Fenix CL20 lantern review

[Poppy]

Elitl,
Nice review... thanks!



Palaeoboy,
I agree, and in fact, I'd balk at the price. IMO, it should be $10 less to be more competitive. It should take an 18650 instead of CR123. And for maybe an extra $1.00 in manufacturing cost, a USB charging port for the 18650. They can market the battery as an optional add-on, as Coleman does its CPX6 battery packs. If they sell it for $30 without the battery, I believe, it would really, be able to break into the mass market.

LOL... well, at least, that's MY take on it.

.
At
almost two years ago I said that I thought the price should be $30, I see that it is currently selling for that at the fenix-store

 

[Subterrestrial]

.
At
almost two years ago I said that I thought the price should be $30, I see that it is currently selling for that at the fenix-store

Interestingly enough you also mentioned 18650 compatibility. Nitecore's new LR30 runs off an 18650. Still no charge port though.

 

[Poppy]

That Nitecore LR30 will probably be added to my stable next year when we start more light weight backpack camping, instead of car camping.

 

[Subterrestrial]

Seems like a cool little lantern, I'm definitely on board as well. High CRI like the LA10!

 

[Tachead]

Seems like a cool little lantern, I'm definitely on board as well. High CRI like the LA10!

If the LR30 uses the same emitter as the LA10 CRI it is very cool just so people know. I would say the LA10 CRI is 5000-5500K. Way too cool for a camping lantern imo. The CL20 is a much nicer warmish neutral. I have to say, the battery compartment clasp also looks really flimsy on the LR30. It is just a little plastic tab that flexes over a plastic bump. I wish they would have went with a better system like the metal one on the Fenix CL20. The clip also doesnt allow for hanging directly upside down like the CL20 which is unfortunate and makes it less then ideal for tent use. It is also plastic vs metal. Overall, I think the CL20 will be a much nicer lantern even though it is older.

 

[Tachead]

My battery cover is a beast to remove. I took the oring off for indoor use because of it.

You just have to wiggle it a bit from side to side while lightly pulling. Use a bit of finesse. Once you get the hang of it its a no problem.

 

[Subterrestrial]

If the LR30 uses the same emitter as the LA10 CRI it is very cool just so people know. I would say the LA10 CRI is 5000-5500K. Way too cool for a camping lantern imo. The CL20 is a much nicer warmish neutral. I have to say, the battery compartment clasp also looks really flimsy on the LR30. It is just a little plastic tab that flexes over a plastic bump. I wish they would have went with a better system like the metal one on the Fenix CL20. The clip also doesnt allow for hanging directly upside down like the CL20 which is unfortunate and makes it less then ideal for tent use. It is also plastic vs metal. Overall, I think the CL20 will be a much nicer lantern even though it is older.

I'm not so sure about "too cool for camping" (too cool for school perhaps), but to each their own I suppose. The Nichia 219 being used in the LA10 CRI and LR30 may not be quite as warm as whatever emitter is being used in the CL20, but it is pretty "straight down the middle" neutral white. Here's a beamshot comparison, just for the sake of argument.

LA10, LA10 CRI, CL20

 

[Tachead]

I'm not so sure about "too cool for camping" (too cool for school perhaps), but to each their own I suppose. The Nichia 219 being used in the LA10 CRI and LR30 may not be quite as warm as whatever emitter is being used in the CL20, but it is pretty "straight down the middle" neutral white. Here's a beamshot comparison, just for the sake of argument.

LA10, LA10 CRI, CL20

The LA10 likely uses the Nichia SW50 bin which ranges from 4745-5310K so there will be a range of colour temps as with most emitters. If you get one to the warmer side it might not be as bad but, 4745K is still on the far cool side of neutral. Now, if you get one on the other end at 5310K that is definitely cool white and not neutral. My LA10 is slightly cooler then 5000K if I had to guess by comparison. Either way, its not ideal for camping imo. Whether its in a tent late at night, around the camp fire, exc. it will seem very cool in comparison to the ambient light sources. I personally dont like feeling like I am in a hospital all of a sudden when I wake up in the middle of the night for a pee, YMMV. I think Nitecore should have took this into consideration when they picked emitters for a camping lantern. Warm light or neutral white to the warm side is much more comforting/calming, wakes you up less in the middle of the night(preserves night vision), and is easier on the eyes at night because it requires less adjustment compared to the natural ambient light. They should have went with a SW40 or 45 bin in my opinion. Thanks for the comparison photo as I only have the LA10 CRI and CL20 to compare. Wow, the regular LA10 looks really cool. From the pic is apears to be like 6500K. For me, the CL20 is about as cool as I would want to go for a camping lantern. I think even warmer around 3000-4000K is perfect for this application. There is a reason the moon is 4000K after all.

 

[Toohotruk]

I just got one of these the other day, mostly out of curiosity. I really like it for the most part, but it would be nice to be able to start it in red steady mode from off though...it doesn't make sense to me to start with white mode, which destroys night vision, to get to red, then have to click through SOS to get to steady. I'll mostly use it for power outages and maybe put one in the vehicle as an emergency light at some point.