# Let's take a look at the inside of the Gerber FIRECRACKER



## greenlight (May 30, 2007)

Let's take a look inside the Gerber Firecracker:

First step:
Seal flashlight in bag:






Boil for several minutes:





This was my first 'boil-it' procedure. I wasn't able to open it the first time, so I boiled it again for 5 mins. I had luck with wrapping latex straps around the light and twisting tightly. Eventually it opened. The optic fell out easily.












Here's the PCB and LED up close:





The Optic fits nicely on top of the aluminum body. The white calimari tube rests on top of the optic and holds it and the glass window in place. There's an o-ring to seal the deal:














Next step: Paint with generous amounts of glow paint!




I painted everywhere except on the emitter.




Only the GID directly adjacent to the die is charged, and it only takes a small amount to make the optic glow, since it is focused directly in that area.




When reassembled, it looks like an awesome green glowing eye. 




Mission Accomplished.

Stick around...

Unfortunately, the little calamari spacer melted during the boiling process! It still works, but looks stupid! Maybe boiling this isn't the best way to open it.

__________________


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## parnass (May 30, 2007)

What was your impression of the construction and stock performance of the Firecracker? Is it worth the price?


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## Dawg (May 30, 2007)

parnass said:


> What was your impression of the construction and stock performance of the Firecracker? Is it worth the price?


Yeah, +1, Inquiring minds want to know.


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## carrot (May 30, 2007)

So where can I get me one of these? Any retail stores?


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## shinbone (May 31, 2007)

REI is where I bought mine here in Oregon, price was ~$20. You can also call Gerber or maybe check their website for other local retailers.

I'm pleased with the light for general arround the house use and it seems to be built well. I was disappointed to discover it was not a clicky; the tail looks like one, but is non-functional. The tailcap can be screwed down close to turning it on and there is enough play in the threads to activate it as a momentary which is a nice feature planned or not. It has pretty good throw but nothing near the claim they make on the packaging. It has a blue-violet color cast, but the beam is tight and very usable. Compared to a mini-mag it's a little shorter in length, about the same diameter, and in my opinion is much brighter. Great small utility light which runs a long time on one inexpensive AA cell.


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## parnass (May 31, 2007)

carrot said:


> So where can I get me one of these? Any retail stores?



A web search produced these web sources:

http://www.ambientweather.com/mo80106.html

http://www.knifesupplycompany.com/80106.html


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## greenlight (May 31, 2007)

I bought my Firecracker at REI. I was interested in comparing it to my Inova x1. I particularly like flashlights with focusing lenses. I also wanted to see how it looked with the glow paint. 

The firecracker throws farther than the Inova x1, but the Inova wins for having a more perfectly defined beam and spot. There is more sidespill due to reflection from the white spacer where the x1 uses a black AR coating to eliminate sidespill. This is not bad unless you need to be stealthy, then the x1 would be preferable. 

The firecracker is made in China, and the construction shows. The x1 is made in USA and feels nicer.

I think it is a useful light to use. At night the limited sidespill is more useful than the zero sidespill from the inova x1. I like the twisty only feature, and it works in momentary mode just like the x1. The x1 never needed a tailcap button, anyway. The tailcap is a little loose, but the threads turn nicely. When the tailcap is reassembled it doesn't feel like the threads are going to cross or lock-up. The tailcap spring can be heard twisting when you turn the light on. 

If you are a fan of optic style lights then you will want to go pick up this one. It was worth it to me just to make it glow. I think it will be my new must-take-camping light. (Need glowing bezel to find in dark tent). It's also fun to show off.


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## bombelman (Jun 8, 2007)

Very interesting mod...
I would really like to know how the beam would look with a Cree emitter... :thinking:

I might pick one up just to try that out. If it can focus properly,
the output would me tremendous, not to mention the throw...

Cheers !!


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## Sigman (Jun 8, 2007)

Great pics and thanks for sharing this as well!!


