# Fenix HP11 review?



## kristo604 (Jul 8, 2011)

so I'm really looking into buying a Fenix HP11, was going to get the HP10 a while back. never did, so looks like the HP11 is on the purchasing block.

any reviews out yet?

thank you.


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## Szemhazai (Jul 9, 2011)

NO, at this time you can find beam-shots only at my website :
http://www.light-test.info/en/photo-comparison-test


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## GerSer (Jul 12, 2011)

Szemhazai said:


> NO, at this time you can find beam-shots only at my website :
> http://www.light-test.info/index.ph...=category&layout=blog&id=39&Itemid=59&lang=en


 
Thanks, big job.


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## regulation (Jul 12, 2011)

great website. love it.

still someone who had used this headlamp outside can talk about its performence?


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## arizona1 (Jul 21, 2011)

anyone with a review yet?


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## aquaholik (Jul 27, 2011)

arizona1 said:


> anyone with a review yet?


 
Here is a good youtube one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OENA7Jl4gsQ

Mine should be here in a couple of days. I am thinking of ordering at least one more if it meets my expectation.


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## aquaholik (Aug 3, 2011)

Just got mine in yellow.

First impression, good bright beam, even spill, but too much of a spot to be my main shrimping headlamp(main use is 6-8 feet away). I guess I need a good 20 degree spot beam headlamp. This light however, is an excellent thrower and best for distance of 12 or more feet. It will be a good crabbing light since I need longer distance for crabbing.

The bad, the headband is unnecessary complicated and hard to adjust. The top band that holds the battery case and goes from the front of your head to the back is WAY TOO SHORT. I don't know what they are thinking. I have a small head and it is still short. I will have to swap it out with the one on my Energizer flood beam headlamp.

I am still using a 20 watts 30 degrees MR 16 bulb in a PVC enclosure on a bump cap powered by a 7AH 12 volts Cabelas battery and was hoping to find an LED replacement for it. Looks like I will need to get a Lupine if I want a 500 lumens 20+ degrees beam.

I want to add that the included diffuser is pretty much useless. I expected it to turn the spot beam to flood mode but it just dims the light with uneven spill. Good thing I did not pay the full price for it.


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## LittleBill (Aug 3, 2011)

aquaholik said:


> Just got mine in yellow.
> 
> First impression, good bright beam, even spill, but too much of a spot to be my main shrimping headlamp(main use is 6-8 feet away). I guess I need a good 20 degree spot beam headlamp. This light however, is an excellent thrower and best for distance of 12 or more feet. It will be a good crabbing light since I need longer distance for crabbing.
> 
> ...



I just ordered one off ebay. was gonna go with the hp20, but i kept thinking the wire would get in my way.

im sad to hear the difusser is almost worthless. was hoping it would be decent. my ld20 beam is a bit too focused as well. i enjoyed my l2d beams a bit more

wish they kind of went with OP lens, i miss that a bit.

hopefully this will work out for me. im kind of scared about the headband. my head is generally large and i wear it over a baseball cap alot of times

seems 4 sevens doesn't even stock it or the HP10???? are fenix's lights disappearing or something?


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## aquaholik (Aug 3, 2011)

LittleBill said:


> I just ordered one off ebay. was gonna go with the hp20, but i kept thinking the wire would get in my way.
> 
> im sad to hear the difusser is almost worthless. was hoping it would be decent. my ld20 beam is a bit too focused as well. i enjoyed my l2d beams a bit more
> 
> ...


 
You are not going to like the headband. It looks fancy but has very poor usability. Difficult to adjust and doesn't hold position:scowl:.


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## LittleBill (Aug 3, 2011)

aquaholik said:


> You are not going to like the headband. It looks fancy but has very poor usability. Difficult to adjust and doesn't hold position:scowl:.


 

its not balanced at all? so far all my fenix stuff has been a hit for me. hopefully this doesn't change my opinion. its not the same setup as their head band? or hp10 or or 20 ? i would think it would be identical


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## aquaholik (Aug 4, 2011)

LittleBill said:


> its not balanced at all? so far all my fenix stuff has been a hit for me. hopefully this doesn't change my opinion. its not the same setup as their head band? or hp10 or or 20 ? i would think it would be identical


 
Forget what I said about the headband. I reconfigured it so now it will fit a really big head or over a cap. Don't use it the way it came out of the box. It is now easy to adjust and stay adjusted. Now the entire setup is very well balanced and feels ver light on my head. I will post some pictures tomorrow.


