woodfluter
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2005
- Messages
- 142
Gentlemen and occasional ladies -
My Arc AAA being presently in sick bay, and not yet having made time to ship it back to its maker for repair or replacement, I was today in REI Atlanta, and purchased as a stopgap a Gerber Tempo (1 AAA, 1 5mm Nichia) for $10. I searched here and elsewhere for relevant threads on this product without success, so herewith are preliminary impressions.
It is not quite as small and tidy, nor as nicely made as its Arc counterpart or the Peak Matterhorn for that matter. But not bad in appearance and operation, either. Anodized, but very unlikely to be type III. However, it is inexpensive. By my balance postal scale, it weighs 1.1 oz with alkaline battery. The Arc, for reference, tips the same balance at 0.75 with alkaline. If the Arc is a cigarette, the Gerber is a smoked-down baby cheroot. Just a bit fatter in places.
If you go to the Gerber website, you will find this light, but the head surrounding the LED looks different. The photo depicts something akin to the dished reflector of the Arc and Peak. Mine has an inner aluminum ring and seal, making for a tighter-seeming assembly. The website claims 4 lumens; my packaging claims 7 lumens, on a par with the Arc.
The light coming from it seems about as bright overall as the Arc. So the proclaimed output might be about right. I cannot compare them directly now, alas. Anyway, my impression is that the tint, while bluish, is noticeably less blue that the Arc - going from memory here.
Side-by-side comparisons with my CMG IU's and a Peak Kilimanjaro with snow-white LED (all 1xAA) show it to be about midway in tint between them. There is a bright central spot, but brighter & broader than the CMG's and less broad than the Killi. The spill is generous and blends reasonably well into the spot. Overall, a nicer beam tintwise than CMG and Inova X1 with reflector, more output apparently than the Killi.
The packaging says 3.5 hours output...we all know that might not mean much. I never got as many hours out of one battery in the Arc as Flashlight Reviews suggested - perhaps I notice the falloff sooner than 1/2 the output. Always seemed closer to 3 hours than nearly 5.
Now I have to disclose that I am deeply distrustful of the made-in-China Gerber products. I had 3 of their IU lights, after they bought out CMG, and they *all* malfunctioned. One was lost, the other two I returned. The Tempo is also made in China. There are construction similarities. So I am using and waiting warily to see what happens. So far, I like this light for the price.
- Bill
My Arc AAA being presently in sick bay, and not yet having made time to ship it back to its maker for repair or replacement, I was today in REI Atlanta, and purchased as a stopgap a Gerber Tempo (1 AAA, 1 5mm Nichia) for $10. I searched here and elsewhere for relevant threads on this product without success, so herewith are preliminary impressions.
It is not quite as small and tidy, nor as nicely made as its Arc counterpart or the Peak Matterhorn for that matter. But not bad in appearance and operation, either. Anodized, but very unlikely to be type III. However, it is inexpensive. By my balance postal scale, it weighs 1.1 oz with alkaline battery. The Arc, for reference, tips the same balance at 0.75 with alkaline. If the Arc is a cigarette, the Gerber is a smoked-down baby cheroot. Just a bit fatter in places.
If you go to the Gerber website, you will find this light, but the head surrounding the LED looks different. The photo depicts something akin to the dished reflector of the Arc and Peak. Mine has an inner aluminum ring and seal, making for a tighter-seeming assembly. The website claims 4 lumens; my packaging claims 7 lumens, on a par with the Arc.
The light coming from it seems about as bright overall as the Arc. So the proclaimed output might be about right. I cannot compare them directly now, alas. Anyway, my impression is that the tint, while bluish, is noticeably less blue that the Arc - going from memory here.
Side-by-side comparisons with my CMG IU's and a Peak Kilimanjaro with snow-white LED (all 1xAA) show it to be about midway in tint between them. There is a bright central spot, but brighter & broader than the CMG's and less broad than the Killi. The spill is generous and blends reasonably well into the spot. Overall, a nicer beam tintwise than CMG and Inova X1 with reflector, more output apparently than the Killi.
The packaging says 3.5 hours output...we all know that might not mean much. I never got as many hours out of one battery in the Arc as Flashlight Reviews suggested - perhaps I notice the falloff sooner than 1/2 the output. Always seemed closer to 3 hours than nearly 5.
Now I have to disclose that I am deeply distrustful of the made-in-China Gerber products. I had 3 of their IU lights, after they bought out CMG, and they *all* malfunctioned. One was lost, the other two I returned. The Tempo is also made in China. There are construction similarities. So I am using and waiting warily to see what happens. So far, I like this light for the price.
- Bill
