Gerber Infinity Ultra Task Light

Best flashlight I ever owned.

This Gerber flashlight produces a very even field of illumination which makes it a joy to use.  Because the field of illumination is so even. the illumination provided by the single bright LED is more than enough to dig around in a pack, or fix dinner, read a guidebook or put up a tent. 

The flashlight comes with a clip similar to the kind found on ballpoint pens and ithe flashlight is small enough and light enough to be clipped onto the bill of a baseball cap and used as a headlamp. 

I have hiked in the black of night, with a 50 pound pack, under an old growth canopy, along Forest Service trails using my Gerber flashlight for a headlamp; and when I turned the flashlight off, I couldn't see my hand in front of my face.  The flashlight also has enough power to read unlit street signs from the car in dark neighborhoods.

The AA battery is easy to find and if you use a lithium battery the battery should have years of shelf life (read the battery) and many hours of useful light left over as well.  The twist on and twist off switch makes accidentally draining your battery while the flashlight is in your pack an unlikely possibility.

The twist on/off switch also makes sealing the flashlight against water damage reliable with the use of its "O" ring.

The construction is of rugged machined aluminum alloy. Using the AA battery makes the flashlight small, but not so small as might make it easy to loose track of.

The flashlight has no illuminated parts except the LED. The only light you see is that which is being reflected from objects being illuminated. Because the on/off switch as operated by twisting the rear of the flashlight, this lack of illuminated parts is not a problem, because you never have trouble finding the switch.  Not having an illuminated head portion on the flashlight is an unexpected bonus because the only light you see is reflected off the objects you are trying to illuminate; there is no unwanted glare.

I only find two drawbacks:

1. You could easily lose this flashlight because of  its dark color so I always attach a lanyard of a bright color.
2. If you lay the flashlight down on a rock on a ridge where the flashlight is shining out into a clean, thin,  high altitude night, you may have trouble finding your flashlight, or remembering that it is turned on if the beam is not illuminating some surface.

The Gerber Infinity Ultra Task Light is among my very favorite flashlights. I never go on a trip without it and in fact I keep one by my bed for power outages, emergencies, etc. This flashlight is extremely sturdy... the sturdiest I've ever seen. With its twist type on/off switch it's simple, water resistant and fool proof - no broken or stuck switches.

Most importantly, it has a phenomenal burn time on one AA battery - 40 hours! Notice that this flashlight uses a single AA battery, not the more common AAA. Though somewhat larger and heavier than a AAA battery, a AA has many times more energy capacity... and it's still pretty tiny. This sturdy little guy would probably be too heavy for the ultralight set and would be a bit bulky to put on your key chain.

And it's important to note that this is not a very bright flashlight; it doesn't exactly project a beam. Rather it projects a rather broad, even and not-so-bright area light. But in many ways, this is actually an advantage! This is in large part what accounts for the tremendous burn time on a single battery. What's more, I find that while not as bright as most other flashlights, that the even light is ideal for using for long periods as an overhead light when suspended from the attic of my tent or over my cook area outdoors. And it's ideal for reading at night once you've snuggled into your sleeping bag or rustic overseas hotel room.

There are many good LED flashlights for general use. But for a dependable, general use, and especially for a dependable, ultra long life emergency light, I depend on my Infinity Ultra Task Light!