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## LittleBill (Aug 5, 2011)

wonderful to hear.

please post mine should show up on monday.

please a couple shots with the diffuser down a well. 99% of my work is less then 1 foot away


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## LittleBill (Aug 6, 2011)

Well,

mine came in alot earlier then expected. it showed up today. 

aqua i know exactly what your issue was, prolly the top strap was too short. you had to remove it from the one clip to make it a bunch longer.

have to say, once its all configured and on your head. its a pretty nice setup

the diffuser on low when working with my hands is amazing. beatiful diffused light. not sure how thrilled i will be resting with my head on the battery pack, makes me wonder if the hp20 was what i really needed.

never the less i am thrilled so far like usual

the only mod i had to make was the the wire. i read somewhere where people say the cord is too long. i can see why they say that, but with the head band adjusted to max it needs all that length i simply added a loop and a ziptie to the wire as shown below.










very happy, can't wait to try it out in the dark.

UI is decent. this is my first 2 button UI.


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## aquaholik (Aug 6, 2011)

Yes, after playing around with the headband, I finally got it to look like the various Google image of the headlamp. I must say it is very well balance. I leave it pretty loose on my head and it feels very light. Of course I am used to wearing a bump cap with a 20 watts halogen bulb strap to it and carrying a 5 lbs battery in a backpack.

I tried it again with the diffuser and see now why you like it. I hold my hand in front of it and it lights it up pretty evenly. My use for it however is 6-12 ft away. The diffuser at the highest setting makes it very close to the flood beam of my 20 watts 24 degree bump cap light but not as bright. Without the diffuser, the spill is pretty even with a very bright center that can light up a serious distance. I can say 90% of the people who buy this light will be happy with it. I have to see if the spill will be bright enough to light up a shrimp's eye at night next Spring before buying another one.

I've bought and tested close to a dozen headlamps and they all have been to focus for my need except for the Energizer flood beam. But the flood beam on that one is too wide and not bright enough. I basically need a bright beam that is 3ft wide at 6-8 ft away and a battery that will last 2-3 hrs. It looks like I might have to get the Lupine Pico X 750 lumen with it's 22 degree beam. I think I spent at least $300 looking for the perfect light so far so I might as well get the Pico X.

This is what we do in the Spring time in the Tampa Bay area. Walk the flats in 1-2 ft of water looking for shrimps and crabs. We then dip net the shrimp one at a time.







On an average night, I'll end up with 200-300 shrimps.


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## LittleBill (Aug 6, 2011)

Aqua,

yea, 99% of my work is within 3 feet, and the most important part being no hot spot glare. the diffuser fixes this perfectly

for your use, i agree the diffuser is worthless. but again i believe the majority of users for the diffuse option are very close workings.


for what you do i agree you need a really big reflector, about the only way without losing alot of power to a diffuser.

even my tk40 beam although much larger still is not a huge flooder by any means


have you thought about maybe 3 hl21's? all on at the same time? still cheaper then a single 300 dollar unit


looking the whole unit over i think the ipx-6 rating is limited to the buttons on the headlamp itself, appears to only be the real point for water entry compared to the h10

im more then confident of dunking the battery compartment completely underwater



FYI as i was playing with the diffuser the pin that holds the diffuser lense fell out. the pin is quite loose. its an easy fix, just take notice and see how loose yours is


another kewl thing i notice is that the strobe is now variable. it alternates between all different speeds. which is kewl


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## aquaholik (Aug 6, 2011)

I spent the last hour looking at gretna and lupine site and mtbr.com.

I really need 2.5 to 3hrs of use. Don't think I want the Wilma X. It is overkill, although it is kinda nice to fry the shrimp's eyes so they won't see the dip net coming:laughing:. The Fenix will still have it's use. It's beam it's plenty wide at 20ft away, great for dipping up blue crabs from a 15ft high bridge. 

