Gerber LX 3.0 - Questions Please

I've always liked the looks and feel of the Gerber 3AA LX 3.0. Reading the light output/throw ratings from the reviews, the LX 3 rated a longer throw and higher output than the "all" of the 1 watt flashlights I could find on the charts. So - when they went on sale at REI, I bought one today.

Got home and loaded it with fresh alkaline batteries. I loved the beam and color but was not impressed with the brightness. I have compared it to my "premium" selected Costco 1AA 1Watt lights, my "premium" selected Sam's Element 3AAA lights, and my SL original model Jr.

The Gerber is NOT as bright at the Sam's Element light, nor the Costco 2AA 1 watt light and just a touch brighter than the SL Jr.

According to the reviews and flashlightreview.com charts, the Gerber should be considerably brighter than the Element or Costco - but it is actually dimmer. Not a bad light - but I would think a DD 3 Watt would be a lot brighter than regulated 1 Watt lights.

QUESTION: Should I give up on the Gerber or try another one first?

QUESTION: Looking at the Archives and reviews, its definitely says to NOT use lithiums in the Gerber XL3 - but the FAQ right from Gerbergear says lithiums are OK in all but one of their lights - and that light ain't the XL - here is the link http://www.gerbergear.com/faq.php

Anyone ever tried the lithiums in the XL?

I've heard other people complain about the Gerber's brightness as well. I don't know why it's rated so highly for brightness. Maybe it actually does have the brightness, but people are expecting more sidespill and less throw? I don't know.

I just did a serious visual comparison between the 2AA - 3W Gerber and 7 different 1W AA and AAA flashlights. I paid particular attention to sidespill and overall light output.

The 3W Gerber has a less intense hotspot than either one of my 3 AAA Sam's Element 1Watters and has almost exactly the same sidespill in brightness and area. The Sam's Element clearly out throw and outshine the Gerber.

The 2AA 1W Costco lights have a much larger hotspot which seems about as bright, but not as much sidespill as the Gerber.

The Gerber does outshine the SL Jr. in both spot and sidespill. It beats the SL Jr hands down on sidespill, but the spot on the Gerber is about 1/2 the size of the SL Jr. - but I'd have to give the Gerber the win between those two.

For the heck of it, I compared the Gerber to the 3D 1W Sears Craftsman and the 1 C123 Dorcy super 1 Watter. The Gerber is a little bighter than the Dorcy, but not as bright as the 1W Craftsman in either spot or spill.

Yukon_Jack said:

I've always liked the looks and feel of the Gerber 3AA LX 3.0. Reading the light output/throw ratings from the reviews, the LX 3 rated a longer throw and higher output than the "all" of the 1 watt flashlights I could find on the charts. So - when they went on sale at REI, I bought one today.

Got home and loaded it with fresh alkaline batteries. I loved the beam and color but was not impressed with the brightness. I have compared it to my "premium" selected Costco 1AA 1Watt lights, my "premium" selected Sam's Element 3AAA lights, and my SL original model Jr.

The Gerber is NOT as bright at the Sam's Element light, nor the Costco 2AA 1 watt light and just a touch brighter than the SL Jr.

According to the reviews and flashlightreview.com charts, the Gerber should be considerably brighter than the Element or Costco - but it is actually dimmer. Not a bad light - but I would think a DD 3 Watt would be a lot brighter than regulated 1 Watt lights.

QUESTION: Should I give up on the Gerber or try another one first?

QUESTION: Looking at the Archives and reviews, its definitely says to NOT use lithiums in the Gerber XL3 - but the FAQ right from Gerbergear says lithiums are OK in all but one of their lights - and that light ain't the XL - here is the link http://www.gerbergear.com/faq.php

Anyone ever tried the lithiums in the XL?

Click to expand...

I don't if this will help, but I'm using a TX 3.0 the more amoured brother to the LX 3.0. And on the matter of Lithiums, the note I'd gotten from Gerber says that there news from the field indicates that they work fine.

chiphead

Thanks Chiphead,

Can you give me some feedback on the brightness of your light as compared to some of the newer 1 watters out there? Many thanks.

