Fenix E01

[gurdygurds]

The E01 at Fenix Store shows up as DISCONTINUED. Discuss....

 

[scout24]

I will lower my flag to half staff if true...

 

[gurdygurds]

Jon_Slider has pointed out that some colors are in stock. BUT..the two big daddy colors, silver and black, when clicked upon show as DISCONTINUED. Maybe this means OUT OF STOCK but still it made me poop myself a little bit.

 

[knucklegary]

I viewed silver/gray E01 on Amazon selling for about a sawbuck. Tho not sure if it's a genny, many counterfeit Chinese items are sold on that site..

 

[gurdygurds]

PANIC!!!!!

 

[ZMZ67]

Looks like it is still listed on Fenix USA site so I don't think it is discontinued.

 

[gurdygurds]

I'm mostly joking around, but the discontinued for certain colors on Fenix Store peaked my interest. Like I said earlier in this thread, if Fenix decides to update the E01 I'm curious to see what they do with it. We can always stock up on the current iteration if need be. Plus you can't kill em' so you'd have to lose a bunch of E01s in order to go without.

 

[slowtechstef]

Today I made a phone call to Fenix Netherlands. According to the nice lady I spoke to, the official status in the system is "DISCONTINUED", since autumn 2018. Fenix Netherlands could no longer order new supplies of the E01.

 

[gurdygurds]

PANDEMONIUM !!!

 

[scout24]

This may be the 5th horseman of the apocalypse...

 

[MikeSalt]

Today I made a phone call to Fenix Netherlands. According to the nice lady I spoke to, the official status in the system is "DISCONTINUED", since autumn 2018. Fenix Netherlands could no longer order new supplies of the E01.

I hope the discontinuity is merely to update them with a Yuji Ultra-High-CRI LED :naughty:

 

[Warmcopper123]

we knew it was coming

Im amazed it has lasted this long and I love the light. its with me every day . but even those who have no interest or knowledge of flashights have started to comment negatively on my E01s. the low output and horrible tint they cant understand why I waste my time with it and then whip out their lights and blow my little E01 away. But it doesn't bother me. They just don't get it .

 

[Monocrom]

I'm mostly joking around, but the discontinued for certain colors on Fenix Store peaked my interest. Like I said earlier in this thread, if Fenix decides to update the E01 I'm curious to see what they do with it. We can always stock up on the current iteration if need be. Plus you can't kill em' so you'd have to lose a bunch of E01s in order to go without.

Sorry, but I've never been one for "improvements" or "updates" to a winning design. With one exception in terms of gear (The current version of the Kelty Coyote 80) I've seen one excellent product after another "improved" into being far less useful than it was.

As far as the current E01 goes, it doesn't have much competition. Last thing we need is just another lumens monster in as tiny a compact package as possible, with even worse; a rechargeable battery that will possibly be dead when you need it. What will Fenix do with the E01.... likely screw it up in some way shape or form. It's not perfect, but it darn sure is close to being that for the type of tasks it was designed to tackle.

(Heck, the only reasons why the Coyote 80 was a genuine improvement over the previous design is that Kelty added two glaring omissions to the pack that the competition already had. A dedicated sleeping bag compartment on the bottom, and a large front flap to place wet clothes to dry. That's pretty much it. The E01 has no glaring omissions that need to be corrected.)

 

[Monocrom]

This may be the 5th horseman of the apocalypse...

Plague
Pestulance
War
Death
Darkness

No, hold on. That's not #5. We've mostly conquered that blight upon Humanity. Oh! I know what #5 actually is. And unlike most of the others that do sometimes come to an end or take long breaks from devastating us, like Death; this one NEVER goes away. Number 5....

Human Stupidity

No limits. No bounds to its sheer power.

 

[Monocrom]

we knew it was coming

Im amazed it has lasted this long and I love the light. its with me every day . but even those who have no interest or knowledge of flashights have started to comment negatively on my E01s. the low output and horrible tint they cant understand why I waste my time with it and then whip out their lights and blow my little E01 away. But it doesn't bother me. They just don't get it .

Honestly, being as good as it is, I'm not surprised it has lasted as long as it has. Also, I've gotten the exact opposite in terms of normies taking a look at the Fenix E01. They love its simplicity. Absolutely love it! So easy to use. No multiple twists of the bezel. Toss it onto a keychain. Rugged beyond belief. Won't crap out on you. And, just the right level of light for what most folks need a keychain light for. And the battery lasts forever.

Even having different colors is a plus. I gave a purple one to a young woman in the Netherlands, a very talented Dutch performance artist. She loves it! Uses it literally every day. Didn't carry a light before. She loves its usefulness, simplicity, and ".... its adorable girlie color."

