So I Held My First Fenix Light Today...

Hey all!

I was in my local outdoors store today with a gift card burning a hole in my pocket, and I noticed a decent selection of Fenix flashlights. I am normally a Streamlight and Surefire kind of guy, but I asked to see one due to all the hype on here, and I thought maybe I would pick one up.

I asked to see the RC05 because of its dual fuel capability, it's decent output, and compact size. My first impression was that it felt as solid as a Streamlight, but not as solid as a Surefire.

I clicked the light on and my impression changed; it felt very cheap, and for momentary, I had to push almost to the point of clicking! I liked the concept of the second button to change between brightness modes, but that button also felt really cheap and way too easy to switch when I don't want to. Just a personal opinion, but I also did not like the clip design.

I decided not to get it, and looked up more info when I got home. The magnetic charging feature seemed pretty cool when I was in the store, but when I found out it uses a proprietary cable, I liked it much less. I also noticed the warranty is only 5 years as opposed to most other companies offering lifetime. The warranty also seemed to have some weird rules about where you buy it from and how to return it for work.

So anyway, after my first experience with Fenix lights, I am forced to ask...what makes these lights so great and a better choice than similarly priced models of other brands?

Thanks!

The suspense is killing me. What did you do with the gift card?

Modernflame said:

The suspense is killing me. What did you do with the gift card?

Click to expand...

Nothing yet

I have been using an HP25 headlamp for camping for several years, and it's really well suited to the task. The dedicated flood reflector is great for around the campsite, and brightness is easily adjusted to conserve battery life and night vision. The dedicated spot reflector is great for dispelling any doubts about things in the woods beyond your campsite that "go bump in the night," which another headlamp with only a flood reflector wouldn't be able to do. That might sound trivial, but in practice it can mean the difference between a good night's sleep or not when you're in the mountains and you're not 100% sure that your food bag is totally out of reach of bears. Between the two reflectors, you can adjust the light for night hiking in a variety of conditions, which is great because sometimes the trail is easily followed and sometimes it's faint or covered in leaves so you need a ton of light to be available on tap. The fact that it takes AA batteries is great for resupplying on a long trip, although requiring four of them adds borderline too much weight. Plastic construction is not great, but it's waterproof and seems to be pretty tough plastic.

At the time when I got it, it really stood out for being so useful and capable. All my other headlamps at the time were made by Petzl and were all incandescent. The other Petzls on the store shelves at the time were a mix of incandescent and floody/dim LEDs. I think the market has changed a lot in the past 5 years, but I guess what I'm getting at is that Fenix has succeeded in catering to specific niches with some of their lights in the past, but I can't speak for all of their models or to the state of the market today.

I've never owned a Fenix, but I notice that they've taken over some valuable retail space at several nearby sporting goods stores. That's an interesting move from a marketing perspective. It will likely put Fenix lights into the hands of people who otherwise might not place an order via the internet.

Fenix makes a good light. I have several and have had zero problems with them. If you can ever get your hands on a old school TK20 you will know what solid feels like. They are what they are.

Was the store REI and was it an rc05se with a clicky tailswitch? If so I have one of those and like it quite a lot. Yes the magnectic cable is proprietary but it also is a micro USB cable in addition to having the proprietary part. I like it becuase it will charge regular non proprietary 14500s which future proofs it. Mode spacing on a 14500 is good to me but you loose turbo on a nimh or other aa. Tint and cct are cool white but not ugly. Switch is a bit difficult becuase its recessed to allow tailstanding but I'm fine with that. Worst part of the light is the clip. Its not deep enough for me and just seems like they spent too much time trying to make it bidirectional to get it right either way. If you can get past the clip its very much a solid light. They would also have a uc35 v2.0 if you want to go 18650, that is traditional micro USB without the magnetic connector. I have other fenix light as well and they've all been solidly built and reliable. They arnt "innovators" but thats fine for me becuase the lights end up simpler with less blinking modes and such I have never needed. For those that need a functional light that pretty much just works they are a solid choice in my experiance.

Fenix's LED multi-mode lights came about in the age when Surefire was still incandescent-only; nobody questions Surefire's battle-ready quality and feel, but a light that traded a bit of that for a lot more interface options and output was/is of course popular. As with anything, it comes down to your preference and application; if you're a quality and feel guy and want something that takes that farther than Surefire, look instead to models from Cool Fall and McGizmo..

I haven't seen a Fenix in a local store. I wish I had. They seem to get a lot of great feedback online.

