Fenix LD02 v2.0

Just bought a Fenix LD02 v2.0 a couple of days ago... the promise of warm tint and an extra UV is very enticing... or so I thought...

Let's get started with some basic specifications of the light.

Some unboxing pictures


it comes in a flip cardboard box

notice how it says "Neutral white light" there?

the back of the box

I like how Fenix print the "estimated" runtime chart here. It gives a sense of confident to the product.

everything in the box laid-out

the LD02 v2.0 flashlight, an Alkaline AAA battery, spare o-ring, user manual, warranty card and a somewhat out-dated product catalogue.

the English part of the user manual


a few closed-up shots of the Fenix LD02 v2.0 flashlight.

that line pattern knurling is actually pretty nice to hold.

another angle

a warning label about the 200mW UV light.

runtime test will be done with this IKEA LADDA 900mAh AAA NiMH battery

the clip is quite sturdy and seems strong.

the front end of the Fenix LD02 v2.0

it's using a TIR optics intended to give a uniform light beam, somewhat...

love this tailcap design, looks premium


My love relation with Fenix LD0-series started with the legendary LD01, a really nice twisty EDC keychain light


then they release a LD02, by switching from twisty to clicky...

still small, but I loves the LD01 more

and this year, Fenix release this LD02 v2.0 and someone was saying this LD02 v2.0 is "EVERYTHING YOU HAVE BEEN ASKING FOR FROM FENIX!"

warm tint and UV in a AAA package? ya... why not... right?! OK, let's move on for now...

The body and head contacts, battery to be inserted into the body negative terminal facing the spring and positive button top terminal towards the head.


The thread is thin square-cut


and I measured the following output

disclaimer: Note that the the above measured lumens is in no way authoritative nor an indication of over/under-stating the output given by manufacturer. My lightbox is calibrated against some known light output (e.g. SureFire, Elzetta, etc.) so take it with a grain of salt and just as a relative reading.
it seems on this Fenix LD02 v2.0, the High mode is Voltage sensitive, it consistently gives a peak brightness of ~80 lumens, approximately 5-6 lumens higher than when measured with NiMH battery. Note that the peak brightness can only hold for between 30-45 seconds before it drops to 80% of the peak brightness.

OK. If you are a Fenix fanboy or die-hard fan, please stop reading from this point onwards because what comes next is not pretty... no... I kid you not...
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still here? OK...

I personally think this is one of Fenix's worst flashlight release to date. In one section of the manual,

it was written "When the light has been used on High for 1.5 minutes, the light will automatically step down by a few lumens...", well, to my surprise, it stepped down much earlier than 1.5 minutes, it stepped down in less than 1 minutes and it stepped down more than just a few lumens. It steps down to 80% of the initial output, look at the following runtime chart:

the test was performed using the included Alkaline battery and a 900mAh NiMH battery.
40 minutes on Alkaline? ANSI/PLATO FL-1? Isn't the quoted runtime supposed to be 10% of the 30 seconds output reading? and If I were to take Fenix 70 lumens output, that would be 7 lumens. But what I get with the included Alkaline is ~34 minutes before Fenix LD02 v2.0 drops to 1 lumens of output. Is Fenix using a different Alkaline?

and the Med mode runtime

from the above 2 runtime charts, Fenix is probably using a 750-800mAh NiMH to quote their runtime for NiMH battery.

not only is this LD02 v2.0 the longest EDC since LD01, it is also the longest amongst my longer AAA flashlight to date.


now, onto the UV output on this Fenix LD02 v2.0. sigh! I guess I should have trusted Fenix advertisement of the UV light in the following picture

and I should have paid more attention to how close the Fenix LD02 v2.0 is to the subject matter in the picture. The UV light on this Fenix LD02 v2.0 is so weak that what the picture show is truly the only usable use case. You need a a pitch black environment to use the UV! NO KIDDING!

next, on to the "warm" light. I really thought I am getting a 3000K warm light from this Fenix LD02 v2.0. I was so eager and excited and has been pestering my reseller to secure one. But, never have I once expected to get a "Sodium-vapor lamp"-like output. It's amber. IT'S AMBER! The light output is more like 2700K instead of 3000K... ammmbeeerrrrrr...

