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Detailed
Information:
Personally, I think someone at Pelican decided it would
be fun to make a little light that looks like an alligator:
  
Seriously, though, the VB3 is a very effective clip-on
light which allows almost 180 degrees of adjustment
to the lighting head. This means that it can clip onto
a pocket or the brim of a cap and still illuminate the
area directly in front of the user.
The body is made of black plastic. When the head is
pressed flush the light is off. Lifting the head with
the help of two tabs on either side causes the light
to turn on. The head can then be pivoted about 180 degrees.
Under the head is a small protrusion which interrupts
the circuit when the head is pressed back down again.
The head snaps in place firmly to prevent accidental
activation.
Light is provided by two 5mm LEDs which have good color
rendition despite the somewhat bluish tint. There seems
to be a hint of yellowish tint in the beams. The LEDs
are pointed almost straight forward so beam dispersion
is minimal.
Output is in the form of a relatively smooth flood
of light with some slight artifacts from the LEDs. The
beam seems to have both a bluish tint and a yellowish
tint in some areas.
The VB3 is not really sealed for water resistance,
but it should survive a splashing.
For batteries the VB3 takes two 2032 lithium coin cells.
To change the batteries (probably necessary after several
hours of continuous use) you will need to remove 3 chrome
screws from the back of the unit. Inside you will find
the 2 coin cells. Pop out the cells and replace, observing
the same polarity as the removed cells. Reattach the
back with the screws and you should be all set.
What I Liked: Bright, Lightweight, Clip works
well
What I Didn't Like: Not water resistant, Short
"bright output" runtime, Battery change requires
tools
Other Things I Noticed: More than adequate light
for working on a clipboard in dim light.
Conclusions: A good little light, and in my
opinion, better than their most obvious competition
which uses the same batteries and a single LED. The
clip is much nicer in that it can clip to larger surfaces
(like the brim of a hat). The VB3's extra LED produces
more light - although I think it is interesting that
the 1 LED competition is rated for 40 hours on the same
batteries that the 2 LED Pelican claims it will get
100 hours of light from. Methinks there is a little
exaggeration going on here... Based upon my experiences
with these lithium coin cells, I would actually expect
about 8 hours of bright light from the single LED competitor
and about 4 hours from the Pelican VB3.
I am a bit surprised that they didn't take this one
step further and add in a voltage boost circuit so that
it could run off of a single, commonly available AAA
battery like the CMG Tracer.
Overall, though, a great little pocket clip light for
illuminating the surface directly in front of the user.
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