Just got a Gerber Infinity Ultra...

On the way home, I stopped by REI and picked up a Gerber Infinity Ultra in green (the only color REI carries). I never really considered the Gerber or CMG Infinities before because it was difficult for me to justify the price for a single 5mm LED light. I know the CMG Infinities are extremely popular here and I'm sure they're very tough lights, but personally, they're not very aesthetically appealing to me (frankly, quite ugly, but that's just my taste). When I first saw the Gerber Infinity Ultras, I thought it was very nice looking and I like the dull finish (is it anodizing or powercoated?), but at $20.95 from REI (and about the same price online when shipping's added), I couldn't justify the price. Good thing that REI's having a sale. Opened it right when I got home and I'm impressed with the quality feeling. It has good heft, but not too much. I was mainly comparing with my Xnova8 (which at $5-$6, is much easier to justify), but I definitely notice the difference in quality. The beam is very nice also and is brighter than I had expected. Overall, for $15+tax, I like it a lot. I still don't think I would've purchased it at $21, but think it's worth it for $15. This is, however, likely my limit on a 5mm light. Anything more and I'd rather pick up a Lux-based light (i.e. $20 for a Dorcy Super 1W).

The Gerber IU was my first LED flashlight. I've since been spoiled by newer, brighter LED lights, but the Gerber IU's twisty/momentary tailcap works a lot more reliably and has a better feel than my new version Inova X1.

parnass said:

The Gerber IU was my first LED flashlight. I've since been spoiled by newer, brighter LED lights, but the Gerber IU's twisty/momentary tailcap works a lot more reliably and has a better feel than my new version Inova X1.

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I have not seen the Ultra in stores around my area. I would like to pick one up and compare it to my Inova X1. I also have been a little diisappointed in the tailcap of the X1... primarily when I try an use it for momentary lighting.

-Goatee

Now imagine what it would be like if it was indestructable, and you'd have the original CMG Infinity..

I also thought about that light at REI and may go down today just to take a look, but I'm not sure I want any unregulated lights. I'm getting spoiled now that I have enough to see the differences.

I just picked a black Gerber Infinity Ultra up from Sports Authority for $19.95. Initially, when I compared it to my Inova X1, the ultra had noticeable more spill an a hotspot that was minimally, I mean minimally, dimmer than the X1. The tailcap on the ultra works better for momentary than my X1, but a light as short as the Ultra is not as easy to use in the momentary on option.

I am happy that I picked it up and I am not sure that I care about the regulation... I am more concerned with the runtime on this type of light. I am a big fan of regulation, however, in every other light that I own.

BTW, thanks jsr for bringing yet another light to my attention that I had to go out and buy

One more quick observation: the LED in the Ultra is nestled inside of what could be a reflector if a reflective, not black, coating was applied. Why would this be overlooked? I would think that there would be more light out the front if the "reflector" was reflective. This might of course cause the light to be more collimated but I am not sure that would bother me. At any rate, I would pay another 19.95 to see the difference.


-Goatee

:)> said:

I just picked a black Gerber Infinity Ultra ... The tailcap on the ultra works better for momentary than my X1, but a light as short as the Ultra is not as easy to use in the momentary on option....
-Goatee

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I installed a large, metal split ring through the hole in my Gerber IU's tailcap. I place my thumb through the split ring and it makes holding the light much easier, especially for momentary use.

My IU is much dimmer than the new version Inova X1. I'm tempted to try the new HA III militarized version Infinity Ultra-M, but don't want to spend $30 on another dim, bluish light:

http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=GB80027

Oh crud, a bunch of us thought that the Ultra-M was going to be a revival of the Ultra-G.

Anyway, batterystation.com (CPF dealer) has been selling the Gerber IU at $15 for quite a while. The older CMG version (also briefly sold under the Gerber label) was quite a bit nicer in the opinion of many CPF'ers, and was about the same price. The new Gerber version is easier to mod, though, if you want to upgrade the led.

...One more quick observation: the LED in the Ultra is nestled inside of what could be a reflector if a reflective, not black, coating was applied. Why would this be overlooked? I would think that there would be more light out the front if the "reflector" was reflective. This might of course cause the light to be more collimated but I am not sure that would bother me. At any rate, I would pay another 19.95 to see the difference.

