GATLIGHT V3

Gatlight v3, retail $395.00 (www.flashlight.lumencraft.net...)
Manufactured by Lumencraft (http://www.flashlight.lumencraft.net)
Last updated 12-24-07




At first glance, the Gatlight doesn’t look like a flashlight at all...but turn that sucker on and watch out!!!

The Gatlight v3 blends aesthetic design with a high degree of functionality in one handy-dandy instrument. It is made from titanium with a carbon fiber "internal barrel", so it is a true work of art that does a lot more than just hang on a wall...actually, "hang on a wall" would not be the correct choise of words here...maybe "sit in a locked display case" would be more appropriate.

It has a white Seoul Semiconductor P4 LED in its head, uses a single CR123A lithium camera cell to power that LED, and the intensity is continuously variable with a knurled knob on its tailcap.
Plus, it’s just plain cool (or “kool” or “kewl”) to look at, whether it’s on or off - even if you’re cruising for a bruising .


SIZE



The Gatlight should come to you ready to use; the battery in mine was preinstalled.

Press the tailcap button firmly until it clicks and then release it to turn it on.
This is continuous or hands-free mode.
Press & release it the same way again to turn it off.

Momentary or signalling mode is available by pressing the tailcap button less firmly (before it clicks) and holding it that way for as long as you need light; just release the button to douse (extinguish) the light.

The intensity can be adjusted from very low to blindingly bright. To do this, turn the Gatlight on in continuous mode, and turn the knurled tailcap clockwise (as if tightening it) to decrease the intensity, and turn it counterclockwise (as if loosening it) to increase the intensity. The intensity changes smoothly, with no noticeable “stepping”.


I don't normally show flashlight packages/storage cases, but this one is handsome enough to show off here.



To feed your shiny new (or corroded old ) Gatlight, unscrew and remove the tailcap, and set it aside.

Tip the used CR123A cell out of the barrel and into your hand, and dispose of or recycle it as you see fit.

Slide a new CR123A cell into the barrel, orienting it so the button-end (positive) (+) goes in first.

Screw that tailcap back on, and be done with it.

Unable to measure current usage due to how the Gatlight was constructed and how it operates.




A photograph of the front end of the Gatlight.

The Gatlight is a loaner, and I’m sure its owner would appreciate receiving it back with no dings in the bezel or rat pellets or yucky old toliet water in the barrel. So I won't throw it against the wall, stomp on it, try to drown it in the toylet bowl or the cistern, run over it, swing it against the concrete floor of a patio, use a ball peen hammer in order to bash it open to check it for candiosity, fire it from the cannonada (I guess I've been watching the TV program “Viva Piñata” too much again - candiosity is usually checked with a laser-type device on a platform with a large readout, with a handheld wand that Langston Lickatoad uses, or with a pack-of-cards-sized device that Fergy Fudgehog uses; and the cannonada is only used to shoot piñatas to piñata parties away from Piñata Island), send it to the Daystrom Institute for additional analysis, or inflict upon it punishments that non-loaner flashlights may have inflicted upon them. So this section of the Gatlight’s web page will appear more bare than this section of the web page on a web page about a flashlight that is not a loaned sample.

The variable intensity settings of the Gatlight are not "stepped"; they are instead very smooth, so you can "dial in" the exact amount of light you need for the particular task at hand.

The Gatlight is a regulated product; that is, the intensity won't just slowly and insidiously drop from the moment it is first turned on, like an unregulated light will.

The Gatlight is water-resistant; it passed "The Suction Test" I administered with no problems at all.

Quoted from the Gatlight’s web page on Lumencraft’s website:

“The use of titanium and carbon fiber structural components is a design area in which our engineers are well versed. Carbon fiber and titanium structural engineering have been the backbone of spacecraft design. The 6AL-4V titanium alloy used in the Gatlight Titanium is procured per military specification MIL-T-9047 because quality and reliability are not something that can be compromised.”