I am going to see if the people at gretna will package it with the 5 amp battery for the difference in price of the battery. I think I will really like the 22 degree beam. I already know what a 20 watt halogen 24 degrees beam look like. Even at half the power, 300 lumens, 22 degrees at 6-10 feet away should be plenty. The 750 lumens setting is when I am in 3-4 ft of water trying to see the shrimp that are deeper. I saw the Piko X review and I think I like that headband better than the blue one. The pin on my diffuser is pretty tight but I don't have much use for the diffuser, except for threading floss between my kid's brace.

$400+ for a shrimp light( The halogen setup that I built cost about $25 + $25 battery) maybe a bit much but at least I don't have to haul a 5lbs battery for 2-3 hours. Lupine quality should last a lifetime. That thing looks military grade.

Yes the two different strobe are cool and great for emergency. I would imagine a plane could easily spot that if I am ever stuck 50 miles offshore with a dead engine and no EPIRB.


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## LittleBill (Aug 6, 2011)

i just used the HP11 outside...

I'm slightly disappointed with turbo...


it appears to be almost as bright as my tk40!!!!!


got to say for a 277 vs 630 lumen difference. not a ton of difference.

mind you im shooting around 100+ yards, but thats about as far as i need

although at first it seemed identical. the tk40 does beat it but not by a whole ton either...

hmm...


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## burpee (Aug 8, 2011)

Can the HP11's head straps be taken away from the head lamp and battery? I am thinking of getting an HP11 - but I would like the option of using a customized battery pack strap as well as head lamp mount.


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## LittleBill (Aug 8, 2011)

yes it actually comes detached from the head band in the box


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## varuscelli (Aug 8, 2011)

aquaholik said:


> On an average night, I'll end up with 200-300 shrimps.


 
Hey, aquaholik...this is about as nice a result of using a headlamp as any I've seen. Very cool. :thumbsup:


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## varuscelli (Aug 8, 2011)

aquaholik said:


> I really need 2.5 to 3hrs of use. Don't think I want the Wilma X. It is overkill, although it is kinda nice to fry the shrimp's eyes so they won't see the dip net coming:laughing:. The Fenix will still have it's use. It's beam it's plenty wide at 20ft away, great for dipping up blue crabs from a 15ft high bridge.


 
For a slightly different twist on what you need, have you considered the option of using the Fenix Headband (the one that's sold separately, not the HP11 or HP20)? 

With the Fenix Headband, you can purchase the flashlight of choice and use either one or two flashlights to give you whatever beam pattern you'd like, and probably have more flexibility in choosing the light that might work best for you. 

I recently purchased a Fenix Headband and use it in various configurations. What I like to do is use it with a flashlight that will accommodate AA rechargeable batteries so that if I run low on power all I have to do is insert new batteries, which are easy enough to carry along. 

I even set up one of these for a friend to use for frog gigging -- and that concept is very similar to what you're doing. 

With the cost of the Fenix Headband being only about $22 USD, I'd say that coupling it with the right flashlight (or two flashlights) is a workable option compared to a headlamp, especially given your specific needs. That is, in the hunt to find just the right headlamp, you might more easily find a better combination of Fenix Headband and a couple of flashlights (perhaps even two flashlights with different beam patterns to meet different needs you might have on the same evening). 

And if you're considering moving up to a much more expensive headlamp option than the HP11, there's even more reason to consider the Fenix Headband plus appropriate flashlights. 

OK...I just wanted to give you something else to think about... 

Below is the Fenix Headband with a Fenix L2D and a NiteCore D10 (a couple of my old but often used lights). As a "for instance" on the use of this, I can use the L2D for distance and ramp the NiteCore down to a minimal amount of light (and angle it downward) to see what's at my feet or in my hands. With this headband, you can tilt each light to whatever angle you want. There are lots of variations on the possibilities. 

The drawback to the setup as shown is weight, but you could easily choose flashlights that use a single rechargeable AA or a single rechargeable RCR123A batteries to cut down on weight.


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## aquaholik (Aug 8, 2011)

varuscelli said:


> For a slightly different twist on what you need, have you considered the option of using the Fenix Headband (the one that's sold separately, not the HP11 or HP20)?
> 
> With the Fenix Headband, you can purchase the flashlight of choice and use either one or two flashlights to give you whatever beam pattern you'd like, and probably have more flexibility in choosing the light that might work best for you.
> 
> ...



