Gerber LX 3.0 Questions and Thoughts

Hi guys,

Since the search function is acting up, I'd like to get your thoughts on the Gerber LX 3.0. I read the review on flashlightreviews.com and it seems good. My main question is about battery usage. Can this thing run well off off of NiMH rechargeable batteries and what type of output do you get with those? Quickbeam has an overall outpout of 46...does that mean this thing puts out 65 lumens with just 3 AA's?

Wow. :huh:

Your thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks,

Pradeep

Not sure about rechargables, but they do not recommend lithiums. I've got one, and am very pleased. It's like a tank, great output, small enough to carry in a pack (will fit in a pocket but only just).

I've been running my LX 3.0 on 2300mAh duracell rechargables for a few weeks now (nighttime "walk-round-the-neighborhood" light). 3 nights a week and it gets run for about 1-1.5 hours each time. I charge the batts every time so I have no idea how long they'd actually run.

Inside, flashed up against a wall, I note a very slight reduction in light intensity with NiMH vs Alkalines but it really is an insignificant difference. Outside I don't notice the difference at all.

I just got the equipment set up to do basic runtimes so after I finish fooling around with the Surefire L2 in LOW mode I'll throw the Gerber on with fresh NiMH's and see what we get.

The luxeon lottery exists, even for Gerber.

I bought one on the strength of reviews. It was white, but no brighter than several one watts I had. Very disappointed. If mine was thirty lumens, I'd be surprised.

Sold it.

Ouch, that sux! At first I didn't think my LX 3.0 was any brighter than my Dorcy super 1 watt so I was somewhat dissappointed until I went out on a walk and realized that they both threw roughly the same distance...but the LX 3.0 was also doing a much better job of illuminating everything in between.

I got lucky with the one I have, it's nice and white and pretty darn bright. I guess it's karma payback for the HORRIBLE luxeons that I'v had to exchange (I had a first gen CMG Reactor that was such a deep emerald green that I thought I had bought a green one mis-packaged. Quickly found out that they didn't make a green Reactor. I'm still amazed that QC didn't catch it).

The funny thing is I've discovered I actually like just the slightest hint of green in my lights. The really blue ones are what drive me crazy. I've actually noticed that heavily blue tinted lights can make me dizzy.

I bought one a couple weeks ago and have used it as a room light for a power outage and for some night hiking. I like it a lot. I've run NiMH's in mine and didn't notice any output reduction. It has a nice amount of spill: great for walking. I like the form factor and the matte finish is nice looking. On the negative side, the hotspot on mine is kinda asymmetric-diamond shaped. The emitter is also not perfectly centered. Shining it on a wall and rotating the light really exaggerates the unevenness in the beam. In use, though, I never notice this.

Thanks guys for your thoughts and replies. I am aware of the Luxeon lottery and sometimes I am hesitant to buy a Luxeon light sigh unseen. zespectre, I look forward to your runtime plot. Pass it along to Quickbeam after you are done, and maybe he'll post it on his site for everyone to see.

Others...Quickbeam's site shows this puppy putting out about double or triple the output of a normal Lux I light. When comparing this to my "gold standard" Lux 1, such as the Streamlight Propolymer 4AA Lux (output of 21.50), the LX 3.0 is more than double (output of 46). The output is more than a BugOutGear's Lux III drop-in, which has an output of 35 but uses 2 X 123As....actually, this flashlight outputs more than any other Lux III flashlight. Is this because of the direct drive nature of the flashlight?

And how long does the initial "wow" of having a very, very bright Lux III last? I would use this for nighttime walks around my neighborhood like zespectre, and I'd want that great output to last at least 1.5 hours. I guess zespectre's runtime plot will answer my question.

pradeep1

Be cautious in this comparison. I have both the SLPP 4AA and Gerber 3.0.

Without question, the Gerber is the better walking around light with its tremendous output (spill), as long as you don't want to view something 7-10m away. This is where the SLPP 4AA excells - it has the best combination of throw and spill (not nearly equal to the Gerber) of any light I've seen in its price range. The fact that it's regulated is icing on the cake - and (althought SL says not to) many have successfully run rechargeables in it.

