February 08, 2012
By Reid Coffield
Question: I am thinking about putting some night sights on my house gun, a Colt Commander. I don't want to use a laser because of the issue of having to keep track of the age and condition of batteries. However, I am concerned about the life of regular night sights such as those made by Trijicon. Do you know what I can expect in terms of life span for night sights on my Commander?
Answer: In my experience a set of regular Trijicon night sights will normally last about 15 years or so before the lamps in the sights begin to fade out enough that the average user will notice. Keep in mind Trijicon guarantees most of their night sights for 12 years and states their sights have a "half life" of 12.5 years. This means the sights will only be half as bright after 12.5 years. With that said, remember if the sights are damaged or loose all luminescence, you're still not without sights. You'll always have the post front and notch rear sight for normal light conditions and you'll still have useable sights. I can well appreciate your wanting to avoid having to deal with batteries.