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## enLIGHTenment (Jun 15, 2007)

bombelman said:


> Very interesting mod...
> I would really like to know how the beam would look with a Cree emitter... :thinking:



Good idea. Might not be an easy mod, though.


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## greenlight (Jun 16, 2007)

I don't expect that there is an easy way to mod the output of this light. I think that it's good as is. All it needed for me was the glow paint to make me happy. I think that the E1L is a good alternative for someone who needs a brighter optic based flashlight.


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## milkyspit (Jun 18, 2007)

greenlight said:


> I don't expect that there is an easy way to mod the output of this light. I think that it's good as is. All it needed for me was the glow paint to make me happy. I think that the E1L is a good alternative for someone who needs a brighter optic based flashlight.




Maybe a Luxeon Rebel?


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## greenlight (Jun 21, 2007)

I did some beamshot comparisons with an original inova x1.v1. I think it is one of the early ones, but the output is good.

3'





6'





9'









The firecracker is a little brighter than the inova. Besides having some spill light, at long range the light really shines. A 10 meter test showed the firecracker was brighter, and a 20 meter test was the same. The photos didn't show much, but a visual test confirmed the results.


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## eyeeatingfish (Jul 31, 2007)

Wait, which light in the picture is which light? If you listed it sorry, but i cant find whether the one on the left is the X1 or the firecracker....


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## greenlight (Aug 1, 2007)

The inova x1.v1 uses an aspheric optic. It produces a tight moon type beam with clearly defined edges and no spill.

The gerber FIRECRACKER uses a TIR type optic, providing maximum throw with limited sidespill. 

The inova is good for certain tasks that require ultimate stealth and when you don't want to irritate people with your flashlight.

The FIRECRACKER is better for all around use, and really works great outside, because it lights up things that are pretty far away (for a relatively weak flashlight). It's similar to the SF L1 on low (don't ask me which L1), let's just say that it puts out an impressive beam, and has fairly good runtime to boot. I have been prepared to buy some more of them, but I keep expecting other better lights to come out. Who knows, it may be the last, cheap, quality optic based light (cheap being the definitive term). How many other optic based lights are there out there right now for less than 20$?


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## rmyc (Aug 2, 2007)

Sooo sooo upset.. when i was trying to get an internship with gerber 2 years ago, i explained to them about using and optical lens on an led flash light to focus the beam. I was hoping that would help me get the job because th engr was very amazed with the idea, but i ended up not getting the job .seems like that engineer there stole my idea.. life sucks!


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## eyeeatingfish (Aug 3, 2007)

I must say youre use of the glow paint motivated me to buy some and as soon as i get it I cant imagine how many things i will make cool.
Not to mention this review makes me really want a gerber firecracker


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## tritan (Aug 17, 2007)

How does this light compare to Gerber infinity AA light? I need a general purpose light that will fit in a maintenance pouch so I like the looks of the infinity clip for clipping in the case but the firecracker looks like a bright light. They make a 2 cell version correct? The corno or something like that?


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## greenlight (Aug 17, 2007)

The infinity is a tougher little light, made in USA. It is not as bright as the gerber, but it probably runs a lot longer, too.

The FIRECRACKER is significantly brighter and throws much farther, too. I like it. It runs for a good long time on one AA.

I only own one right now, but I'm not against buying more. They're good lights if you like optics/throw.


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## tritan (Aug 17, 2007)

I just need a tough little light for maintenance. I have been using the streamlight stylus flashlight but sick of AAAA batteries they are so expensive.So if either of these are as bright as the stylus light I am all set. I need to find a place that carries this light retail , I checked there site but can't find a listing of all the retail locations in my area of MI.


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## greenlight (Aug 17, 2007)

you won't be able to stop there.


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## tritan (Aug 18, 2007)

greenlight said:


> you won't be able to stop there.



What do you mean by that its that great of a light i will have to have 2?


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## greenlight (Aug 18, 2007)

No, you will start to want better lights, and there are a lot to choose from!!


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## tritan (Aug 18, 2007)

I am looking for the best single AA light for the business. Email sent to you so I don't hijack the thread.


