Fenix LD01... is this right?

soloz2

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Since my first thread was lost when the server went down??? I'll try this again. I recently purchased a LD01 to be my EDC. I'm a noob when it comes to flashlights! If you would have asked me a short while ago I would have thought maglite was the best. I liked flashlights and have several in each room of my house and in my vehicles! :D but I'm a noob. I ordered a pair of Icon Rogue 2's from woot when they were $13 and that got me thinking that I wanted an EDC. I grabbed out my MagLite Solitare and ordered a Streamlite Nano for my wife's keyring and an eGear Pico for mine. As many of you know the Mag solitare sucks so I immediately began looking for a better light. I ordered the LD01 from Amazon and am torn with it. Here are my issues/questions:

1. It is difficult to change modes. You have to turn it off and on extremely quickly. I thought 2 seconds was the rule. This is definitely 1sec or less. Because of this it is nearly impossible to switch modes single-handed.
2. The beam is super wide and does not project very far. It will light up a wall about 12' wide from about 9' away. I know it's a little light, but I expected more projection from it... more than the 50-60' I'm probably getting.
3. High doesn't seem that much brighter than medium. I think this is due to how floody the beam is. You can tell that it's brighter, but it's not super bright. Again, I know this is a AAA light and it won't work miracles.

I installed a brand new Duraloop in it when I got it. (new to the whole battery thing as well so I purchased a pack of stay charged Duracell just for this purpose.) I did doublecheck and this is the version with the XP-G LED if that makes a difference.
 

Jaiofspam

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ld01 sounds normal to me, it sounds like you need a AA or cr123 light instead ;). you could always run a 10440 in the ld01, that should "wow" you but please read the stickies/thread about proper lithium rechargeable care as there are inherent dangers.
 

tam17

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Newer (XP-G) LD01s have way better runtimes, but somewhat reduced performance compared to older XP-E ones. There's also a floodier beam (generally more suitable for a keychain flashlight) and tints are reported to be more on the greenish side (whilst R2/R3s were often purplish). O-ring needs lubrication (silicone grease) and regular use in order to break in. After a period of use, switching gets easier and single hand operation is possible. UI really requires pretty quick twisting to change between modes (my R4 resets to Medium after just 1 second).

About brightness: since human eye is not a perfect photo-optical instrument, it generally takes twice the lumens to even notice the difference and four times the lumens to perceive it as a doubled brightness. Remember it's 26lm (Med) vs. 72lm (High)...

After hearing all this you may want to search for another keychain flashlight, but after owning two LD01s I've learned to live with their minute shortcomings (like many other owners), since in the bottom line they're finely manufactured, useful and durable little lights.

Cheers
 

Trevtrain

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Hey soloz2. I bought one of the twin-packs several months ago - LD01+E01. The LD01 is supposed to be an XP-G R4.
Comments below.

1. It is difficult to change modes. You have to turn it off and on extremely quickly. I thought 2 seconds was the rule. This is definitely 1sec or less. Because of this it is nearly impossible to switch modes single-handed.

I have found that most of the time I need two hands to change modes reliably. With practice you may find it a bit easier one-handed, and a little thread-lube may help also.
Also, if you haven't fitted the pocket clip you will find it is a lot harder to work it single-handed.

2. The beam is super wide and does not project very far. It will light up a wall about 12' wide from about 9' away. I know it's a little light, but I expected more projection from it... more than the 50-60' I'm probably getting.

I just tested mine and it seems to coincide with your estimates. But keep in mind, as you said "it's a little light".


3. High doesn't seem that much brighter than medium. I think this is due to how floody the beam is. You can tell that it's brighter, but it's not super bright. Again, I know this is a AAA light and it won't work miracles.

Again, that matches mine. There's is not a huge difference between medium and high.
I use Eneloops or Imedion LSDs. As the cell voltage drops, the difference between medium and high becomes somewhat less. This is how I usually notice it's time to change cells. If you have a battery tester, make sure your new Duraloop is reading at least 1.2V, charge it, or even try the light with a fresh Alkaline or Lithium (not Li-Ion) to see if that makes a difference.

I don't see a problem with your light as such, but perhaps with your expectations. Manufacturers and sellers tend to vastly overstate their performance claims so it can be a little disappointing when lights don't quite match up. I am told Fenix are actually one of the more honest in terms of brightness ratings and runtimes.