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This comes up once in a while. I've heard it rationalized that the 5mm LED doesn't need a reflector because most of the light comes out the front. I've never read any kind of definitive numbers on it one way or the other. CMG sold many and did very well without polishing the bevel and ARC did very well by going the opposite route. Until I see some test results my guts push me towards the direction that the polished bevel is more for the buyer than the beam. Who knows?

A few people have polished the bezels of their CMG IU's and it makes a small difference, not enough to make a fuss about in my opinion. I haven't been too interested in polishing mine. The coating probably helps protect against corrosion or something. Much more improvement can be had by upgrading the LED to a Nichia CS or something comparable.

Have you ever noticed that the polished ARC bevels never seem to tarnish?

I may still buy one but would like to know the color of the beam. Is it white or does it have the characteristic blue to it? I'm getting used to seeing the white of a Luxeon and the blue is starting to bother me. I think I'm getting spoiled.

Allnew2me said:

I may still buy one but would like to know the color of the beam. Is it white or does it have the characteristic blue to it? I'm getting used to seeing the white of a Luxeon and the blue is starting to bother me. I think I'm getting spoiled.

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It is definitely bluish, but I'd say the tint isn't all that bad. It's nice to have a light that should last something like 15 hours on one battery.

I don't know what people's beef with the Gerber IU is... it might not be "as" sturdy as the CMG IU, but really, how many people are going to run their lights over with a tank? My guess is not many. I think the IU is a fine light suitable for any flashaholic's collection, because it's amazingly useful for being a single 5mm light, and it's a great "runtime" light. All too often we're concerned with brightness, when in a real emergency, runtime is your friend.

jsr, you compared the brightness of the UI to that of the Xnova, did you compare battery life? What about water resistance? Just letting you know that with a Nichia CS LED, brightness at least doubles while battery life is unaffected.

I've polished the bevels on a few of my CMG IU's, and the improvement is worthwhile, IMHO - mostly results in a larger, brighter hotspot (by about 20-30%).

I've also installed Nichia CS LED's in a few (C0 tint) - definitely worthwhile, almost double the brightness. BANG!! (although I'm not sure if the newer Gerbers are using the CS's or not, already...??)

The IU uses a Zetex chip/circuit, and is partially regulated - not a perfectly flat discharge curve, but much flatter than a direct drive's steeply downward-sloping curve. They appear to run quite bright, long and even using NiMH AA's.

The ones I've modded as such, give my early version (150 ma) TNC Keylux AA a run for the money in terms of overall output... I actually prefer the wider hotspot and spill of the IU's.

Great little bulletproof lights - one of my all-time favorites, fer sure!

I made a mistake when I indicated that the hot spot of the Infinity Ultra was the same as the Inova X1 but with more spill. I was using a NiMH rechargeable in the Inova X1 when I checked this. A switch to Energizer Lithiums on each revealed that the Inova was clearly brighter and threw it's beam further.

Please tell me more about the switch to the Nichia CS in the Gerber.

How would I mod it, and is it true that the battery life is not affected in any meaningful way? With more output, how could this be?

Thank you!

-Goatee

:)> said:

...is it true that the battery life is not affected in any meaningful way? With more output, how could this be?

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LEDs are in a period of fairly rapid development right now, with new improvements coming along quickly.Hopefully we can expect this trend to continue. I think that the CS does indeed put out more light and use less juice to do it.

I got to play with my Gerber IU more during the weekend and really like it. The beam is a bit blue in the center and more greenish as it goes outward, very similar to the tint and color distribution on my CS-modded KeyMate. I'm not sure if the new IUs run CS's already or not, but it's output is very close to my CS-KeyMate which is quite bright (not as bright overall and less intense hotspot, but close in overall output when I was testing them in my dark bathroom). Seeing as the IU runs a boost converter up to the LED's VF (3.6V typical) while my KeyMate is DD off 6V, the new IUs may actually be running CSs (or I just got a really bright one?). Also, my KeyMate uses a reflector which may account for the slight amount of a overall output (reflector being able to collect the small amount of light which may be loss with the IU's no-reflector design).

I too would like to know how to open the head. I tried on Saturday with a couple of strap wrenches with no success (the finish survived much better than I expected from my removing the clip). I can likely swap the LED afterwards (unless it's an unusual process), but I just can't get the head open. I question tho if swapping in a CS would increase brightness that much as I've stated above, the overall output is close to my KeyMate which overdrives the CS at 6V (or close to that).

