Has anyone used the Pak-lite 9 volt LED lights yet. Seems a little pricey. The technology is basic, maybe if we put our heads together we can do our own. I use to make electric candles with nine volt batt but they did not last long. I read the threads on LED flashlights but was thinking more of an electric long lasting candle.

The reviews of Pak-Lite are not good. They are not very bright and seem poorly made. I prefer the old CMG Infinity Ultra from Country Comm . One AA is good for 25 hours at full brightness.

Unfortunately, Countycomm sold out of these a while back. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Gerber is selling them now.

I think he's looking for the hemispherical visability of the pak-lite.

As for the pak-lite itself, which evaluation said they weren't terribly bright? For what they are, for thier cost, I've found them to be acceptable. But I don't expect something that simply clips to the top of a 9V to be super brite.

As for their reliability, again, I find them to be acceptable for thier degree of skeletonization. Bare positive and negative terminals, on the same side of a cell and that close, is likely to have issues if you don't take steps to keep it dry.

For what it's worth. *shrugs*

I work on copiers and computers and use a flashlight dozens of times a day. I bought an Ultra about a month ago and am very very please with it. A chain store, Sports Authority, in the SE is carrying both of the Gerber lights. During last years hurricanes I had to spend several nights in a church shelter (twice). Lots of handhelds and large laterns. With no power for several days I kept thinking of small 360 degree lights. I put light sticks in the bath rooms but had to change them every day.

Do you know if they changed the design before or after Gerber bought CMG? I've got a regular Infinity & the led portion screws to operate & change the batteries, not the section where the ring attaches.

Yes, they did change the design, and also, the CountyComm version was HA3 anodized.
I have the CC version, and it will use batteries that won't even activate other equipment.
I think they will start up and run with a AA battery that reads 0.6 volts.

ironsraven,

Go to the LED museum and see what they say about the Pak-Lite. I love the idea of a 9V LED but I have not seen a good one.

LED Museum

This is interesting:
Dissusion

PALight is 9V operated.

Where is LED Museum's review of them? I couldn't find it.

As for the CPF thread, I didn't find anything that disagrees with what I said: It isn't super bright, and it sure isn't water proof, but that goes with the form factor. I saw a few people saying that they disliked them, but not at a level that wouldn't consider normal for any product.

Or did I miss something?

I think there's a review at the LED museum.

Some CPF'ers absolutely love these things. I think they're a cute idea but overpriced. Their most interesting feature to (some) CPF'ers is their extremely long runtime (like months nonstop) in the low brightness mode if you use the special lithium battery. But who really cares about that? If you need that much nonstop light, maybe you want a tritium light instead of a battery powered one.

As survival lights I'd say they have several flaws: 1) lack of waterproofness; 2) lack of a lanyard hole; 3) battery and head can separate if you drop the light.

The Gerber (formerly CMG) Infinity Ultra is a nice 1AA light and yes Gerber did change the design to use a twist tail instead of a twist head. CPF'ers mostly (not unanimously) prefer the old design, maybe because that's just what they were used to. I have several of the old ones and have seen (but don't have) the new kind. The old ones do seem to have better build quality. Note that not every Gerber unit uses the new design. The first units with the Gerber logo were the old design and they switched designs a little while later.

The Ultra-G is no longer made and is in some demand on CPF, but you can buy them for $25 or so. I don't think it's really worth paying extra for the HA3 finish.

If you want a tiny survival light, go for a Photon II or Photon Freedom, maybe in the new ETS version with the yellow glop on the body. (CPF'ers hate the ETS version because the glop is ugly and peels off). The Freedoms come with a little clip that let you attach to your hat or clothing for handsfree use, a very handy thing.

If you want something a bit more solid, I'd suggest the UK 2AAA eLED, about $12 from brightguy.com. It uses two AAA's and has about 20 hours runtime and a focusing optic for a bit more reach than a bare LED would give you. It's waterproof to 1000 feet and comes with a hat clip for handsfree use.

Finally, the esteemed Arc AAA is available again, www.arcflashlight.com is taking orders, but right now is backordered for a few weeks. They claim that orders placed today will be shipped around the end of this month, IIRC. They will supposedly bring back the Arc AA around xmas time.

I find it funny. People see me saying that the Pak-Light is good, for what it is, and assume I love and defend them. Personally, I think they are over priced. And I definantly don't like them in a survival pack, but I don't like skeletonized handles on my knives either.

I've acknowledged that they aren't water proof, or terribly bright. I keep one in my tool kit becuase it is a good marker light inside, but that's it. I have friends who use them in the field, but the government buys the things for them (usually the IR version), and they stick it in a tiny baggie to keep it dry.

For what they are, the are good. Do I think they are good for my needs? Some, but not in my survival kit. (A BOB is something a little different to me.) Do I think they should be run down becuase they aren't something else? Absolutely not. Are they everything they were designed to be? Yes, and for that reason, I will stick up for them.

It's a quirk that comes with being an engineer. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Shrug, I was mostly thinking of folks over on Candlepower Forums (CPF) who I don't think are posting in this thread (unless Ironsraven is a CPF'er). The Pak-lite has some very enthusiastic supporters over on CPF. According to them, the light is quite well made, which I'm sure it is, plus it has a unique feature (extremely long runtime at dim output). I see it as a clever idea and the long runtime is pretty cool, but it's not really that practical or cost-effective a light compared to what else is out there. Still, CPF'ers are knowledgeable about flashlights and they're not deluded, they just see the same light that I see and form a different judgement than I do. So I'm reporting that opinions differ even among informed flashlight buffs, and nobody should take any single opinion as gospel.

It's possible to make something functionally similar out of a couple 10-cent LED's and a resistor and a connector pried off the top of an old 9V battery, so I might do that sometime, just to have get it out of my system.

I just ordered one. If it is worth talking about, I will get back. The concept is really good, anyway, and they have been around long enough to have gone through several instaurations. So, I'll check it out.

Randjack, I'm sure it will meet your expectations. Everyone who buys them likes them. Those of us who are less enthusiastic about them, don't buy them in the first place <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />. It's pretty clear from the description what you're getting, so it's just a matter of deciding whether it's worth the asking price.