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Gemini Lights TITAN LED and XERA LED (2012)

105K views 763 replies 114 participants last post by  skidad 
#1 · (Edited)
Greetings from Gemini Lights,

Due to an incoming large number of CREE XM-L units in prep for 2012, we've upgraded our TITAN LED to the XM-L. The SSC-P7 version will still be available for a limited time as we have few remaining stock left. The new beam pattern remains relatively the same with a smoother transition between hotspot and spill.

Please note there hasn't been any change in prices.

We're also bringing you a new helmet light called XERA. It's minimal, light weight and aims to be a contender against the wonderful Piko. We've used Lupine's light as the benchmark for quality and performance. For those who love adjustments, XERA is fully programmable in the 4 modes given.

XERA is available from September 25th onwards.
 
#291 · (Edited)
Chris: a couple of questions for you...

I'm interested in the Xera

Your website and the posts on this thread seem to revolve around ordering direct from HK.
I'm in Vancouver Canada and would prefer to order from your Canadian dealer in Victoria. Is the price on the website still the same? (Would I be correct in assuming orders via the dealer will negate any requirement from me to pay import duty or do you still ship direct from HK?)

Having read thru most of this thread, you've got two versions of the Xera
(1) optics and no-programming
(2) reflector and programming.
Have I understood this correctly? What are the advantage are the pros and cons of reflector v optics?
And which version will the Canadian dealer have?

Finally, (for now!) what's the advantage of the 3XML version and will this be the same form factor as the current Xera?
 
#293 ·
...Finally, (for now!) what's the advantage of the 3XML version and will this be the same form factor as the current Xera?
My thoughts....It could be that Gemini is observing the competition and as such, has the ability to add ( or delete ) features to make the product more marketable. This approach could back fire though. Christmas is coming up and many people are in the market for new lights. They need to know what the G-triple is going to look like and what features it will have to know whither or not to wait or buy another brand of higher output light.

As for me, I will wait to see what they come up with. If the system they come up with is as ground breaking as the Xera it will be worth the wait. Gemini has great XM-L optics and also has reflectors. A system using both could be sweet. Not to mention a programmable menu like the Xera. Now if they also design it with a remote option that would be the icing on the cake. A set up like that and I would soon find my bank account a little lower than usual. ;)
 
#292 ·
Hey Chris,

Getting ready to purchase an Xera (Gen 2)... I've been in a holding pattern since hearing about your new 3 XM-L lighting system... Can you post / show us a few pictures of the 3 XM-L Light ??? Do you have a scheduled release date for same ??? Thanks, Chis
 
#307 ·
I just received my Xera and I'm pretty stoked. It is really nice. Well worth the wait. Good quality, complete package with everything you could need and a decent user manual. Hopefully they can work out the shipping hiccups because I have several friends that are getting ready to order now.
 
#308 ·
wrench, since we are in the same noob boat with our Xera lights, let me ask you, have you figured out how to turn it off? I know, hold the button one second...mine just starts blinking in strobe mode when I do that. What am I doing wrong?
 
#311 · (Edited)
Super excited, just ordered a xera & 4 cell pack....! Will be replacing my 5 year old Jet lite that just can't compete with the new LED stuff now.

:)

Edit....had to add another light head & a 2 cell battery to my order.....now I can run bar & helmet combo....my backup light needed to be replaced anyways as it puts out about 10 lumens LOL.

Can't wait!!!!
 
#312 ·
Super excited, just ordered a xera & 4 cell pack....! Will be replacing my 5 year old Jet lite that just can't compete with the new LED stuff now.

:)
you won't be disappointed. I did my first real night ride of the season after getting my Xera today and it simply laughs at my old L&M halogen. I have another one coming and I'm thinking I may go reflector on that one just for the pattern. There's a very bright spot with nice even spill on the optic version so don't think you have to go one way or the other. I was amazed at how bright the Xera is even on medium (much brighter than the halogen). On medium, I get big run times from the tiny 2 cell pack so count me as one happy customer right now. The Xera definitely lives up to the hype. Congrats on your purchase.
 
#320 ·
I ordered mine on 10-30-11. The website had a note (and still does) stating "ships in one week from HK".

I received e-mails Sunday evening (11-06) from Gemini and DHL saying it had shipped. Four hours later I got an e-mail from Gemini saying the status of my order had changed to "Delayed".