I have played around with a couple of flashlight on headband. I tried the various 150-220 lumens AAA offering from Costco and Sam's Club but all of them has a bright center with very uneven spill. Once I strapped a 360 lumens Lifegear to a headband. I blinded a couple of flounder giggers 200 yds away and they were yelling at me to shut it off. It was so heavy I got a headache after 20-30 minutes. 

I need to research and see the various beam pattern of various AA flashlight. Right now I just spent $12 on some no name 300 lumens adjustable beam headlamp that use 3AAA. Supposedly I can turn the focus ring and get a nice bright flood beam. I'll let you know how that works out but I don't have to much faith on it working out. I won't need a good headlight until next spring and if I can't find anything better, I am getting the Lupine Piko X.

I just might do a winter shrimping season this year and test out the Fenix HP11. The spill seems bright enough to light up a shrimp's eyes. The advantage to a bright flood beam is that you spend less time looking for shrimp. They just pop up in your field of vision and you decide by the distance between the two eyes which shrimps are the bigger one. With most LED light so far, I am constantly turning my head to look for them. With my halogen 20watts flood beam, I can cover the 180 degrees in front of me with a very slow head turn.

Shrimping after dark in the Tampa area is like Easter egg hunt. Walk the flats after dinner to burn up some calories and look for shrimp eyes that might or might not be hidden by seagrass's blade. The light needs to be on a headband and not on your hand or else you can't see their eyes.

I have been using home made 20 watts setup the last 4 years while waiting for LED lights to catch up and/or price to come down.







We didn't do too bad on the blue crabs either:


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## varuscelli (Aug 8, 2011)

aquaholik said:


> I have played around with a couple of flashlight on headband. I tried the various 150-220 lumens AAA offering from Costco and Sam's Club but all of them has a bright center with very uneven spill.


 
Be cautious about perhaps judging all flashlights by what you see at Costco and the like. Quality of light varies greatly, especially when comparing really well made flashlights with those offered on a more general public level. I can tell you know what you need more than I do and you've been practicing with lots of configurations, so I'm sure you'll hit on the right combination soon. 

I'll end with one more note on something I like about the Fenix Headband. I'm really pleased by the way it allows me to adjust the angle of each light by rotating the mount. All in all, I find it to be a very nice headband for adapting flashlights to headlamp use. Maybe I can post another pic or two to show the angling of the flashlights. I tend to wear mine over a hat so that the weight is more evenly distributed over my head.

Great pics of the crab and shrimp feasts, by the way... :thumbsup:


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## peterharvey73 (Aug 9, 2011)

I just received my HP11 XP-G R5 today.
Many months ago, I was gonna get old HP10 XR-E Q5.
I'm glad I waited for the R5.
However, I still reckon I must wait till 2012 for a nice floody HP12 XM-L T6???

Anyway, I noticed some ppl on Amazon complained about both the old HP10 & new HP11 for having too short an upper head band.
When I received my HP11 at lunch time today, I initially got a heart attack - I thought the upper headband was too short - however, it was ridiculuously short - only say 7 cm long - I thought that it was impossible that Fenix could have stuffed up to this degree - I knew I had to play around with the upper head band - now the upper headband is huge! Long enough for any big head.

Wonderful beam, esp XP-G R5 for throw.
The HP11 R5 easily kills my Energizer Professional Hard Case headlamp for light.
However, what's really amazing is that this HP11 R5 kills my Jetbeam RRT-2 XP-G R5!
Boy technology has come a long way in only 9 months?
The HP11 is rated at only 277 lumens vs the RRT-2 R5's 300 lumens.
However, the HP11 R5 actually has a brighter hotspot than my RRT-2 R5!
The HP11's hotspot is also larger!
However, the centre of the HP11's hotspot is slightly hollow, while the centre of the RRT-2's hotspot is solid full of light.
The HP11's spill width size is significantly wider than the RRT-2!
Yet the HP11's spill is still brighter than the RRT-2 R5.
Technology advances so much in 9 months.
However then, some would say - that's 4xAA Eneloops @ 4x1.2V & 4x2000 mAH, versus 1x18650 @ 3V & 2200 mAH?
And also a SMO reflector vs an OP reflector.
However, despite the SMO reflector, the HP11 is very clean, and almost as clean as the RRT-2 R5 OP.
However, headlamps need to be floody, and the HP11 is dying for an XM-L for 2012 as a HP12.

