# *NEW* Fenix HP12 (1x 18650/2x CR123, 900 lumens)



## kj2 (Jan 7, 2015)

Released today:











http://fenixlight.com/ProductMore.aspx?id=1157&tid=13&cid=2#


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## boudeou (Jan 10, 2015)

finaly, the Fenix i've been waiting for


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## Szemhazai (Jan 11, 2015)

Basically it's upgraded Spark SX-5 with XM-L2 inside...
http://www.spark-light.com/Products.aspx?ProductID=32


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## boudeou (Jan 11, 2015)

i have the SX5, the HP12 is more compact, the battery carrier is very big on the Spark to accept 26650 or 3*AA


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## Outlander (Jan 17, 2015)

Nice. Looking forward to this one.

:twothumbs


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## Chay (Jan 17, 2015)

I'm keeping my eye out on this one, will be useful if I decide to go caving


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## Woods Walker (Jan 21, 2015)

Looks nice. Still no low low low mode though.


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## faucon (Jan 31, 2015)

Yes, too bad about the lack of a really low mode although otherwise it looks like a headlamp I'd like to own. BTW, does it bother anybody else when Fenix advertises its burst mode as if it were the working lumens of its lights? Personally I find this annoying and deceptive.


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## kj2 (Jan 31, 2015)

faucon said:


> Yes, too bad about the lack of a really low mode although otherwise it looks like a headlamp I'd like to own. BTW, does it bother anybody else when Fenix advertises its burst mode as if it were the working lumens of its lights? Personally I find this annoying and deceptive.


It does reach that many lumens, so in IMO they can mention that lumen amount. Bottom line, that's the max working lumens.. max output says nothing about how long it will run. And that you need to press and hold.. well, that's their UI.


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## faucon (Jan 31, 2015)

kj2 said:


> It does reach that many lumens, so in IMO they can mention that lumen amount. Bottom line, that's the max working lumens.. max output says nothing about how long it will run. And that you need to press and hold.. well, that's their UI.



Saying '900 Lumens Max' is technically true, but some consumers will only see the '900 Lumens' part and won't have any idea what a 'burst mode' might be. My flashlights that can reach 900 lumens can do so continuously without pressing and holding anything. Fenix can do what they like as long as they're not outright lying about their specs, it's just a personal annoyance for me to have '900 Lumens!' catch my eye, and then find out it's referring to the burst mode.


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## UltraRunner (Jan 31, 2015)

Any idea on the beam spread angle?


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## kj2 (Jan 31, 2015)

As long it does 900 lumens, it's fine for me. IMO it's customers responsibility to check how it works. Of course, seller should provide correct answer when asked. Not everybody is a flashaholic


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## Baldenwonder (Feb 4, 2015)

I'm thinking about getting one of these with the new 18650 batteries and maybe a nitecore D4 charger. I have some nice torches but only had cheap headlamps and this one looks good.

Have you tried it out yet and what is it like if you have compared to others?


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## degarb (Feb 8, 2015)

I don't get the specs. 3800 candela for the 400 lumen high mode? Or, 900 burst mode?

Why didn't they offer an optional 2 18650 pack? I can do 8th grade math: 300 days @ 10 min loss x 3 men - 150 hours per year changing cells. Or optimistically, 25 hours per worker. ... Also, it would be useless if only 3800 candela during burst mode, for task lighting, where you need detail vision and stepping back to examine the work. Fine for camping and walking around and folding clothing.


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## Baldenwonder (Feb 13, 2015)

I now have the HP12 set up with the 18650 ARB-L2S, this has some useful light settings and the burst mode stays on without having to hold the button all the time. I'm testing it out in different locations and weather conditions.


