What is wrong with Pila? Please enlighten me.

I've been trying to get as much information about Pila as I can but there doesn't seem to be much. There are a few threads on here and a couple reviews out there and that's about it. There aren't even a lot of places that sell them. Is this just a company that is not established yet or is something wrong with these lights? I'm interested in the GL4 specifically but that seems to be the model with the least information. Do these lights have quality problems, are they worth looking into as a tactical light? How do they compare to Wolf-Eyes M90X? I do have all of the vital statistics, I am just looking for some real-world experiences.

There's nothing wrong with Pila. As you may know, they once were rebadges of the Wolf Eyes line. But early in 2006 they cut ties with Wolf Eyes and introduced their own designs. If they've lost ground, it may be because, unlike Wolf Eyes,
they haven't responded to user requests for extenders, lamp options, and head options.

Lost ground? Not at all! Their new designs are more robust than WE's, the quality of their lamps is superb, and there are plenty of accessories available. In fact, they just introduced a user-configurable module (aka. CODEX) for their lights.

cfromc, check the reviews section for more info on Pila lights. Also jsburlysflashlights.com sells the full line.

I agree with Paul, I have Pila and WE, both are excellent, the Pila is a very stylish unit with a smaller core range. If you are in the states I would suggest seeing JSBurly, he is an excellent dealer who goes above and beyond. They both take 18 series batteries which give you a nice reserve of power.

I thought Pilas were the original of wolfeyes? :shrug:

I really don't know but I'm interested to hear.

So the Pila guys only just went solo? Like late last year? If so, coooool!! I'm sure things will go better for Mr & Mrs Pila now they can have a hand in every aspect of their light design!

I'm interested to see what they come up with in the next couple of years in that case!

I have a lot of Pilas of each size of the old style (never seen or held a newer one though) and I think they are great lights. (Used to be a dealer)

I definitely like the looks of the Pila's. Probably more than just about any other light. I don't want to buy on looks alone though, I want to make sure it works at the worst possible time. I'm to the point where I just wish I could buy about 3-4 lights and test them all out. But in the end, I only need one light for this particular task and it must work when I press the button.

I doubt you would find too many people to say something poor about WE or Pila. They are built like tanks

The Pilas are great but underrated. People seem to either buy Surefire or... less commonly, Wolf-Eyes, by no fault of Pila. Maybe it's just that Pila has less of a cool name or less striking design, but Pila lights are built tough and I would feel comfortable relying on one.

I'm waiting for the "Codex" to get one, it looks really amazing and my G3 is needing some fancy functions

Luigi

Pila equips its 1x168A lights with 6V lamps and its 2x168A lights with 12V lamps, evidently paranoid that someone will swap out their rechargables with primaries, hot-flash a lamp, and blame Pila. They did it as a Wolf Eyes/Copia rebadger, and they continue to do it with their own line of lights. No one else follows this practice. Personally, I find it insulting.

Paul_in_Maryland said:

Personally, I find it insulting.

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Paul, you are definitely a well learned incan user; unfortunately most people just want a "plug-and-play" light and don't want to deal with all the "lego" combinations we tend to prefer.


Luigi, looking forward to your review on the CODEX.

cfromc said:

I only need one light for this particular task and it must work when I press the button.

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cfromc, you won't be disappointed with either brand we're discussing.

I wouldn't be insulted Paul, I think its a convenience so that you may run on the pila batts or the 123's if you have to swap them out in a hurry. (recharge batt as main source, 123's as backup perhaps?)

If my set of 123s died in the dark, I would not want to swap a lamp assembly as well as a set of batteries. (Assuming I only had pilas remaining or vice versa.)

Also, a lot of gvt depts are supplied 123 batteres which will make full use of the lamps output.

If you know you'll be using non rechargeables full time then there's no problem, just select the lamp you want.

I dunno if I made sense there, I'm a bit beat sorry.

I have a GL4 and I am delighted with it. I use it with a Lumens Factory EO-9L lamp and 2 X 17670 Li-Ion batteries. Very bright. Great beam pattern. Run time around one hour (have not measured). Rechargeable.

I used it last week for over 30 minutes continuous with no heat problem. Got the LED tailcap and I also really like the lower light. Also easy to operate with gloves. A real winner.

I think Pila´s beats for example Surefires battery-powered incan-lights in every aspect.
Especially P61 and P91 lamp assemblies. Even if i´d get cr123´s for free i wouldn´t live with 20-non-recharge-minutes.

I see Paul´s point of underdriven 6v and 12v lamps and i think Pila itself should offer 3.7v and 9v (for GL4) lamps but thanks to LF´s HO-4´s which beats Sure´s P61 for brightness, runtimes x 3 and money saving.

GL3 on its own beats P91 and every Sure´s recharge model except 10X.

and finally GL4 with rechargeables is at least same line with M6 and 10x..if not better.

Time passed maglites long ago and i think so has surefire´s 20-60min battery lights.


Btw, i got LED tailcap for my GL2 today and it´s better than i expected.
I thought when both light is off and pushing button will light main lamp only but it lights first LED and further push activates XENON..very nice!
So no need to twist it to get both lamps works.
Wonder why my xenon-led combination requires battery + side towards xenon..

Jauno said:

Btw, i got LED tailcap for my GL2 today and it´s better than i expected.
I thought when both light is off and pushing button will light main lamp only but it lights first LED and further push activates XENON..very nice!
So no need to twist it to get both lamps works.
Wonder why my xenon-led combination requires battery + side towards xenon..

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Could you tell me more about the LED tailcap? How is it activated? I see that you can push in slightly for LED and further for Xenon, but is there a continuous LED mode? I have been looking for an EDC light, maybe like 10 lumens or so for a low, long runtime mode, and some serious lumens for distance lighting. A GL2 with an 18650, 3.7v Lumens Factory bulb, and LED tailcap sounds mighty tasty, provided the tailcap can be set to constant on.

cmaylodm, for constant LED on, just twist the tailcap until the LED's come on. If you twist some more, the LED's go off and the incan lights up.

Excellent. Just found myself an EDC! Man, this place is starting to take its toll, quite literally, on my bank account. Any estimate on lumens/runtime from tailcap?

greenLED said:

Lost ground? Not at all! Their new designs are more robust than WE's

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How so?
I've been debating getting a GL4 instead of a second M90, and would love to hear any comparisons of them, though any difference in stock lamps or LED tailcaps won't be a factor.

Pila says that led tailcap will run 80HOURS on 600p rechargeable and 50HOURS on cr123´s. Output is something like 5-10 lumens i think.
There is four tiny cheap leds in tailcap so you can imagine it..?
Go to www.flashlightreviews.com and you´ll find Pila GL2 review, it´s with 6v xenon and led tailcap. There is also Wolf-eyes 6M explorer review where you´ll see how 3.7v xenon work with 18650.

Edit: If you are going to carry GL2 everyday, consider if it´s not too big for edc.
In my opinion real-edc should be something that will be in keyring.
But choice is yours..

I was thinking of waiting for the Fenix L1D-CE to come out, and have that as my EDC, but I dunno. I guess that the GL2 would be better suited for a camping light, seeing as it is a bit bulky, but my roommate (who got me addicted to flashlights) EDCs his Kroma and doesn't have a problem with it.

Guess I'll just have to get both the L1D and the GL2