The HP11 also needs an infinite angle head tilt adjustment, rather than the present discrete ratchet adjustment which is not as convenient.
The HP11 also needs the thicker headplate, thicker plastic, more robust build, more robust hinges, and more robust construction of the Energizer Professional Hard Case headlight.
Don't just discount the Energizer because it is an Energizer - the Energizer certainly lacks the LED power of the Fenix, but the Energizer is better styled and considerably more robustly built.
Both have their own different strengths & weaknesses, but for light, the Fenix wins hands down...


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## gcbryan (Aug 9, 2011)

There's no 9 month advancement in technology to explain the difference between the Jetbeam and the Fenix. They both use the XP-G R5...that's the technology. Otherwise it just depends on how hard they are driven and what size/type of reflector they are using. If the Fenix isn't floody enough you don't need to wait for a XM-L. Just put a piece of Scotch Magic Tape over the lens or some other diffusion material and you will have a floody light with a nicer looking beam.


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## arizona1 (Aug 9, 2011)

has anyone else noticed the hollowness in the hotspot... i want to get this light but that would really annoy me, like it does with the BD spot


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## gcbryan (Aug 9, 2011)

arizona1 said:


> has anyone else noticed the hollowness in the hotspot... i want to get this light but that would really annoy me, like it does with the BD spot



I hate to be a one trick pony here but have you tried putting a piece of translucent tape over the lens of the Spot? I know what you mean about the hollow spot. I used to have one and traded it in for the Storm. The Storm doesn't have that problem but the optics still aren't perfectly even so I used a piece of tape on that as well and it now has a nice beam and still has almost as much throw.


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## peterharvey73 (Aug 9, 2011)

The hotspot is larger, brighter, yet hollower than an RRT-2.
Actually, the hotspot is only slightly hollow.
The beam is generally superb!
It only trails the Energizer Hard Case Professional on construction.

In an ideal world, it would be good if they offered a choice of both the R5 for those who want throw, and the new XM-L for those who would like more flood.
One CPF member commented recently that he uses a headlamp for flood, then a hand held aspherical for throw.
I agree with other CPF members above, both the diffuser that comes with the HP11 and the nice built-in diffuser in the Energizer Hard Case Professional - are way way too floody.
We really don't want floodiness like a fluorescent lamp, what we actually want is a larger hotspot - say a hotspot that's twice the size...


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## varuscelli (Aug 10, 2011)

peterharvey73 said:


> One CPF member commented recently that he uses a headlamp for flood, then a hand held aspherical for throw.


 
I'm toying with an idea that combines both onto a Fenix Headband in this thread:

Fenix Headband + Throw Light + ZebraLight Flood

I almost posted that here instead, but thought it might make a better thread on it's own rather than couching it under the HP11 Review thread.


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## arizona1 (Aug 10, 2011)

gcbryan said:


> I hate to be a one trick pony here but have you tried putting a piece of translucent tape over the lens of the Spot? I know what you mean about the hollow spot. I used to have one and traded it in for the Storm. The Storm doesn't have that problem but the optics still aren't perfectly even so I used a piece of tape on that as well and it now has a nice beam and still has almost as much throw.


Yeah i have put tape over the BD spot and it made it better, but if im going to drop the money on the fenix, i would prefer it to be good out of the box and not need to use tape on it..... Has anyone else with the hp11 noticed the hollow hot spot?


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## Szemhazai (Aug 12, 2011)

I'll try to write something over the weekend - for now I've made some measurements


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## LittleBill (Aug 15, 2011)

arizona1 said:


> Yeah i have put tape over the BD spot and it made it better, but if im going to drop the money on the fenix, i would prefer it to be good out of the box and not need to use tape on it..... Has anyone else with the hp11 noticed the hollow hot spot?


 

I don't see it and im pretty anal. what distance are we talking about here? this passes even the wall test, let alone how good it is outside


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## peterharvey73 (Aug 15, 2011)

The HP11 R5 SMO's slightly hollow hotspot is barely noticeable - in fact it is NOT noticeable on it's own. The HP11 has a superb beam, that probably few can match!
The HP11's slightly hollow hotspot can only be noticed when compared with a Jetbeam RRT-2 R5 with a deep OP reflector - in which case the RRT-2's hotspot looks smaller and denser; the HP11's is larger with a dense ring but a less dense centre..