You say you are a noob with flashlights. Mate, there is so much to lean in here, some very helpful people and some really great resources. When you get time, do a few searches on how they measure runtime and throw ratings. You will find that beam distances quoted are taken to mean that your target is at 0.25lux or about equivalent to a full moon. I know that's a bit too low for my eyes to do anything useful with these days.

Hope this helps.
 

soloz2

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Ok, sounds like my expectations were a bit high. I did read reviews and look at pictures and they were probably the r2 version.

If this is what I can expect then I guess I'll have to learn to live with the limitations or rethink my criteria. I wanted AAA for size. Maybe a very small AA is more what I need?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
 

Trevtrain

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As far as I can tell, AAA "throwers" are a very rare breed. The single AA format may have a few more options but it seems most lights regarded as being "keychain" format are really designed for close area work. Hopefully some others with more knowledge can chime in here with suggestions for you.

FWIW, I picked up a Thrunite ti a little while ago on the $5 promotion. It is about the same size as the LD01 but has much more aggressive knurling; I have no problem operating it one handed.

It is only a two mode twisty and there are a number of reports that suggest the low mode gets harder to find as the spring tab inside flattens a little, but it is also a great little light. The beam is cooler and has a more defined hotspot so throws a "little" better than the LD01 - but don't expect miracles.

Regular price is about $16 delivered I think. Cheap enough that you aren't throwing away heaps of money if it turns out you don't like it.
 

shelm

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OP, maybe the emitter is off-center? the LD01 is throwy. It is the throwiest XP-G R5 (1x AAA) i know of. XP-E R3 would throw further.
also lube the oring. i can operate the UI single handed with no problems.
 

tam17

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the LD01 is throwy

R4 is strictly on par with Solarforce LC-XML (SMO) and a bit floodier than Jetbeam PA40W XM-L (LOP)... XP-E R2/R3 is throwy for sure.

Edit: Of course one can't compare LD01's PBI (with XP-G being around 650cd) to one of 500lm-ish XM-L flashlights - comparing only beam shape and hotspot size, which are very much alike - not really throwy.

Cheers

Tam
 
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Swedpat

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soloz2, :welcome:

I have LD01 stainless steel as my keychain light. Before that I had LOD in black aluminum. One AAA I think it's perfect format for carrying in the keychain.
My personal opinions about LD01: I would prefer it in one mode(medium) instead of the three. Like the most twisties LD01 suffers from jumping over steps now and then, which is annoying. The beam profile I think is very good, a keychain light is mostly used at short distance. As you mention the high is not perceived as dramatically brighter than medium. Stainless steel is recommended for keychain, much more scratch resistant than aluminum.
 

crizyal

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I don't have an LD01 so I'm am not sure how well it throws. I do have a Thrunite Ti and I am very impressed with its ability to get photons down range. It is a 2 mode instead of a three mode. The price more than makes up for this ( around $15). There are two versions, one having a firefly low level and the other having a 3 lumen low. High is 60 lumens on both versions. It seems brighter than most other AAA lights because of the tight beam. It has a progressive interface (twist for low, twist a bit more for high) so one handed operation is very easy. For the price it is definitely worth a look.
 
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soloz2

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I don't have an LD01 so I'm am not sure how well it throws. I do have a Thrunite Ti and I am very impressed with its ability to get photons down range. It is a 2 mode instead of a three mode. The price more than makes up for this ( around $15). There are two versions, one having a firefly low level and the other having a 3 lumen low. High is 60 lumens on both versions. It seems brighter than most other AAA lights because of the tight beam. It has a progressive interface (twist for low, twist a bit more for high) so one handed operation is very easy. For the price it is definitely worth a look.

I had originally looked at it, but now that I know a little more I like how it starts on low and then will go to high mode. Also, there's no messing around with turning it off then on again to switch modes. It's just tighten for high. If it had a pocket clip I'd return the LD01 and get it.
 

GunnarGG

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My LD01 does modeskipping occasionally, doesn't give me much trouble.
It is not very throwy but I like the beam as my EDC light.
I have an old ITP A3 upgraded ( the one with med-low-hing and nasty PWM) and it has a much tighter beam but less output so it doesn't throw further I think.

@Swedpat: Have you tried the E05? Nice little light. Single mode about 30 lumens, floody, nice tint.
 

ScaryFatKidGT

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I never had problems changing modes with a twisty one handed till my D25C Twisty which I sold.

A light that small isn't going to throw.
 

Racer

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Nov 7, 2011
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The Microstream and Ti are the best throwers in my AAA collection. The LD01, not so much.
 
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