DVN
Newly Enlightened
So this will be my review thread of my test sample of the TK45. I received this flashlight about a week ago from Fenix and I have to say I am quite impressed. Like many others on CPF, I was worried about the "look" of the flashlight but I must say it is starting to grow on me.
To begin with, I've realized that I prefer function over looks. I can easily see the benefits for heatsinking if there are 3 separate heads instead of one. While the flashlight looks quite monstrous online, it's a bit smaller than I expected and the "trident" look isn't all that bad. If anything, it's quite unique and I'm sure non-flashaholics will be more interested in this one than in any of my other "normal looking" flashlights.
The machining on the flashlight looks fine by me. I also own a TK-20 and I must say that the TK45 seems a little thinner in the battery tube. The rest of the flashlight seems very well built though.
As far as the inside battery holder goes, it's made of plastic and I completely agree with the other testers that this was a huge mistake by Fenix. It should have been made more like the Fenix TK40 battery holder with metal. I've always had problems with plastic battery tubes. I'm guessing that Fenix is assuming that the metal case will protect the battery tube?
On the subject of the battery tube, my sample flashlight also rattles around quite a bit. It's not anything bad, but I can see it might get annoying after a bit of use.
But basically other than the battery holder, I think every portion of this flashlight is a success. I took it outside and this thing is literally like a searchlight. It lights up everything and the beam is beautiful. I know others have said that it has less throw than the TK40, but for my purposes this works even better. It's a wall of light and it really lights up a huge area. I was worried about the three heads not focusing evenly but even at a distance of 6 inches or less, there is only one hotspot. Great optics design by Fenix there.
EDIT: I added some outdoor pictures in post #6
Front side
Main body (looking forward) – the grooves are quite small but work well enough for grip
Lanyard/other attachment loop.
Top view of lanyard hole
Straight ahead view
Another side view
Here you can see the R4 LEDs that were used in the test sample run. The final product will use R5's.
Front view with battery tube in rear.
All taken apart. The tail cap also comes off the end of the battery tube but it's pointless to take both sides off.
The plastic battery holder
Front side contact/spring of battery holder
Rear view battery holder
Battery holder again. Not really sure why they only used plastic here.
A GREAT aspect of the TK45 is the side clickie. Way easier to turn on/off while holding it in one hand. The right side button turns it on, and the left button changes modes. This light has memory so it will turn on at the same mode if was turned off. Also another GREAT improvement in the TK45 is that the blinking modes are in another menu. That menu is accessed by double clicking the right button while the light is turned on. This blinking menu has SOS, slow blink, and strobe. I always hated strobe modes and this ingenious design seems to fix the issue for me.
Just the head portion
Mitch-all-together
I haven't had time to take pictures outside or to make white-wall photos but I will as soon as I can. I really think this thing quite the unique light and it's won me over completely. Great design by Fenix. Thumbs up :twothumbs
.
To begin with, I've realized that I prefer function over looks. I can easily see the benefits for heatsinking if there are 3 separate heads instead of one. While the flashlight looks quite monstrous online, it's a bit smaller than I expected and the "trident" look isn't all that bad. If anything, it's quite unique and I'm sure non-flashaholics will be more interested in this one than in any of my other "normal looking" flashlights.
The machining on the flashlight looks fine by me. I also own a TK-20 and I must say that the TK45 seems a little thinner in the battery tube. The rest of the flashlight seems very well built though.
As far as the inside battery holder goes, it's made of plastic and I completely agree with the other testers that this was a huge mistake by Fenix. It should have been made more like the Fenix TK40 battery holder with metal. I've always had problems with plastic battery tubes. I'm guessing that Fenix is assuming that the metal case will protect the battery tube?
On the subject of the battery tube, my sample flashlight also rattles around quite a bit. It's not anything bad, but I can see it might get annoying after a bit of use.
But basically other than the battery holder, I think every portion of this flashlight is a success. I took it outside and this thing is literally like a searchlight. It lights up everything and the beam is beautiful. I know others have said that it has less throw than the TK40, but for my purposes this works even better. It's a wall of light and it really lights up a huge area. I was worried about the three heads not focusing evenly but even at a distance of 6 inches or less, there is only one hotspot. Great optics design by Fenix there.
EDIT: I added some outdoor pictures in post #6
Front side
Main body (looking forward) – the grooves are quite small but work well enough for grip
Lanyard/other attachment loop.
Top view of lanyard hole
Straight ahead view
Another side view
Here you can see the R4 LEDs that were used in the test sample run. The final product will use R5's.
Front view with battery tube in rear.
All taken apart. The tail cap also comes off the end of the battery tube but it's pointless to take both sides off.
The plastic battery holder
Front side contact/spring of battery holder
Rear view battery holder
Battery holder again. Not really sure why they only used plastic here.
A GREAT aspect of the TK45 is the side clickie. Way easier to turn on/off while holding it in one hand. The right side button turns it on, and the left button changes modes. This light has memory so it will turn on at the same mode if was turned off. Also another GREAT improvement in the TK45 is that the blinking modes are in another menu. That menu is accessed by double clicking the right button while the light is turned on. This blinking menu has SOS, slow blink, and strobe. I always hated strobe modes and this ingenious design seems to fix the issue for me.
Just the head portion
Mitch-all-together
I haven't had time to take pictures outside or to make white-wall photos but I will as soon as I can. I really think this thing quite the unique light and it's won me over completely. Great design by Fenix. Thumbs up :twothumbs
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