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## angkuh (Aug 17, 2011)

I'm not try it yet. But I will buy in January of next year. I will give you a review, and if you want, you can give your contact to me.


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## psychbeat (Aug 17, 2011)

Szemhazai said:


> I'll try to write something over the weekend - for now I've made some measurements


 
looks pretty BLUE/COOL yeah?


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## Szemhazai (Aug 18, 2011)

psychbeat said:


> looks pretty BLUE/COOL yeah?


 

A bit, about 7100K on high...


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## psychbeat (Aug 18, 2011)

eeeewww.....:sick2:


thanks for the review:thumbsup:


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## arizona1 (Aug 18, 2011)

Szemhazai said:


> A bit, about 7100K on high...



How does it compare with the hp10 in this regard?


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## one_half_3544 (Aug 21, 2011)

Got HP11 recently. To my surprise it refused to work with Ni-MH batteries - only regular alkaline worked. Further investigation showed that HP11 battery compartment has bulges, which prevent the + terminals of the batteries from contact>:-/









My Ni-MH batteries from both sets (La Crosse and Ansmann) have short plus pins (at least shorter than duracell alkaline) and don't work.

I thought that Fenix products do not require DIY modifications to work..


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## LittleBill (Aug 21, 2011)

one_half_3544 said:


> Got HP11 recently. To my surprise it refused to work with Ni-MH batteries - only regular alkaline worked. Further investigation showed that HP11 battery compartment has bulges, which prevent the + terminals of the batteries from contact>:-/
> 
> 
> 
> ...



they don't i use eneloops in all fenix's with 0 problem


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## varuscelli (Aug 21, 2011)

one_half_3544 said:


> Got HP11 recently. To my surprise it refused to work with Ni-MH batteries - only regular alkaline worked. Further investigation showed that HP11 battery compartment has bulges, which prevent the + terminals of the batteries from contact>:-/
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
According to the specs (and everything I've personally read and seen), the HP11 should run just fine on Ni-MH batteries. Maybe it's just the particular batteries you're using (as odd as that might seem) and the shorter terminals.


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## one_half_3544 (Aug 22, 2011)

Well, can't test other brands of batteries - 5 minutes of dremeling solved the problem for me =) Still I don't understand the purpose of such design decisions..

But less offtopic - the lamp is nice, much brighter than my old tikka xp. The only disappointing thing for hiking use is the diffuser - is does not open all the way and protrudes awkwardly. I fear that it will be torn away by the first unlucky contact with a branch.


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## Murphjup (Aug 25, 2011)

Thanks all for the information.. thinking of getting one of these but are stiill undecided..


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## subwoofer (Aug 26, 2011)

Murphjup said:


> Thanks all for the information.. thinking of getting one of these but are stiill undecided..


 
I've just got one to do a review of. It might be a week or two, but when I get it posted I'll put the link in this thread.


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## cjdec (Aug 27, 2011)

Just got one of these. Previously lots of experience with Princeton tec Apex, which disappointed as far as durability goes but not much else. So far The Fenix looks promising. Time will tell on how well it lasts. 

It's spot beam is bright on the highest setting - the claimed 277 lumens is believable. Beam quality of the spot is quite good. A slight hollow when viewed on a white wall that means absolutely nothing in the real world (unless you work as a white wall inspector). 

The main spot is designed at the narrow end of the continuum encountered in general purpose lights, too narrow for some uses no doubt, but it fits my needs well. The diffuser changes the nature of the basic beam completely, making it very broad and floody. You lose some light with a diffuser so some people may prefer another light if that's suited to their main application. For occasional or short term use the diffuser is fine.

One confusing detail in the instructions: "If you do not use the light for a couple of days, please unscrew the head for half a turn to prevent slow discharge of the batteries." If the parasitic discharge is large that would be disappointing. I can't see how to unscrew the head at all, though, and wonder if this tip even applies to this light. We'll see if the discharge proves to be a problem. Maybe someone can measure it?