They're going to have to get a warehouse in N. America to reduce their shipping costs and have reliable shipping/info if they want to get very far in the business. That's my .02.
 
#322 ·
For those interested, I'm pasting my entire tracking history, digested. Note that I shipped to a business address, not residential.
November 05, 2011 17:11 Shipment picked up
November 05, 2011 22:30 Processed at Shenzhen - China, People's Republic
November 05, 2011 23:53 Processed at Shenzhen - China, People's Republic
November 06, 2011 00:42 Departed from DHL facility in Shenzhen - China, People's Republic
November 07, 2011 08:57 Arrived at DHL facility in Shenzhen - China, People's Republic
November 07, 2011 09:52 Clearance delay
November 07, 2011 10:18 Clearance processing complete at Shenzhen - China, People's Republic
November 07, 2011 10:28 Processed at Shenzhen - China, People's Republic
November 07, 2011 10:30 Departed from DHL facility in Shenzhen - China, People's Republic
November 07, 2011 11:05 Processed at Shenzhen - China, People's Republic
November 07, 2011 11:10 Departed from DHL facility in Shenzhen - China, People's Republic
November 07, 2011 16:16 at DHL facility in Hong Kong Hub - Hong Kong
November 07, 2011 16:21 at Hong Kong Hub - Hong Kong
November 07, 2011 16:21 processing complete at Hong Kong Hub - Hong Kong
November 07, 2011 17:27 at Hong Kong Hub - Hong Kong
November 07, 2011 19:24 from DHL facility in Hong Kong Hub - Hong Kong
November 08, 2011 02:15 DHL facility in Cincinnati, OH - USA
November 08, 2011 02:19 Cincinnati, OH - USA
November 08, 2011 02:19 complete at Cincinnati, OH - USA
November 08, 2011 03:55 Cincinnati, OH - USA
November 08, 2011 05:28 DHL facility in Cincinnati, OH - USA
November 08, 2011 08:04 Scheduled for delivery
November 08, 2011 09:17 With delivery courier
November 08, 2011 14:17 delivered
 
#324 ·
As my previous posts here hinted at...I received my 2 gen1 XERA lights today--a 2 cell and a 4 cell version. Immediately charged them both to full and went on a night ride with my son. I had the 4 cell strapped to the back of my helmet and the 2 cell to the top rear of his helmet. Here is my initial feedback.

First, as others have said, the brightness and beam pattern is superb. Runtime wasn't really tested tonight, it was a short ride. But I was very happy with the helmet mount setup. The 4 cell is quite noticable on the helmet, but it was fine on the short ride and more convenient for pre-ride setup, etc to not need a Camelbak. I think the jersey pocket would have worked fine too, but very easy to not have to worry about it. Prob on longer rides I'd use the ext. cord and put the battery in the Camelbak. As for stability, once the trail got rough, then I could feel the 4 cell weight wanting to tilt my helmet a bit.

If I'm riding w/o my son, I'll put one of the XERA's or my MS 808 on the bars. Will try that next.

Some things I wasn't 100% happy about include the straps for the lighthead helmet mount. They aren't elastic on my version, so it's tricky to get a nice tight fit. I did get it snug though. It's easier on some helmets than on others, depends on the vent spacing. And, there is a strap on each side of the mount, instead of one that you loop around the helmet, through a loop, and back on itself. So you end up looping two different straps around two different parts of the helmet (i.e. 4 vent holes are in use total). Finally, there isn't any rubber on the bottom of the helmet mount to help hold it in place. But, the rubber band can make contact on the helmet to add some friction, depending on the angle and helmet vent spacing. The helmet mount I have seems different from the one pictured on the Gemini website in the XERA pics. Maybe the gen1 helmet mount ships with the gen1 light head? Looking at the website, it looks like they have a brand new helmet mount in the works. All of that said, these were pre-ride worries and things seemed fine on the trail--light head was stable.

One other nit was that the silicone pads on the bottom of the lighthead mount that are supposed to be curved to conform to the mount profile come unstuck and revert back to their flat profile, while still in their "groove". Just an adhesive thing here...you can push them back on and they'll stick, and this is only an issue if you take the light off/on the mount a lot, the silicone pad may fall off eventually.