Repsol600rr said:

Was the store REI and was it an rc05se with a clicky tailswitch? If so I have one of those and like it quite a lot. Yes the magnectic cable is proprietary but it also is a micro USB cable in addition to having the proprietary part. I like it becuase it will charge regular non proprietary 14500s which future proofs it. Mode spacing on a 14500 is good to me but you loose turbo on a nimh or other aa. Tint and cct are cool white but not ugly. Switch is a bit difficult becuase its recessed to allow tailstanding but I'm fine with that. Worst part of the light is the clip. Its not deep enough for me and just seems like they spent too much time trying to make it bidirectional to get it right either way. If you can get past the clip its very much a solid light. They would also have a uc35 v2.0 if you want to go 18650, that is traditional micro USB without the magnetic connector. I have other fenix light as well and they've all been solidly built and reliable. They arnt "innovators" but thats fine for me becuase the lights end up simpler with less blinking modes and such I have never needed. For those that need a functional light that pretty much just works they are a solid choice in my experiance.

Click to expand...

It was REI! The problem with the switch wasn't that it was recessed; I tried doing momentary multiple times and accidentally clicked it on. There is too much force needed to use momentary.

I agree it is a bit trickier than I like as well. I got mostly used to it but I occasionally do get the full click when I didnt want it. I'm ok with the trade off generally becuase I like tailstanding a lot and im sure they could have made it easier to momentary if the switch wasnt recessed. All that being said for pretty much exactly the same price ill take either of my zebralight sc52s as an edc.

Repsol600rr said:

I agree it is a bit trickier than I like as well. I got mostly used to it but I occasionally do get the full click when I didnt want it. I'm ok with the trade off generally becuase I like tailstanding a lot and im sure they could have made it easier to momentary if the switch wasnt recessed. All that being said for pretty much exactly the same price ill take either of my zebralight sc52s as an edc.

Click to expand...

I agree it works better for tail-standing, and when at home it is useful. However, as a backup light for work where I find myself in the occasional tactical situation, I need the momentary to be used easily. I'll have to look at Zebralight.

Nephron44 said:

I agree it works better for tail-standing, and when at home it is useful. However, as a backup light for work where I find myself in the occasional tactical situation, I need the momentary to be used easily. I'll have to look at Zebralight.

Click to expand...

Zebralight doesn't do momentary, but is my recommendation for EDC..

StarHalo said:

Zebralight doesn't do momentary, but is my recommendation for EDC..

Click to expand...

Bummer, I guess I'll just stick to Streamlight and Surefire.

I have several of both streamlights and surefires. Those a both well regarded for that type of application. I'm actually actively trying to resist buying an edcl1-t, knowing full well I'll break down at some point Becuase I just love the 2 stage gas pedal switches like on my older a2's. Also check out malkoff devices. Some great stuff for that kind of application. Might be able to find what youre looking for there.

Repsol600rr said:

I have several of both streamlights and surefires. Those a both well regarded for that type of application. I'm actually actively trying to resist buying an edcl1-t, knowing full well I'll break down at some point Becuase I just love the 2 stage gas pedal switches like on my older a2's. Also check out malkoff devices. Some great stuff for that kind of application. Might be able to find what youre looking for there.

Click to expand...

I go between an EDCL1-T and a 2-T. Trust me, you definitely want to get your hands on either one!

Fenix was an important player in the early LED flashlight game. They provided competent lights with decent quality, for affordable prices. I own a couple of them (tucked away in drawers, because I couldn't get much on resale). Fenix has gradually evolved, but Olight leapfrogged ahead of them. I'm much more partial to Olight. Fenix does have some respectable lights. But overall, for the price, I just think there are better values out there.

I've been a "Fenix guy" for a number of years now. I think they really have product lines that are very different from eachother. If you want lights that are "most similar" to Surefire lights then you should be looking at their TK line. I've had a TK11 I've used for years now and it just is a brick with a great switch. Light on.... Light off. That simple. The only SF light I own is a G2X pro. I can see why people love the high end SF lights, but they just cost too much in my opinion and I've never really had one of the better quality Fenix lights just stop working or what not. Especially over the last 10 years I don't think there is one single "best" company out there, but SF, Fenix, Olight, etc., are all up there in quality. There might be more consistency in terms of quality across the line in terms of overall quality from a company like SF, but then again I'd hope so since their lights are so expensive. Also surprisingly I like some of their "E" series (economy?) the best. The E20 and newer in that line are great lights and very straightforward for non-flashlight people, but still built really tough.

I've had fenix lights for 3 years now, from a little light like the RC09 to a big light like the TK75. Never had the lights fail. Only had a bit of fogging on my pd35 that was my fault but the light still worked. Fenix store covered it under warranty and shipped my light back within a week. I recommend them highly. If you do want a more "tank" of a light look into the TK series.

Nephron44 said:

It was REI! The problem with the switch wasn't that it was recessed; I tried doing momentary multiple times and accidentally clicked it on. There is too much force needed to use momentary.

Click to expand...

I was going to ask you if this was REI. I was in there recently and noticed this light in the display case.