Fenix L1/L1P 1st impressions - please post here

[this_is_nascar]

Interesting chart indeed. Thanks Nascar. Poses a small dilemna though. So many are pleased that the Fenix takes inexpensive AAs versus CR123. I checked at Sam's Club today and Eveready AAs (they don't sell Duracell) are only about .30 each. The Eveready E2 Lithiums are about $1.60 each! Yikes, that's quite a difference to take advantage of the obvious advantages. (I buy Streamlight CR123s from DLS Enterprises for $1.25, the same price Battery Station charges for their brand.) So, for the Fenix, do you all think the Lithiums are worth the price differential? I just checked Battery Station--they have the Everready E2s for $2 each but their own brand for $1 each. Does anyone have experience with the Battery Station ones??

(Interesting that the cost savings of the Fenix using AAs is wiped out if using even Battery Station lithiums at $1, versus CR 123s in other lights at $1.25)

When I saw that impressive chart, I also began to wonder about my Nuwai Q 3. Can anyone find a link to a similar runtime chart here? Does it show a big advantage using Lithiums, too???

Any advice is very much appreciated since I'm eagerly awaiting my Fenix v. 2.5.

I will always use the E2 AA or E2 AAA lithiums when possible. The weight and performance benefits are well worth the extra price for me.

 

[4sevens]

I am awaiting my fenix also. I think the avantage is in being able to use cheap alkalines and nimh, not using lithiums. I plan on using my energizer 2300 nimh AAs mostly in mine and when needed use either alkaline or lithiums as backup. Sure the runtime/output will be a little different but running cost is more important to me not uber performance.

Speaking of nimh's, the 2500 energizers are just a good as the lithiums.
Check out Trotto's awesomes graph:
(note that this graph has a standardized lux reading at 1 meter)

 

[Haesslich]

When I saw that impressive chart, I also began to wonder about my Nuwai Q 3. Can anyone find a link to a similar runtime chart here? Does it show a big advantage using Lithiums, too???

Any advice is very much appreciated since I'm eagerly awaiting my Fenix v. 2.5.

Uh, the stock Nuwai Q-III uses CR123's, which only COME in lithium or Li-ion forms these days... However, IIRC, the runtimes for that tend to be about 55-100 minutes at full blast, then tapering off for another 90-120 minutes in moon mode at minimum power after the boost circuit has effectively sucked most of the battery dry.

For everyday use, I'd still say that the Fenix is a tad cheaper, since running it on normal NiMH rechargeables is a possibility with a similarly flat discharge curve, especially given that R123's give you about half an hour of runtime before petering out in the Q-III, and that the Fenix runs on just about anything which is good for the 'emergency EDC' light.

Plus, you're getting double the runtime on full blast with NiMH as per the chart 4sevens quoted above and an extra hour if you go into the E2 Lithiums. If you figure that into your usage calculations, then a Q-III on primary CR123 cells costs about .27 cents an hour with the Q-III with total 4 hours runtime including moon mode versus .23 cents an hour on the Fenix L1P with the $1.60 Energizer E2 Lithiums you mentioned above for a total 7 hours runtime with moon mode.

If we factor in the cost with NiMH, which run for about six hours, then the cost drops even more as the cell is reused and you just have to worry about paying for the power the charger uses to recharge the cell.

The reason everyone's gushing is because it's bright for an AA-light, versatile, and knocks most lights of its class out of the ballpark with its combination of HA-III, good output, quality coated lens, and its versatility; a MMM+ with MadMax MIGHT be brighter, but it uses only Li-Ion batteries, a MMM+ with a BadBoy won't get this bright at all, even with E2's (I tested one that I gave away to someone I'm introducing to flashaholism), and most other lights of this class use 5mm LEDs. But you already knew this.

(Edited figures for runtime on the NiMH to be 360 minutes, edited cost calculation for Q-III based on total runtime of 220 minutes as per the Cones' review, which had the longest runtime of the three Q-III reviews I've read. Added comments about AA lights and MMM lights).

 

[onthebeam]

Oops. I knew that but some synapses in my brain must be misfiring even more than usual ! . . . Thanks, Haesslich and 4Sevens, for the thoughts on comparison with the nickel metal hydrides, too. . .

