Surefire FM34 Beamshaper

The FM34 is a flip-up diffuser for flashlights with 1.25" bezels. It's a wonderful addition to a throwy light, providing a pure, soft flood of light. It makes the Gladius a basically perfect flashlight...

...if you can make it fit.

Apparently, Night-Ops's idea of 1.25" is different from Surefire's idea of 1.25", so the FM34 will be a tight fit on your Gladius. To install it without damage:

  1. Slide the FM34 over the bezel by choosing what orientation you'll want it in, rotating it a bit, then rotating it into place as you push. It should slide in easily.
  2. If the Gladius's bezel were just a tiny bit smaller, you would just close the latch and be done. However, you'll have to gather up some nerve and the close the latch all the way in one go. This is necessary because of this latch style: the most stressful point is actually not when the latch is fully closed, but rather a bit before. This is on purpose, so that the latch is prevented from unlocking by itself.
  3. If your FM34 is still in one piece, congratulations. If you understood and followed step two, you should be fine.

Now that your FM34 is installed, here's how to use it:

  1. The FM34 has a little tab that hooks over a lip. Press the opposite tip of this tab to release it.
  2. Swing the diffuser through its detents until it's snug against the main assembly.
  3. To reattach it, simply reverse these steps.