I edited Fenix's advert photos to reflect what I really get from this Fenix LD02 v2.0.

and to top it off, not only the switching travel is too short compare to the older LD02, this Fenix LD02 v2.0 forces us to cycle through all the modes to go back to one mode prior. That means if you are running Med mode now and you want to get to Low mode, you are forced to cycle through High, then UV, then your desired Low mode. What is worse, all modes are memorized, including the UV.

following picture are portion of my single AAA collection

amongst the single AAA lights in my possession, the SureFire Titan-A was previously the worst due to its pukey greenish tint and unstable twisty mode switching. but now this Fenix LD02 v2.0 has just taken over the Crown, not only as the worst single AAA flashlight in my possession, but it's the worst Fenix flashlight I ever had in my possession.

Needless to say, I'm really disappointed with this Fenix LD02 v2.0. I can only recommend that you stay away from this release.

Now I need to go dust off my SureFire Titan-A and give it a much needed tender loving care... :kiss:

Excellent review thank you

I have the LD05 V2.0. I use it for a few weeks. The warm light is something I had to get used to; it turns white into amber (similar to and old incan), but other colours (especially tissue colours) became vibrant. I use this light as a work light in an electronics factory. So far, it performs well.

The UV is really weak. My copy does not need a dark environment, I can check currencies in a well lit room easily, but in a close up setup.

Do not forget that the LD05's and the LD02's primary role is to be a medical light at first place, where is perform well.

I'm very curious how durable it is. Repair and maintenance work is not forgiving on flashlights.

I wanted one of these because I thought the neutral tint would suit me, pity about the amber!

So, out of your collection, what's your favourite neutral white light?

Since you have both lights, would you mind seeing if the Titan head will work on the Fenix v2 body? I know it won't go onto the v1 because the thread pitch doesn't match. It's probably the same with the new version but would helpful if you could confirm. Thanks!

The original LD02 has been on my "maybe" list for years now. I kind of wanted to pick one up but was never really compelled to.

I really like the look of this new one but I've never really been interested in UV lights. I was hoping this release would mean a price drop for the original one, but I haven't noticed anything yet...

tokaji said:

...
Do not forget that the LD05's and the LD02's primary role is to be a medical light at first place, where is perform well.

Click to expand...

I'm glad it works for you, but only LD05 v2.0 was advertised as "medical" light, not the LD02 v2.0.



and when they write "... the light delivers a max output of 100 lumens, which qualifies it for medical or certificates inspection" is the way they qualifies the LD05 v2.0 as medical light... that is just weird.

matt4350 said:

So, out of your collection, what's your favourite neutral white light?

Click to expand...

Favourite neutral white in AAA collection? that would be those using Nichia 219B, e.g. Lumintop Tool (pictured), EagTac D25AAA Nichia (not pictured), etc.
While in my neutral white lights collection? The notable few are the venerable Fenix TK20, the unobtainium Fenix E10, XTAR D08, EagleTac PN20, EagleTac T10LC2, and a few other.

elzilcho said:

Since you have both lights, would you mind seeing if the Titan head will work on the Fenix v2 body? I know it won't go onto the v1 because the thread pitch doesn't match. It's probably the same with the new version but would helpful if you could confirm. Thanks!

Click to expand...

It doesn't fit. The Fenix LD02 thread is thin square cut, while the Titan-A is not. Also, Titan-A head is slightly wider.

Anyway, I do not find the amber colour disturbing. It is a pale amber, I got used to it within 2 days (just because I only used cool white(maglie) or green(Surefire) lights). My incan flashlights have a more emphasized amber. I just ordered the LD02 V2.0 for my sister, she likes it too.

rookiedaddy said:

It doesn't fit. The Fenix LD02 thread is thin square cut, while the Titan-A is not. Also, Titan-A head is slightly wider.

Click to expand...

Thanks. It's what I assumed but I appreciate the confirmation.

rookiedaddy said:

That means if you are running Med mode now and you want to get to Low mode, you are forced to cycle through High, then UV, then your desired Low mode. What is worse, all modes are memorized, including the UV.

