(Up front disclosure – this light was supplied for free for review. I received no other compensation.)
I'm 63 and pretty much settled with my light collection. Most of my lights are customs, and I rarely ever purchase or review any production lights. But when I was contacted about reviewing this little light, I was intrigued. Fenix is a well-known and established brand, and inexpensive, forward clicky, small and lightweight, tail standing AA lights are always good to have around. I agreed to check it out.
It comes in the familiar Fenix blister package. Included are the light, lanyard, extra o-ring, and AA battery. Fenix offers the standard "Lifetime warranty/5 year free repair"….that confuses me. Is it lifetime or 5 years? Oh, well, this light retails in most places for around $27, so in 5 years you'd get your money's worth.
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I'm not going to bore you with comprehensive specs – you can find those easily. I will share that the rated 5/30/160 lumens rating seems reasonable. I've long since stopped measuring, but based on eyeballing the output next to lights with established ratings, these ratings seem reasonable. Runtimes are 70/13/1 hours. I got over an hour on high before the light started dimming – I plan to test the low runtime, too, and I'll add it to this review when that's done. Fenix lights have typically been battery vampires, and they also claim on the package that there's "no standby current".
I love lightweight lights. Under 2 ounces with cell is nice, but I have to mention that my aluminum BOSS 35 with cell weighs only 2.6 ounces. Still, in dress slacks this light will be near un-noticeable in my pocket. I like that.
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These are stock photos of the light. It's actually nice looking. Strong bezel ring (not sure of the material), decent detachable clip, easy to grip, and a forward-clicky switch with a rubber boot. No momentary press – just click on and cycle through the levels, and no mode memory.
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It has a white beam, with little tint shift and few artifacts. The beam is shown here alongside a triple XPL HI, 4000k, at as close to the same level as I could get to.
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Smooth, but shallow threads on the head.
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Shown here alongside an Oveready BOSS 35 and a Fenix E01 V2. The E01 is not much smaller, and weighs just under an ounce. I'm not a huge fan of twisty interfaces, so I would almost always carry the E12 for the little bit of extra weight.
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What would I change? The levels are too close together for my liking. Personally, I'd love a true moonlight – under 1 lumen, then perhaps a 10 lumen medium, then the full output high. Your mileage may vary. I'd love for the switch to have momentary activation, but after all, it is an under $30 light.
So, there you have it. An unscientific mini review of a decent mini light. For you flashaholics out there, this would be a great light to gift to your non-flashaholic friends and family. Great to throw in a tackle box or bug-out bag. Should things ever go bad and you can't find those exotic batteries that your custom lights use, AAs will most likely be much easier to find.
I'm 63 and pretty much settled with my light collection. Most of my lights are customs, and I rarely ever purchase or review any production lights. But when I was contacted about reviewing this little light, I was intrigued. Fenix is a well-known and established brand, and inexpensive, forward clicky, small and lightweight, tail standing AA lights are always good to have around. I agreed to check it out.
It comes in the familiar Fenix blister package. Included are the light, lanyard, extra o-ring, and AA battery. Fenix offers the standard "Lifetime warranty/5 year free repair"….that confuses me. Is it lifetime or 5 years? Oh, well, this light retails in most places for around $27, so in 5 years you'd get your money's worth.
View attachment 15328
View attachment 15329
I'm not going to bore you with comprehensive specs – you can find those easily. I will share that the rated 5/30/160 lumens rating seems reasonable. I've long since stopped measuring, but based on eyeballing the output next to lights with established ratings, these ratings seem reasonable. Runtimes are 70/13/1 hours. I got over an hour on high before the light started dimming – I plan to test the low runtime, too, and I'll add it to this review when that's done. Fenix lights have typically been battery vampires, and they also claim on the package that there's "no standby current".
I love lightweight lights. Under 2 ounces with cell is nice, but I have to mention that my aluminum BOSS 35 with cell weighs only 2.6 ounces. Still, in dress slacks this light will be near un-noticeable in my pocket. I like that.
View attachment 15330
View attachment 15331
These are stock photos of the light. It's actually nice looking. Strong bezel ring (not sure of the material), decent detachable clip, easy to grip, and a forward-clicky switch with a rubber boot. No momentary press – just click on and cycle through the levels, and no mode memory.
View attachment 15332
View attachment 15333
View attachment 15334
It has a white beam, with little tint shift and few artifacts. The beam is shown here alongside a triple XPL HI, 4000k, at as close to the same level as I could get to.
View attachment 15335
Smooth, but shallow threads on the head.
View attachment 15336
Shown here alongside an Oveready BOSS 35 and a Fenix E01 V2. The E01 is not much smaller, and weighs just under an ounce. I'm not a huge fan of twisty interfaces, so I would almost always carry the E12 for the little bit of extra weight.
View attachment 15338
What would I change? The levels are too close together for my liking. Personally, I'd love a true moonlight – under 1 lumen, then perhaps a 10 lumen medium, then the full output high. Your mileage may vary. I'd love for the switch to have momentary activation, but after all, it is an under $30 light.
So, there you have it. An unscientific mini review of a decent mini light. For you flashaholics out there, this would be a great light to gift to your non-flashaholic friends and family. Great to throw in a tackle box or bug-out bag. Should things ever go bad and you can't find those exotic batteries that your custom lights use, AAs will most likely be much easier to find.
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