Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium)

I'd like to see a pocket clip option. Please pass that on to Mr. Fenix.

Personally, I think this light it too small to have an effective clip. I would rather see work done in the area of a loop or some kind of better attachment point.

The switch must be changed though I agree.
Yaesumofo

LightObsession said:

I'd like to see a pocket clip option. Please pass that on to Mr. Fenix.

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yaesumofo said:

Personally, I think this light it too small to have an effective clip.

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Tell that to Surfire and Nuwai

The Q3 clip sucks. I dont know about the other NUWAI lights. The best clip around, the gold standard if you like is the 2nd gen Ti clip on the McluxIIIPD. The original clip some people loved, not me.

The surefire bodies are thicker. Clips work better on thicker bodies.
As far as surefire lights clips go my favorite is the L5 and even that clip has a bit too much flex in it for my taste. I would say that surefire still has a thing or two to learn in this area.
I have never successfully used a clip on an EDC untill the 2gen clip for the McLuxIIIPD was made available. That one works great!
having said all that, I must admit that I am not a clip freak. I do know a good one when I see and use one though.
Even then my primary mode of carry is in my pocket or in a holster it depends on the light. The PD has a perfect clip and it still usually rides at the bottom of my pocket nice and warm and happy. My HDS EDC is always carried in a kydex belt holster thingy. It is amazing.
I like the technology behind that holster so much that I wanted to go out and spend the $150 or so needed to get started making the things for myself, for all my lights. Then I realized how much work that would be and decided to skip it.
To get back on topic The fenix is a nice light at a nice price. It has a beam equal to my $225.00+ KI LE. Better tint too, and it is only a 1 watt emitter.
If you are a beam freak this little light will please you. If you are a design freak then, the design while in some areas is fine, has room for improvement in others. I am also sure that fenix put a lot of time and effort into the current design of the L1-P. It shows.
Time will tell as far as the finish is concerned.
I think that if somebody wanted to make a comparison of the fenix L1-P and the Vortex KC1 that , that would be interesting.
2 "1 watt" Asian lights with different design philosophies pitted head to head. Interesting.

Just imagine all the design work going into the lights for the new K2 emitters going on in Asia right now. Mag Instruments (we already know they are behind the times)and Surefire sure better watch the Japan ,Korea, China and even Europe very closely. All of these countries will be producing K2 emitter based lights by the millions. Prices will be through the floor. Custom makers will have a hard time keeping up too. quality will drop as well. There will be gems. In time this will apply pressure to the high end commerical market which will respond by creating new products (Inova lights at Target) or by lowering prices (we have not really seen this except in the secondary used market where prices have dipped latly).

Yaesumofo

LightObsession said:

Tell that to Surfire and Nuwai

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Lunal_Tic said:

You mean other than a normal clickie?

-LT

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I have a lot of pocket lights and am looking forward to EDC the Fenix; BUT, the very fact that it is a pocket light means (to me anyway) that I use it a lot in the 'MOMENTARY ON' phase; looking in switch boxes, confirming mechanical settings, etc, etc; it is a PIA to have to turn the light completely on to use for a few seconds, plus there is the unnecessary switch wear; but I rant .

YES; a 'normal clickie' would be wonderfull !

Perhaps a seperate thred for that is needed

Karl

yaesumofo said:

...if somebody wanted to make a comparison of the fenix L1-P and the Vortex KC1 that , that would be interesting...

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It seems the Fenix L1P has several advantages over the Vortex KC1:

- roughly same output
- longer run time (at least with lithium AA)
- lower price
- smaller volumetric space (albeit longer body)
- lighter weight
- a tail click switch
- Type III hard anodized (assume Vortex is type II?)
- wide AA battery choice: e2 lithium, alkaline or rechargeables

The Vortex may fit better on a keychain.

I'll second the normal clickie request. This should be the first thing on the list. Does anyone know why Fenix has a reverse clickie, what's reason behind this?

I personally would love to see a pocket clip for this little light (although the neoprene holster is very nice). It shouldn't be that hard to actually make a design superior to the type used on the Q3 and Surefires, one could take advantage of the lanyard holes to slip a little plate with two interior threaded posts from the clickie side. These posts would protrude to the outer diameter of the light, clip slips over those and is held in place with screws. I'd try making one myself, but don't have anyway to fabricate the little piece that would hold the posts. A clip held this way could put the full body of the light into the pocket and also puts the clickie in the correct orientation for rapid activation.

yaesumofo said:

I would try to stick with comparing the same type of lights when doing these things. For example the Fenix is a 1 watt light the Q3 is a 3 watt light.
Put the fenix with a vortex or 1 watt ARC.

