GERBER FOREMAN

Gerber Foreman, retail $16.00 {minimum} (www.gerbergear.com...)
Manufactured by Gerber Legendary Blades (www.gerberblades.com)
Last updated 01-31-07




The Gerber Foreman is a small (about the size of a medium-sized marker pen) LED penlight. Not only is the white LED bright, you can change it to red, green, and blue as well by just swapping out the tips (called "taskpods" by Gerber). And these colored LEDs are also quite bright - as monochrome single-LED sources go.

The Foreman feeds from two AAA cells (or "batteries" if you are used to using that term). It comes in an aluminum body with a rubber-like surface on its barrel to help aid grip.


SIZE



To use your Foreman, feed it the included AAA cells first (see directly below), and then you can work on that building.

Press and hold the tailcap button for momentary (signalling) mode; release it to extinguish the flashlight.

Turn the tailcap clockwise (as if tightening it) to operate the flashlight in continuous (hands-free) mode.
Turn the tailcap counterclockwise (as if loosening it) to turn it off.

There is no LOTC (Lock Out TailCap) function in the Foreman; please do not look for or expect to find one.


To change the light color of the Foreman, unscrew and remove the "business-end" (taskpod), and replace it with one of the three others included with your Foreman. The taskpods are color-coded (the ends are colored to match their LED color), so you do not have to screw them on at random until you get the light color you want.

The flashlight comes with a nylon pouch/belt holster that holds both the Foreman and the three taskpods that come with it. This holster fits belts up to 2.0" wide. I do not own or use pants that require a belt however, so I cannot test this accessory in the manner in which it was intended to be used.



To change the batteries in your Foreman, unscrew the tailcap until it comes off, and chuck it as hard as you can into a construction site so a Caterpillar or front-end loader will run over it and flatten it...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead.

Tip the two used AAA cells out of the barrel and into your hand, and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.

Insert two new AAA cells into the barrel, orienting them so their button-ends (+) positives go in first.

Screw the tailcap back on; and unscrew it slightly when your Foreman springs to life. Don't want to waste those brand spanken new batteries ya know.
Aren't you glad you didn't chuck that tailcap into the construction site now?

Current usage measures:

96.8mA (white)
86.2mA (red)
87.3mA (green)
83.3mA (blue)

on my DMM's 400mA scale.



Because this is a loaner light, I can't whack it against the concrete floor of a patio, stomp on it, try to drown it in the john, run over it with my Celebrity motorised wheelchair, bury it in the litterbox, etc. I'm sure its owner would like it returned with no dings on the tailcap or yucky old toilet water or desiccated rat pellets in the barrel.

There are O-rings on the barrel both at the bezel and at the tailcap, but it failed "The Suction Test" from the butt-end of the barrel. So water, milk, diet Pepsi, coffee, urine, root beer, or other liquids could get inside. As a result, please try not to drop it in creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes, oceansides, docksides, puddles of Norway rat pee, glasses of milk, slush piles, mud puddles, tubs, root beer floats, toilet bowls, cisterns, sinks, cups of coffee, fishtanks, dog water dishes, old yucky wet mops, wall-mounted porcelain urinators, automobile gas tanks or carbs, or other places where water or water-like liquids might be found. A little rain or snow probably wouldn't hurt it though, so you need not be too concerned about using it in moderately bad weather.

If it fell in water and you suspect it got flooded, disassemble it as you would for a battery change, dump out the water if necessary, and set the parts in a warm dry place for a day or so just to be sure it's completely dry inside before you reassemble and use it again.

If it fell into seawater, got thrown into a glass of milk, fell in a root beer float, if somebody or something went potty on it, or if it fell in a gas tank, douche all the parts out with fresh water before setting them out to dry. You don't want your Foreman to smell like seaweed, sour milk, or piss when you go to use it next. Besides, salt (from seawater or urination), lactic acid (from moo juice), sugar (from root beer & ice cream), or gasoline can't be very good for the insides.

(Update 01-24-07): I have determined that the leak is in the taskpod itself. The barrel holds a good partial vaccume (vacume, vacuume, vacumn, vaccuummnne, vacuum, etc.) when "The Suction Test" was performed on both ends; the taskpod admitted air when suctioned.

There is a step-up inverter inside the Foreman's barrel; this boosts the 3 volts from the batteries to an amazing 41.4 volts DC - allowing the use of *ANY* LED in the taskpod. I figured that this would be current-limited, but I measured a short circuit current of over 400mA. So I'm guessing there is a resistor in each taskpod, limiting current to its LED.

Although there is no knurling, the body cover is made of a grippy, rubber-like material, so retention (the ability to hold the flashlight when your hands are oily, cold, or soaked with water or pee) should not be much of an issue.

The Foreman has a sturdy clip affixed to it; this clip also pulls double duty as an anti-roll device, so if you lay your Foreman on a slanted surface, it will not just summarily roll away to try and get away from you. It may slide if the surface is slanted enough, but it will not roll.



Beam photograph (white LED) on the test target at 12".
Measures 44,200mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.



Beam photograph (red LED) on the test target at 12".
Measures 21,700mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.



Beam photograph (green LED) on the test target at 12".
Measures 97,800mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.



Beam photograph (blue LED) on the test target at 12".
Measures 12,800mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the white LED in this flashlight.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the red LED in this flashlight.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the green LED in this flashlight.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the blue LED in this flashlight.
Ocean Optics USB2000 Spectrometer on loan from WWW.TWO-CUBED.COM.





TEST NOTES:
Test unit was sent as a loaner by a member of Candlepower Forums on 01-16-07, and was received on the afternoon of 01-22-07.

Product was made in China. A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.

Because it was a loaner and its owner would probably like it returned with no dings on the tailcap or yucky old toilet water or dried up rat pellets in the barrel, the more abusive & potentially destructive tests will not be performed on it.


UPDATE: 01-24-07
I used the Foreman this morning in place of the LRI Proton that I normally use, and it performed quite admirably.


UPDATE: 01-31-07
I have returned the Foreman to the person who lent it to me, so I no longer have it for comparative analyses, and it now has that dreadful "" icon next to its listing on this website.


PROS:
Bright LEDs
Versatile (has easy-to-use taskpods to change LED colors)
Uses batteries that are common and relatively inexpensive
Relatively low current consumption


CONS:
Not waterproof or submersible


    MANUFACTURER: Gerber Legendary Blades
    PRODUCT TYPE: Small handheld flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: 5mm LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Medium spot - depends somewhat on LED head used
    SWITCH TYPE: Press tailcap momentary, twist tailcap continuous
    CASE MATERIAL: Aluminum
    BEZEL: Plastic; LED recessed into hosel for it
    BATTERY: 2xAAA cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 83.3mA to 96.8mA
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes, splash-resistant at minimum
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: Three LED light heads (taskpods), two AAA cells, nylon holster
    WARRANTY: Lifetime

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Gerber Foreman * www.gerbergear.com...






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