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## subwoofer (Aug 30, 2011)

I've just posted a review of the HP11 in the headlamps forum:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?321269-The-Fenix-HP11-a-Review-in-Four-Parts


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## one_half_3544 (Aug 30, 2011)

Tested HP11 on camping trip. Diffuser lens in not recessed into the holder - it creates more then 180 degrees beam and blinds the user of the headlamp :-(( I think of painting the rim of the lens with black paint.


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## subwoofer (Aug 30, 2011)

one_half_3544 said:


> Tested HP11 on camping trip. Diffuser lens in not recessed into the holder - it creates more then 180 degrees beam and blinds the user of the headlamp :-(( I think of painting the rim of the lens with black paint.


 
I found exactly the same problem (and mentioned this in my review).

I'm going to try and find some black plastic pipe the right size to surround the diffuser edge as I don't think paint will be opaque enough with that much light to block. Either that or make a little peak/visor to block the light from falling into my eyes.


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## jeowf (Aug 31, 2011)

subwoofer said:


> I found exactly the same problem (and mentioned this in my review).
> 
> I'm going to try and find some black plastic pipe the right size to surround the diffuser edge as I don't think paint will be opaque enough with that much light to block. Either that or make a little peak/visor to block the light from falling into my eyes.


 
Jest get a sharpie and mark the edged black. (i find it's opaque enough to stop being annoying)


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## aquaholik (Apr 9, 2012)

Went out last night on Easter Sunday to do some shrimping because the tide was right. I had the batteries(4 Duracell alkalines) in there since last year and judging from last night's outing, any discharge I had over a period of 8 months is negligible. 

I purposely left my 20 watts 36 degree beam halogen headlamp and the accompanying 5lbs battery in the car and determined to go purely LED last night. I did drop 4 extras AA into my waders for backup. Wind was about 5-10 knots but I had no trouble seeing shrimp with the high setting(133 lumens). I have to get used to a very bright center and not so bright but even spill. Shrimping in a foot of water or less, the shrimps' eyes were very easy to see. I homed in on the biggest and widest pairs of eyes and proceeded to pick up about 4 dozens large and 10 dozens medium/small. The flats was pretty lit up. I spotted mullets, blue crabs, pinfish, ladyfish.

This light has amazing throw, even at the 133lm mode. Coming back to my car, I had to cross some knee deep and now muddied up water(from other shrimpers walking around). There are always a few big shrimps in the deeper area and I switched on the turbo mode and had no problem seeing them. I walked back to my starting point around 11 pm and spotted some shrimp buried in the sand/mud with just their eyes faintly lit up. I dug my fingers down and grab the shrimp bare handed.

The light remain fairly strong(I used turbo toward the end) after 2 hours on 133 and maybe 20 minutes on turbo. I don't think I missed too many shrimps because of the lack of a strong flood beam but I just wished I could stretch out that spot beam and double it's coverage because the brightness is overkill for 6-10 ft distance. Going to use it a couple more times before I decide to get another one as a backup.


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## daniel10 (Apr 11, 2012)

Hi, first post here.

Im thinking to buy one of these hadlamps. It is a good choice for mountain biking? My doubt is if it fit well on my helmet and if the cable length is long enough to carry the battery case on my backpack.

Regards from portugal
Daniel


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## florinache (Apr 14, 2012)

The cable isn't that long. It fits on my biking helmet but gets a bit heavy.


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## Kitchen Panda (Apr 17, 2012)

daniel10 said:


> Hi, first post here.
> 
> Im thinking to buy one of these hadlamps. It is a good choice for mountain biking? My doubt is if it fit well on my helmet and if the cable length is long enough to carry the battery case on my backpack.
> 
> ...



The cable is only 350 mm (about 14 inches) long - if you wanted to put the battery pack in your pocket, you'd have to lengthen the cable (and say goodbye to your warranty). I weighed mine with 4 NiMH Enelooops and it weighs about 300 grams, but the battery pack is most of that...the lamp and straps are only about 120 grams. 

I tried mine on a construction hard-hat - the straps will fit on it, but it does make it a little top-heavy. A bike helmet usually straps on, doesn't it? That would make it more secure. 


Bill


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## daniel10 (Apr 19, 2012)

Thanks for the answers. I think the fenix hp11 battery case doesn't fit very well on the back of my bike helmet. I think i wont get one of these because of that but its a great aa powered headlamp for sure!


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