Review, Fenix L2D Q5 (textured reflector) pic heavy

[3wolves]

Hi guys,
I ordered a fenix L2D Q5 from lighthound a while ago and I've had it for a couple days now. (lighthound was awsome BTW, my order arrived a week before I expected it). Mine is the OD green finish and I got the textured reflector. It takes two AA batteries which are widely avaliable and cheap. You can purchase a shorter body tube to make the light half it's size. It has 6 output modes for maximum versatility. It is waterproof to IPX-8 standards (I have no Idea what that means) and has a clicky switch on the tail.


Initial impressions

It's very light and compact, I can carry it in my pocket very comfortably. The fit and finish is top notch, even the inside of the barell and the threads are clean and lubricated. The lettering is actually engraved, not just painted on like most stuff. The switch cover is made of a thick durable rubber material which should hold up well, I hate when the button tears a hole through cheaper ones. A holster, lanyard, spare switch cover and 2 spare o-rings are included in the box. I put my own lanyard on it with a glow in the dark cord end.







Size comparison to a BRKT bravo-1 and Spyderco mini manix,



Why I love orange,



To be continued.

[3wolves]

Continued,

Grip/ergonomics

The multilevel body won't let the light slip easily, it could use some knurling though. A hex shaped portion would be nice to stop the light from rolling around. The switch is uncomfortable to turn on but tapping it to change the mode is easy.



Holster

Very plain and simple but etremely practical. It's made out of nylon and holds the light securely and has an extra wide belt loop. I might modify it to hold a SAK and the red lens filter (I use it so I don't disturb sleeping people). It's easy to carry in a pocket but I wish there was a clip.



Output

General,

low,
12 lumens, lasts for 55 hours according to fenix, It's about the same brightness as an AA mini maglight, maybe a little more. All of the pics that follow only show the hotspot (poorly), the actuall light is waay more intense and bright. I'm just puuting them up to show the difference.



Medium,

53 lumens, last for 10.5hrs. I find this setting Ideal for a perfect balance of battery consumption and brightness.



High,

107 lumens, lasts for 4hrs. As bright as you would ever need IMO. This mode has the farthest throw on the general setting.



SOS,

IMO, it's a thorougly useless feature. I don't know any time I would need to signal someone with the morse code and most people wouldn't even know what it was. I guess if you were signalling an aircraft in a survival situation it might be usefull but the strobe would get someones attention waaaay faster. I would much prefer another light output.

Turbo,

turbo,

180 lumens and lasts for 2.4 hours. Extremely bright, I can light up an entire street with it. The downside is that you can only use it for 10 minutes at a time. I never really bother with it because of that.



Strobe,

I absolutely love this feature. I'll admit, I probably won't use it all that much (exept for fun) but it can come in handy in the event of a car breakdown at night or something. It would also probably scare the crap out of an intruder at night. I tried getting peoples attention from far away with it and it worked like a charm. I don't know haw long the battery lasts with this though.

Durability

Not the toughest light on the planet but it should survive almost anything that could realistically happen to a flashlight. The anodizing is type III which is very tough and scratch resistant.

Cons

There aren't that many, the sos feature is the main one. Some hex shaped parts would be nice to prevent rolling as well. I wish the turbo mode could be used for more than 10 mins at a time but the highest setting on general is more that bright enough.

Overall

I love this light! It's hands down my favorite and I would buy another one in a heartbeat if I lost this. I'm looking at getting an E01 for my keychain as well. Definately reccomended.

[TONY M]

The turbo mode can be used untill the battery runs out as long as the light does not heat up too much. The recommended 10min guideline would only be an issue if the light is in a warm environment or well insulated in a pocket or similar place.

I'm glad you like the L2D, it is one of my favourites mainly because it does so well of NIMH AA cells and has superb regulation and runtime. I've had a couple of them and am using one (smooth reflector) as a helmet mounted bikelight at present which it is very good for!

[Niconical]

Good review, and a nice lanyard

[TONY M]

I'm looking at getting an E01 for my keychain as well.

The E01 is well worth considering too. I also love it for its super runtime and regulation on alkalines, toughness (though the anodizing will wear) and value.

[5.0Trunk]

I have one and I cannot tell the difference between Low & Med. In your pictures, I can actually see a difference. I wonder if mine has a problem?

Thanks

[cl0123]

Thanks for the review. I just got mine and will put one of them in the office to make use of our AA primaries stockpile. The "loosening bezel" user-interface is a little bit awkward to me and hopefully I will get used to it.

Nice lanyard!

With Aloha,

Clarence

[JWP_EE]

Some really nice pictures!!!

I can tell you took some time to think about background and composing the shot. Something I have never been very good it.

EDIT: I look forward to some of your E01 shots when you get it. I have an E01, L2D, and an L0D.

[Gunner12]

The rules say pictures have to be 800 x 600 or less.

The Turbo mode can run fine for as long as the battery lasts. The 10 minutes thing only applies if you are working under that mid-day sun in the desert, working in an oven, or have the light left on in an insulated area like a coat pocket or tail standing by itself with no wind (just put it in a cup of water to deal with the heat).

The lanyard looks really nice.

[chewy78]

Good review and nice pictures. I've had mine l2d q5 od for since winter and it has been a rock solid, tried and true light. Runs well off of duraloop aa's

Good choice.

[frosty]

Like the others have said before. Very nice pics, especially the outdoors ones.

[Toohotruk]

Is that a toilet on it's side in that pic? Just curious...




Great choice for a light, I've just recently gotten into Fenix lights and I love them!

[TONY M]

I have one and I cannot tell the difference between Low & Med. In your pictures, I can actually see a difference. I wonder if mine has a problem?

Thanks

The difference between low and medium is not enormous but you should be able to see it. Try taking a beamshot of both settings and see if there is a difference and remember that cameras show up minor differences in brightness much more than the human eye does.
Like most others I feel that the low mode is not low enough on the L2D however I do appreciate that it will run for over 50 hours on that setting.

[etc]

Thanks for the review.

[3wolves]

Thanks everyone. I'm looking to get a pocket clip for it, anyone know where I can get one? It sure is nice to know that you can use turbo mode for more than 10 minutes.

Is that a toilet on it's side in that pic? Just curious...




Great choice for a light, I've just recently gotten into Fenix lights and I love them!

Yeah. We pulled it out a month ago and just dumped it there until we could decide what to do with it.

[Toohotruk]

That's cool...I have one in my backyard too!

[etc]

Long - term reliability however is questionable, I had two failures in one year. I know I can have it replaced under warranty, but imagine experiencing a failure in dire circumstances.

[Woods Walker]

Nice lanyard. Have the same light in OD. Just a darn good light in my view.

[edap617]

I also have a Fenix L2D Q5 with OP reflector. Mine does not have a reverse polarity protection.

I got another Fenix, a L1D Q5 with smooth reflector last July and it has a reverse polarity proctector on its circuit board. I guess all new Fenix lights are now eqiped with reverse polarity protector.