The Gerber Recon appears to be built upon the design of the Gerber Infinity Ultra with the added feature of having an off-center LED in the bezel and a dial which contains 4 separate lenses. This allows the user to select the lens and hence the color of light output from the flashlight. Output color can be white, red, green, or blue. This light is intended for people needing discretion when using lights or for specialty uses.

The body of the Recon is anodize aluminum in a flat black finish. It is designed to be purposely non-reflective. The head is larger than the body tube and attached to the face of the light is a polymer dial with the colored lenses. The tailcap is drilled for attachment of a lanyard and has ridges to assist grip when turning the light on and off.

The bezel contains an LED mounted off-center and 4 lenses in a dial. The clear lens allows the white LED to shine directly through. The red lens cuts the light output to 1/13 the white light output, providing an excellent low level, night vision preserving light for close range tasks. The blue and green lens also cut light output and provide tinting which may be appropriate for various situations. The dial has ridges around its circumference for grip and has detents built into its mechanism so that as it is turned it settles when a lens aligns with the LED. There are also slightly raised ridges around the edge of the dial which serve to protect the face of the light a tiny bit, and to allow a little light leakage around the bezel when it is set down on its face to serve as a reminder that the light is on.

The dial has a flat spot molded in the side where the red lens rests. The head of the light has a matching flat spot machined in it's forward end. When these two flat areas align, they serve as a tactile indicator that the lowest-light lens (red) is selected.

Output is in the form of a smooth round spot with a narrow spillbeam.

Beam at one meter - white only.

The switch is a simple twist switch. Tighten till it stops for "on", loosen for "off".

An O-ring seal protects the tailcap from the entry of water. The water resistance of the face of the light is marginal. I dunked it and then proceeded to operate the dial under water... Everyone sing along now: "Tiny bubbles... In the sink..." Water got into the front end (where the electronics are) and came through in the body tube. The rear seal was fine. It can take a splash or two, but don't let it get excessively wet. Definitely not built for submersion for any period of time.

Ergonomics: It's a little tricky to hold in one hand and change the lenses without turning the light on or off if you remove the clip. This is because the tailcap is the best place to grip it with the palm of your hand and the torque from twisting the bezel lens ring causes the body to twist and turn the light on or off. If you leave the clip on, it serves well to prevent the body from turning. The notch for the red lens indicator is noticeable with a little concentration

The Recon runs on a single AA alkaline cell. The documentation with the light does not indicate if it is acceptable to use rechargeable or lithium cells.

Accessories include only the clip and the single AA alkaline battery that comes in the package.

What I Liked: Water resistant, Impact resistant, Long battery life, Good output, Easy battery change, Lightweight, Stands up

What I Didn't Like: Not water tight - use compressed air to blow it out if it gets too wet, or open it up and let it dry in the sun.

Other Things I Noticed: On a side note- it continuted to work despite being partially filled with fresh water from the waterproofing test.

Conclusions: Good little all-around close-range light. Great output for a single white LED, and the other modes can serve specialty purposes. The red lens reduces output tremendously and is great in very dark situations. I'll give it 3½ Stars for versatility and durability, but water resistance of the front end needs to be improved a bit in my opinion.

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