Fenix PD35 ,850 Lm,powerful,compact 18650 flashlight-REVIEW

[FlashLion]

Very well done review thanks for all the work you did. Been on the fence as to which small light to get, this thread did the trick. I have several 18650, multiple battery lights, so this little guy will be perfect. Thanks again, have a great holiday season.
JVVJVV

Thanks. Glad the review is helpful.
Happy Holidays!

I bought the older "850" lumen PD35 based off of this and a couple other reviews all state how underrated the light is! Had my new old PD35 a couple of months and now for no reason it just flickers and goes out! Anybody got any ideas?

May be a loose retaining ring of the tailcap switch or dirty/greased contact points. Be sure the retaining ring is tight. I had this problem with one of the test flashlights from other brand,a time ago.

 

[cmichael]

I bought the older "850" lumen PD35 based off of this and a couple other reviews all state how underrated the light is! Had my new old PD35 a couple of months and now for no reason it just flickers and goes out! Anybody got any ideas?

I know this is old thread. It happen to my old PD35, For some reason flickers and won't hold on turbo for more than a minute, Bill at www.predatorbdu.com, He kinds enough to exchange another PD35 for my old PD35, He is a great guy to deal with.

 

[CelticCross74]

Still cannot get the lower modes of my "850" to stop flickering out but that is okay as turbo and strobe still work fine. Seeing as how I may have received a faulty one I contacted knifecenter where I got it only to get no response which is messed up considering how much business I have done with them soooo....might as well get the most out of what I have so I dumped a fresh set of Panasonic CR123 cells in it for all out maximum output. The light seems to really love the 2x power source so far. If my light is gonna go out it may as well be at maximum output

 

[hellcatrydr]

Near 2018, this review is still gettin hit.

I'm a flashlight nooblet in the humbling process of educating myself as to wth a flashlight is capable of.


I'm torn between newer/current class models of both Fenix and Nitecore. My research brought me here.

Thanks mang. :thumbsup:

 

[CelticCross74]

Fenix fixed my "850" for FREE!! I beat the heck out of that thing. No questions asked either. The "850" PD35 has been proven multiple times over to actually be pushing 950+ lumens out the front. 1000+ on 2x sources. I have 4 or 5 PD35's including the TAC. The TAC is the only other PD series light that is as bright as the "850".

I still use them ALL. They are all in different locations across my patchwork of property.

New to high output LED flame throwers eh? Whatever you get next should be THERMALLY REGULATED as in the output drops off slowly enough that it is barely noticeable unless the cell is almost out of charge.

PD35 is a benchmark light. It is the PD35 that began an entire new category of high output LED lights "Cigar tube size" easy to carry high output lights. I have SO MANY lights I cannot remember if any of the PD series are thermally regulated or not.

Check out the 2016 PD32. It is the SAME THING as the PD35 just in a slightly shorter, slightly more narrow package. The 2016 PD32 is thermally regulated. No sudden timed drop offs in output. 2016 PD32 has the XP-L HI emitter which means it throws twice as far as the PD35's. It is rated at 900 lumens which is of course just fine. The form factor is the same thing as the PD35 just 1/4th more compact and that much easier to carry.

In the end almost the entire "Cigar tube size" class LED lights are some of the best EDC lights ever. Nitecore makes their PD35 version the Nitecore P12. Up until the latest P12GT the P12 was lagging behind the PD series Fenix.

Nitecore P12GT. This is the most feature packed "cigar tube size" light I know of. Every bell and whistle is in it. P12GT also has the throw oriented XP-L HI emitter. It is thermally regulated. It throws the farthest out of its category.

What do you want the beam profile to look like? Almost all of this class of lights are specifically designed for close range work. The PD's are close range only but BOY...do they have a SUN for a beam profile.
The XP-L HI lights have beam profiles with small yet intensely bright hot spots that throw very well. They also have very useful spill but the hot spot is so concentrated.

My suggestion-Fenix 2016 PD32 as well as edc carry ligh..

 

[syga]

Based on this and other reviews, I bought a PD35 V2.0 with a Fenix 3500 battery.

I do a lot of late evening and night walks and found the eco mode (rated 430 hours) quite usable in paths that I am familar with. Otherwise the low mode (rated 29.5 hours) is more than adequate.
Because its a small size, I find the supplied lanyard must be used to prevent dropping the light.
The first few minutes of usage, it was flickering. The body to head took some tightening, the flickering stopped. I guess the factory did not torque it all the way?

The only thing I would improve on is the tail cap rubber switch boot. It has 2 body cutouts so the boot is somewhat exposed. I would like to see the rubber boot fully protected without any cutouts. But maybe the cutouts are there so its easier to turn the light on with gloves on.

Otherwise I'm more than satisfied with it.

 

[CelticCross74]

As for the tail switch getting in the way of for example using it as a candlelight myself and many others have changed the rubber switchboot out with one from the current get Armytek switchboots.The AT switchboots are lower profile and allow the light to tailstand.