It really has not been brought up here, but in an effort to be as forthright as possible, I want to keep those that are making buying decisions as informed as possible.  I suspect this is the case, because that most folks here use their equipment hard, drop it, re-paint it and so forth.

No matter the brand/finish, it you use a light hard, it will look like it no matter the coating.  

Some of the Gladius Flashlights have experienced some scratching or finish wear that some folks are not happy with.

This has been batted about for several months by our team. We believe it was more the way the coating was being applied as opposed to the coating itself as evidenced by the finish on some of the lights simply not being optimal in terms of wear.

That being said, in order to alleviate any doubts and address customer concerns, we going to transition our production lights to Type III Hard Ano for the color Black.  Most customers desire Black so the majority of the lights being ordered will see this change in the next 60 days.

This was on http://strategosforum.com under a thread dealing with the Gladius

If wear on your BLACK Gladius bothers you, you may touchup the BLACK aluminum with a product manufactured by Birchwood Casey called Aluminum Black.

Aluminum Black is available online at www.brownell's.com or through gun stores.

"Aluminum Black For Black Touch-Up Of Anodized Aluminum Applies and reacts like Perma-Blue. Ideal for touching up black-anodized aluminum. Used and specified by the Armed Forces and manufacturers of electronic equipment. Produces rich, black finish instantly, requires no special equipment or skills."

Olive Drab is next for possible transition to Type III HA.

We are going to maintain the Cerakote for the Sniper Grey and Coyote Tan lights and hope we have dialed in the coating.

Respectfully,

Ken J. Good
Night-Ops Illumination Tools

Ken:

I have had a Gladius for 6 weeks everyday use now. No problems with the black finish Still struggling wih the battery change out/tail cap though seems to be getting harder to get the alignmnet right for proper function with each battery change

thanks for the update

Quoted: Ken: I have had a Gladius for 6 weeks everyday use now. No problems with the black finish Still struggling wih the battery change out/tail cap though seems to be getting harder to get the alignmnet right for proper function with each battery change thanks for the update

The finish change is a welcome one.  I also would like to know if there are considerations for a revised tail switch in aluminum that is easier to install.  If this is not on the drwaing board would replacement tail caps be able to be upgraded if I went ahead and bought now?

heron,

It should not be that difficult.  Can I suggest you have your light returned for evaulation/repair/replacement?

If it ever got cross-threaded, you are going to have an increasingly difficult time threading the tailcap.  My guess is that this is case....

I can easily change my tailcap (a first production run light I have been beating up) in the dark with little effort or friction.

Aluminum rotary dials are not being planned in the near future.  We did some independent drop testing and the "other guys" best lights did not do so well in direct comparison to the Gladius dropped on concrete.  Their tailcaps were bending and becoming totally inoperable.

In order to do a tailcap change, the body would have to be changed as well.  There is a pin on the tailcap that aligns with a groove in the body prior to tightening the threads.  So...I don't see an easy transition from what we have to a non-indexed tailcap.  

Nevertheless, I will take this concern to our design team for their review.

Installing the tailcap is really quite simple (but obviously not sailor-proof), gently turn the rotary dial until the pin drops into the groove and indexes, then tighten the tailcap by holding the protruding flanges.  Two things have happened.

1.  People initally assumed they put the tailcap on like lights they are more familar with.  Thereby in many cases they have damaged the threads

2.  We initially did a bad job of communicating this in our instruction manual.  New manuals have brought this issue to the forefront.

Thanks for that offer Ken -

how should I contact for a RA #?

regards,

Paul

The body is aircraft grade aluminum like most lights in this category.  All my lights have scratches in them (regardless of manufacturer) because I use them.  On the other hand customers don’t want finishes that simply fall off the light….(not that the Gladius finish is doing that).

Finish is very important to some, irrelevant to others.  

Here is a post found on my forum right after I posted regarding our finish change:

I stand by my original statements regarding the finish of the light. I don't think there is any more appreciable wear on my light with the current finish than there might have been with a HAA finish. ALL finishes wear, especially on the edges or corners. Of course, I'm not that picky when it comes to finish as I am where function is concerned. I almost hate for something I have to look completely new.

I personally think some of the first production run lights fell into the category of lights with finish wear issues.  I tried to scratch a recent light by taking a very abrasive prototype flashlight holder and aggressively taking a Gladius in & out, twisting it, pulling it etc.  I dropped the light.  Banged it against other lights etc.  Took my knife and ran it across the finish.

The finish held well.

Again, in order to alleviate real customer concerns/perceptions, we are going to do the finish change.

Call 800.694.5263 or 757.436.3101 to obtain a Return Merchandise Authorization Number.

Tim -

that is similar to my problem  though sometimes the light does not function at all and I vae to continue to mess with it to get even to the condition you describe.

How do you imbolize the tail cap? with mine, even if i place it in the locked position, it won't hold it from turning and getting out of alignment.

I sent mine back today for a look see at Night Ops (thanks Ken!).

I do like the light otherwise - was using it every night!

regards,

Paul