night sights are a huge advantage.  

Indoor or no light conditions, you need a white light.  Any sights work there.  

Daytime conditions outdoors, night sights are not as good as solid black or fiber optic.

That's one.

Won't the sights just be black against the lighted background?  I shoot at a covered range sometimes and it's kind of like this.  I've never had a problem seeing the sights.    I guess it just depends on how much ambient light there really is.  But I would think if the target is lighted, you will see the outline of the sights.

I guess it depends on how much contrast there is to the lighting.  

I know that covering a porch and front door from a shadow made the tritium very advantageous.  That was in outdoor low light, which is the most difficult condition I've encountered due to the constantly varying intensity and direction of light and shadow.  

The white light is not always necessary or effective, but the sights are not always visible.  

I think 3 dot night sights are the most versatile sights you can put on a handgun.  Tritium front only is very popular but not offer much more benefit than point shooting in situations where night sights are beneficial.  

No light conditions are the easiest to deal with as the WML makes a nice hot spot to contrast the sights against.  I've used solid black and fiber optic fronts in low light and they're fine.

Two.  
P320C with TFX Pros and an XC1 (get both), and I ALWAYS have a flashlight on me, usually a ProTac-1L for the  size:performance ratio for my purposes.  A flashlight is one of the most utilitarian items you can carry pretty much anywhere you go and I use it all the time. Dark happens even during the middle of the day.

As I sit in my hotel room-
Attached File

While the rear sight may have enough exposure to be activated the front buried down in a holster will not.

Unless you want to try and install a battery powered holster with a light near the front sight.


Luminescent paint is a non-starter.

They are talking about how painted sights are useless because they will always be under clothing while carrying so the luminous paint doesn't have exposure to light for it to glow.



Why not just get the TFX or TFX pro sights?  Protected sapphire encased fiber optics + tritium for the best of both worlds!

Yes, totally worthless for any application. I had a Beretta that came with them. They were miserable. All my semi-auto's have Tritium sights now.

I rarely carry a sidearm with a weapon mounted light, but I ALWAYS carry a flashlight.  Won't leave home without a sidearm, light, and a pocket knife.

ETA - to the OP, pretty much every sidearm I have that is easily able has tritium Night sites.