brightest night sights?

[nathaniel.seacat]

I currently have the glock factory front night sight on my g19 and its just not that bright. Im thinging about going with something brighter and a glock factory rear night sight. I would like to keep the front sight brighter than the rear, and try a 3 dot config as opposed to the "glock box" rear style.

[Asmodeus6]

TruGlo TFO.

Way brighter than most I compare too and are as bright as a hiviz in the day time. WIN/WIN.

I love these sights on my 26.

[*Klutch*]

a set of Ameriglo operators will have the front sight brighter and outlined in white.
http://www.ameriglo.net/catalog/sigh.../complete-sets

[walther]

Trijicon are the best and brightest, IMO, followed by Ameriglow. Both are brighter then factory GLOCK night sights.

[Shadow Heart]

My understanding with these are that the chemical in them dim down over time, a new made set will be the brightest, were as a 3 year old set will be dimmer. i read somewhere 7-11 years life span on them.

With that said, i had a set of trijicon on my glock they were good, maybe if you are interested go with the green front, red/orange rear to offset the colors making the green seem brighter. but eventually in time they will fade out.

[ohsee]

It's not so much a chemical, as it is radioactive isotope of hydrogen. Tritium, like all radioactive materials, has a half life. It will try to become more stable, meaning it's releasing particles (the ones that basically cause cancer and stuff).

So yeah, it'll dim over time, because it's not going to be complete tritium. Supposed to last something like 12 years or so.

[JoshIronshaft]

I like my TruGlo night sights that combine the tritium gas and fiber optics for enhanced brightness during the day. The tritium is exactly half as bright as it started after 10-12 years depending on who you ask. Also, one of my TruGlo fiber optics jumped out of the front sight on my 45 and TruGlo fixed it free of charge, no proof of purchase required. The sight was still able to be sued because the tritium was still in it, but the fiber optic was missing. If I wasn't shooting in the snow I probably could of found it and fixed it myself.

[Jrkotz]

TruGlo TFO.

+1 I bought a used XD with the TFO's and fell in love. I really like them, and would recommend them.

[Steve_NEPhila]

Permit me to share some small amount of knowledge I have on the topic. First, an explanation on how tritium night sights work:

Glass vials are constructed and are coated on the inside with a phosphor. The tritium gas is inserted into the tube and the tube sealed. The radiation of electrons from the tritium gas excites the phosphors and that is how the "glow" is created. Different types of phosphors create different colors of light. In a sense, it is the phosphor that is glowing not the tritium.

Tritium gas is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen and it has a short half life of approximately 12 years. The practical service life for tritium sights is about 9-10 years in my experience.

Tritium poses no real radiation hazard to humans, as it cannot penetrate the skin. When contained in glass vials (like in night sights) the radiation is of no consequence and no danger. The danger is ingesting, inhaling or injecting tritium into the body. Believe it or not, tritium is common in out atmosphere, just in very low concentrations.

As for the brightest tritium sights, I really like the XS Standard dot... not to be confused with the big dot. The bog dot does not have a larger tritium vial, it has a larger white circle around the tritium vial. I have a standard dot on my Smith and Wesson 386 carry gun and it is quite impressive. It is of the 09 vintage, yet it is brighter then trijicon 3 dot set ups. I am also a proponent of the front sight only being a tritium unit, as focus on the front sight is all that matters and in low and failing light ones eyes will naturally focus on the glowing bits. If you have three dots to choose from and two of them are closer to you it does not help the focus on the front sight. Where the front sight is is where the bullet will land, period.

Experiment and be inquisitive. Go to your favorite gunshop that has night sights in stock and ask to see them in a dark room. Cupping your hand over them will not be as effective because ambient light will not be of assistance. Note though that most manufacturers buy their vials from Trijicon and that the vial size is not significantly different. What matters most is how the sight containing the vial is constructed. Go see some for yourself at your local shop.

[rwb1500]

Trijicon are the best and brightest, IMO, followed by Ameriglow. Both are brighter then factory GLOCK night sights.

Ameriglo uses Trijicon vials. And I'm almost positive that Glock factory night sights do too.

Note though that most manufacturers buy their vials from Trijicon and that the vial size is not significantly different. What matters most is how the sight containing the vial is constructed. Go see some for yourself at your local shop.

This.

Personally, I really do like TFOS, but I can't get over how fragile they seem. I know they are probably more robust than they appear, but I can't get over the fact the feel like junk. Plus I haven't been able to find front sights separately, which is what I want anyway.

Also, TFOs, in my experience, have been hands down brighter than Trijicons and Ameriglos I've owned. YMMV.