Re: Fenix T-1 Review, From a Tactical Perspective w/Outdoor Beamshots Added
I thought this would be the most adequate place to post my review, since I was in Will's class this past weekend and got to shoot almost exclusively with the T1 throughoutt the day. Now that I've read Will's review (I hadn't before I wrote mine) I see we agree on the salient points, some of which we discussed out on the range.
Fenix T1 review
I received a sample T1 for testing from Fenix-store.com – major :thanks: to 4sevens and his crew! Since I was taking an Advanced Low Light/Night Fire handgun class over the weekend, and fellow CPF'ers and other experienced firearms instructors were teaching the class, it seemed the ideal setting to evaluate Fenix's entry into "tactical" lights.
The class has 2 main components dealing with the proper use of a flashlight and a handgun in a low-light scenario requiring the use of handguns:
- Learn and practice fundamental techniques to properly manipulate and effectively use a handgun and a flashlight at the same time
- Work through force-on-force scenarios while searching and clearing dark environments
A total of 500-600 rounds of ammunition were used during the class. I was using a G19 pistol, but also shot half-a-dozen rounds with a .45. I used the T1 almost exclusively throughout the day of training. My backup "tactical" light was a SF e2e-HA-BK, which I used a couple of times when I dropped the T1 while executing the drills. I avoided reading any of the other T1 reviews to prevent me from steering myself away from my impressions. While there are a plethora of "tactical" circumstances, when I use that word here I refer to using a flashlight in conjunction with a handgun to identify threats, aid in marksmanship, aid in clearing enclosed structures, and as a tool for communicating with and controlling aggressors (without actual physical contact).
General impressions:
The T1 has aesthetically pleasing modern design lines. The flared tailcap seems a bit out of place, but it doesn't stick out as a sore thumb either in terms of looks. It tail-stands OK, but a 3-point base is not exactly a stable platform given how much weight in the bezel.
Finish is smooth, and anodizing is homogenous throughout. The clip looks and feels sturdy; it does move a bit sideways when enough pressure is applied, but it's not lose at all – it secures the flashlight to a pocket really well. I lost count of how many times I dropped the light (some accidentally, some times on purpose) onto the gravel surface on the range. At one point I kicked it a few times while on the ground, just to see how much anodizing I could damage. I think we even stepped on it a couple of times. I can count less than a dozen small dings in the anodizing (all but one are less than 1 mm long).
We even tossed it across a room; it landed on an area rug, bounced upwards a couple of feet and then landed on concrete. One of the tailcap flares got squished a bit, but the consequent damage to the anodizing is similar to the other scratches (and the light still tailstands). This is the only time during the entire day the light failed. I've traced the problem back to either the switch retaining ring becoming loose from earlier abuse, or the entire tailcap becoming ever so slightly lose from the impact. I think the latter is the more plausible explanation, as I've had the light fail again after I tightened the switch retaining ring extra hard and dropped the light on the tail end a couple of times. Screwing the tailcap a bit harder brings the light back to operation.
The bezel of the light is large and hefty, and the battery tube is *thick*. The entire light makes me think of a hybrid between the trusty ol' Pelican M6 and the Pila GL3 Commendatore in terms of "built-as-tank/though-as-nails" construction. I'm sure the stainless steel bezel will add a great degree of impact protection (rest assured I'll be testing this statement as I tortur… I mean, test this light further).
I was surprised to find 2 o-rings near the bezel. There's a single o-ring near the tailcap. It pretty much rained all day yesterday. I left the light soaking in soapy water overnight (it had blood and gun-residue all over it after the day was over) with no sign of water leakage inside.
The switch has a nice, positive feeling, and functions well either in momentary or click-on/off modes. I realized earlier today the rubber button has GID particles embedded in it. I can't comment on its glow performance just yet.