Quick comparisons.

In a darkened room and shining at a white ceiling:

The LX3 lights up room better to the eye than -
MAGLIGHT Terralux ministar 2
River rock 2AA
ARC +4 on high
Nuwai Q3
Dorcy super 1watt
CMG Reactor 3
Fenix L1P
INOVA T1

It was beaten by:
MAGLIGHT 3D diamond 3w drop in.
SUREFIRE C2 with G&P 3W
Dorcy Luxeon AAA (I guess I got a good one!!)
Fliklite Marine 3watt

It also seemed to be a better flooder than my INOVA X5, which was a shock.

All this on three AA's - I'm very happy with this torch. Good one for taking on walks etc., It's a bit too heavy for EDC and too long for a holster.
Hey Ho, you win some you lose some...

Not comprehensive but just what came to hand - I.E. what I had in my bag!!

Good luck...

Ny,

Thank you for taking the time to provide the feedback. Many thanks.

Is your Dorcy Luxeon 3AAA a 1W or 3W? If its the 1W, I suspect it is very similar to my Sam's Element 3AAA 1W - which is brighter than my Gerber. I should also mention that my Costco 2AA 1W lights are most definitely "select" out of many. I guess my main dissapointment was that the Sam's Element were brighter and only rated as 1.25 watts.

Then again, I just finished a test run time test between the Sam's Element and the Gerber. As you can imagine, after about 1 hour the Gerber was brighter than the Element. After two hours the Gerber was a "lot" brighter. After I woke up this morning, the Gerber seemed to be running at about 25 to 30 percent still and the Element was about as bright as an old original Infinity Ultra - just about out.

I can see where the Gerber would be a better "survival" light as it will produce more light longer than a regulated light, but I'd agree with most reviews that new batteries are needed after about 4 hours or so. In real life, since I have so many "survival" long running LED lights, I believe I would prefer the Gerber to be fully regulated and a tad brighter if possible. Although the heft and feel of the light is rather unusally stout for an AA light and I originally liked it, I'm now thinking that its weight comes from extremely thick sidewalls and is excessive in relationship to the tail cap and probably head. I'm thinking it is just too heavy for what it is. Its nice to look at, feel pretty good in the hand (but would like to knurling) and is a good light for the $37 bucks I paid for it - but I'm thinking the money may be better spend on the new two stage Felix 2AA. Which is brighter - I'm not sure, but the regulation and two stages of light levels - plus the reduced size and weight I "think" make the new Felix a better Light. I'll know soon and report.

Of course my Inova XO3 out throws my Gerber LX3.0. But despite my W0/V0 toned X03 appearing slightly brighter than my X1 toned LX3 on "settled" NiMH batts in ceiling bounce, in the wilds of suburbia, my LX3 has produced more "girth" and, seemingly, a greater volume of light than my X03 upon the well manicured, lakeside lawns, trees, hedges and homes. The "wild's" green foliage has appeared to almost "fluoresce" under the warmer X1 tone. Color of, both, the light and the subject can make a difference in perceived brightness.

I think that, light, by its very nature, is illusory and, often, deceptive with our eyes constantly adjusting for brightness and color. True, not all tickets are winners in this lottery but, all things being equal (which, of course, they are not), in use, you may (or may not) find that the LX3 is deceptively brighter than perceived to be during some "shootouts".

73
dim

I bought one for my nephew to carry in his towtruck and I didn't have any complaints about the brightness.

I've been using lithiums in mine with no problem. Does make a difference in brightness.

Just dropped three fresh lithiums into mine also. Getting ready to take the Gerber to work with me and show a few folks the new light. May as well show her off in her best "light"

You know, having the candlepowerforum folks around to talk with everyday has given me the illusion that there are lots of flashaholics around - but out a group of about 600 employees - I'm the only one at least out of the closet. The first question I'll get from my peers is, "How many flashlights is that now?"

2 reasons why you may not think your Gerber LX is as bright as that tested on FLR:

1. If you're using the hotspot for "brightness" or output comparison, that can lead you to wrong conclusions. FLR measures overall output which includes all light produced, not just the hotspot. Lights with more intense hotspots can "look" brighter while not actually producing more overall light.

