I am expecting a trip to Kenya that may involve some time in the bush. If I go I will be spending some time in tent camps and want to pack a small flashlight that I can carry around in my pocket. I already have a keychain Photon light, but I want something a bit bigger and brighter. One friend recommended the Gerber CMG Infinity, but another said to go with the Fenix L1D CE. Anyone have any experience with these lights? Is there a reason to prefer one over the other?

The Infinity Ultra is my EDC light and I think it's outstanding. Weather resistant, tough, and it runs on an easy to replace AA battery. It's also very bright for a single LED with no lens. I use it daily and it never lets me down.

The Fenix looks nice and has more features...looks more expensive and has moving parts to break when you least expect them to. It also appears to be larger than the Gerber.

If you're looking for a pocket size alternative to a photon check out the Petzl e+Lite. It's my other EDC light. It's cheap, bright, works as a headlight or a clip light. It has several 'modes' like the Fenix (including a red LED). It's even water resistant to 1 Meter.

I have a Fenix P2D (uses 1 CR-123 battery), Gerber Tempo, Mini-Mag, Surefire, and some off-brand stuff. Never tried the CMG though.

It depends what you want to do with it. The Fenix is great, good battery life, has variable light levels. The Gerber uses 1 AAA, and it's about the same output as the lowest level the Fenix has (about 5-10 Lumens). The Fenix is as bright as the Surefire (with the capability to go higher), and a bit smaller. I haven't tried to break either, so I can't tell you which is tougher, though the Fenix doesn't seem to be cheap. But, I like that you can get a red filter for the Surefires, which I've done. On the flip side, the battery life on the Fenix is MUCH better than the surefire. I guess a Mag would be a good general light, as I've used one for years while in scouts. I also have a Rock Ridge (I think) light from Target - $30, about as bright as a Surefire, a little smaller, not adjustable output. If I had to do it again, I'd just stick with that and not get a Surefire, simply due to cost.

When my gf was in Africa, she said they never needed lights, as the stars or moon was always bright enough (no light pollution). Personally, I love the Fenix. I suggest that whatever you do, get something that runs on the common batteries. AA was fairly easy to get even in her village.

Another alternative is the Jetbeam CL-E V. 2. It used one AA battery, has three levels of brightness, strobe, and SOS. I have two of the CL-E's and they are very high quality and quite a bargain at about $32 from: http://blackforce.stores.yahoo.net/index.html

I have both the Gerber IU and several Fenix products. As stated by others, it depends on what you want it to do. The Gerber will be tougher, and can be easily clipped to a ball cap to double as a headlamp, but isn't as bright, but will go for 35-40 hours. If you want something more powerful, you may want to go with the Fenix L1D CE. The Fenix P1D CE is the 1 CR123 light, not the P2D CE as stated above. The P1D CE is my EDC light, as it is tiny, the twist mechanism is reliable, and it's bright.

AA's should be far easier to find locally, so if you are there for a long time, that should be your choice. If I were going and had one choice, it'd be a headlamp, hands free is a huge benefit. If limited to those 2 options, Gerber. If you want a do it all light and money isn't an issue, look at a Novatac.

If you can afford it I'd say get both. The Infinity is great for general illumination and runs forever. The Fenix throws well and is bright enough to light up distant targets. (and on the low setting it can also run forever) They compliment eachother very well.

I agree. Personally I'd get the Gerber Ultra Infinity (CMG sold to Gerber) and I'd get the Fenix L2T v2.0 RB80. The L2T only has two modes, 15 lumens and 140 lumens, but it uses the Rebel LED, I like mine. If you like lots of modes, go with the Fenix L2D RB80 or the Fenix L2D CE. Both the L2T and L2D Fenix lights are 2xAA lights, keep it in your vest. Keep the 1xAA Gerber in your pocket. The Gerber has a good flood like beam for close work, the Fenix lights will reach further. Edit: Just did an informal side-by-side comparison and found the Gerber Ultra Infinity and L2T V2.0 had virtually the same beam shape, that is a hotspot in the middle surrounded by a large spill area, the L2T was brighter, but it has two new batteries and the Gerber battery needs to be changed (later, it's fine for my needs).

Based on that experiment and the multiple output modes of the Fenix L1D CE, the 1xAA Fenix is a better light if you only buy one. . . although at less than half the price of the Fenix lights, the Gerber is a great value. I'll stay with my original thought, buy the 1xAA Gerber and a 2xAA Fenix (your choice of the three link'd).

Just an observation, but did you notice that the L1D lights Turbo mode only goes to 90 Lumens while the L2D lights go to 140? Looks to me like there's a limit on how much power the light can pull from a single AA battery; the L2D and L2T lights can pull more juice. Considering they're only $1 more, the L2D/T lights seem to be a better value than their L1D/T counterparts. $.02

Note: I have the Gerber Ultra Infinity as a mobile night light at home, a Fenix L2D CE is in my walking kit and a Fenix L2T v2.0 RB80 is in my flight jacket. I also have a small 1xAAA Peak Matterhorn in my pocket. For your trip stay with AA batteries. Buy a supply of NiMH rechargeables and a small solar battery charger.

