How bright is the gerber infinity ultra?

[portezbie]

I realize this lights main purpose is runtime, but I was curious as to whether it is more or less bright than say, the fenix e01?

 

[EugeneJohn]

My Gerber IU's center spot is equally as bright as my Fenix E01's, according to my incident light meter.

The spill of the IU is broader though. At 12" from the wall, the IU's spill is ~19.5" in diameter and the E01's spill is ~14" in diameter.

The Infinity Ultra has a spring in the tailcap and the head so you can fit an AAA battery if you find a way to center it in the body so it keeps contact with the springs, side to side. This makes the IU more flexible as an 'emergency/backup' light in my mind.

I like them both. :twothumbs You can't have too many lights.

 

[portezbie]

yeah i was thinking the same thing, it might also be a nice back up to get my gf who goes backpacking camping fairly often, I was just worried about the brightness because flashlight reviews seemed to indicate it was dimmer than even the fenix e0, but maybe I misread or it was describing an older model or something. Where is the best site to buy one from?

 

[EugeneJohn]

I've never had the older model, but I've read that the 'non-ultra' version of the light was about half as bright as the 'ultra' version.

The online retailer I got mine from sold out, but you can find them readily on ebay. You might also want to check out the Buy/Sell/trade forum on CPF Marketplace.

The clip on the IU is head 'up' so you can clip it to the brim of your baseball cap to use as a makeshift headlamp. You could also do this with the E01 if you buy the accessory cilp. Another nice feature for a backup/emergency light.

 

[portezbie]

yeah I noticed that, next purchase I make from fenix I should get another clip, because I have one for my lod but I think my girlfriend is not going to be giving back my e01 so I should get her a clip for that too.
Botach, bright guy and amazon all seem to have it.

 

[IcantC]

I have one and an E0 to compare to. It has brighter spill and is thicker(due to AA). Very sturdy long lasting light! I am still on my original battery and use it everyday for 5-10 mins a day.

 

[JWP_EE]

I have the CMG infinity not the Gerber. I have both the battery positive down and up infinity and an infinity ultra.

The ultra is about twice as bright as the infinity. Last week I got a Fenix E01. It is brighter than my ultra.

If I had the choice today to buy any of these lights, I would get the infinity for the lower level light and longer run time and the E01 instead of the ultra.

The E01 is brighter, smaller and the run time at full brightness is almost as long as my infinity.

What ever you decide on - enjoy!

 

[paulr]

CMG Infinity = very old, discontinued years ago, low powered and quite dim, about 1 lumen. Built like a tank.

CMG Infinity Ultra/Ultra-G: higher powered version of Infinity with modernized circuit (also adopted by last versions of Infinity). About 3 lumens. Ultra-G is still sought after because of its tough construction and unique appearance.

Gerber Infinity Ultra: redesigned version of CMG Ultra after Gerber acquired CMG, manufactured in China. There may be more than one version of this. Construction has cheaper-looking-appearance than the old CMG models and it has been less popular here on CPF. Uses a newer LED for about 5-6 lumens output.

Fenix E01: very recent AAA light using Nichia GS for about 5-6 lumens output at quite low power. 5-6 lumens is based on comparisons with other lights and calculating from the runtime and inferred power level. Fenix advertising materials say 10 lumens but that's advertising for you.

Anyway the E01 and Gerber Infinity should be about the same brightness. The Gerber uses more battery power due to its older and less efficient LED, but since it uses an AA cell rather than an AAA, more total energy is available and the Gerber runs longer than the Fenix. (Of course it's much bigger).

Basically you should decide this based on whether you want an AA or an AAA light.

Modding the Gerber with a GS led should be pretty easy, if that helps.

 

[Photon Joe]

I got the latest model gerber IU and it is brighter than older versions, if the manufacterur # is 22-80012 or higher it has a better LED that is really bright/white and still runs upword of 100 hours of useful light.
You can just drop a AAA in and it will work without any shimming of the battery.
However I took some clear plastic tubing and cut 2 small rings for each end of the battery to center and tighten up the fit simply because I am anal retentive and there would be no chance of it getting misaligned if dropped (which has never happened, it's just me) and it runs just fine that way if you run out of AA and must use AAA's in a pinch.
Rocky national has the latest versions , thats where I got 4 of mine.
Some sites I have seen were still selling the old models with dimmer light and some of them still looked like the old CMG version.
I have the original CMG infinity and ultra.
The new gerbers blow the CMG IU away big time.
I took a dead battery from another small AA LED light and put it in the gerber and it fired up at full brightness and ran about 12 hours before starting to dim.
I love them for pocket or neck lanyard wear.

