Did the CMG Infinity Ultra ever use Nichia CS LED?

[gunga]

I can't quite find it in the searches.

I know the new style Gerber Infinity ultra is available with a Nichia CS LED. Did the old green CMG Infinity ultra ever use a CS LED or was it always a BS LED?

I know some of the CMGs were packaged as 2x as bright so I'm curious...

 

[prof]

pretty sure the CMGs never used the CS...I believe Gerber bought CMG before the CS was introduced. I could be wrong on this, of course.

 

[greenLED]

I know some of the CMGs were packaged as 2x as bright so I'm curious...

I'm with prof on this one.
IIRC, the "2x brightness" marketing was from Gerber, after they bought CMG (and ruined one of the best lights ever...).

 

[mikekoz]

I'm with prof on this one.
IIRC, the "2x brightness" marketing was from Gerber, after they bought CMG (and ruined one of the best lights ever...).

I have a few of these lights and they are great! How in the world did Gerber "ruin" them????:shrug:

Mike

 

[gunga]

I'm with prof on this one.
IIRC, the "2x brightness" marketing was from Gerber, after they bought CMG (and ruined one of the best lights ever...).

Actually, I think a friend of mine has a 2x brighter CMG IU.

Basically I think they raised the drive level of the CMG Infinity and called it the ultra. I think I read that somewhere but wanted to confirm if they actually switched to CS at any point...

BTW, I quite like the new Gerber version. It's easily modded to Nichia GS (oh yeah! Brighter and whiter), tailstands, has momentary, and is available fairly cheaply).

 

[nerdgineer]

+1 to the "no, CMG never used the CS".

Also, I was one of the "Gerber ruined the CMG" school for a long time. Then I actually got the Gerber Infinity and have changed my mind. The CMG front twisty is nicer but it was a crush your battery type. The Gerber is a spring loaded type twisty which is a huge improvement (no current has to pass through the threads), plus the CS LEDs, so...:thumbsup:.

Now if they'd only go to a GS....

 

[gunga]

Well, I just modded 2 of them to GS, so I guess you can sort of get a good long running GS LED AA light, just not stock.

 

[greenLED]

Gunga, CMG first produced the "infinity Task Light" and then the "Infinity Ultra". The latter is a lot brighter than the Task light, but with shorter runtime.

IIRC, the Infinity light went through at least 3 circuit iterations (that we can tell, at least) - there was a thread somewhere where we hashed out the differences.

Mike, CMG's build quality was a whole lot better than what Gerber is currently producing.

 

[flashlite]

I loved the old CMG style but I'm also very fond of the newer Gerber style. One of the biggest complaints of the Gerber style was that, since it was a tail twisty, you couldn't turn it on with one hand anymore. I've never experienced that problem. You just flip it in you hand, twist it on and then flip it back. It's very simple and takes no time at all....plus you get the advantage of momentary on.

 

[gunga]

Well, I just hold the tail in my pinky & ring fingers and twist the head. It works quite well for me.

Coolio, good info.

 

[greenLED]

Well, I just hold the tail in my pinky & ring fingers and twist the head.

Ditto. Not as stright forward as using your index & thumb, but it works.

 

[Dreck]

I hope the Gerber Infinity doesn't do the same thing two of my Sonics did...the lanyard ring is attached to the twisty endcap on the new infinity (please correct me if I'm wrong) I lost two Sonic bodies by having them on my keychain. The twisty just untwisted it self and the body just fell off, twice (ya' think I would have learned the first time). Maybe mine were too easy to twist. And of course one just couldn't tighten up the endcap.
I hope the newer ones have some sort of stop to keep the thing from separating.

 

[mikekoz]

Mike, CMG's build quality was a whole lot better than what Gerber is currently producing.[/quote]


Wow!! I may have to try to find one of these used either here or on Ebay. The Gerbers look and feel to me to be almost indestructible. The CMG's must be pretty hefty. I like overbuilt lights!!

Mike

 

[gunga]

I hope the newer ones have some sort of stop to keep the thing from separating.

There is no stop or anything, but the twisty is quite firm. I have one that spins fairly easily, but not loosely, and one that is tighter.

Both have a LOT of extra threads. It would take a whole lot of twisting for the end cap to come off by accident.

 

[gunga]

Hey GreenLED (and anyone else who has tried this), does polishing the reflector make much difference on the Gerber Infinity Ultras?

I know the 5 mm radiation patern doesn't make good use of most reflectors and this one is just a basic cone and not a properly focused reflector anyways.

I mounted my GS leds a tiny bit higher and it looks like it may have a wider dispersion pattern, so the entire conical surface is lit. Seems like a polish job could help but I'm unsure if it will make an ugly unfocused beam or something...

 

[paulr]

Polishing the reflector has been done a few times, it makes a slight difference, nothing major. I haven't been tempted to do it on any of mine.

 

[gorn]

Mike, CMG's build quality was a whole lot better than what Gerber is currently producing.

Wow!! I may have to try to find one of these used either here or on Ebay. The Gerbers look and feel to me to be almost indestructible. The CMG's must be pretty hefty. I like overbuilt lights!!

Mike[/QUOTE]

I have a couple of the original CMG's. One with a green LED the other has a red LED. I think they were made before they started using white LEDs. I also just picked up a couple of the Gerber versions for real cheap. There is a huge difference in build quality. The Gerbers are pretty nice but nothing like the CMG's. I sent the red LED to Iraq with my Son. He is a scout/sniper and spent most of the 15 months in the triangle of death behind enemy lines.

He used the CMG at night. It survived without so much as a scratch. Even after many dunkings while doing canal crossings. I wish his Insight Typhoon would have held up like that.

 

[greenLED]

Mikekoz, they are indeed built like little tanks. They pop up on the CPFM for around $20-25 (depending on whether they're a CMG Task Light -dimmer- or and Infinity Ultra -brighter-) now and then.

The holy grail of CMG Infinity lights is the "Ultra G" - the HA version of the Infinity Ultra, made for the government. Those go for about $35-40.

A word of caution, though, in these days of "brighter is better" - these lights are not comparable to existing LEDs. However, they make up for it in build quality and extended runtime.


Gunga, like paulr said, polishing the reflector seems to increase the output a tiny bit. If the die on the GS LED is at a different height compared to the BS, and you positioned it differently already, it might make more of a difference. We wont know until you try it!

Considering the time it takes to remove the anodizing and polishing the metal, I personally never considered it a worthwhile mod.