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Detailed
Information:
The CMG/Gerber Tracer is a very convenient little headlamp
and is the lightest weight LED headlamp to use a common
battery. Other lightweight headlamps use lithium coin
cells which are more expensive and can be difficult
to find in more remote locations (although it's easy
to carry plenty of extras.) The way the body of the
headlamp is attached to the support frame seems rather
flimsy which may cause the headlamp to detach from the
frame if struck, so I would consider it to be a light
duty headlamp.
The body of the Tracer is translucent blue plastic
and a blue glow can be seen when the LEDs are turned
on. The main body pivots down to 90 degrees to allow
the user to direct the light where needed. The strap
system goes around the head and over the top, but the
top strap can be easily removed. The attachment points
for the top strap have slots in the retainers for removal
of the strap if desired. The strap can later be easily
reattached. There is also a little foam pad on the back
of the forehead plate for comfort.
The front of the Tracer has a silver strip where the
two LEDs protrude. Since 5mm white LEDs have their own
lens system built in, the silver strip serves cosmetic
purposes only.
Output is in the form of a narrow flood of light with
some slight artifacts/blotchiness. As is to be expected
from white 5mm LEDs, there is a typical slight bluish
tint to the light produced which results in slightly
poorer color rendition for reds and oranges.
The switch is on the top of the unit and requires quite
a bit of pressure to activate. It is protected by sanoprene
(rubbery) cover and rests in a recess to protect the
unit from accidental activation.
Ergonomics: The unit is extremely lightweight, works
well with either the top strap on or off, and is very
easy to operate. The straps are fully adjustable and
should fit almost anyone's head.
The Tracer takes one AAA battery for 10 hours peak
brightness and 40 hours of "usable" (but dim)
output. For battery changes, the entire front section
of the body is removed from a back panel which stays
attached to the strap system. The back panel uses two
tabs on either side to hold the front body onto the
back panel. The springy tension of the plastic of the
back panel itself, along with two little nubs, is what
holds the body to the backpanel. You release the tabs
by catching a tab with your fingernail and pulling it
out slightly. This is a very inexpensive retention method
and could be prone to failure since it takes little
effort to release the tabs and it depends only upon
stretching the plastic slightly. Too great of a stretch
could cause a tab to break, rendering the entire unit
useless, so caution should be exercised when changing
batteries. In a pinch the light body can be removed
from the strap system and used as a handheld flashlight,
but the rear battery cover is left on the strap system.
After you remove the old battery, drop in a new one
while observing proper polarity as indicated inside
the unit and reassemble.
What I Liked: Common battery, Good output, Easy
battery change, Lightweight
What I Didn't Like: Not water resistant, Possibly
fragile battery catches
Other Things I Noticed: Lighting elements at
the front of the headlamp are often visible when worn
on the head, which can be a little distracting. Plus
you get little reflections off of your frames if you
wear glasses.
Conclusions: A good general use headlamp that
uses a common battery for power. Very small and lightweight.
In a pinch it could really save your butt to have one
of these stashed in your pack, car, or briefcase.
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