jtice
Flashaholic
This is a review of the GL3 Passaround light,
Made possible by JonSidney of www.jsburlys.com
Pila GL3
=== First Impressions:
The GL3 seems very well built, and ready for punishment.
The knurling is just slightly less agressive than Surefires, and feels good and sturdy in your hand.
The tailcap is a good bit larger diameter than the body of the light, making it easy to keep a grip on.
The light is alittle heavier than I would like. It reminds alot of the Pelican M6, in its overal shape and weight.
There are many places on the head and tailcap that have grooves, or fluted places. These add a nice look to the light.
These are also signs that the manufactor took the extra step required to make them. They cannot be made by a lathe alone.
=== Tail Switch:
I was quite impressed with the tailswitch.
It feels very solid, and has a good tactile feel to it.
It clicks solidly, and also works well in momentary use.
The tailcap can be unscrewed to provide the light with a lockout feature. Something very valuable when tossing the light
in a backpack.
=== LED Tail Switch:
I wasnt as impressed with the optional LED tailcaps.
They provide alot more versatility to the light, but overal, they make the light harder to use.
For one, you loose the clickie, you must twist the tailcap on all the way for constant on incan.
You tighten alittle for the LEDs.
The tactile feel was not near as good with the LED tail either.
My biggest complaint about the LED tailcap is, I kept blinding myself with it!
In normal use, most of the time, you have the tail end facing you. Ii would goto turn on the light, and the LED mode would
turn on momentarly before the incan mode kicked in.
The LED tailcap is also said to be not as water tight. It is only splash proof.
=== Light Output:
Well, this is what its all about right. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
The first thing I noticed when I turned on the GL3 is, WOW this thing is bright!
The second thing I noticed was its color. It is surprisingly white for an incandesent light.
We arent talking HID white, but very white for your typical incan bulb.
You can actually fell a large amount of heat emitting from the front of the light.
I felt as if I could get a small tan if I left it close to my skin for a while.
The head itself would also heat up a good bit, but never to a level that was unconfortable to hold.
The beam has a rather large hotspot, fading nicely into the sidespill.
This makes the GL3 not the best thrower in the world, but it was excellent at lighting up an entire room, or side of a
house.
There were very little artifacts in the beam also.
The sputtered (orange peel) reflector did a great job of smoothing out the beam.
=== Runtime:
I didnt get a chance to do a good runtime test.
But, I was pleased with how long it ran.
One thing I noticed when using the rechargable Pila batteries was, the light would really only dim in the last 8 minutes
of its life, then simply go out altogether.
I was very impressed with this, as I cant stand lights that slowly dim over time.
I think this had alot to do with the batteries themselves, as they are designed to shutdown after a certain voltage.
=== PROS:
Very strong construction.
Good design.
Very bright, smooth, good colored beam.
Versitility of optional LED tailcaps.
=== CONS:
Alittle heavy.
Cannot stand on tail. (might be able to with LED tailcap, I forget)
LED tailcaps were not as user freindly.
=== CONCLUSION:
Overal, I really liked this light.
My biggest complaint was its weight. But that is only a side effect of its super strong construction.
This made an excellent light for lighting up an entire room or garage with light.
Sence getting into LED lights, I have not purchaced an incan light in months. The GL3 was by far, the best incan light I
have had the pleasure to use, so pleasureful, that I ended up buying a G3 (same as GL3, except no LED tailcap) off a
fellow CPF member.
=== Photos:
Pila GL3 Gallery
Made possible by JonSidney of www.jsburlys.com
Pila GL3
=== First Impressions:
The GL3 seems very well built, and ready for punishment.
The knurling is just slightly less agressive than Surefires, and feels good and sturdy in your hand.
The tailcap is a good bit larger diameter than the body of the light, making it easy to keep a grip on.
The light is alittle heavier than I would like. It reminds alot of the Pelican M6, in its overal shape and weight.
There are many places on the head and tailcap that have grooves, or fluted places. These add a nice look to the light.
These are also signs that the manufactor took the extra step required to make them. They cannot be made by a lathe alone.
=== Tail Switch:
I was quite impressed with the tailswitch.
It feels very solid, and has a good tactile feel to it.
It clicks solidly, and also works well in momentary use.
The tailcap can be unscrewed to provide the light with a lockout feature. Something very valuable when tossing the light
in a backpack.
=== LED Tail Switch:
I wasnt as impressed with the optional LED tailcaps.
They provide alot more versatility to the light, but overal, they make the light harder to use.
For one, you loose the clickie, you must twist the tailcap on all the way for constant on incan.
You tighten alittle for the LEDs.
The tactile feel was not near as good with the LED tail either.
My biggest complaint about the LED tailcap is, I kept blinding myself with it!
In normal use, most of the time, you have the tail end facing you. Ii would goto turn on the light, and the LED mode would
turn on momentarly before the incan mode kicked in.
The LED tailcap is also said to be not as water tight. It is only splash proof.
=== Light Output:
Well, this is what its all about right. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
The first thing I noticed when I turned on the GL3 is, WOW this thing is bright!
The second thing I noticed was its color. It is surprisingly white for an incandesent light.
We arent talking HID white, but very white for your typical incan bulb.
You can actually fell a large amount of heat emitting from the front of the light.
I felt as if I could get a small tan if I left it close to my skin for a while.
The head itself would also heat up a good bit, but never to a level that was unconfortable to hold.
The beam has a rather large hotspot, fading nicely into the sidespill.
This makes the GL3 not the best thrower in the world, but it was excellent at lighting up an entire room, or side of a
house.
There were very little artifacts in the beam also.
The sputtered (orange peel) reflector did a great job of smoothing out the beam.
=== Runtime:
I didnt get a chance to do a good runtime test.
But, I was pleased with how long it ran.
One thing I noticed when using the rechargable Pila batteries was, the light would really only dim in the last 8 minutes
of its life, then simply go out altogether.
I was very impressed with this, as I cant stand lights that slowly dim over time.
I think this had alot to do with the batteries themselves, as they are designed to shutdown after a certain voltage.
=== PROS:
Very strong construction.
Good design.
Very bright, smooth, good colored beam.
Versitility of optional LED tailcaps.
=== CONS:
Alittle heavy.
Cannot stand on tail. (might be able to with LED tailcap, I forget)
LED tailcaps were not as user freindly.
=== CONCLUSION:
Overal, I really liked this light.
My biggest complaint was its weight. But that is only a side effect of its super strong construction.
This made an excellent light for lighting up an entire room or garage with light.
Sence getting into LED lights, I have not purchaced an incan light in months. The GL3 was by far, the best incan light I
have had the pleasure to use, so pleasureful, that I ended up buying a G3 (same as GL3, except no LED tailcap) off a
fellow CPF member.
=== Photos:
Pila GL3 Gallery
