Pila GL3

Description:
Incandescent
Runs on 3×123, 2xPila 150s, or 2xPila 150a Cells
130 Lumen Output
LED Tailcap
First Impressions:
The GL3 seems very well built, and ready for punishment.
The knurling is just slightly less aggressive than Surefires, and feels good and sturdy in your hand.
The tailcap is a good bit larger diameter than the body of the light, making it easy to keep a grip on.
The light is alittle heavier than I would like. It reminds alot of the Pelican M6, in its overall shape and weight.
There are many places on the head and tailcap that have grooves, or fluted places. These add a nice look to the light.  These are also signs that the manufacture took the extra step required to make them. They cannot be made by a lathe alone.

Size/Weight:
I wouldnt consider this light small enough for EDC pocket carry. Though it would be ok in a holster. The size and shape are very nice when you are actually hold the light though.
The GL3 is alittle on the heavy side. Theres a good bit more aluminum there than really needs to be. But, that is because its built like a tank.

Grip/Handling:
The knurling is not as rough as Surefire, but rougher than some others.
As I stated above, the tailcap being larger than the body diameter makes the light easy to hold onto.

Build Quality:
The GL3 is made very well, alittle over built in areas, as I mentioned above, making it alittle heavy for its size.
No rough edges, machining and anodizing is very smooth and even.

Tail Switch:
I was quite impressed with the tailswitch.
It feels very solid, and has a good tactile feel to it.
It clicks solidly, and also works well in momentary use.
The tailcap can be unscrewed to provide the light with a lockout feature. Something very valuable when tossing the light
in a backpack.

LED Tail Switch:
I wasnt as impressed with the optional LED tailcaps.
They provide alot more versatility to the light, but overall, they make the light harder to use.
For one, you loose the clickie, you must twist the tailcap on all the way for constant on incan.
You tighten alittle for the LEDs.
The tactile feel was not near as good with the LED tail either.
My biggest complaint about the LED tailcap is, I kept blinding myself with it!
In normal use, most of the time, you have the tail end facing you. Ii would goto turn on the light, and the LED mode would
turn on momentary before the incan mode kicked in.
The LED tailcap is also said to be not as water tight. It is only splash proof.

Output:
Well, this is what its all about right.
The first thing I noticed when I turned on the GL3 is, WOW this thing is bright!
The second thing I noticed was its color. It is surprisingly white for an incandescent light.
We arent talking HID white, but very white for your typical incan bulb.
You can actually fell a large amount of heat emitting from the front of the light.
I felt as if I could get a small tan if I left it close to my skin for a while.
The head itself would also heat up a good bit, but never to a level that was uncomfortable to hold.
The beam has a rather large hotspot, fading nicely into the sidespill.
This makes the GL3 not the best thrower in the world, but it was excellent at lighting up an entire room, or side of a
house.
There were very little artifacts in the beam also.
The sputtered (orange peel) reflector did a great job of smoothing out the beam.

Runtime:
I didnt get a chance to do a good runtime test.
But, I was pleased with how long it ran.
One thing I noticed when using the rechargeable Pila batteries was, the light would really only dim in the last 8 minutes
of its life, then simply go out altogether.
I was very impressed with this, as I cant stand lights that slowly dim over time.
I think this had alot to do with the batteries themselves, as they are designed to shutdown after a certain voltage.

Heat Issues:
This light will put out some serious heat.
You can easily feel it from a couple feet away.
I was taking a look at the bulb filament looking through a floppy disk, that lasted about 2 seconds before it melted it.
The head also gets hot, but shouldnt be a problem unless left unattended on a table, etc.
Which will not necessarily hurt the light, but you probably wont want to touch it near the head.

Pros:
Very strong construction.
Good design.
Very bright, smooth, good colored beam.
Versatility of optional LED tailcaps.

Cons:
Alittle heavy.
Cannot stand on tail. (might be able to with LED tailcap, but not very stable)
LED tailcaps were not as user friendly.
No Lanyard Attachment

Conclusion:
Overall, I really liked this light.
My biggest complaint was its weight. But that is only a side effect of its super strong construction.
This made an excellent light for lighting up an entire room or garage with light.
Since getting into LED lights, I have not purchased an incan light in months. The GL3 was by far, the best incan light I have had the pleasure to use, so pleasurable, that I ended up buying a G3 (same as GL3, except no LED tailcap) off a fellow CPF member.

Shown with Arc LS and Surefire L4 for Reference.