Fenix E20 : a very short review

How does the focusing mechanism work? Is it like the minimag, tight for flood and loosen for throw? Does the head screw off? Thanks.

I am going to order on for a gift from the fenix store. Just want to know more about the focusing mechanism.

Some answers (a little late with the time difference) :

• Focusing mechanism : tight for throw and loosen for flood. The head screws off.
• The rings are not very noticeable in regular use. I play with it in my appartement last night and I only notice them on white walls
• The rear switch is a forward clickie. You can twist off to prevent the light to be activated
• The reflector seems slightly bigger and deeper than the LxD series. the spot is closer to the E1B than a L2D.
• I added the two o-ring just below the head ... a little more grip
• The tint is a little yellow if I compare with the E1B but my E1B is such a pure white. I wouldn't have notice if I would have play with only the E20

Regards,

we need unfocused beamshots!

portezbie said:

we need unfocused beamshots!

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Here some beamshots (please be indulgent) from throw to flood










Regards,

awsome, not too bad i guess? maybe if i buy it, i'll just keep it in the middle of focus and flood.....thanks again!

Oh No! I was hoping for no donut hole.

delete, double post

cbubu said:

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Nice photos; :sick2: E20; I question the usefulness of the spot to flood feature; SF thrower with flip-on diffuser seems a lot better, but E20 is very attractively priced tho.

A little detail : the[FONT=arial, helvetica] 1.0" diameter bezel ... that just means that a F04 [/FONT][FONT=arial, helvetica]Surefire diffuser[/FONT][FONT=arial, helvetica] (for the E serie) fits perfectly
Regards,

[/FONT]

cbubu said:

A little detail : the[FONT=arial, helvetica] 1.0" diameter bezel ... that just means that a F04 [/FONT][FONT=arial, helvetica]Surefire diffuser[/FONT][FONT=arial, helvetica] (for the E serie) fits perfectly
[FONT=arial, helvetica]Regards,[/FONT]

[/FONT]

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WOW! im loving this E20 light!

Jaygnar said:

Oh No! I was hoping for no donut hole.

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That's no donut hole, it's the bat-signal !
joking asside, I'm a bit disapointed with the flood beam pattern too.
Guess I won't buy this one.

The color of the beam looks much nicer in the second photos, but yeah that hole is worrisome. The first three shots the beam pattern looks great to me tho......darn this is a tough decision. Thanks for posting the flood to throw pics.

lol, im kinda dissapointed in the flood pattern also, but i want it more for the runtime and out put on cheap batts.....the focusing is just a plus, and i will probably throw a diffuser on it cuz i already have an E2D so it wont be a lost of money if the diffuser doesnt look good on the E20, i'll probably tie some 550 cord around the area where the OP put the two o-rings at. hopefully it'll stay.

excited

i think 4 hours on L91 isnt too far fetched , but if its same as L2d in high mode it should get 6 1/2 hours on L91

that sounds good too!

Re: Fenix E20 : a very short review (beamsots and runtime added)

Before using a flashlight in the "real life" I like to know what I can wait for it. So I did some runtime tests :
with Eneloops (2000mAh, for the EDC configuration)
with Energizer Lithium L91 (travel configuration)
with GP Alkaline Ultra (common Alkaline you can find all around the world, the perfect emergency travel configuration)
Runtime (hours):

Runtime (minutes):


First remarks :
The regulation is impressive whatever the battery type ! just be carefull : when the light goes out of regulation, you have juste few minutes of usefull output !
Runtime with Alkaline is too short, vey disappointing : just enought for a walk around the house, it's too short for a flashlight you're travelling with. My reference for that is the Surefire E2L (2007, one stage) : 9 hours of runtime on primary (45 lm), that means that you can trust the light for one night!
With NiMH like Eneloops, it can be a great EDC light.
The Lithium batteries is the right way to get a decent runtime. 4,5 hours for more than one hundred lumens ..., not so bad !

My conclusions:
Great runtimes with NiMH and Lithium for more than one hundred lm. Alkaline can only be used as backup. AA battery format is great for people travelling around the world and the E20 can be a very usefull flashlight !
Regards,

Nice graphs! It seems to be pretty efficient on all battery types. I only wish it didn't have the focusing feature, as it seems to work rather poorly.

Re: Fenix E20 : a very short review (beamsots and runtime added)

cbubu said:

Runtime with Alkaline is too short, vey disappointing : just enought for a walk around the house, it's too short for a flashlight you're travelling with.

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You can't really fault the light itself for that though. Its pretty much state of the art for performance on alkalines. If you want longer runs you need dimable capabilities or another light. Up to about 2 yrs ago that kind of performance wasn't even possible. Remember when the E2e only put out 60 unregulated lumens for about an hour on two expensive CR123s? Oh, wait still does, and yet continues to be one of SF's biggest sellers.

Incandescents are Dead! long live the LED!

Re: Fenix E20 : a very short review (beamsots and runtime added)

cave dave said:

You can't really fault the light itself for that though. Its pretty much state of the art for performance on alkalines. If you want longer runs you need dimable capabilities or another light (...)

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Cave Dave : you're perfectly right ! more than one hundred lumens during more than one hour with alkaline is already great! I just give my opinion about the way I will use this (great) flashlight : great EDC with NiMH, for travelers with Lithium but alkalines only as backup (and available all around the world!) :thumbsup:
Regards,