Gerber Balefire Lantern - Cree/3C

[Phaserburn]

Just ordered one of these from knife center for 35. Cree, hi/low, 3C cells, and an orange filter over the led to alter the color tint of the output (to be more like a traditional campfire lantern)! I actually hope this lantern isn't regulated, which is unusual for me. I'd like to drain every milliamp out of those C cells!

http://www.gerberstore.com/index.php?xpage=itempage&xid=909

Not sure what the anti-roll feature is referring to, actually. Not crazy about the camo, but it's doesn't bother me either. I'm curious to see the beam quality in relation to color and artifacts.

Ordered a Gerber Artifact while I was at it, too.

 

[blademan]

That looks like the one I was contemplating getting from REI. It's a brunton branded one there.

http://www.rei.com/product/767561

Looks pretty close to what I want.

 

[Phaserburn]

That looks like the one I was contemplating getting from REI. It's a brunton branded one there.

http://www.rei.com/product/767561

Looks pretty close to what I want.

Looks similar, but doesn't specify a Cree; I wonder what led it's using.

 

[blademan]

It indicates that it's a cree on the brunton website. I may go buy one soon.

 

[Phaserburn]

Geez, I guess I paid a few extra $ just to get a camo finish I don't really need.

:shakehead

Still looking forward to seeing this lantern, though.

 

[Steel and Light]

Don't worry Phaserburn, unless you're an REI member, you wouldn't get that sale price without joining ($20 and worth every penny). But then maybe you are a member. The $35 is not a bad price, I've seen $60!

I have 2 of these lights. They have this amber cap over the led to diffuse the light. Less artifacts than my Coleman 4AA Cree Lantern and not as harsh. Handy camping and emergency light. I'm happy with these lights.

Hope you enjoy your light!

 

[blademan]

This is actually the anniversary price. I think the price you payed still isn't bad for what this light. How do you like them so far steel and light?

 

[Phaserburn]

Steel, how would you describe the color/tint of the output compared to other leds and incans? Are there lots of artifacts/rings in the output?

 

[Steel and Light]

Phaserburn and Blademan:

Gee your questions made me go in the bathroom to check this out. It's still light out where I live.

Construction is good. 2 levels on the switch. I'm comparing it to the Coleman 4-AA which seems to be a popular light here and I do like the Coleman. But, the light quality is warmer than the Coleman with less artifacts. Less harsh but still bright would be a good description. With the amber filter, walls look more yellow but not in a bad way.

I think it's a fine light and I do like it.

Another tool in the camping and emergency arsenal for me!

 

[blademan]

Thanks for the info. The main complaint from the Coleman seems to be the artifacts in the spill and it looks like this light may have solved this. Thanks for going in the bathroom!

 

[Lunal_Tic]

Do you suppose that the marketing guy at Gerber read The Wheel of Time series to get the name for this? I knew the name sounded familiar but it's been a long time since I read those books.

-LT

edit: Went and found another definition - signal fire. Guess that's probably what they were aiming for in this case.

 

[Phaserburn]

Good. Warmer and less artifacts is what I was going for.

I find that cool tint Cree lanterns are good for task work, but for ambient light I prefer a warmer tint.

 

[Stereodude]

This is actually the anniversary price. I think the price you payed still isn't bad for what this light.

I had one in my hand today at REI, but I couldn't bring myself to buy a light that uses C cells.

 

[Phaserburn]

Finally got the Brunton. I like it!

Has a hi/low setting, with low being well spaced away from high; maybe 25% output. No artifacts to speak of, and the output color is just great! Much warmer than any other led lantern I've ever seen, but not orangey. Very well done! Runs on AA nimh in C holders, too. Very solid construction, and quite compact.

 

[DimWatted]

I was just looking at one of these at REI and can't seem to find info on whether it uses PWM to dim.

The PWM strobe effect is slightly noticeable from my Fenix L0D on low but it doesn't bother me with my typical short term usage, but I'm a little wary of using PWM for long term lighting. If the Balefire uses PWM how noticeable is it?

 

[Mojito150]

I have a Polaris. Great light, but I am considering some mods...wondering if anyone has tried any of the following with this light.

1) Using without the factory diffuser. I can only assume it would have greater output, and since I don't know whether I care about the "warmer" appearance, it would be the easiest mod ever. Only issue I can see is that if I don't like it, re-attaching the plastic dome would require the fabrication of some sort of retaining bezel.

2) Install a variable switch.

3) Upgrade the emitter.

I may try a 6 x AA NiMh configuration soon and see how that works.

Any other thoughts?