Gerber LX 3.0 brighter than Tec-40?!?!

wow!

i was just looking at Quickbeam's site, and noticed that the LX3.0 puts out more overall light and throws further than a Tec 40 (as well as a bunch of other well regarded lights.

anyone else amazed by this?

Bob

I'll pick one up then. Then again, stick a 4D xenon Mag bulb int there and see what the PT does

my LX.30 is amazingly bright, it is my brightest Luxeon 3 light. BUT, that only lasts for a short time...due to no regulation. I am probably on the second or third hour on the AAs and it no longer has the throw it did. But it is still quite bright. I will have to figure out when to change batteries and in that case, what to do with the batteries. I hate throwing away perfectly good batteries...

You should use rechargable NiMH then you will not have to throw out batteries. I always leave an extra set on a smart charger and change out every so often. You just need to make sure you buy a charger system that charges batteries individually and not in pairs since the Gerber LX3.0 uses 3 batteries. Most common AA chargers charge in pairs. Batteryspace.com has a couple that charge batteries individually: http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=11 or http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=22 They also sell these chargers in combos with batteries if you need batteries too.

the Gerber LX 1.0's brightness is closer to the PT40's than the LX 3.0 is.

i believe most of the 3Watt luxeon lights have similar or higher brightness than the PT40.

my FT3C was way brighter than my PT40 when shined @ the ceiling, and i believe the LX 3.0 is close to the FT3C's brightness (with less throw/more flood).

the Inova XO3 is about the same brightness as the PT40.

the Inova T3 is brighter.

Streamlight's 2L luxeon is brighter.

the Heliotek HTE-1 is almost as bright as the PT40, and it only uses a 1Watt.

and a number of others i'd imagine, but you get my point, LOL. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

where have you been, man? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/poke2.gif

Thank you...I do use NiMH batteries. The set in the flashlight are the batteries that came with the light. Now NiMH rechargables are in the light since I am using the light every day for extended periods of time. I hate using up batteries as it is environmentally unsound and expensive.

"where have you been, man?"

heh...i have some overdriven 1w lights...and some lux 3's driven at 350-400 mA...but no lux3's NICELY driven!

time to upgrade my LED driver's license...

Bob /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I just received my Gerber LX 3.0 (Thanks, Kevin F. and Battery Station) and WOW!

It's my first Luxeon light, and I think it's just amazing.

Unfortunately, I can't compare it directly to my PT Tec-40 because my Tec-40 got "lost" when I lent it to one of my co-workers (GRRRR!) but if memory serves, I'd say the LX 3.0 the same or brighter. I make this judgement by recalling how the Tec-40 compared to a Pelican M6 incandescent, and how the LX 3.0 compares to the same.

Even if the LX 3.0 is not really brighter, it is comparable, and it's a lot cooler because it's an LED.

A question aside because I don't feel like starting a new thread:

Because the LX 3.0 is unregulated, would Lithium AA cells give me a flatter brightness curve as they're used up; i.e. would I get peak or near-peak brightness for a lot longer?

I'm not sure that you should use lithiums in the LX 3.0.

I believe the gerber instructions warn against using lithiums - someone else who has them handy may be able to check, I'd have to dig for a while.

Re: Lithium AAs in LX 3.0

Hmmm. The package I received contains no such warning:

"Specifications:
"Power / (3) AA Batteries."

That's all my packaging says.

Re: Lithium AAs in LX 3.0

I remember reading Gerber's website a while ago, and they said lithiums can be used in all of their lights, except the LX-3.