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## greenlight (Oct 5, 2007)

Does anyone know what LED is in this light?


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## bl4kkat (Feb 25, 2008)

just wondering... how would the light look if you added 4 trit vials with the glow paint?


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## Brownstone (Apr 29, 2008)

bl4kkat said:


> just wondering... how would the light look if you added 4 trit vials with the glow paint?



What if he painted the tritium vials with glow paint, and then glued smaller tritium vials to them?

:nana:


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## greenlight (Feb 22, 2009)

Does anyone use this light? REI still has them for the outrageous price of 20.00$. It's not the brightest light available, but the size is good. It fits nicely in my palm. The twist action is great and works well in momentary mode if you choose to push the aluminum tailcap in. There is no clickie.

The light is sufficiently bright and the optic lens makes the beam seem unusually strong. 

If you need to use your light but don't want to blind people nearby this is a good light to use. I carry this light out a lot because it's cheap and effective. I don't worry about dropping it or losing it.


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## greenlight (May 12, 2009)

I thought I'd take another look at the Gerber FIRECRACKER now that McGizmo is using what appears to be the same emitter in his latest offering.


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## DanTSX (May 16, 2009)

greenlight said:


> Does anyone use this light? REI still has them for the outrageous price of 20.00$. It's not the brightest light available, but the size is good. It fits nicely in my palm. The twist action is great and works well in momentary mode if you choose to push the aluminum tailcap in. There is no clickie.
> 
> The light is sufficiently bright and the optic lens makes the beam seem unusually strong.
> 
> If you need to use your light but don't want to blind people nearby this is a good light to use. I carry this light out a lot because it's cheap and effective. I don't worry about dropping it or losing it.



I do!

It is in my bug-out-bag, and I was doing my springtime smoke,c02 detector and flashlight test. My X5 is my normal around the house light, but the throw on this little guy is pretty nice. 90% of my indoor flashlight use is to check the locks on the doors/windows before I go to bed, and while the flood reaches no problem, this little guy probably does the job better. Throw is nice to have without lighting up the whole neighborhood. I also used it to check the sunroof on my car from the upstairs bedroom window Now I feel like a CPF nerd:laughing: I'd never do that with my 6P with a DX R2 because the neighbors would think there was a prowler


Handy little light, and a good choice for a BOB. AA batt, long runtime, can illum distance without blinding everyone/stealth, while having a little spill. Good use of $13. Just wish beam wasn't so purple. I'd buy an updated one in a second.


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## wojtek_pl (Jun 22, 2009)

HI.
Sorry for digging up such old thread but what is the runtime of this flashlight ?


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## greenlight (Jun 22, 2009)

The flashlight runs very long due to low output and no regulation. 

The light can be used in flood mode, too, by removing the optic.

I took my FIRECRACKER on my camping trip again last week. It performs well, and I don't worry about losing it.


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## wojtek_pl (Jun 23, 2009)

I just bought one for my 8 year old kid. Nice, simple flashlight with quite remarkable throw for one Nichia LED. 
I measured current from fresh AA battery - 0.4 A . More than I expected though.


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## greenlight (Sep 17, 2010)

Three years later and my only Gerber Firecracker is still my main little active light. I use it all the time- work, bike, camping, etc... I really dig the twist-on/off interface over more confusing variable modes.

Is there a newer flashlight that rivals the Firecracker for price and lack of features?


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## Greenmando (May 8, 2011)

I never knew gerber made a flash light much less a led. I just looked at ebay and they are selling at $10 with 45 shipping so I may just buy one. I have a dozen of cheap 3AAA leds at 80 lumen, but this would be even slimmer at one AA.


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## Ergolator (Jul 2, 2012)

I believe the IC labelled U1 is the Zetex ZXSC300 LED driver. Operates down to 0.8 volts for single cell operation and has >90% efficiency at 1.0 volt - not bad. I found the datasheet here:

http://www.s-manuals.com/smd-files/pdf/z/zxsc300_z.pdf


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