We had the pleasure of reviewing Pila’s GL3R flashlight kindly sent to us by the Pila Dealer in Western Australia, Harristech Covert Electronics. 

On our sister site, PocketPCReviews.net, we recently reviewed Surefire’s A2 ‘Aviator’.

“So why the interest in ‘flash’ lights all of a sudden?” you may ask.

In the Surefire A2 review, our editor sang the praises of having the ultimate illumination tool for the cockpit. But our esteemed editor will not be getting a hold of this little baby as I know that, if he does, I will never get it back! The Pila GL3R is, in my opinion, the cream of the Pila range – a perfect blend of power and portability in a true tactical flashlight.

Let me say this: I don’t think I will ever find the perfect flashlight. We all have different needs and wants – even when it comes to a torch, but with the GL3R I’ve come awfully close.

The beauty of the Pila is firstly that it's dual powered. The GL3R ships with two 150A Lithium Ion batteries but it can take three disposable CR123A Lithium batteries if you need to change batteries and haven’t got rechargeables handy. The flashlight that we received came with an AC charger but there is the option of either a 90-240V AC charger or 12V DC charger. The Lithium Ion batteries only take about three hours to fully charge from flat. One of the features of using Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) in place of the more common Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd) is that Li-Ion batteries don’t develop a “memory effect” like Ni-Cd batteries. This means that you can pop the batteries in the charger whenever you don’t need the torch for a while and so it’s handy to keep a set on charge and within reach. But having the option of both disposable and rechargeables for the “just in case” factor is a big winner!

The Pila GL3R comes attractively packaged [left] so it’s perfect for a gift

The second advantage is that the GL3R is actually two lights in one. In what could be described as “the dangerous end” is an incandescent high-output Xenon spotlight that will provide you with a blinding 130 lumens for about 50 minutes. When we tested our model, it consistently died at 50 minutes. After this time the lamp switches off without the normal ‘fade to yellow’ of most flashlights.

If you’re after a somewhat more docile but longer running headlamp, Pila have a 9 LED replacement for the Xenon lamp. The LEDs for the GL3R give out 25 lumens for an advertised 13 hours on the Li-Ion batteries and 10 hours on disposables.

Pila also produce red, infrared and ultra violet filters for the incandescent Xenon headlamp which go straight on the front end.

The 5 Lumen LED Tail Cap is available in white, red (shown), green, amber, & infrared!

GL3R’s 130 Lumen at work

If you’re just trying to find the path (not playing lighthouse) the LED tail cap is very capable at 5 lumens. It will quite happily burn for a couple of days. (Our test model again consistently died around the advertised time of 60 hours.) While white is standard, the LED tail cap comes in a choice of white, red, green, amber, or infrared.

The only thing that I really didn’t like was that the LED tail cap wasn’t operable after the Xenon headlamp died.

A great feature of the LED tail cap is that it has non-toxic, non-radioactive photoluminescent pigments in the tail cap so you can find the flashlight in the dark. It’s quite effective as it softly glows for a couple of hours. The interesting thing with the unit we received is that the photoluminescent pigment didn’t glow after using the red LEDs in the tail cap. However, when I put it under white light it glowed immediately. A good example of how red light doesn’t ruin night vision and the harsher white light does.

An excellent holster for less than AU$20 is a must!

The multi-mode switch is also an integral part of the tail cap and it’s a beauty. Screwed all the way in, the headlamp in on continuous mode; a quarter turn and the headlight switches off with tail cap constantly on. Another quarter turn and both the headlamp and tail cap are in Morse mode (press lightly for the tail cap LEDs; harder for the headlamp). Now one full turn and the headlamp is locked out (great for in a cockpit where only red light is suitable for night vision, this will stop the headlamp from being accidentally switched on)  One more quarter turn and both the headlamp and the tail cap LEDs are locked out so you can’t turn it on accidentally. Brilliant!

The thing that I had to get used to was that the LEDs face you and so in order to stop yourself from getting a bright flash of light in your eyes; you need to hold the flashlight sideways when turning it on. Another method is that you can cover the LEDs with your thumb and switch it on quickly, that way you get a quick flash with most of the light blocked by your thumb.

If the LED tail cap doesn’t suit a particular task, Pila has options of a tactical switch, and tail caps with a remote switch for operation with a weapon, etc.

The GL3R is compact enough to have on a belt but seriously bright

• Dual power – powered by high-energy disposable Lithium or rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries!

• Brighter than my bulky, five ‘D’ Cell flashlight

• Dual LED and incandescent lamp – high power or low power lighting as needed!

• Size matters – Excellent balance between power and size. At just over 15cm long and weighing a little over 200g including batteries, it’s small enough to carry around as a pocket flashlight but big enough for some serious lighting!

• Choice of tail cap LED colours.

• Long-running, night vision-safe LEDs light for cockpit/low light tasks.

• Photoluminescent pigment in tail cap.

• Multi-mode switch (Lock headlamp, tail cap LEDs or both; Morse; and continuous)

• Quality – extremely durable, hard-anodised aluminium body combined with faultless craftsmanship.

• The nylon holster for a few dollars extra – simple, inexpensive, lightweight but all possible methods required to connect to anything from a duty belt to a harness.

A GL3R compared with my 5 ‘D’ Cell MAG Light and my car against a tin wall.

MAG Light 5 ‘D’ Cell

Pila GL3R Xenon lamp

Pila GL3R Four LED Tail Cap

Large Car Beam 

The GL3R is an awesome tactical light and worth every penny if you need a compact, powerful torch. It’s not wanting in design, but if I’m going to have the ultimate tactical light, this is what I’d like to see in a Mark 2 model:

• Non-rolling (hexagon) bezel

• Optional belt clip

• LEDs that operate after the incandescent lamp in unable to be powered (I would rather have 5 minutes less Xenon lamp time and still be able to use the LED tail cap)

• A submersion kit option even though the “splash proof” label is definitely conservative. (I chucked mine in the kitchen sink and left it for 15 minutes and it came out cold and wet on the outside without a drop on the inside.)

I chucked it in everything including the kitchen sink (under 20cm of water)

If you are in the market for a tactical light make sure you check out Pila range. The quality is flawless, features outstanding, and the uses endless.

The Pila range starts at AU$93.00 excluding GST for the G2. The Pila GL3R we reviewed is AU$241.00 excluding GST.

For further info: contact Tim Harris at tim@harristech.com.au

Review by Arnaud

Pila GL3 Series specifications