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From my perspective (as an end user) they are the same "type", roughly same size, price, weight, output, switch etc. As a user seeking a "perfect" EDC I don't care whether it's a 1 W or 3 W light, I only care about price, output, runtime, battery type (price) ease of ( or lack of) operation.

yaesumofo wrote: "he seemd to be critical of your work"

Critiques are fine - the main criticism seemed to be lining up the heads of the lights in the photo.... which I actually took pains to do -
and in the photo they actually were lined up - as shown by drawing a straight line on the actual same photo.

yaesumofo wrote: "your distance to the wall in the image to be 9". I was wondering why? I would love to see what the lights look like at 1 meter."

Simple - I use about 9" because I want to be able to show the entire beam - that is including the often significant side-spill corona.

Take for example the S1801 - its corona was about 15" in diameter at 9" distance - at 1 meter that diameter would be 5.5 feet
- now get a second beam in there for a comparison - that's 11 feet width needed, a pretty wide wall just for a comparative beamshot
plus the camera position would have to be over 17 feet away - even for a 28mm wide-angle lens (fairly unusual on a digicam)
or over 21 feet away for a more usual 35mm lens.....
this is larger than most normal sized rooms.....

yaesumofo wrote: "I would try to stick with comparing the same type of lights when doing these things. For example the Fenix is a 1 watt light the Q3 is a 3 watt light."

Every light I used - except for the Q3 - in my initial comparisons was a 1 watt Luxeon.

I followed the Fenix threads on CPF - and saw several queries about how the Fenix L1(P) compared to the Q3 -
so it was pretty natural to compare them.
I only have a limited number of lights - so can only compare to what I actually have on hand.

I'd like to see the L1P guts in the silver body, because all three of my silvers are better-machined than my L1P. Plus i just think the silver looks better.

how bright is it with a regular ducacell AA? runtime?

-David

cheapo wrote: "how bright is it with a regular ducacell AA? runtime?"

All the beamshots are with a regular Alkaline AA battery.
(I buy only the cheaper but reputable supermarket and drugstore own brands - the one used was a fresh Kroger brand).

Sorry I don't have the necessary equipment to do runtimes -
but there have been some pretty good runtimes done elsewhere
by jtice on

page 5 of GROUPB: Fenix L1 and L1P - **CLOSED** (4)

Archangel wrote: "all three of my silvers are better-machined than my L1P."

Does the lens on the Non-Premium plain L1 look/feel like glass to you?

cheapo said:

which seems to throw better, Q3 or L1?

-David

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Here are a couple quicky, crappy beamshots of my own.

Quantum III (old model) on the left, with a fresh SF-123. Hmmm, it looks a lot greener in the picture than it does to my eyes.

Fenix L1 Premium v2.5 on the right, with a fresh Energizer 2500mAH NiMH AA.

The beamshots on top were obtained with the lights about 3 feet away from the wall.

The beamshots on the bottom were obtained about 10 feet away from the door, with an attempt to center the hotspot on the doorknob.

I'd have to say the Fenix has the slight edge in throw. The QIII generates more dim sidespill than the pictures show, which makes it slightly more useful at close range, in my opinion.

I would love to see the mod that allows the fenix L1 produce as much light as a Q3. These lights are far more dissimilar than similar. size, output, battery, beam quality, finish, switch. All very different between these 2 lights.
About the only similarity between them is price. IMHO.
Yaesumofo

redduck said:

From my perspective (as an end user) they are the same "type", roughly same size, price, weight, output, switch etc. As a user seeking a "perfect" EDC I don't care whether it's a 1 W or 3 W light, I only care about price, output, runtime, battery type (price) ease of ( or lack of) operation.

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UnknownVT wrote: "Does the lens on the Non-Premium plain L1 look/feel like glass to you?


There's obviously no coating - note to Fenix: put the coating on the *inside* (unless both sides are coated, then never mind) - and i'm not about to cut it, but yeah, it certainly *seems* like glass.

According to Fenix, the L1 also uses glass, but it's just regular glass- it doesn't have the AR coating.

savumaki said:

I have a lot of pocket lights and am looking forward to EDC the Fenix; BUT, the very fact that it is a pocket light means (to me anyway) that I use it a lot in the 'MOMENTARY ON' phase; looking in switch boxes, confirming mechanical settings, etc, etc; it is a PIA to have to turn the light completely on to use for a few seconds, plus there is the unnecessary switch wear; but I rant .

Karl

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You will be glad to know that the fenix can operate in Both reverse click mode and twist mode (by first clicking ON and then twisting back the tail cap). From this position, you can either twist it back on or push the tail cap for momentary on.

my comments only apply to a L1P v2.5. I do not have any other version and am not sure if the same applies to them.

lexina said:

You will be glad to know that the fenix can operate in Both reverse click mode and twist mode (by first clicking ON and then twisting back the tail cap). From this position, you can either twist it back on or push the tail cap for momentary on.

my comments only apply to a L1P v2.5. I do not have any other version and am not sure if the same applies to them.

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My only concern w/this method is the pocket lint, etc that is bound to collect in the space when the tail is backed off; but it beats turning it full on for each use :candle:.

Karl