I liked my Gerber IU so much that I went to pick up another one for my fiance on Sunday (tho, I don't think she'll use it much, so it's really just an excuse for me to pick up another one...haha).

Regarding a comparison to the new X1, I don't have one. I was looking to pick one up, but was initially held back mostly due to the price (again, hard for me to justify a 5mm LED light for $20) but still really considered it because it was from Inova. However, after reading the reviews on CPF about the QC issues with the glued in lens (which isn't a bad method IMO, but they need better QC) and switch, combined with the price I already had difficulty justifying, I decided I won't be purchasing one at all. While standing at the flashlight isle at Target, it's hard for me to justify the X1 for $19.99 when I turn my head 10degrees and see the Dorcy Super 1W for $19.99 (tho, I don't have a Dorcy 1W either).

ACMarina - I definitely like what I've read that the original CMGs were built like tanks, but again, I'm not very fond of the exterior design. I know many people will say they don't buy lights for appearance, but if you have more than 1 or 2 lights, it's not for necessity anymore and becomes a collection/hobby in which case for me, appearance/aesthetics does matter then. I know many others like the CMG design tho. Again, it's just my personal taste.

Allnew2me - the IU isn't unregulated. I know many CPFers call lights with voltage regulators "semi-regulated" which isn't completely true. It depends on how you define regulation and what you're regulating. Most CPFers define regulation as current regulation, in which case, "semi-regulated" is a decent description. However, a voltage regulator, even a simple buck or boost converter, is still a regulator.

Goatee - As others have mentioned, a polished reflector seems to help a bit. The reason some companies don't use them is mainly (I believe) because 5mm LEDs already have a built-in optic (the big high dome) that focuses most of the light. I'm sure light is lost from the sides and angles not hitting the optic (that's why you see light when you look at the side of the 5mm LED) so a reflector should help to recollect some of this lost light.
Oh, and runtime isn't sacrificed when running the CS because the CS draws the same amount of current and runs at the same voltage as the standard LED, but produces more light. It's simply a more efficient LED. Runtime is affected by how much power is required by the LED/load. Since the power required is the same, the runtime will be the same while producing more light.

paulr - I knew online vendors that sold IUs for $15 or so (seen down to $14.xx, close to $15), but as I mentioned, considering shipping, it's close to $20 shipped. The IU at REI was $16.23 OTD with tax included...cheaper than any online retailer and making it more justifiable for me.

eebowler - I haven't had a chance to test runtime yet. I ran my Xnova8 for about 35hrs straight still producing light off an AA cell that read 1.36V open voltage. I say "about" because it died in the middle of night while I was sleeping, so I'm not exactly sure when it died. It definitely lasted over 30hrs (still enough light to navigate a dark room/indoors when I went to sleep). I expect the Xnova8 would've run more than 40+hrs had I used a fresh AA which typically reads 1.6-1.62V open voltage. I do plan on testing the Gerber IU on a 1.36V open voltage AA also to get a comparison. I recently modded my Xnova8 by removing all the 8 LEDs and replacing them with a single Nichia CS in the center position. I was hoping directing all the current to the single CS would result in the same brightness or brighter overall output than driving all 8 normal-5mm LEDs at only about 10mA each. It's decently bright, but still a bit dimmer than the IU now. The current draw dropped for some reason when running a single LED. I think it's due to the load impedance seen by the boost circuit being lower with multiple LEDs in parallel, so now it sees a higher load impedance and can't source as much current.

I read the mods a little about opening up the Gerber IU. First time I tried with a hair dryer and leather gloves. No go. Then I got serious. Bosch hot air gun and two pipe wrenches. Lots of heat and a bit of damage to the HAII but it unscrewed. White gunk glue underneath. I'm sure with a bit more planning and care I could have done it without damage. The IU still works fine and I'm going to mod it but its a not a subtle move to open it up. Suggest masking the wrench jaws, heat the IU and listen for the crunching. white gunk.

Be brave.

Now where can I get a decent Nichia?

I have a heat gun at work, guess I'll try using that, but I don't have any heatproof or thick gloves. I do have one adjustable plier, but sounds like I need two. I'll try to give it a shot sometime this week if I can sneak away from my monotony of annoying crap work.

leduk - I got my Nichia CS's from CPFer Grumpy in a group buy he held. Try looking in the FS forum for similar threads. Nichia CS sellers pop up every now and then. I picked up 10 to have enough for silly projects like this.