Just received 4 blue CL20s. I love the smooth spread, honest 165 lumens, spacing of levels, hanging solutions, sturdy build, relatively small size ... and they are just plain cute - kind of like the original Mac in a PC world. Kudos to the design team!
I would use them mostly for tent and car camping here in Japan, but also in my fishing boat cabin ... and after looking at the Chinese link above (thanks Archangel), can think of some new uses in my apartment as well. I prefer the design of this Fenix for its even spread to the slightly larger 4 AA battery lanterns with reflective cones ... even if they come with a switch for flipping the emitters around into a regular flashlight. I have better dedicated flashlights for that ... Zebras, Derees, nichia driven key chain lights, etc. ... even a Polarion PH 50.
What I would change in a perfect world:
1 - Although it is neutral white, my aging eyes prefer a slightly warmer incan color or hi CRI — like an array of Nichia 219s. I like reading before nodding off and the warmer lights seem easier on my eyes. And a combination of high spread and hi CRI would give a big advantage of seeing more natural daylight colors when looking for small objects over a wide area.
2 - I am in the Tokyo area, so although CR123s are readily available, the bang for the buck on those batteries just don't seem to make sense ... unless CRs are better for cold climes, long storage or other advantages I am not so familiar with. If the Fenix took rechargeable RCRs, I might change my mind. But it doesn't. For my purposes, I would design it without the option for disposable CRs and therefore keep the same lumens and spread while making the light even more compact.
3 - I dumped the alkalines that came packed with it in favor of top of the line 2500 Panasonic Enloops ... had too many cheap lights wrecked by alkaline leakage. A higher spec 18650 configuration might also be interesting — especially with the latest batteries like the Nitecore 3400s. But the sheer universal availability of AAs is also hard to beat.
4 - Opening and closing it is a mixed bag. It took me a little fiddling, but the o-ring and sturdy locking mechanism make it worth it.
5 - My biggest complaint is that the springs for Enloops insertion are a bit tight. I ruined the casing on a couple of fairly expensive Enloops trying to pry them back out. Haven't tried a CR, but imagine there is a similar possibility of damage ... but who cares since you have to toss that battery anyway. Not very green. On the other hand, I hope to use my Enloops repeatedly for a long time, so I wish they would put one of those cloth tabs under the battery bay so that I can yank on the tab to pop the batteries out thus protecting the casing. I might try installing a cloth tab anyway.
All in all, I am satisfied with the price of 39.00 each — enough that I might order a couple more for Christmas presents. Good bang for the buck. Hope to see some future development with this design.