Click to expand...

After years and years, you would think this horrible UI would be gone from ALL manufacturers by now. I just don't get it. Thanks for a solid, honest review!

yeah , these two lights are designed to be a medical light use

You forgot to mention how ugly the two-tone finish is! I agree with staying away from the LD 02 2.0 and I wish they'd bring back the "1.0" version.

Bill
( hard to believe the Solitare wasn't the worst in the collection....maybe I will try an LED Solitare now! )

I miss the heyday of Fenix, around 2012 or so. Everything was black, no bling, no thrills. They looked the same, you just chose what size/format you wanted.

Now they're all over the place. Sure there are more models, tints, better LEDs, but I'm still driven further away.

Isn't this light a reverse clicky? If it is, doesn't that allow you to long press to go back to low? Then you'd never even have to get to high or uv if you didn't want.

I was really excited about the LD02 V2 but I am among those who are disappointed with it. I can live with the warm tint and even cycling through modes but I don't like the memory feature. I would prefer it started on low every time instead. The biggest disappointment for me is the UV. It is a good wavelength but has poor output. You have to have the light very close to what your looking at for it to be effective. As I often use my UV lights looking for depression glass that are sometimes in locked displays it just doesn't work at all for me.

Lastly it is pretty large as single AAA lights go,even longer than my Olight I3T EOS making it a pocket clip light for me. The built in clip isn't that great and seems to be made of a hard metal that would break easily with no way to replace it,a shame since the light seems to be well made otherwise.

Can you confirm if the light is a reverse clicky or forward clicky?QUOTE=ZMZ67;5244686]I was really excited about the LD02 V2 but I am among those who are disappointed with it. I can live with the warm tint and even cycling through modes but I don't like the memory feature. I would prefer it started on low every time instead. The biggest disappointment for me is the UV. It is a good wavelength but has poor output. You have to have the light very close to what your looking at for it to be effective. As I often use my UV lights looking for depression glass that are sometimes in locked displays it just doesn't work at all for me.

Lastly it is pretty large as single AAA lights go,even longer than my Olight I3T EOS making it a pocket clip light for me. The built in clip isn't that great and seems to be made of a hard metal that would break easily with no way to replace it,a shame since the light seems to be well made otherwise.[/QUOTE]

Yes, it is a reverse clicky.

Right on. So doesn't that eliminate the annoyance of having to cycle through all the modes? I remember when Reppans first told me that, I was blown away and all of the sudden loved reverse clickies.

ZMZ67 said:

Yes, it is a reverse clicky.

Click to expand...

Kitchen Panda said:

...( hard to believe the Solitare wasn't the worst in the collection....maybe I will try an LED Solitare now! )

Click to expand...

:laughing: Solitaire still works for me...

markr6 said:

Now they're all over the place. Sure there are more models, tints, better LEDs, but I'm still driven further away.

Click to expand...

you are not alone buddy...

ZMZ67 said:

...The biggest disappointment for me is the UV. It is a good wavelength but has poor output. You have to have the light very close to what your looking at for it to be effective.

Click to expand...

exactly! :candle:

gurdygurds said:

Right on. So doesn't that eliminate the annoyance of having to cycle through all the modes? I remember when Reppans first told me that, I was blown away and all of the sudden loved reverse clickies.

Click to expand...

sadly it doesn't due to mode memory. unlike those reverse clicky without mode memory, the long press trick doesn't work on this LD02 v2.0.

Hmm... That sounds disappointing. At least I would have to actually test one in person to see if I like it. I do live kinda close still to BrightGuy so I guess I could go down there sometime in the future and see.

I had the warm/neutral original E20 back in the day and gave it away as a present to someone. If it was that sort of warm then I'd be in. I still love the classiness of the original LD05, but it does have that older "sparkling blue/purple" tint of some lights with the first gen XP-E emitters.

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Edit: Here is a pretty nice video review I watched of these. The orange tint does seem very incan-like that some people are talking about. Kinda like it actually lol