Pila GL3 Commendatore

The GL3 "Commendatore" is a versatile flashlight from Pila flashlights, it can be used with a 9v Xenon bulb or a 3Watt luxeon led head. The light is powered by 3 123A cells or by 2 rechargeable pila 300p batteries.

Using the 9v Xenon lamp assembly you get about 1 hour of blasting 200 lumen power, that is a lot more than most of the tactical flashlights made by Surefire or Streamlight. More than enough to momentarily disable an agressor at night, so we can certainly say there is a tactical use for this flashlight. If you are used to the 2 cell flashlights this 3 cell flashlight will provide a big wow factor.

If you want to use the Luxeon III head instead you get more than seven hours of 65 lumen light or 3 hours using rechargeables.

The tailcap is a simple clickie switch with lockout feature but you can also get special tailcaps that have led lights these led tailcaps in white, red and green are a great addition to the GL3 for tasks that require light but not a mini-sun.

The beam is very smooth for an incandescent flashlight, with a lot of throw certainly capable of out-throwing many other tactical lights and it even has a lot of usabel sidespill. The bulb is strong to resist a lot of use. The only small drawback is that if the bulb blows off the tailcap led won't work either so it's not a backup light just a second level brightness for close-up work.

The GL3 provides an amazing amount of light for a very accesible price, it has a great collection of accesories and support and can even use rechargeable batteries. At the moment of this review Pila was announcing a Codex module that will be compatible for the GL3 adding multiple brightness, programmable modes, strobes and many digital features to the flashlight, keep tuned for updates.

This amazing light can be get for about $65 from JS Burly's website. The 3watt Luxeon model costs about $90. More information at the official website. Specification Chart Here.
You can order the led tailcaps for $22 from here. Replacement xenon lamps cost about $18 and can be obtained following this link. Batteries and chargers here.