Fenix CL25R lantern (1x 18650/2x CR123A, White/Red leds, micro-usb,350 lumens) Review

[kj2]

Great review, kj2!

Thank you

 

[Tomcat!]

kj2 thanks for a great review and thread. :thumbsup:

So tempted by this light as a small, handy, general purpose lantern. Love the idea of a tripod thread. Sticking it on one of my Gorilla Pods will make it so versatile!

 

[Tomcat!]

Oops, mistake!

 

[Tomcat!]

Thanks for the review! I'm excited about this, I might need to buy two. It's so hard to find good camping lanterns that use "real" batteries. My parents have this dumb one that's huge and uses 8D cells, weighs about 10 lbs and can't be putting out more than 100lm.

8Ds! Wow, that's a real lump. I'm sure your parents would appreciate the weight saving of a CL25R gift.​

 

[Tomcat!]

I don't know if anyone from Fenix will ever read this, but there are a couple of accessories I'd buy if they were available. A lightweight protective case of some kind would be handy to protect the lantern in luggage. And, I'd buy a clip-on deflector to block the light from a third or half of the lantern's circumference.

I'd like a hard case but if that would be too big, something made out of the same nylon used for flashlight holsters would be good enough.

In the meantime, perhaps MacGyver a protective solution out of a Pringle tube and some foam?

 

[1DaveN]

In the meantime, perhaps MacGyver a protective solution out of a Pringle tube and some foam?

That's not a bad idea. Since I've been using the lantern for a while, I no longer really feel the need for a deflector, but my boss does - he just makes temporary ones out of aluminum foil. I'll suggest that to him - at worst, we'll probably end up with a bunch of Pringles to snack on at the office

After 4 months, I'm just as impressed with the CL25R as I was when I first saw it. When we run the family Christmas gift lottery, I hope I draw someone who would use one.

 

[Tomcat!]

Well I pulled the trigger, and I've got a black CL25R inbound from Amazon which should arrive tomorrow. How long does it take to charge to full straight out of the box?

(And how do I contain my excitement while waiting for the cell to charge, and darkness to fall? [emoji1])

 

[kj2]

Well I pulled the trigger, and I've got a black CL25R inbound from Amazon which should arrive tomorrow. How long does it take to charge to full straight out of the box?

(And how do I contain my excitement while waiting for the cell to charge, and darkness to fall? [emoji1])

My sample was about 80% charged. Give it a hour or two

 

[Tomcat!]

My sample was about 80% charged. Give it a hour or two

That news is worth a Monty Burns style "Excellent"!

 

[Tomcat!]

Received my lantern, in black, this afternoon from Amazon. Even though I'd read up on this extensively beforehand, it was still a bit of a surprise just how small this light is. Easily pocketable. Although I've only had it a couple of hours, I really like it and can see many use possibilities beyond camping. It seems like it would find a place in any home as a general purpose/emergency lantern.

As others have mentioned, the threads are a bit gritty and have almost no lube. Tomorrow I shall give the threads a good alcohol clean down and silicon grease them. A bit of Deox-it on the contacts might be in order too.

I took a few (very) rough and ready photos.

[/URL][/IMG]
The lantern is mounted on the original Gorilla Pod i.e. the smallest in the range, for compact cameras.

[/URL][/IMG]
Here I've put it on the largest Gorilla Pod, the DSLR Zoom, which has a tilting ball head, allowing for horizontal orientation. In all honesty I would never use a Pod that big for this purpose, unless it was the only one I'd brought along.



Following on from 1DaveN's question about protection in transit, I found this small empty coffee can lying around my kitchen today, and thought this might be good for that purpose. The can is steel, but not thick, so it can deform under pressure. Ain't going to be bombproof, but it will certainly protect the lantern surface from scrapes.

[/URL][/IMG]
The can is 95g weight, so pretty small. The dimensions are:
Height: 120mm external
Depth, internal: 111mm
Diameter, external rim: 75mm
Diameter, top opening: 58mm

[/URL][/IMG]
There is more than enough room to pad out the can with some foam or bubble wrap to protect the lantern. Probably best to glue the padding into place. The magnet in the lantern base is strong enough to keep it in the can, even upside down, but not so strong that it will get stuck in there. (I actually did consider that possibility!) A bit of foam padding inside the base would stop it sticking. There's also room for the charge cable and manual so if like me, you don't actually require in transit protection, this might appeal as a neat (cheap) long term storage solution around the home or in your emergency preparedness system.
:twothumbs



Edit: I forgot to mention that the UK edition of this light comes with a 24 month warranty. What else do you need!

 

[lumen aeternum]

I'd like to have a cylindrical lantern that is split into two halves, hinged on the battery case. So you could use it closed for 360 degrees, or open it up so it all shines forwards, or less so only a quadrant behind is dark.

 

[Phlogiston]

I'd like to have a cylindrical lantern that is split into two halves, hinged on the battery case. So you could use it closed for 360 degrees, or open it up so it all shines forwards, or less so only a quadrant behind is dark.

Now, that is a good idea.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I'd like to have a cylindrical lantern that is split into two halves, hinged on the battery case. So you could use it closed for 360 degrees, or open it up so it all shines forwards, or less so only a quadrant behind is dark.

I think coleman makes sort of a lantern like that where you can remove quarters of the light panels and they have rechargeable batteries in them that are charged by the base batteries. I think only 2 of them can be removed though. Look up Coleman CPX duo and triago lanterns