According to this, the Gatlight really *IS* a high-end flashlight - and yes, it really does show!!!
As most high-end products are, the Gatlight is serialised: the serial number of this one (not "mine" because it is a loaner) is 105.

Also from the Gatlight's web page, comes this:

"Gatlights are precision machined by Swiss craftsman at an ISO-9001 certified facility in the United States. Lumencraft Gatlights are individually crafted masterpieces designed with the highest precision in mind. To achieve this superior level of performance, each Gatlight is carefully hand assembled from 79 components by a trained Lumencraft technician. The entire manufacturing process follows the strict Six Sigma process to ensure perfect quality every time. The GatLight is not only unique in its appearance but also a feat of engineering and manufacturing precision."

(Update 12-09-07): I used an oscilloscope to check for the presence or absence of PWM (pulse width modulation) on dimmer settings, and found no evidence whatsoever of it. So I do not really know what method is used for dimming the Gatlight.



Beam photograph (maximum intensity) on the test target at 12".
That greenish tint you see is a camera artifact; it does ***NOT*** exist in reality.
Measures 4,170mcd (low) and 1,997,000mcd (high) on a Meterman LM631 light meter.
The beam angle is advertised at just 6°.
The Gatlight’s intensity is continuously variable; it does not change in visible “steps”.



Beam photograph (maximum intensity) on a wall at ~10 feet.

Those rectangular graphic things in the upper left quadrant of this photograph are marquees from:

Atari ''Tempest''
Nintendo ''R-Type''
Super Tiger...er...uh...Konami ''Super Cobra''
Midway ''Omega Race''
Sega ''Star Trek''
Williams ''Joust''
Venture Line ''Looping''
Universal ''Mr. Do!'s Castle''
Jaleco ''Exerion''
Gremlin/Sega ''Astro Blaster''
Gottlieb ''Q*bert''

upright coin-op arcade video games from the 1980s.

That graphic toward the right is:
A "BIG SCARY LASER" poster sent by www.megagreen.co.uk

And that clock to the right of the "Big Scary Laser" poster is an Infinity Optics Clock.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight (maximum intensity).


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight (near-minimum intensity).


ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis.
Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.



TEST NOTES:
Test units of the Gatlight and the Titanium EOS White Sapphire Prototype were sent by W.B. of Lumencraft as loaners on 11-17-07 and were received on the afternoon of 12-01-07.
Because they are loaners, I’ll add that dreadful “” icon when I return them.

As far as I'm able to determine, product was made in the United States of America.
A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE: 12-04-07
I have heard from my contact at Lumencraft that I will receive a "keeper" sample of the Gatlight in February or March 2008. This means that I'll be able to perform the more abusive (potentially damaging or even destructive) tests on it - though at this point I think the Gatlight will come out smelling like the proverbial rose.


UPDATE: 12-24-07
Product has now been returned to Lumencraft; therefore, that dreadful "*" icon has been added to its listings on this website.


PROS:
Insanely bright for its size
A great piece of art that works!
Smooth intensity adjustment


CONS:
None that I was able to find while I had it


    MANUFACTURER: Lumencraft
    PRODUCT TYPE: Small handheld flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: White Seoul Semiconductor P4 LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Medium spot w/dimmer corona
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/momentary/off on tailcap
    CASE MATERIAL: Titanium, carbon fiber
    BEZEL: Metal; optic protected by thin plastic window
    BATTERY: 1xCR123A cell
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure (advertised at 700-800mA)
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: Battery, hefty wooden hinge-lidded presentation case
    SIZE: 3.50" (89mm) long by 1.125" (28mm) diameter
    WEIGHT: ~3.8oz with battery
    WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating*

    * = Conditional.
    Product was not in my possession long enough to be fully tested;
    however I think it deserves this rating.





Gatlight v3 * www.flashlight.lumencraft.net...






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