Solarforce Gladiator (with KD XM-L U2 Drop-in)
Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary:
Battery: | 1-4 x 18650 |
Switch: | Forward clicky |
Modes: | 1 (Drop-in not included) |
LED Type: | XM-L U2 (Drop-in not included) |
Lens: | Glass, 2mm, AR coated |
Tailstands: | Yes |
Price Payed: | $59.99 (+ $11.78 for drop-in) |
From: | solarforce-sales.com (drop-in from kaidomain.com) |
Date Ordered: | January 2012 |
Pros:
- Good quality
- Heavy (630g with two batteries)
- Feels good in hand
- Nice holster included
- Ability to choose any P60 drop-in you like (1 mode 3-18V is not a bad idea)
- AR-coated glass lens, 2mm thick
- 3 dummy 18650 batteries included, allowing the use of 1-4 batteries (depending on the drop-in, of course)
- Comes in a nice box
Cons:
- A bit short to be used as a (self-defense) weapon (but then again: less problems with police!)
- A bit pricey (especially as the drop-in is not included)
Features / Value: ★★★★☆
The light comes in a nice package (although one corner was damaged by post):
Package includes:
- Flashlight body (complete, without drop-in)
- A nice holster
- Three dummy 18650 batteries (only one shown in the picture, others are inside the body)
- Two extra O-rings
- Spare rubber boot (GITD)
Here's everything opened up (+ the drop-in):
Note that the BLF-lanyard shown in the pictures is NOT included. I bought it earlier from manafont and I think it suits this light very well!
Features, well, ... It's a flashlight body, that's it. It works well and seems to be waterproof. Tailcap switch is forward clicky and feels good in use. Maybe not so good for multi-mode drop-ins?
Value for money: A bit pricey, especially as the drop-in is not included. -1 star for this.
Design / Build Quality: ★★★★★
Design is nice. The light is quite heavy (480g without batteries, 630g with two batteries + two dummies = ready to use), and feels very good in hand.
I would not choose this for my self-defense flashlight (I sleep with The Mace and Baseball bat), but on the other hand, I might take this for a walk. Especially in the holster it doesn't look aggressive at all: (ok, maybe a bit, but not so much as the others!)
The anodization is good overall, so let's see some details..
Bezel crenelation (sorry about the dust):
Front end threads were really smooth and the O-ring well placed:
Tailcap from inside, KD drop-in and Head:
From the top:
Bottom line in the quality: Nothing to complain! Well, except that this could be a bit longer, like The Mace
Here's a length comparison for those side-by-side:
And the walls are THICK, like 7.5mm thick!
Battery Life: ★★★★★
Perfect! Up to four batteries will allow really long runtimes with a suitable drop-in.
The KD XM-L U2 3-18V drop-in takes about 0.5A from 4 x 18650, allowing something like up to five hours runtime on high.
Light Output: ★★★★☆
This is not a DRY, but in par with other P60 lights. Thermal sag is significant, at least before doing the aluminum foil trick. After that, the thick body takes all the heat very well.
Number of |
Tailcap |
Ceiling bounce, |
1 | 1.45A | 76% |
2 | 1.05A | 85% |
3 | 0.63A | 81% |
4 | 0.52A | 90% |
Two white wall beamshots
Summary: ★★★★☆
Very good flashlight for anyone who wants to have something heavy that gives some extra reach in case of being attacked. I would not classify this as an attack weapon, so there should not be any problems with police, but YMMV!
The End (pun intended):
Thanks for reading & watching. Hope you enjoyed the review!