Let's take a look at the inside of the Gerber FIRECRACKER

[greenlight]

Let's take a look inside the Gerber Firecracker:

First step:
Seal flashlight in bag:

Boil for several minutes:

This was my first 'boil-it' procedure. I wasn't able to open it the first time, so I boiled it again for 5 mins. I had luck with wrapping latex straps around the light and twisting tightly. Eventually it opened. The optic fell out easily.

Here's the PCB and LED up close:

The Optic fits nicely on top of the aluminum body. The white calimari tube rests on top of the optic and holds it and the glass window in place. There's an o-ring to seal the deal:

Next step: Paint with generous amounts of glow paint!

I painted everywhere except on the emitter.

Only the GID directly adjacent to the die is charged, and it only takes a small amount to make the optic glow, since it is focused directly in that area.

When reassembled, it looks like an awesome green glowing eye.

Mission Accomplished.

Stick around...

Unfortunately, the little calamari spacer melted during the boiling process! It still works, but looks stupid! Maybe boiling this isn't the best way to open it.

__________________

 

[parnass]

What was your impression of the construction and stock performance of the Firecracker? Is it worth the price?

 

[Dawg]

What was your impression of the construction and stock performance of the Firecracker? Is it worth the price?

Yeah, +1, Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[carrot]

So where can I get me one of these? Any retail stores?

 

[shinbone]

REI is where I bought mine here in Oregon, price was ~$20. You can also call Gerber or maybe check their website for other local retailers.

I'm pleased with the light for general arround the house use and it seems to be built well. I was disappointed to discover it was not a clicky; the tail looks like one, but is non-functional. The tailcap can be screwed down close to turning it on and there is enough play in the threads to activate it as a momentary which is a nice feature planned or not. It has pretty good throw but nothing near the claim they make on the packaging. It has a blue-violet color cast, but the beam is tight and very usable. Compared to a mini-mag it's a little shorter in length, about the same diameter, and in my opinion is much brighter. Great small utility light which runs a long time on one inexpensive AA cell.

 

[parnass]

So where can I get me one of these? Any retail stores?

A web search produced these web sources:

http://www.ambientweather.com/mo80106.html

http://www.knifesupplycompany.com/80106.html

 

[greenlight]

I bought my Firecracker at REI. I was interested in comparing it to my Inova x1. I particularly like flashlights with focusing lenses. I also wanted to see how it looked with the glow paint.

The firecracker throws farther than the Inova x1, but the Inova wins for having a more perfectly defined beam and spot. There is more sidespill due to reflection from the white spacer where the x1 uses a black AR coating to eliminate sidespill. This is not bad unless you need to be stealthy, then the x1 would be preferable.

The firecracker is made in China, and the construction shows. The x1 is made in USA and feels nicer.

I think it is a useful light to use. At night the limited sidespill is more useful than the zero sidespill from the inova x1. I like the twisty only feature, and it works in momentary mode just like the x1. The x1 never needed a tailcap button, anyway. The tailcap is a little loose, but the threads turn nicely. When the tailcap is reassembled it doesn't feel like the threads are going to cross or lock-up. The tailcap spring can be heard twisting when you turn the light on.

If you are a fan of optic style lights then you will want to go pick up this one. It was worth it to me just to make it glow. I think it will be my new must-take-camping light. (Need glowing bezel to find in dark tent). It's also fun to show off.

 

[bombelman]

Very interesting mod...
I would really like to know how the beam would look with a Cree emitter... :thinking:

I might pick one up just to try that out. If it can focus properly,
the output would me tremendous, not to mention the throw...

Cheers !!

 

[Sigman]

Great pics and thanks for sharing this as well!!

 

[enLIGHTenment]

Very interesting mod...
I would really like to know how the beam would look with a Cree emitter... :thinking:

Good idea. Might not be an easy mod, though.

 

[greenlight]

I don't expect that there is an easy way to mod the output of this light. I think that it's good as is. All it needed for me was the glow paint to make me happy. I think that the E1L is a good alternative for someone who needs a brighter optic based flashlight.

 

[milkyspit]

I don't expect that there is an easy way to mod the output of this light. I think that it's good as is. All it needed for me was the glow paint to make me happy. I think that the E1L is a good alternative for someone who needs a brighter optic based flashlight.

Maybe a Luxeon Rebel?

 

[greenlight]

I did some beamshot comparisons with an original inova x1.v1. I think it is one of the early ones, but the output is good.

3'

6'

9'

The firecracker is a little brighter than the inova. Besides having some spill light, at long range the light really shines. A 10 meter test showed the firecracker was brighter, and a 20 meter test was the same. The photos didn't show much, but a visual test confirmed the results.

 

[eyeeatingfish]

Wait, which light in the picture is which light? If you listed it sorry, but i cant find whether the one on the left is the X1 or the firecracker....

 

[greenlight]

The inova x1.v1 uses an aspheric optic. It produces a tight moon type beam with clearly defined edges and no spill.

The gerber FIRECRACKER uses a TIR type optic, providing maximum throw with limited sidespill.

The inova is good for certain tasks that require ultimate stealth and when you don't want to irritate people with your flashlight.

The FIRECRACKER is better for all around use, and really works great outside, because it lights up things that are pretty far away (for a relatively weak flashlight). It's similar to the SF L1 on low (don't ask me which L1), let's just say that it puts out an impressive beam, and has fairly good runtime to boot. I have been prepared to buy some more of them, but I keep expecting other better lights to come out. Who knows, it may be the last, cheap, quality optic based light (cheap being the definitive term). How many other optic based lights are there out there right now for less than 20$?

 

[rmyc]

Sooo sooo upset.. when i was trying to get an internship with gerber 2 years ago, i explained to them about using and optical lens on an led flash light to focus the beam. I was hoping that would help me get the job because th engr was very amazed with the idea, but i ended up not getting the job .seems like that engineer there stole my idea.. life sucks!

 

[eyeeatingfish]

I must say youre use of the glow paint motivated me to buy some and as soon as i get it I cant imagine how many things i will make cool.
Not to mention this review makes me really want a gerber firecracker

 

[tritan]

How does this light compare to Gerber infinity AA light? I need a general purpose light that will fit in a maintenance pouch so I like the looks of the infinity clip for clipping in the case but the firecracker looks like a bright light. They make a 2 cell version correct? The corno or something like that?

 

[greenlight]

The infinity is a tougher little light, made in USA. It is not as bright as the gerber, but it probably runs a lot longer, too.

The FIRECRACKER is significantly brighter and throws much farther, too. I like it. It runs for a good long time on one AA.

I only own one right now, but I'm not against buying more. They're good lights if you like optics/throw.

 

[tritan]

I just need a tough little light for maintenance. I have been using the streamlight stylus flashlight but sick of AAAA batteries they are so expensive.So if either of these are as bright as the stylus light I am all set. I need to find a place that carries this light retail , I checked there site but can't find a listing of all the retail locations in my area of MI.