2. Because the LX is DD, the light output drops quickly from peak and settles at a lower value for a long period of time (the typical alkaline discharge curve). FLR's output measurements are taken at max output, which on a DD light, especially one with high current load, drops quickly thereafter. It's likely due to this reason why it's not as bright as you thought and not matching the figures on FLR.

Yukon_Jack said:

Is your Dorcy Luxeon 3AAA a 1W or 3W?

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Just checked the packaging (I must tidy up around here!!) and it is the 1 Watt. It really is a very bright 3AAA light, don't know runtime on this one. I tend to pick it up and say 'Golly!' and put it back down again ,then run outside and play with my SF C2 G&P 3W - but only because I am determined to get my moneys worth out of it!!

Gerber LX 3.0 - Questions Please - UPDATE

I know have 4 Gerber LX 3.0. Just got three more from REI. I'm surprised and dissapointed that none of them seems to be appreciably brighter than the other - all very close to the same tint. I was hoping for at least one brighter one to keep for myself. I also picked up the Gerber trio (3 5mm LED 2AA). Don't have any idea why I got the trio, but it was 25% off and looks cool. With the industry going to multi light levels, most all these lights will be obsolete soon enough. I have a problem.

Re: Gerber LX 3.0 - Questions Please - UPDATE

Yukon_Jack said:

With the industry going to multi light levels, most all these lights will be obsolete soon enough. I have a problem.

Click to expand...

That's not a problem! That's a solution to feeding your continual flashaholism!

I picked up 2 Gerber Infinity Ultras at REI recently also. I thought about the LX 3.0 also, but it's not as attractive to me for various reasons (tho I do find it aesthetically attractive). If I weren't saving up for my upcoming wedding (um, don't tell the misses I'm still buying lights.. ), I would've literally bought at least another 10 IUs, 1 Recon, and probably a LX 3.0 also (tho, even without the wedding, I'd still be broke...).

Re: Gerber LX 3.0 - Questions Please - UPDATE

The LX 3 has an optic instead of a reflector. This results in a larger hotspot but less spill. (Although mine seems to do OK in the spill department). The bigger hotspot will seem dimmer than a smaller hotspot if it the amount of light being produced is the same.

What you were at REI and didn't get the BD Spot headlamp for $30? What a great deal!
I obviously have the bigger problem.

Yukon_Jack said:

Just dropped three fresh lithiums into mine also. Getting ready to take the Gerber to work with me and show a few folks the new light. May as well show her off in her best "light"

You know, having the candlepowerforum folks around to talk with everyday has given me the illusion that there are lots of flashaholics around - but out a group of about 600 employees - I'm the only one at least out of the closet. The first question I'll get from my peers is, "How many flashlights is that now?"

Click to expand...

You're not supposed to use lithiums in the Gerber LX 3.0!!!

jsr said:

2 reasons why you may not think your Gerber LX is as bright as that tested on FLR:

1. If you're using the hotspot for "brightness" or output comparison, that can lead you to wrong conclusions. FLR measures overall output which includes all light produced, not just the hotspot. Lights with more intense hotspots can "look" brighter while not actually producing more overall light.

2. Because the LX is DD, the light output drops quickly from peak and settles at a lower value for a long period of time (the typical alkaline discharge curve). FLR's output measurements are taken at max output, which on a DD light, especially one with high current load, drops quickly thereafter. It's likely due to this reason why it's not as bright as you thought and not matching the figures on FLR.

Click to expand...

Although the total output looks tremendous on this light, we don't have a runtime graph to look at. However, the "typical alkaline discharge curve" on an unregulated torch might mean it's at 75% after 5 minutes.

Also, I'm wondering if FLR got a ringer, because the LX 3.0s that I've seen have been extremely underwhelming (kind of what Yukon_jack was implying). I'm also wondering if there's any runtime graph that would correlate with a possible 3-AA discharge curve, taking 3 hours to 50%, with the supposed output of the light. I don't have time to do the math and FLR overall output correlations right now

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Re: Gerber LX 3.0 - Questions Please - UPDATE

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