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## boudeou (Feb 14, 2015)

received mine two days ago, and it's a amazing headlamp, love it.
i'll make some comparaisons pictures with H600 and SX5 if you want


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## Baldenwonder (Feb 14, 2015)

boudeou said:


> received mine two days ago, and it's a amazing headlamp, love it.
> i'll make some comparaisons pictures with H600 and SX5 if you want



Excellent, it would be great to see how it compares. I tried mine against cheap headlamp but that had a lens to magnify the beam to a tight spot. 
I find it has a soft edged spot and an outer glow. [emoji1]


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## Woods Walker (Feb 18, 2015)

God knows I don't need another headlamp but don't have any lights in 18650 so took the plunge and got one of those Nitecore UM10 USB powered battery chargers so I can charge it using my ANKER Battery pack which in turn could be charged by my ALLPOWERS folding solar charger. LOL! Odds are none of that will happen however I will still probably use the USB charger connected to one of my Anker battery packs at one point in time. Hope I didn't make a mistake getting into 1860s though could use CR123s as well.


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## heniekk (Feb 19, 2015)

I wonder what's the weight of the front head unit. I need sth. stronger for all night runs. Have you tried it while running ? Does it works without top strap ?


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## Baldenwonder (Feb 19, 2015)

heniekk said:


> I wonder what's the weight of the front head unit. I need sth. stronger for all night runs. Have you tried it while running ? Does it works without top strap ?



I'll give it a try, but I won't be able to run all night to test it [emoji317]


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## mummel (Feb 19, 2015)

How does this bad boy compare to the Nitecore HC90?


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## Woods Walker (Feb 25, 2015)

I got mine the other day and used the same day. Had to blow out and sand the driveway for the oil truck in -10F. Didn't get a working snow blower till 5 so worked in the dark. Very bright. In fact I have almost no complaints which is rare. Got a Nitecore 1860 3400 mAh and UM10. Very happy so far. Crazy bright.


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## darklord (Feb 25, 2015)

faucon said:


> Saying '900 Lumens Max' is technically true, but some consumers will only see the '900 Lumens' part and won't have any idea what a 'burst mode' might be. My flashlights that can reach 900 lumens can do so continuously without pressing and holding anything. Fenix can do what they like as long as they're not outright lying about their specs, it's just a personal annoyance for me to have '900 Lumens!' catch my eye, and then find out it's referring to the burst mode.



That's marketing for you! Guess it's no different than thousands of other products, then!


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## darklord (Feb 25, 2015)

boudeou said:


> i have the SX5, the HP12 is more compact, the battery carrier is very big on the Spark to accept 26650 or 3*AA




what do you mean by *very big*, boudeou? How big is 'very big' - some dimensions would be useful.

I agree that you want to minimise on size where possible, but the strength of the SX5 would seem to be it's very adaptability to so many battery formats. Whether people see that as right or wrong, it kind of justifies the size of the battery pack, perhaps?

I used to go caving (in the bad old days!) with an acetylene lamp on the front of my helmet and a plastic bottle of spare carbide dangling off the back. It never bothered me that much, so I think size and weight are pretty 'relative' concepts in some situations. 

p.s. folks, don't try the acetylene/carbide combo unless you're vastly experienced (!) and want a monster load of laughs!


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## faucon (Feb 25, 2015)

darklord said:


> That's marketing for you! Guess it's no different than thousands of other products, then!


 Well, that's true. Fenix really aren't worse than anybody else. I still don't like their using the burst mode in this way, but what the heck, it's good old advertising as usual.


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## Woods Walker (Mar 4, 2015)

This light is just so good for winter night hikes even with the 1860. I can keep the battery pack under my hat and LED exposed. Warm battery pack, cold LED. 





10 lumen low.





900 lumen turbo.


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## DragonFlame (Mar 25, 2015)

Anyone who has used the light that can comment on whether I could put a color filter film behind the glass lens to alter the tint? Can the light be opened to get access to the reflector for this purpose?

How would you comment on the hotspot / sidespill distribution?