I forgot to mention - saw a post where someone was running rechargeables in the Gerber 3.0 also (Gerber says no-no) and he found very slightly reduced output but up to 1.5 hours runtime with no degradation. It sounded better than the alkaline run curve.

I usually ignore the dire warnings not to use NiMh. I run 4 AA NiMh in my SL PP Lux. I may have to try this LX 3.0.

I've finished the LX 3.0 runtime on NiMH batts (They were 1850 mAh, not 2300's as I thought earlier). I'll try to post the actual graph later but for nowI'll just give you the numbers rundown.

The Light started out with a rather dramatic drop (close to 10%) over the first 50 minutes. It's really not that visible to the human eye but sure shows on the graph. From there it leveled out into a nice gradual descent for the next 3 hours and 45 minutes, finally hitting the 50% mark at 4hr 35min.

At 5 hours the curve started to drop more sharply, hitting the 25% mark in just another hour (6 hours). This is the point (6 hours) at which I would consider this light inadequate for most outdoor activities.

The curve then went nearly flat with the light still putting out a respectable beam (a little brighter than an Infinity Ultra with a new batt). The curve continued an regular, gradual, decline to 9 hours 15 minutes at which point I terminated the test. At this time the beam was still strong enough to see across a 20x30 room.

Based on the graph behavior I would project another 15-17 hours (so roughly 24-26 hours total) before it would be unusable to find your way around an interior space.

UPDATE-----Here's the graph! (time at bottom is minutes)

Mine, the one listed on my site, is screaming bright ***at the very start***! Don't forget, it diminishes rapidly since it is NOT regulated at all and that my reading is a "snapshot in time". All readings are taken at the start with new cells. I would never expect it to continue putting out that much light past the initial turn-on. Unregulated lights drop very rapidly and then "tail out" for a long time. This is why I started adding runtime graphs to the reviews - they give a description of performance over time.

zespectre said:

... (I had a first gen CMG Reactor that was such a deep emerald green that I thought I had bought a green one mis-packaged. Quickly found out that they didn't make a green Reactor. I'm still amazed that QC didn't catch it)...

Click to expand...

You mean like this?



THis is the beam from my first CMG Reactor...yuk!!! :sick2:

LED Museum, that is what you call dog urine green heh? Wow, I haven't seen a case of that yet, and I hope not to. I didn't know Luxeons can get that bad.

zespectre and quickbeam, thank you for your input. this is a light I might have to investigate. Yeah, I was shocked at the initial light output, but seeing that it still puts out close to 90% during the first 50 minutes is encouraging.

Oh why oh why don't they just put a regulator in there and charge the additional $5.00 and make a fantastic 5-star light?

pradeep1 said:

LED Museum, that is what you call dog urine green heh? Wow, I haven't seen a case of that yet, and I hope not to. I didn't know Luxeons can get that bad...

Click to expand...

I'd actually call it "rotten cat urine green" or "rotten porpoise urine green", but some people prefer the term "pee green".
Perfect to use on St. Patrick's Day, but rather abominable on any other day of the year.

How about Incredible Hulk stale St. Patrick's Day beer **** green?

I own the LX3, and am very pleased with it.

Beware that you will probably notice an off center beam when you first test it out. My understanding is that this is a common defect.

If the beam were centered, and the light was semi regulated, and could use lithiums, then I think most people would probably rank it near the very top, in terms of bang for the buck.

Unfortunately, the beam isn't centered, and the light isn't regulated.

Boy, I wish someone from Gerber would read this website.

I also saw that the beam on my LX 3.0 was off-center.
It is not off-center by a whole lot, but it is noticeable if shone at a white wall or ceiling.

Here is another owner of a slightly off center optic in his LX 3.0. It has a nice white beam but Gerber just missed making a great light. I know I could build a converter to slide into the tube of the light. I would like have access to the optic in the light to center the beam or put in a reflector. Has anyone ever been able to get the head off the body? The way the LX light is made I leave it behind and grab a better light.

The_LED_Museum said:

You mean like this?

THis is the beam from my first CMG Reactor...yuk!!! :sick2:

Click to expand...

He he he, yeah I don't know if you remember but we had quite an email conversation about that one way back.