Gerber Tempo

Check out this new Gerber:
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Pro...=48149793&storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&

Specs: 1AA, 11 hours runtime, 2.6 inches (probably a mistake on the length. Maybe 3.6 inches or perhaps it's actually a 1AAA light.)

Anyhow, for only 10 bucks! this light looks decent.

.

It is a AAA light, 5mm LED, 4 lm output.

Maybe this will be a replacement for the Sonic. My local REI store doesn't have it yet.

Geoff

Check out Gerber's website, they seem to be coming out with quite a few new lights.

http://www.gerbergear.com/index.php

ringzero said:

for only 10 bucks! this light looks decent.

Click to expand...

And, it looks even more decent for $7.55 : http://www.ambientweather.com/mo80107.html

Amazing to see a 1AAA light for this price, especially a Gerber. These might be good to give as gifts.

.

Thanks to parnass for pointing out this mini-review of the Tempo on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MJPRK2/?tag=cpf0b6-20

.

I bought a tempo at REI the other day. $10.
It's 3" in lengths and 0.64" at the widest point. The package claims 3.5 hr runtime and 7 lumens , but its not as bright as an ARC AAA so I'd say around 5 lumens. It does appear to be a Nichia CS though.

The spill beam is smaller the ARC, it also feels significantly bigger, although not as big as the well liked Dorcy AAA.

I'd say it's good competitor to the Dorcy. It seems more rugged and waterproof but doesn't have the momentary feature of the dorcy. The spring scratches the battery, I hate when lights do that to my Enerloops. :mecry: Mine did not come with a keyring of any sort. It seems to be waterproof unlike the amazon claim. At teh very least it passed the "dreaded suction test"

It would make a nice gift light or a light to stash in backpacks or small emergency kits. Other than an Nichia CS, I'm not sure its better than the Sonic but at least it doesn't look like a dog urinator. For the flashaholic I would recommend the Fenix E0 instead, for the cheapskate the reflector version Dorcy if you can find one.

cave dave said:

I bought a tempo at REI the other day....It would make a nice gift light or a light to stash in backpacks or small emergency kits. Other than an Nichia CS, I'm not sure its better than the Sonic but at least it doesn't look like a dog urinator.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the mini-review cave dave.

For its price, the Tempo seems hard to beat. Nice little gift lights. Also looks like Tempos would be good as secondary backup lights for outdoor activities.

I'm intending to add on a couple of Tempos plus one Firecracker to my next REI order. (I usually make myself wait until I'm ordering something more expensive, then tack on some smaller items so that the shipping charges won't seem quite so bad.)


.

I tested the tempo in the sink and shower and it didn't leak. So at the very least mine is water tight. :twothumbs

Also there enough play in the threads that momentary works pretty well if you turn it just past off.

PS: 3 PT Apex's have failed similar H2O testing.

cave dave said:

I bought a tempo at REI the other day. $10. .... its not as bright as an ARC AAA so I'd say around 5 lumens. It does appear to be a Nichia CS though.

The spill beam is smaller the ARC, it also feels significantly bigger, although not as big as the well liked Dorcy AAA.

.... It seems more rugged and waterproof but doesn't have the momentary feature of the dorcy.....

Click to expand...

I bought a Gerber Tempo for $10 at REI for my wife and have the same observations. I thought I would never find a new light as dim as the Gerber Infinity Ultra, but was surprised and disappointed that the Tempo is even dimmer.

Still, it is a reasonble amount of flashlight for $10. My wife likes the fact that it is rugged and she won't feel as remorseful if she loses it as she would losing a more expensive light.

At 3 hrs the light was still in regulation on a 800mAh Hybrid, I forgot about it and when I checked at 5 hrs the LED was still glowing but was so dim you could look right at it. Given the brightness I thought it would last longer.

cave dave said:

... Given the brightness I thought it would last longer.

Click to expand...

The Tempo's inverter/boost circuitry is very inefficient, at least in the light I bought.

The Tempo draws 180 mA from an alkaline battery. That's huge compared to the 70 - 81 mA drawn by my Peak 3-LED high and ultra Matterhorns which are brighter.

parnass said:

The Tempo's inverter/boost circuitry is very inefficient, at least in the light I bought....The Tempo draws 180 mA from an alkaline battery. That's huge compared to the 70 - 81 mA drawn by my Peak 3-LED high and ultra Matterhorns which are brighter.

Click to expand...

Oh well. Whenever new, inexpensive lights are closely examined, it seems there always has to be at least one fly in the ointment.

Same problem with the new Inova X1 - inefficiency yields a shorter runtime.

Still, for only 10 bucks, Tempos still seem like reliable keychain lights to give out as gifts. Casual users won't be bothered by a shorter runtime or even notice it. Most people use a keychain light intermittently, for a few seconds to a few minutes at a time. Compared to an old Solitaire, the Tempo will still impress.

.

The pic on REIs site doesn't answer this...

Is there any sort of lense or optic or is that a 5MM poking out?