Intro to Glock Night Sights
I’ve often heard folks refer to Glocks as the Legos of handguns. It’s the enormous aftermarket for parts that make these guns so easy to customize. I personally strap a pair of night sights on every Glock I own because, well, I don’t really like the polymer sights that come with the guns from the factory.
You must be careful when buying sights for your Glock. Not all models and generations host the same sights. A Glock 17 Gen 4, for example, will not use the same sights as a Glock 17 Gen 5. Generally speaking, anything that is Gen 1 – Gen 4 should have the same sight footprint. But sight heights may also vary depending on the gun’s chambering.
Don’t get too hung up on all that, though. You can quickly confirm compatibility with a simple online search once you pick the sight’s you like. The next issue is installation. I highly recommend using a local gunsmith. It’s very easy to damage sights if you install them incorrectly.
However, fans of DIY will note there are plenty of tools you can buy to install your own sights. Now, let’s jump into the first sights we tested for this article.
Budget Pick: Night Fision U-Notch
I have a soft spot for Night Fision iron sights. I had a set on my go-to carry gun for the last five years, and they’ve performed well. I opted for the U-notch with an orange front tip on my personal sights when I originally bought them.
Since then, these sights have accompanied me on countless range trips, hikes, and other daily adventures. I never had any issue with them, though they were hardly the brightest sights I’ve owned. Night Fision claims it has the brightest tritium night sights on the market. The total brightness of the tritium may be superior to the competition. But the holes for the tritium vials seems smaller if you add on colored sight rings for easier daytime shooting.
That seems to cut down on the total light transmission. Regardless, they got the job done for me at a nice price point for years of hard use.
As a quick note, the camera I had struggled to track on the front dots during the dark-test videos. Suffice it to say the glow is generally around the same strength at the front as the rear. Here’s how these Night Fisions performed in the dark:
The front sight post, which you can opt to buy on its own, can be had with an insert that is white, blue, yellow, orange, or red. MSRP runs $48 to $119, depending on what style of sights you choose – U-notch for example – and whether you include rear night sights with tritium vials.
Night-Performance Pick: Meprolight Hyper-Bright
Meprolight is a global supplier of optics, electronic sights, and self-illuminating sights. This includes having a hand in crafting many of the OEM sights that come with various handguns these days. The company’s Hyper-Bright sights come in a variety of flavors that include U-notch, V-notch, and square-notch patterns with options for green, yellow, or orange front-sight inserts.
I mounted these on my daily carry Glock 19 Gen 4 four months ago and can attest to the brightness levels. They were a noticeable improvement over my older night sights and offered significantly brighter tritium illumination in the dark. The front green tip was also easy to pick up when shooting in bright daylight.
These Hyper-Bright sights from Meprolight come in at an MSRP of $109.99, though they can often be had for less. For the money, the night brightness on these all-metal sights makes them a great choice for low-light shooting.
Best Day & Night Pick: TruGlo TFX Pro
TruGlo offers sights tailored for the brightest day shooting and the darkest night shooting with its TFX Pros. These sights have fiber-optic rods at the front and rear to gather light during the day. A tritium vial sits in front of each rod and projects back light in the dark.
Finally, TruGlo added a wide orange ring at the front sight post. This feature really helps me isolate the front post while shooting.
Rolling in with an MSRP of $165.99, these sights fall on the pricier side. That price does come with all the extras: orange front sight ring, front and back tritium vials, and front and back fiber-optic rods.
Those extras make TruGlo’s TFX Pros a great option for day and night shooting with front and rear sights that shine in either shooting condition.
Unique Design Pick: XS Sights DXW2 Big Dot
By far the most unconventional-looking sights on our list, XS Sights DXW2 Big Dot breaks with your standard sight design that normally features a front-sight post and rear notch. Instead, XS Sights opted for a “dot-the-i” format, whereby the shooter aligns the large front dot with a vertical line at the base of the wide, V-shaped rear sight.
The design is meant to help with rapid target acquisition, especially for people with aging eyes or who struggle to quickly acquire the front-sight post. The front photoluminescent Glow Dot is oversized and convex to maximize its surface area. This gives it more space to reflect light.
I can attest to the fact that front dot is very bright. I’d go so far as to say it’s the easiest to pick up during daytime shooting and the brightest in the dark of all the sights on this list. The biggest downside is that the rear sight is not visible in near-total-dark conditions. Those conditions are rare, but you’ll only be able to see your front sight in true darkness.
I’ve swapped out the signs on one of my carry Glocks to test these out for a few months. So far, they’ve served me well. There is a bit of a learning curve on the range with the “dot-the-i” design, but I immediately noticed I had a better downrange view with the open-top layout.
Top-Shelf Pick: Trijicon DI Night Sights
Finally, you can’t create a list of sights or optics without mentioning the powerhouse Trijicon. The company’s DI (dual illumination) Night Sights feature an overhanging metal rear sight with tritium vials and a front sight boasting both tritium and a fiber-optic rod.
The fiberoptic rod up front can be removed and replaced with a tool. I found this harder than expected, so you may still want to go to a true gunsmith if you’re trying to swap out that front green rod for something else. Regardless, the sights are rugged and offer improved visibility of the front sight in daylight.
Trijicon is a premiere sight maker, and these sights come with an MSRP of $158 to match that reputation. They are all metal, and you can purchase replacement rods if you ever need them. Several green rods come with each set of sights as well.