 

[gurdygurds]

What if they don't "ruin it"? What if Fenix improves runtime and beam pattern and it's still bombproof and lovely? You wouldn't be into that "improvement"? What if they give it the Kelty Coyote 80 treatment?

Sorry, but I've never been one for "improvements" or "updates" to a winning design. With one exception in terms of gear (The current version of the Kelty Coyote 80) I've seen one excellent product after another "improved" into being far less useful than it was.

As far as the current E01 goes, it doesn't have much competition. Last thing we need is just another lumens monster in as tiny a compact package as possible, with even worse; a rechargeable battery that will possibly be dead when you need it. What will Fenix do with the E01.... likely screw it up in some way shape or form. It's not perfect, but it darn sure is close to being that for the type of tasks it was designed to tackle.

(Heck, the only reasons why the Coyote 80 was a genuine improvement over the previous design is that Kelty added two glaring omissions to the pack that the competition already had. A dedicated sleeping bag compartment on the bottom, and a large front flap to place wet clothes to dry. That's pretty much it. The E01 has no glaring omissions that need to be corrected.)

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

Im amazed it has lasted this long and I love the light. its with me every day . but even those who have no interest or knowledge of flashights have started to comment negatively on my E01s. the low output and horrible tint they cant understand why I waste my time with it and then whip out their lights and blow my little E01 away. But it doesn't bother me. They just don't get it .

Odd. I thought those that have no interest in flashlights would have zero comments on the E01. It's a light. Meh.

Those that are flashaholics, I think would have the negative opinion. Tint, output, regulation, etc. are definite strikes against the E01, and those are usually among the most important factors. Okay, reliability is definitely a positive, but it's not like the E01 couldn't stand an updated LED.

IMO, I'm looking forward to what Fenix replaces it with. The old E01 never really interested me, because the tint was so awful. Even if all they did was stick in a better LED, it would be a huge improvement, and I don't understand why people would be upset about that. E01 + new emitter sounds like a win for everyone.

 

[Monocrom]

What if they don't "ruin it"? What if Fenix improves runtime and beam pattern and it's still bombproof and lovely? You wouldn't be into that "improvement"? What if they give it the Kelty Coyote 80 treatment?

I already specifically outlined the main reason why Fenix can't give it the Coyote 80 treatment. But okay, I'll do it again. The Coyote 80 is an excellent pack. Always was, going back several years. It had two glaring issues. Both of which were fixed by Kelty in the current update to the pack. However, Kelty was smart enough to leave the rest of the design alone.

The E01 has no glaring issues that need to be fixed. Runtime is already excellent. Whose complaining about its runtime? Depending on how often you use it, even for daily carry a single AAA could realistically last you around a year. It's already bombproof. There's no room for improvement there. Beam pattern?.... Add a piece of glass and a tiny reflector up front. Oh! Hold on! You just significantly reduced its bombproof durability.

You see the problem? You can't improve everything without making something worse. This isn't "What if..." this is the reality of it. You want certain improvements, you're going to deal with new disadvantages. It is physically impossible to improve everything on the E01. That's the reality of it.

Heck, I'll be completely honest. I bought the 2018 model Kelty Coyote 80 to use as my BOB pack. Even though, I know it has its issues. I wanted a super tough, super rugged pack for that purpose.... And I soon realized I could indeed have such a pack. It would cost significantly more money, and would be about 15 pounds unloaded. But yes, such packs exist. I could have it. Money was not the issue for me. But the weight definitely was!

I had to be realistic. After searching, I decided weight was the biggest factor. So, it came down to the Kelty or a Gregory Baltoro 85. I realized the material the Gregory was made out of was not that much better. But the price-tag was bigger. And the Kelty had a couple of features I liked better. Main point being, I didn't choose the Kelty believing it's the best pack for BOB use. It's not. Far from it. However, if you want to travel light on foot during a major disaster or emergency, it's one of the better choices. But again, not without compromise.

And whenever a company tries to improve a product, there's going to be compromise involved. Whether it's a pack or a flashlight. What if they "improved" everything?" Not going to happen. Not realistic.

What if I was walking down the street and a Supermodel noticed me, fell in love, and told me to come with her to live in the lap of luxury where all my wildest fantasies would come true. Yeah....... That would be nice. Yeah....... I'm not holding my breath on that happening, ever!

 

[staticx57]

A replacement of the 10+ year old LED with a more modern Yuji would improve color rendering, beam profile, runtime, and brightness at the same time. Where do you see the downside?

 

[LeanBurn]

Replacing the LED with a high CRI LED would make the E01 achieve perfection...but then the Sofirn C01 would have competition.

I have an E01...and the only reason I do is because it is bulletproof and that it is rumored to be discontinued. I vomit in my mouth a bit each time I turn it on due to the tint but I kind of knew it would have that effect on me. I use it as a backup to my other lights, which have never failed me so...there it is.