Another option is the Zebralight H50. Lots of carry options and the cleanest flood beam I've seen in an LED or incandescent flashlight. Great light for close up work.

L1D CE
3.8" long
.85" diameter

IIRC its a little bit thinner and about an inch longer than the original Infinity from CMG. I never got one of the Gerber models because it looked like they took a Very Good design & complicated it.

They've come out with filters & light wand attachments recently.

Complicated? The Infinity Ultra is the simplest light I own. It doesn't even have a switch.

Hi Grant,

Out of the Fenix line up, I would get the *Special Edition Q5* Fenix Digital P1D CE Black Finish

https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info...2c6608e8b79c80e

If your going to spend sometime in the bush you could also get a 3.0V protected CR123 charger and a couple of 3.0V CR123R cells (very compact) and a 6 Watt Folding Sunlinq Solar panel.

http://www.amazon.com/Lenmar-KITCR123-60...8179&sr=8-1

http://www.21st-century-goods.com/page/21st/PROD/GSE65

If your looking for Tactical Performance Fenix have also introduced the new Fenix T1.



225 Lumen

First post, hope I can be of help. My wife and I pretty much collect flashlights. We get frequent power outages and over the years we've tried nearly everything to see what works best. However, what works in one scenario doesn't mean it works across the board. The Infinity Ultra Task light is okay in the house, but in the yard (we live in the country; very dark at night), or when camping, it's not the best thing to have. The earth/foliage soaks up the light and I would not want this as my only light if I was in a mountainous area -- it simply doesn't cast the beam far enough. The Fenix goes an hour and a half if I remember correctly and I no longer think that adequate when out and about. An aquaintance of mine, a physician and avid big game hunter, had a harrowing experience near cliffs in Alaska when his SureFire light went out after an hour. I think 3-4 hours is the minimum for taking abroad or when backpacking/hunting, etc. Until recently I used SureFires for tactical applications and an Underwater Kinetics 4AA or 2/DL123 light for everything else, but a recent arrival on the market has forced a further change.

Try the new SureFire G2L. It's a LED light with about 12 hours of usable light. It throws about 75 lumens for a couple of minutes and then drops back to 65 lumens for a number of hours. LED's throw a very white light, unlike the yellow tint of incandescents, so it takes some getting used to, and I don't think they work nearly as well in smoke/fog, but these new G2L's have overcome that somewhat. They still aren't as good as a 9P, M4, etc, in the Surefire line, when distance/smoke/fog are involved, but the lumens are very impressive and work WAY OUT THERE (as in 50-60 yards) when compared to the Infinity or similar lights. Add the superior battery life, no need for $20 replacements bulbs like the incandescents, and the reasonable price, and you have a pretty good solution. I think we paid about $50. It was well worth it. I intend to get a couple of more to put in each car. I've tried them outdoors and they are light years ahead of the smaller lights mentioned, yet still small and light enough for travel.

If that is too big, look at the Princeton Tek Impulse. In the last couple of days I compared it to the aforementioned Infinity light I had next to the bed. It clearly outperformed the Task Light. It has low/medium/high settings, plus two flashing modes. I was so impressed with it, I put the Infinity away. I think we paid about $13 for these at REI. They have a 12 hour battery life on high, 24 hours on lmedium and 36 hours on low beam. Now I haven't tested this yet, it's what the factory printed on the box, but even half that time, considering the amount of light on high mode, would be adequate for travel. The neat feature about this little light is that it attaches to your shirt/pants and also comes when a mount to put on a hat.

Welcome rly45acp and thanks for the information, I will check out both the Surefire G2L and Princeton Tek Impulse you mentioned.

Mike

I have both the Fenix CREE LED in the single AA version and the Gerber .mil version.

The Fenix does what the Gerber does and more, but the Gerber is more robust.

Take both.

If only one, take the Gerber.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Rly45acp, I'll check out the Surefire G2L. I carry a Surefire G2 Nitrolon and have liked it, but it sounds like the G2L may throw the light further, something I'm looking for. A friend showed me a Uzi xenon light--about 4.8 inches long and using two 3v lithium batteries. It really lights up the night, but he says they are hard to come by. Does anyone use this Uzi light?

I don't know if you have your heart set on one of those, but the brightest lights for the size that I know of are scuba diving lights. I would want one of those if I were trying to see what I was defending myself against in Kenya.

I picked up a Fenix P3D Cree version today. I was awestruck by the amount of light. I have another 3w led that is supposed to put out about 50 lumens or a bit brighter and better quality light than my old d-cell Maglite.

The Fenix clocks in at 12/53/120/215 lumens or about 4x the output in a form factor that can only be described as pocket fitting (114x21 mm). I can't speak to the durability just yet but judging from it's manufacturing quality, it looks like a winner. The light is very white, not blueish and not yellowish either. I opted for the CR123 version rather than the AA which is about 33 mm longer and 84% the brightness. Comes with a belt carry pouch and lanyard.

The original had the keyring hole machined in the main body. The switch and battery access was by turning the head end. Note the conclusions at the end. There's also reviews for the original Infinity and the original Ultra Ultra.