Vital Gear FB1 1x123 body review

I just got 3 VG FB1 1x123 flashlight bodies in.

Two words sum up the bodies - Small and interesting.

Compatible with the E-Series heads only, the tailcaps are proprietary. So - don't plan on doing any Lego's with them other than with E-Series heads.

The flashlight is the smallest body I've seen yet. It's a good 1/2 inch smaller than the E1L's, and that's including the VG's tailcap prongs.

The bodies seem to be compatible with 16340's and 123's - so feel free to use both.

The tailcap is removable, a bit small, and I worry about it's durability. It's far shorter than the SF and Aleph ones, even with the tail stand prongs.

The tailstand prongs on the rear are sharp enough to cause pain when you dig it into your skin. Be careful.

Knurling on the body isn't as aggressive compared to the SF or the Aleph/Sandwich Shoppe bodies. It's smoother, but still gives you some semblance of control over the flashlight.

The HA coating is close to the SS 1x123, and is shinier than the SureFire HA coating.

The pocket clip is "okay". I don't know how durable long term it will be, but it does resist some level of prying against it - so it's decently strong. I'm going to give one of the bodies equipped with a KL1 head to my 6 year old and see how bad he can munge it up.

One minor criticism - the body is "light". I don't have a postal scale, so I can't weigh it, but the body from VG seems slightly thinner and is lighter than the bodies from SF and Wayne at SS. I worry about the durability of it - I do have a tendency to bash stuff around. The bodies from SF and Wayne seem like I can drive my truck over it and they will survive. I'm not so sure about the VG one.

Considering I paid under 30 dollars (including shipping) per body, I figure you get what you pay for.

I have an E1E coming inbound from the BST forum, so I bet that the E1E incan head combined with the VG FB1 body will provide one really TINY flashlight that will give some decent output.

It seems that Vital Gear is still available for now - at least through SupremeCo. It's a toss up as to whether SupremeCo is the body maker and VG is a name brand of it, or if VG's inventory got bought out by SupremeCo and they are selling what's left.

Pictures and links are below.

-Steve



Left to right: Aleph 1x123 w/KL1, SureFire E1L w/KL1, VG FB1 w/KL1



Above - body only, Aleph vs. VG



Above - Comparing batteries vs. body size



Switch end - all 4 holes in the spikes are threaded too.



Above - you can see that the body can handle larger rechargeable batteries.



Above - in the hand comparison. From top to bottom - Aleph, SF EL1, and VG FB1.

Picture Links:

http://www.yeefamily.us/sgyee/cpf/vg1x123/img_4613b.jpg
http://www.yeefamily.us/sgyee/cpf/vg1x123/img_4614b.jpg
http://www.yeefamily.us/sgyee/cpf/vg1x123/img_4615b.jpg
http://www.yeefamily.us/sgyee/cpf/vg1x123/img_4616b.jpg
http://www.yeefamily.us/sgyee/cpf/vg1x123/img_4617b.jpg
http://www.yeefamily.us/sgyee/cpf/vg1x123/img_4619b.jpg

OK , so you bought these recently from Supremco?? How long did shipping took?? Also what kind of spring they have?? Leaf or coiled??

I've got an FB1 with a Cree'd A19 head on it, nice little light. I am hoping to get a couple more FB1's on order in the near future, I like them.

BTW, your review was nicely done.:thumbsup:

Tim

Groundhog66 said:

I've got an FB1 with a Cree'd A19 head on it, nice little light. I am hoping to get a couple more FB1's on order in the near future, I like them.

BTW, your review was nicely done.:thumbsup:

Tim

Click to expand...

Got any pics? Pleeeaasee

I ordered them on the 26th of December. I got them today. Not bad. 7 days from order to receipt.

The spring is a coil spring. I'm assuming you're talking about the spring out of the tail cap that contacts the battery.

-Steve

Cuso said:

OK , so you bought these recently from Supremco?? How long did shipping took?? Also what kind of spring they have?? Leaf or coiled??

Click to expand...

Thank you! The FB1/A19 seems like an interesting combo. Any pics?

-Steve

Groundhog66 said:

I've got an FB1 with a Cree'd A19 head on it, nice little light. I am hoping to get a couple more FB1's on order in the near future, I like them.

BTW, your review was nicely done.:thumbsup:

Tim

Click to expand...

Beastmaster said:

I ordered them on the 26th of December. I got them today. Not bad. 7 days from order to receipt.

The spring is a coil spring. I'm assuming you're talking about the spring out of the tail cap that contacts the battery.

-Steve

Click to expand...

Yep, the battery spring..Good to know they are coiled. Thanks for the info.

I have the 1-cell FB1, 2-cell FB2, and 3-cell FB3 bodies and really love them all. I've had no problems with the clips. They seem quite strong. I love that the clip is bezel down and doesn't show much (deep pocket carry) when clipped. The finish seems very tough and the inner surface is chemkoted, a nice touch. My FB1 and FB2 have the coil spring negative contact, while my FB3 has the older tab negative contact. My FB3 did have contact problems with Li-Ions, so I soldered a thin (very thin gauge) piece of wire to keep the contact as was noted in a CPF thread for a fix to the old tab contact switches. Overall, I love my VG bodies and think they're some of the best made both quality- and ergonomics-wise.

That's neat that these are still available. I thought they were gone forever.

Sounds like you had a good experience with them. It might be worth a try for me.

Thanks for the heads up.

houtex said:

Got any pics? Pleeeaasee

Click to expand...

Ask and you shall receive....

Thank you Groundhog. That setttles it for me,at least one of my fb1's will be getting a A19 head. That is a RPM bezel isn't it? Are they available or do I have to wait for one to come up in BST?

houtex said:

Thank you Groundhog. That setttles it for me,at least one of my fb1's will be getting a A19 head. That is a RPM bezel isn't it? Are they available or do I have to wait for one to come up in BST?

Click to expand...

Thank you, I really like it also. And yes, it is an RPM bezel. Contact RPM directly, see what he has available.

Tim

Oooh. That looks nice. I guess an Aleph head is in my future!

I think it goes well with the Aleph line...

I have 1x123, 2x123, & 3x123 VG bodies available for anyone who wants to trade. I used the 3x123 body with a KL1 head and two AA batteries for a house light. Just PM me.

Dang, that Aleph head looks sweet...so clean.

If anyone's interested, I have a new (purchased from Lighthound, never used) EXe HAIII Nat head I was looking to sell. Matches perfectly with the VG bodies. I was going to use it w/ my VGs, but picked up an E2D head instead.

The E1e head really makes things small. Here's a comparison between a VG FB1 using a KL1 head and an FB1 using a E1e head.



Combine that with a LF HA01R, and you're doing better than a KX1 headed unit for nearly 3/4 of an inch less. Compare that to a Aleph/SS 1x123 body, and you're slightly over an inch shorter.

Hey Beast,can you do beamshot comparisons?

Lemme whip out my camera real quick...:devil:

Well that's shiny