gottawearshades
Enlightened
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2007
- Messages
- 986
Good people,
Here are some first impressions of the Gerber Omnivre, which I've been playing with lately.
I bought this light ($20-some from REI) for the obvious reason that a light that will just use any old battery you've got laying around was attractive to me. I don't know how it happened, but I have a small pile of alkeline AAAs, and nothing to use them in. I also was hoping for a battery goul, to suck life out my dead batteries.
So, how does it look? I have no complaints about the finish. It looks and feels solid and well-made. It is, however, huge. It's wider than a D-cell, and four and a half inches long. You won't want to carry this in your pocket. No accessories came with it, but does have a lanyard attachment.
It will run on one AA, one AAA, or one 123A cell. The packaging doesn't claim that the light is regulated. Inside the light is what looks like a puzzle. Here's a blurry pic of the battery compartment.
You find the right groove for a AA, a AAA, or a 123A.
I have been using this around the house, and also to bounce off the ceiling to light a room a little. I use several lights do this when I'm up late at night (chronic insomnia, so I'm up late a lot; that's one of the reasons I am so into flashlights).
This light takes a LONG time to quit giving light. I ran this for a full week, two hours a night before I changed out the alkeline AA that came with it. That's as close to a runtime test as I'm capable.
Sorry, no beamshots; I'm no good at them. But I'll just tell you: the beam is ugly. The optic refracts the colors in a not-too-attractive way. A bluish (maybe purple) hotspot surrounded by a thick, bright secondary hotspot that is the most intense sickly green I've ever seen, with some more neutral white rings out from there. As the light dims, you're left with a still-bright hotsopt that is still useful for close work (the green ring becomes even more pronounced, however). If, like me, you usually like a tight beam, you might like a tight beam, you might like this optic.
I know that Greenlight took apart a similar Gerber light to mod it. Changing the LED for better tint (and maybe better efficiency) might make the light a happier experience.
How does the light perform as a goul? As I said, it does suck a lot of juice out an alkaline. I compared it to my number one ghoul, a Dorcy Super 1 Watt. I know that I can take a primary 123A cell that does not register on my ZTS battery meter, drop it in the Dorcy, and get an hour or more of light. I tried this test on the Omnivore: tried a "dead" cell on the meter. Nada. dropped it in the Omnivore. Nothing. Put in the Dorcy 1 Watt. It made light for an hour before I turned it off and went to bed. My scientific conclusion: The Omnivore is not as efficient a battery ghoul as the Dorcy.
Here ends my first review.
Here are some first impressions of the Gerber Omnivre, which I've been playing with lately.
I bought this light ($20-some from REI) for the obvious reason that a light that will just use any old battery you've got laying around was attractive to me. I don't know how it happened, but I have a small pile of alkeline AAAs, and nothing to use them in. I also was hoping for a battery goul, to suck life out my dead batteries.
So, how does it look? I have no complaints about the finish. It looks and feels solid and well-made. It is, however, huge. It's wider than a D-cell, and four and a half inches long. You won't want to carry this in your pocket. No accessories came with it, but does have a lanyard attachment.
It will run on one AA, one AAA, or one 123A cell. The packaging doesn't claim that the light is regulated. Inside the light is what looks like a puzzle. Here's a blurry pic of the battery compartment.
I have been using this around the house, and also to bounce off the ceiling to light a room a little. I use several lights do this when I'm up late at night (chronic insomnia, so I'm up late a lot; that's one of the reasons I am so into flashlights).
This light takes a LONG time to quit giving light. I ran this for a full week, two hours a night before I changed out the alkeline AA that came with it. That's as close to a runtime test as I'm capable.
Sorry, no beamshots; I'm no good at them. But I'll just tell you: the beam is ugly. The optic refracts the colors in a not-too-attractive way. A bluish (maybe purple) hotspot surrounded by a thick, bright secondary hotspot that is the most intense sickly green I've ever seen, with some more neutral white rings out from there. As the light dims, you're left with a still-bright hotsopt that is still useful for close work (the green ring becomes even more pronounced, however). If, like me, you usually like a tight beam, you might like a tight beam, you might like this optic.
I know that Greenlight took apart a similar Gerber light to mod it. Changing the LED for better tint (and maybe better efficiency) might make the light a happier experience.
How does the light perform as a goul? As I said, it does suck a lot of juice out an alkaline. I compared it to my number one ghoul, a Dorcy Super 1 Watt. I know that I can take a primary 123A cell that does not register on my ZTS battery meter, drop it in the Dorcy, and get an hour or more of light. I tried this test on the Omnivore: tried a "dead" cell on the meter. Nada. dropped it in the Omnivore. Nothing. Put in the Dorcy 1 Watt. It made light for an hour before I turned it off and went to bed. My scientific conclusion: The Omnivore is not as efficient a battery ghoul as the Dorcy.
Here ends my first review.
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