 

[mikekoz]

I have three Gerbers...two IU's and one military version of the IU. I also have one of the CMG IU's. I use them all the time. The Gerbers are a bit better than the CMG, in my opinion. They are built better and the rear cap can be loosened a little to give you a faux momentary switch. The military version does not have as much spill, but has tougher anodizing. The beam of the CMG is like the regular IU's. The battery rattles in the CMG and again it does not appear to be as well made as the Gerber, but I think I may be one of the few that thinks that! Most posts I have read on the forums, folks prefer the CMG. I am guessing it is because the CMG was made in the US. The Gerber IU military version was US made, but you may have to scour Ebay for one like I did! Just my two cents!!

Mike

 

[smg]

CMG Infinity = very old, ....

Paul, Thanks for that explanation of the different models!!

What about the advertising claims that the light offers up to 100 hours of burn time?!?!? How accurate is that and what output will it be providing after 30 hours, or after 50 hours??

Flashlight reviews shows 50% at less than 11 hours and 25% at ~13.5 hours - http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/gerber_infinityultra.htm
After 50 hours, I can't imagine that it's putting out even 0.5 lumen (10% or less of original output).

 

[portezbie]

I think that is the older model on flashlight reviews. From what I've gathered, the current gerber UI should give you about 20-25 hours on full and then begin declining and last for a good while longer. Dont own it though so not really sure. Remember though that flashlightreviews is no longer update and hasnt been for a while

 

[NutSAK]

My Gerber Infinity Ultra is considerably brighter and whiter than my CMG Infinity Ultras. As stated above, the spot is about the same as an E01, but the spill is considerably larger, so I would say total output is greater.

 

[Patriot]

Mine are a tie in brightness but larger spill as mentioned twice above. Regardless, I'm not a big fan of the Gerber IU and prefer the CMG IU and very early CMG style Gerber IU, mostly for ergonomic reasons but also perceived toughness.

 

[cabbynate]

I clip my Gerber infinity ultra on the brim of my ball cap when I need a utility light when I'm changing batteries or car tires in the dark. Works great. Was gonna use a Surefire E1B but it's to big and heavy in comparison.
:thumbsup:

 

[smg]

I think that is the older model on flashlight reviews. From what I've gathered, the current gerber UI should give you about 20-25 hours on full and then begin declining and last for a good while longer. Dont own it though so not really sure. Remember though that flashlightreviews is no longer update and hasnt been for a while

Thanks. At the bottom of that review, it lists the runtime as "25 hours peak brightness". That led me to believe that it was a later model being tested. However, it did not seem to reach even 25 hours.

Plus, a "current version" (I think) is being sold at brightguy.com and advertising 100 hours of burn time.

I thought that, IF only the LED is updated and the circuit was not updated, the runtime plot would be roughly the same? Maybe the circuit was updated?

Can anyone point me to a runtime plot of one of the current model Gerber IUs?

 

[Photon Joe]

I read that the new gerber IU uses the LED that used to be used for modding them. I have not seen a runtime graph for the new model yet, but I use LSD recharchable NIMH and it has stayed at "peak brightness" now for a month and I use it every day and more at night.
If you are not happy with it you can return it up to 30 days later , so says rockynational.
I am keeping all of mine, I rarely need more light than it produces.

 

[NutSAK]

I read that the new gerber IU uses the LED that used to be used for modding them.

That would be the Nichia CS and, yes, I do believe that is what is in my Gerber. That is only speculation though.

 

[Photon Joe]

I had asked the rockynational guy and he verified that they did use the CS
and provided MFGR#'s to tell which models had it and which ones were old stock, I lost it though (doh!) but they only sell the CS models there,
so it is a safe place to get them.
I ran across one site that was still selling the old one and the even older ones that look like the CMG's.

That would be the Nichia CS and, yes, I do believe that is what is in my Gerber. That is only speculation though.

 

[4EN[sic]]

Personally, I wasn't happy with that Gerber at all. The form factor was good but I gave mine away because I thought it was too dim.