Gerber Infinity Ultra -- how to ID newest model?

walkabout

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I'm thinking about picking up a Gerber Infinity Ultra, but I want to make sure I get the newest, brightest version.

(REI.com says the new one is twice as bright and lists its run-time at about 12 hours. Older versions apparently have a 25 hour run time.)

Is there any way to tell the difference by looking at the package in the store?

Thanks all,
Doug
 

Flic

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To my knowledge they have made absolutely no changes to this light. I believe the "twice as bright" comments date from the old GMG days when the Ultra was introduced as a follow-up to the original Infinity. When Gerber bought out CMG they simply used the old information. There has been some talk of Gerber using the newer and brighter Nichia CS LED's, but nobody has been able to confirm this.

I have a few of these. They are great lights for Bail Out Bags as they do last for a very minimum of 12 hours, but they are not all that bright. They are great lights, but do not expect brilliant illumination. And do not think the higher-priced Mil Spec version (Ultra-M) is any brighter. In fact, it has the same LED and because of the recessed LED it has NO spillbeam.
 

jsr

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Considering the dim descriptions most people have made about the Gerber IUs, I do think they switched to the newer Nichia CS LEDs. Both that I have are quite bright (relatively speaking), almost as bright as my Fenix E1. I believe there's something on the packaging that says "BBC Technology" that the newer Nichia CS models have where the older models didn't have that on the packaging. I purchased mine from REI also and got the newer ones. Considering the volume REI goes through, I'm sure they're the newer ones. The amount of light isn't wowing, but it's not meant to be. The beam is very smooth and pleasant and is plenty bright for dark indoors navigation. It is enough to be temporarily blinding with dark-adapted eyes (sort of blinding when you wake up to go to the bathroom and use the IU).
 

cratz2

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I wasn't aware that any changes had been made since they went from CMG IUs to Gerber IUs.

I think they are about half as bright as the reflectored Inova X1... maybe a bit less because of the anodized reflector. Plenty bright to navigate or read by... and bright enough to allow you to see eyes in the distance.

Edit - specified 'reflectored' X1
 
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walkabout

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Many thanks for the advice.

This will be a "just in case" light for my pants pocket or suit jacket. I have lots of bigger, brighter lights, but there are times when they are just too bulky. These are the times when you are almost guaranteed to need a light -- you know how it is.

Since I have standardized on AAs, this is a practical compromise. I'm not a fan of keychain lights -- I can never find one when I need it. (I can't find my keys until I find my light, which is on the keychain ...)

I'll pick up an IU today at my local mountain shop, since I'm going anyway. It's a bit more expensive than mail-order, but easier to return. And of course I get to play with it right away.
 

cratz2

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I bought about 8 of the CMG IUs when a local chain was bought out by ****'s Sporting Goods. I probably have 4 left. One in each car, one stashed in the bathroom and one on one of my flashlight shelves. E2 Lithium in each one. Outstanding lights when you really need a light.

I don't think you can go wrong with a IU.
icon14.gif
 

Chuck289

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I think the "twice as bright" refers to it being compared to the old Infinity. The Infinity Ultra is the current model
 

cratz2

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I think 'twice as bright' is just marketing crap. I think the IU is about 3 or 4 times as bright as the original Infinity.
 

paulr

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BBC refers to the voltage boost circuit and so all 1AA led lights have it or something similar. I did hear about Gerber switching to a more efficient led somewhere along the way. The original CMG IU was just about exactly as bright as the old Arc AAA, which means about half as bright as the newer version. The CMG Infinity was maybe half as bright as the Ultra.

I doubt that the current Chinese-made Gerber IU uses a Nichia led but probably uses a Chinese led of comparable efficiency.

I have wondered about this ID'ing question too, because I have a Gerber IU still in its package, I'm reluctant to cut open the package since I might want to give it to someone or BST it, but I can't compare the brightness to the old CMG IU without cutting the package open. So I wondered if there was another way to tell.

These are very practical, no-nonsense lights and I've heard that the Gerber version will run for over 24 hours at ever-decreasing brightness. The old CMG version may have maintained more brightness in the first 12 or so hours, but was pretty dead after that. There's probably runtime graphs of both versions linked from the reviews section.
 

DoubleDutch

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The package of my Gerber Infinity Ultra says "BBT" Brightness Boosting Technology", and "Regulated LED maintains peak brightness longer".

FR gives it a semi-regulated output of 11 hours to 50%:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/gerber_infinityultra.htm

To my eyes the IU is slightly less bright than my (new) ARC-P (both on Alkalines).
FR gives the IU 2.12 brightness and the Arc 5.20.

I really don't know if what I see is about this difference. But perception of brightness to the view being logarithmic, it may well be true that the double measured brightness of the Arc only makes a small difference in real life. So this would mean that the IU uses a "normal" 5mm LED, comparable to that of the Arc.

On the other hand, the IU is definitely brighter than my E0, which has 3.0 output acoording to FR, so should be brighter by that measurement.
huh2.gif


My 0.02.

Kees
 
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Pax et Lux

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I bought one early last year, and it claimed "BBT - Brightness Boosting Technology" on the packaging. . . it wasn't any brighter than the Gerber IUs that didn't have that stamp on the packaging. Mine puts out slightly less light than a Dorcy 1AAA.

However, I believe the LED has since been updated, considering the post from DoubleDutch. Just don't believe that BBT means anything at all. I personally believe Gerber shipped the newer model in the same packaging, to save retailers having old stock to return.

However, even tho' mine is the dimmer model, I wouldn't get the newer one. It's the perfect amount of light for reading in bed, or moving around the house after dark. Any more would hurt your eyes in the middle of the night.
 
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