I guess that's it for now, looking forward to the gen2 but this is a great light, very happy overall.
 
#330 ·
icycle said:
One other nit was that the silicone pads on the bottom of the lighthead mount that are supposed to be curved to conform to the mount profile come unstuck and revert back to their flat profile, while still in their "groove"
Sorry, that was pretty cryptic. In fact, it's such a minor issue that I'm not even going to clarify, since after taking the light head off the mount the problem is no longer apparent.:thumbsup:
 
#326 ·
Hi Everyone.

I apologize for my absence lately, we have been extremely busy with the development of the circuitry for XERA and OLYMPIA (triple XM-L) and also the production of the XERA reflectors. They look awesome.

As for the shipping delays, there was a period between the 31st of October to the 2nd of November where packages were held back because of the air restrictions on lithium ion batteries. We do apologize for those who were affected and have been in touch with them. The transit time with DHL is normally quite fast with 3 business days being the average delivery time. Residential or business addresses are the same, as long as someone is there to sign for it.

We will be taking in your feedback here and using it to improve on our products in future.
 
#327 ·
So far so good with my light. One improvement I could suggest is on the o-ring. I find it hard to install and remove. A suggestion would to put tabs like the magicshine. After a couple of trips I swapped out the Gemini o-ring for a spare magicshine o-ring. I find it much easier to install and remove the light with the o-ring that had a tab. Since I didn't received my 2nd Xera light I ordered I been swapping back and forth from bar to helmet.

Here's a picture. Both o-ring is the exact same size but the magicshine has a tab.

 
#332 ·
Since Chris is looking for feedback, here are a couple of my thoughts.

First, I agree a tab on the o-ring would a nice touch. Mounting would be faster and easier.

Second, the velcro on the helmet mount. Not a big fan of it. I have the style with double sided Velcro on both sides. I had to remove the padding inside my helmet to install the mount. With the pads in, the Velcro grabbed and pulled my pads making installation difficult. IMHO, a better solution would be a strap like the one used for the battery that doubles back on itself. This would allow you to secure the mount much easier and more securely. The pictures on the website show this style and I would prefer it much more.

That's it for my quibbles (if you want to call them that). Both are fairly minor in the grand scheme of things.

Now the good:

Fantastic beam of light from this unit. Smooth, even light with just the right spread and throw. Amazing it comes from such a small head unit.

The headband. I wanted to use this light for BC XC skiing at night in addition to biking. The headband works well, includes tabs to hold the wire in place and keeps the unit securely on my noggin. Nice that it was included.

Overall quality looks great. Fit and finish are nice and better than expected. I'm excited that we will have the option to change between the optics and a reflector. I'm thinking reflector on the bars and optics for the helmet. That will be a sweet, small setup with plenty of quality light. Time will tell, but so far, I'm very happy with my XERA.
 
#340 ·
I don't think you will find the Xera from any distributor as its still being finalized. Everything is being shipped fresh from the manufacturer in china. Once the production line starts churning I'm pretty sure it will go out to distributors. Since Geoman is doing some testing it make look like we have a reputable distributor. Gemini may be a new company but with their impressive products and customer service they can set new standards.
 
#345 ·
^^ Good Question. I wonder if this the deal with all of their products!

Hey Chris: Is the shipping delay also applicable to the Titan? Just wondering....
The delay on the Xera is because its being finalized. Everyone that received them so far are the gen1. As Chris has mention they are working hard to get the final product out and it should be done shortly. You can pick up the titan from their US distributor that someone mention action-led-lights.com. It is actually couple bucks cheaper and shipping is about $10.
 
#344 ·
Got my Xera lights very quickly and Chris was super helpful. They're not for me but I couldn't resist doing a test run through the neighborhood with my Baja Designs Strykr on the bars and a Xera on the helmet... it was pretty intense. Almost blinded by the reflection from some street signs. Fantastic stuff.
 
#347 ·
I am currently considering if should order XERA. One question which has not been answered yet is about the charger. I am from Europe, so I am using 220V input and round plugs instead of square plugs used in the USA. Is the charger compatible with 220V input? Can I specify the type of plugs needed?
Lithium-Ion Smart Charger | Gemini Lights

Product Specs..."Input: 110V-240VAC 50/60Hz"

I believe you will need to use a travel adapter for the plug type.
 
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