Fenix Suggestions

[crocodilo]

- Single cell, 123 or AA, two interchangeable bodies
- Twisty
- Two levels
- High should give you two hours
- Low should give you ten hours
- As small (short) as possible - if needed forget the lanyard hole
- As cheap as possible
- OP reflector (nice to have)

What we don't need:
- extra levels
- latest gen emitter
- throwy beam with no usable flood

What is truly important:
-Small size
-Reliability
-Runtime
-Low price

Time to update my wishes:

1. A P1 with latest emmitter, geared for maximum runtime around 80ish lumens.

2. A P1D with latest emmitter, only two levels, low 5-10, high 100-120 lumens.

Beams should be for general use (good balance of throw and spill), with OP reflectors to ensure free of artifacts. Decent tint. Size should be kept at the absolute minimum. Agressive knurling and HA. Affordable price. Protected rechargeables compatibility is a must.


And I really believe Fenix could pull this off with no trouble at all. The closest competitor to these lights would probably be the EX10 (a fantastic light), so price and efficiency would have to make it worthwhile.

 

[MWClint]

as it stands, i cannot use my fenix l2d/p2d in the house at night when my wife is sleeping. low is too bright and the clicky is too noisy.

it needs a dim(<1 lumen) mode.

quieter clicky..i have to leave the clicky pressed "on" in my l2d/p2d and use the tailcap as a twisty. it does work great this way. would be nice if
they offered a blank tailcap accessory for twisty purposes.

proper regulation on single cell rechargable li-on

 

[Gator762]

I think a lot of people suggesting big changes to the UI of the lights are missing a likely reason why they are so popular.

It's pretty simple and I think it's part of it's success. As far as SOS and strobe, you'd have to have a size able survey of people with the correct proportion of flashaholics to get what consumers really want. Generally, more features sells more stuff.

Without screwing up their formula much, you could add a remove able pocket clip. Remove able is easy and addresses both crowds.

The newer PD series have lower lows, no one has seen them yet so can't comment.

Personally, NO aggressive knurling! It's a tool (for light) not a beat-stick. I am holding it to provide illumination in an area, and not in a glorified battle fighting off a half a dozen ninjas which I also happen to do on a daily basis. They sell 'tactical' versions for that purpose. People manage to hold slippery, wet, heavy, non-knurled beer cans (drunk even!) without dropping them, and all without the magic of knurling. HA-III anodized teeth unnecessarily wear s&^% out like pockets, holsters, and the like.

 

[tslrc]

Personally, NO aggressive knurling! It's a tool (for light) not a beat-stick. I am holding it to provide illumination in an area, and not in a glorified battle fighting off a half a dozen ninjas which I also happen to do on a daily basis. They sell 'tactical' versions for that purpose. People manage to hold slippery, wet, heavy, non-knurled beer cans (drunk even!) without dropping them, and all without the magic of knurling. HA-III anodized teeth unnecessarily wear s&^% out like pockets, holsters, and the like.

I got several chuckles out of reading this, well put!

 

[amanichen]

I think a lot of people suggesting big changes to the UI of the lights are missing a likely reason why they are so popular.

It's pretty simple and I think it's part of it's success. As far as SOS and strobe, you'd have to have a size able survey of people with the correct proportion of flashaholics to get what consumers really want.

That's true, and it's probably in Fenix's best interest not to offer a product until there's enough demand for it - why make something that won't sell, and why not make something that will sell.

Generally, more features sells more stuff.

I think that removing SOS/Strobe from the Fenix UI has been beaten to death (like I'm going to do in the rest of this post), that I think many people stop mentioning it. I personally hate the digital clicky UI from Fenix, and I can barely live with the UI on the L0D-CE. Some people want this type of UI, and others don't mind.

I'm not buying another Fenix till they strip the strobe and SOS from their digital UI. Yeah, this reeks of "I'M NEVER SHOPPING HERE AGAIN," but I'm happy to keep sticking newer LEDs into L2P until I find one that melts the aluminum reflector (or the driver, whichever happens first), instead of fooling around with the two handed click-n-twist fest.

Without screwing up their formula much, you could add a remove able pocket clip. Remove able is easy and addresses both crowds.

I say apply the same logic to strobe and SOS modes. Put SOS and Strobe on one head position, put the brightness levels on the other head position. Simple, easy, and doesn't mess up the formula.

Good user interfaces on complicated tools put the most used features where they are easily accessible; lesser used features are accessed in such a way so that they don't get in the way of normal use. I don't think that's an unreasonable request when applied to Fenix lights.

 

[Gator762]

That's true, and it's probably in Fenix's best interest not to offer a product until there's enough demand for it - why make something that won't sell, and why not make something that will sell.

Good user interfaces on complicated tools put the most used features where they are easily accessible; lesser used features are accessed in such a way so that they don't get in the way of normal use. I don't think that's an unreasonable request when applied to Fenix lights.

I really don't have a strong opinion on keeping or ditching it... It's a bit less convenient, but then I could have a use for it, so the old adage of "I'd rather have it and not need it..."

I think it's fairly simple and makes very good sense where they put them... Bezel tight is a somewhat 'tactical' mode where the switch only cycles between max and strobe. Grabbing the light and turning it on is always max output. Bezel loose is the low-med-high-SOS.

It's very easy with bezel twists, max to low and vice versa, skipping all the other modes. It's also easy to remember at high, you need to double-tap to low.



Perhaps an updated L1T with a Q5 (L10T?). Keep it simple like the L1T, except add a low low. Therefore, have:
Bezel tight - Max output.
Bezel loose - ~2 lumen, ~10 lumen.
Simple, and addresses the crowd that wants a super low. Maybe even call it the L10TCPF.

 

[Gator762]

I say apply the same logic to strobe and SOS modes. Put SOS and Strobe on one head position, put the brightness levels on the other head position. Simple, easy, and doesn't mess up the formula.

I think that's a decent idea, but what it screws up with the L1D/L2D series is the bezel loose/bezel tight always start up in low or max mode with one click.

Look above for the L10TCPF model.

 

[Tomcat!]

What I really hope Fenix will release is a push on forward facing diffuser the same size as the red filter, not that silly 'lady toy' design. While they're at it, doing the same thing for their 'large head' range would be helpful too. Oh and the red filters need to be red, as in Surefire red, not the orange I got when I bought my first Fenix filter.

 

[youreacrab]

Perhaps an updated L1T with a Q5 (L10T?). Keep it simple like the L1T, except add a low low. Therefore, have:
Bezel tight - Max output.
Bezel loose - ~2 lumen, ~10 lumen.
Simple, and addresses the crowd that wants a super low. Maybe even call it the L10TCPF.

+1

Perfect!

 

[f22shift]

How about this UI

Head unscrewed slightly - Super Low (2.5 lumens), Medium (15 lumens), High (60 lumens) , Turbo (200 lumens)
Head screwed on all the way - Strobe

With this UI you could access strobe on a single click or if you didn't want to use it you would never have to see it. To me this might be a perfect UI for general use and during an emergency.

i lke this idea but makes it mechanically unsimple losing the twist high/low.
my advice
stop tinkering with the handhelds! today we have enough variety to cater everyone!
make a headlamp! zebra has been leading market. there is money to be made. stop wasting r&d playing catchup or mimicking an existing product.

1aa,1cr3, 1x18650 models. simple one handed low-med-high or low high with med throw/spill. stop being lazy :thumbsup:

 

[Aaron]

Something powered by an 18650, with a PD30 sized head. Basically a PD30 powered by an 18650. This would be a true pocket rocket!

I would definitely prefer this to a larger body and turbohead, which isn't so easily carried, like the TK11.