 

[HaulinLow]

"For those that are anal about accidental discharges..."

Had that problem myself...until I discovered 'Pampers'!

:laughing: :sick2:

 

[bhds]

:laughing: :sick2:

Yes. T.M.I

 

[ernsanada]

Just got my Fenix L1P today.

Beamshot at 8"

Beamshot at 8"

Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks David for the Group Buy!

 

[Mrd 74]

Nice pics!
Thanks

 

[dtsoll]

yes, very nice pics, thanks indeed!! Doug

 

[redduck]

Is it just me I can see dark cirlces out side the hot spot possibly caused by the tool marks on the reflector. V2.5 should have smoother reflectors.

 

[2dim]

There's always WriteRight tape...

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/92270

 

[Siegfried]

hi, experts,

i am a little confused by trotto's run time graph.
it seems l1 has shorter run time and dimmer output compare with l1p with the same battery.
according to this result, i do not think we should get the l1 except for cost issue. am i right?

regards,
siegfried

 

[Solstice]

Siegfried- the L1 uses an unknown bin LED whereas the L1P uses a good one (R bin). With the new 2.5 reflector, the L1 is purported to reach 38 lumens- at $29, this light represents what I would consider the most bang for the buck (but for myself, I need the L1P ). After observing this light meticulously, I really feel the quality it offers is unprecidented given the price. I could easily see these things coming out at twice what we are paying and people still buying them.

As others have said, its the AA battery that really garners attention. Sure, there are a dozen other odd lights out there roughly in this size and brightness class, but which one are you going to be able to use when you run out of CR123s in a village in southeastern India? If you take away internet ordering as an option, its still a lot cheaper to buy lithium AAs over CR123s in a store- I have no problem feeding the light these batts, knowing that I can always scrounge a plain old alk if I need to.

 

[Haesslich]

Siegfried- the L1 uses an unknown bin LED whereas the L1P uses a good one (R bin). With the new 2.5 reflector, the L1 is purported to reach 38 lumens- at $29, this light represents what I would consider the most bang for the buck (but for myself, I need the L1P ). After observing this light meticulously, I really feel the quality it offers is unprecidented given the price. I could easily see these things coming out at twice what we are paying and people still buying them.

As others have said, its the AA battery that really garners attention. Sure, there are a dozen other odd lights out there roughly in this size and brightness class, but which one are you going to be able to use when you run out of CR123s in a village in southeastern India? If you take away internet ordering as an option, its still a lot cheaper to buy lithium AAs over CR123s in a store- I have no problem feeding the light these batts, knowing that I can always scrounge a plain old alk if I need to.

The other thing to remember is that you can use NiMH, so if you have that option, it runs almost as well as the Lithiums - and, on top of that, the runtime is superior to many CR123 lights in the same class with the same output. Plus it's more compact than most.

 

[Archangel]

The L1 is also the only version that comes in grey. (smirk) If case color didn't matter, Mag wouldn't have so many.

 

[Haesslich]

The L1 is also the only version that comes in grey. (smirk) If case color didn't matter, Mag wouldn't have so many.

Mag makes them for every Joe, Jane, and Juggie out there - other companies sell one color of light, or maybe two, and don't seem to have issues. See Streamlight (most of their lights come in just black), Pelican (just yellow, or black), Surefire (HA III nat, black, occasional special-ediiton lights), and so on.

Personally, I'm probably not going to care what color the flashlight is if I'm stuck in a dark hallway with all the other illumination fixtures having died.

 

[Phredd]

The L1 is also the only version that comes in grey.

If you mean the L1P, it's a very, very dark gray. See the pics here as opposed to those on the Fenix site.

Phredd

 

[Hikaru]

Has anyone taken thier Fenix apart yet to look at the switch? If someone could post picts and/or dimenions we might begin to look for some 2-way alternatives for making it into a two level light (like a pimped out Q3).

 

[redduck]

Just buy two Fenix L1P and bind them together and you'll have a 2-stage 80 lumens lights.

 

[Kevin Tan]

Have the L1 n L1P. To me the reflector looks OK. Why wud ppl complain about the reflector having rings when it doesnt degrade the beam? Is it bcus they want a perfect smo? I thought that the rings smooth out the beam artifacts perfectly.