Nitesighters

[Liberty]

Sorry, the last thing I would want to have to "think" about is my sights. I have tritium so I have less to worry about and have confidence it's "always on" when I need it. I posted this on a HARSH message board, but I'm still waiting to hear an official moderator opinion. These guys are instructors and I'm sure they'll have nothing positive to say about these. Only good use is what I saw above. Placing them in strategic places around the home to help identify objects when you're doing a sweep to secure the house.

Gee , is this how far we have come? We are now considered a HARSH message board.

You will never get an "official moderator opinion" on anything here except for moderation issues themselves. Our Moderators here are a bunch of smart diverse folks, but they are not all CHL instructors. I can't speak from any authority because I'm not Charles Cotton or a moderator. but I don't believe that moderators are selected not because of their knowledge of handguns or self defense laws. They are selected because Mr. Cotton feels they will be able moderate the board in the way they see fit. dedication is likely to to be the most important attribute that Mr Cotton looks for in a moderator. Yes some are instructors. They are all pretty knowledgable. A couple few of them are experts in certain aspects of CHL. But the most most knowledgeable of folks on this board on a specific topic is likely not to be a moderator. Its all about shear numbers there are more of us than them.

Now how does one figure out who the real experts are and on what topics? You got to read real close and pay attention.

The true expert on these sights will be the one that actually buys installs and uses them for a while.

[DoubleJ]

as noted, I've ordered some and will give ye ol' report once they arrive.

I am not an expert, nor do I purport to be one.

[BigDan]

Gee , is this how far we have come? We are now considered a HARSH message board.

No, a different board where they are pretty harsh. Didn't realize that was unclear...my apologies. =-]

[Excaliber]

Your logic is sound and I always respect sound logic, but I think you're being a bit harsh. Of course self-illuminating sights would be ideal but for cost vs benefit (ROI) I think this is potentially a good deal. I agree that it's not the best solution, especially in the scenario where you're waking up a 2am after the proverbial bump in the night. Odds are you didn't charge them before going to bed.

However, if you make it a practice to charge them before going to bed and they last until dawn, well where's your gripe for $12?

I apologize if my remarks came across as harsh. That certainly wasn't my intent, and in all fairness there is a half full side to this half empty glass.

Let's keep this in perspective: The circumstances where illuminated sights would be likely to have a strong impact on the outcome of an encounter are very limited and considerably less likely in civilian circumstances than they are in law enforcement work. They may provide an edge, but are seldom truly decisive.

My personal standard is to use only the most reliable, extensively field proven equipment for situations where I might have to defend my life because I know from experience that there's enough that will surely go poorly in any serious incident without creating additional opportunities for unpleasant surprises. ('Experience" is defined as "What you get when you don't get what you want."

With that being said, the world won't come to an end if someone puts Nite Sighters on his gun. The weapon will still work whether the dots are illuminated or not, and the decision one makes on illuminated sights is a lot less important than his choice of weapon system and the training investment made in the operator behind it. However, if you use a device like this in all your low light training so the freshly illuminated dot pattern is what your mind expects to see, and then have to use the weapon to defend your life when the "light charge" is about gone (note that the product description doesn't give quantitative details on how long they glow brightly), the difference may be enough to hurt your confidence and performance when you can least afford it. Tritium sights prevent this malfunction by always being on with the same level of illumination - no changes, no surprises. As usual, you get what you pay for.

If you decide to use Nite Sighters, my suggestion would be to train to use your weapon system competently and instinctively both with and without illuminated sights. That way, if you end up facing "the elephant" and remembered to charge them, all well and good. If you forgot to charge them that night, no big deal.

I may consider buying some of the material myself, but if I do, I'll deploy it as dim light navigational aids as lrb111 has so cleverly suggested. I don't think I'll be buying a few dots for ten bucks, though, when I can get 10 yards x 1/2 inch of similar product for less than $8 at:

http://www.thetapedepot.com/cart/index. ... 1Qodx3Zasw

[Bart]

The true expert on these sights will be the one that actually buys installs and uses them for a while.

The ten year old daughter rule prevents me from commenting on self styled "experts" who pontificate without having tried them.

[LedJedi]

The true expert on these sights will be the one that actually buys installs and uses them for a while.

The ten year old daughter rule prevents me from commenting on self styled "experts" who pontificate without having tried them.

are we allowed to say "pontificate" under the 10 year old rule? :) j/k

btw: i have them installed on my taurus and will be trying them out for a while. Will report back to you guys after I've given them a fair eval.

+1 to the use of putting them around the house, but i agree there are cheaper options out there for that.

I can say installation was a breeze and initial response is positive. The dots fit perfectly over the white dots on my site. They are VERY bright when charged and when not charged they are just as bright white as my normal white dots so either way i'm not getting a LOSS of visibility.

[lrb111]

I ordered two sets of dots, and a package of bars and larger dots. The 17 hour illumination sounded pretty good. The offering at the tape depot is interesting, and could also come in handy.

I'll let ya'll know...

[LedJedi]

The long awaited and much anticipated.... me blabbing for 10 minutes :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf34p7i2m0o

[Excaliber]

The long awaited and much anticipated.... me blabbing for 10 minutes :)

LedJedi did a very thorough and well balanced review of the Nitesighters luminous dot sight enhancers, giving a very clear picture of what they are and what they are not. It's well worth watching. He's very straightforward that they're not replacements for tritium, but they're better than no glow at all if you want luminous sights and can't afford the more expensive product.

Incidentally, tritium sights can be obtained for much more reasonable prices these days than they could before. I've seen Glock brand tritiums for their guns at $52 and Trijicons for $72, and other guns in the $80 - $90 range. Check out some of the larger police supply web sites if you're interested.

[Frost]

I am getting the urge to modify a holster with UV LEDs.

[LedJedi]

I am getting the urge to modify a holster with UV LEDs.

oh man.... lol if you do I've GOT to see a picture of that!

[Excaliber]

I am getting the urge to modify a holster with UV LEDs.

Building a new technical lighting system to support inexpensive sight enhances should make for an interesting project.

Please track of time and material expenditures required and share them so our members can make informed budgetary and tactical decisions between self adhesive dots that glow with varying intensities at varying times, require particular wavelengths of light to work well, and don't work at all if you fail to charge them and those always on, embedded in steel, constantly luminous at the same level tritium sights that don't require you to do anything for them to work the same way all the time for a price difference of around $60 - $70 (before the battery powered UV LED dot support system is taken into account, of course).

[dukalmighty]

They sound like they may be a good alternative in the home,but if I was depending on them professionally I would go with tru glos,usually at ranges you may need to shoot in the house if you incorporate low light shooting in your shooting sessions you will get used to point shooting

[Roshi]

I wouldn't trust my life to them. My home defense pistol is locked in a quick open safe and never sees the sun except for trips to range.

I'll stick with my Meprolight and XS sights.

The non permanent glow sights would be useful for some one to see if they liked night sights before laying out the cash for Tritium sights.

[Liberty]

I wouldn't trust my life to them. My home defense pistol is locked in a quick open safe and never sees the sun except for trips to range.

I'll stick with my Meprolight and XS sights.

The non permanent glow sights would be useful for some one to see if they liked night sights before laying out the cash for Tritium sights.

How many of us trust our lives on plain old white dots though.