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## boudeou (Mar 25, 2015)

darklord said:


> what do you mean by *very big*, boudeou? How big is 'very big' - some dimensions would be useful.
> 
> I agree that you want to minimise on size where possible, but the strength of the SX5 would seem to be it's very adaptability to so many battery formats. Whether people see that as right or wrong, it kind of justifies the size of the battery pack, perhaps?


i agree with you for the multi format on the SX5 but for those who used 18650 only or most of the time, the carrier is big, too big, around 30mm

[h=1]

[/h]


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## Woods Walker (Mar 25, 2015)

DragonFlame said:


> Anyone who has used the light that can comment on whether I could put a color filter film behind the glass lens to alter the tint? Can the light be opened to get access to the reflector for this purpose?
> 
> How would you comment on the hotspot / sidespill distribution?



I can't answer the first part but can the second. It's a big LED (from my XR-E days perspective) in a small reflector. That makes for a wide floody beam but unlike my ZL headlamps there is a defined hot spot of sorts. The side spill is wide. I don't get that boxed in feeling which some thrower flashlights creates on the trail. That is at the expense of some throw but still enough to spot trail markers or look down paths. Also the pure power of turbo can still throw some because the 900 lumen rating near as I can tell is not an over estimate.


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## R10R (Apr 3, 2015)

Nice light, but make it's beam angle suitable for close works in narrow places?
The ~3000cd makes me think NO.

I look for a floody light, could you suggest some?


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## kj2 (Apr 3, 2015)

R10R said:


> Nice light, but make it's beam angle suitable for close works in narrow places?
> The ~3000cd makes me think NO.
> 
> I look for a floody light, could you suggest some?



Zebralight H302(w), H502(w) or H602(w). ArmyTek Wizard (Pro)(warm).


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## rimcius (Apr 5, 2015)

Or you could simply use HL10


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## kj2 (Apr 6, 2015)

rimcius said:


> Or you could simply use HL10


Is indeed a lot smaller. Runtimes not that great, because of the AAA-battery though.


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## marcoda (Apr 7, 2015)

Better than HP30 ?


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## elbowroom (May 27, 2015)

Does anyone know or can confirm what the run time in turbo (900 lumens) is, before it steps down to high? I can not find this information anywhere.
Thanks!


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## Baldenwonder (May 27, 2015)

Hi I just tested it and it stays on turbo for around 30 seconds then steps down the brightness. The brightness before the turbo is really bright as well. Hope this helps


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## wacbzz (May 28, 2015)

I'm not getting this headlamp...except for "needing" the battery compartment to be located on the back of the head, why would anybody purchase this light over the already available HL55? I mean, they both have the same 900 lumen 30 second burst - though the 55 uses a _neutral_ XM-L2 T6 LED. The 55 is lighter. They both have the same low Eco mode of 10 lumens. There is no wire to potentially be severed on the 55. 

What gives?


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## Baldenwonder (May 29, 2015)

On paper the HP12 it looks tougher having double the Impact Resistance, balance of spreading the weight with the battery compartment at the rear, dust proof and an extra 7metre beam and Freezeproof from -40


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## Woods Walker (May 29, 2015)

wacbzz said:


> I'm not getting this headlamp...except for "needing" the battery compartment to be located on the back of the head, why would anybody purchase this light over the already available HL55? I mean, they both have the same 900 lumen 30 second burst - though the 55 uses a _neutral_ XM-L2 T6 LED. The 55 is lighter. They both have the same low Eco mode of 10 lumens. There is no wire to potentially be severed on the 55.
> 
> What gives?



During extreme cold I can put the battery pack under my hat to keep the 18650 warm. With the HL55 the battery would be exposed to the cold. That was the deciding factor for my needs.


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## Gadget_Guru (Jun 26, 2015)

Does this light protect the 18650 cell from deep discharge? In other words, does it have a low-voltage cutoff? I know that protected cells will supply this feature on their own, but being able to safely use bare cells is an advantage for me.


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## Lightmycandle (Nov 3, 2015)

can someone please weight the light portion and the battery portion separately? I would like to know how the weight is distributed. I am still searching for a bounce free lamp for running. It will be waist mounted. The all in one solution although nice, it is heavy and will bounce. I would like the package to be under 3 oz if not more.

thanks


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