Performance as a tactical light:
Beam quality, brightness:
I experienced no malfunctions with the T1 during the entire class (aside from that incident with the switch, but that was after the class). The beam is very smooth, with a nice hotspot and a nice, wide corona. The Q5 emitter in the T1 outshines the P3D Q5, and is so bright that almost completely overshadows the beam of a new MN03 lamp and new batteries in a SF e2e. In fact, the beam is so bright that, by 4pm (@ 45º latitude on a rainy day) and from about 15-20 m away, I could clearly see the beam of the T1 illuminating the threat area. I couldn't really see the beam of my e2e. Actually, I couldn't see the beams of any of the other flashlights being used at that time. The T1 was, by far, the brightest light out on the firing line, and I had a couple of people wanting to know where to get one.
I was impressed by the throw of the T1 – very, very nice. I had no trouble illuminating the threat area from more than 20 m away. The spill is also very nice and smooth and complements the overall beam quality very nicely. After dark there were some exercises where we needed to sort out threats from innocent bystanders, fellow armed citizens, etc. At medium to short-range distances (less than 20 meters), I had no trouble keeping track of things in front of me, beyond, and on the sides with the T1's beam. I also tried to shine the light at a distance rifle target a few hundred meters away, but it was too rainy and windy for me to get a consistent fix on it (too much light scattered by the rain flying almost horizontally – did I mention it was windy?).
I had trouble with the T1 while shooting behind cover. This is where the darned thing proved *too bright*! I consistently got half-blinded by the sidespill reflecting off the white barrels we were using for cover. I overcame this problem by using the FBI flashlight technique but that's not always a viable solution. Too much sidespill not only damages your night-vision, but it also "back-lights" you, making you more apparent to your potential opponents – not something you want to happen when the bad guys are looking for you!
I believe this would be even more problematic when clearing a building where normally walls are light-colored and there's a whole lot more light reflected off walls in all directions. Other than working with your flashlight techniques, or making a deeper reflector, I can't think of any other way of overcoming this problem. I could
try to switch to low mode you say? Yeah, if I had 4 hands! Not a chance to do it easily, even when my strong hand is not busy with a gun. So, in open areas and in medium- to short-range distances, the T1 works great. Working behind cover and clearing inside a building might be problematic.
Flashlight techniques:
I tried several different flashlight techniques with the T1. I had no problem holding onto the light (activating the switch was a different story) in the FBI grip or the Harries, both of which allow full grip on the light. However, I couldn't reliably hold (or activate) the light in a SureFire/Rogers grip, or any other side-by-side techniques for that matter. A couple of things make these techniques nearly impossible:
The body of the light is too smooth, so there's really no way for your finger to "grip" the surface of the light. Again and again, my fingers slipped back towards the tailcap. It rained most of the day; my hands were wet and numb, and during one of the force-on-force simulations I was bleeding from my support hand while holding the light…I quickly discovered fresh blood is very slippery… not good.
Fenix needs to make the knurling more aggressive to enhance the grip on the flashlight. An alternative would be to machine a "stop" edge near the end of the battery tube, or at the base of the tailcap.
Any protruding edge stopping the light from slipping from one's fingers would be an improvement. Please don't make a curved edge like what's near the bezel. My fingers would only slide over the "hill" – the edge has to provide a positive detent. I guess you could also place a couple of thick o-rings right on that groove right under the clip… oh, yeah, the clip… more on that later.
The only way I found of keeping a good grip on the light was to place my fingers on top of the clip, so one of my fingers rested near the bottom of the clip, where it curves upward. Now, that prevented the light from slipping through my finger. However, there's no way in you-know-where that I'm going to reproduce that fine-motor skill under full adrenal stress. Even if I could do that, there's the next problem:
The flared tailcap is gimmicky and gets in the way. 
I simply cannot activate the switch when holding the light in the SF/Rogers grip. For starters, the flares, act as a barrier stopping the base of my hand from pressing onto the switch. Depending on how the flares are oriented, I can (when I'm lucky) activate the light. Unfortunately, the flares then bite into my hand, and as soon as I let go of the light (remember, it slips out of my grip!), I need to think again about the way to activate the light again. This is definitely not a good thing.
The flared tailcap has to go! Maybe somewhere along the continuum of force those could be used as impact devices… maybe… but I even find the e2d weird to operate in a "syringe" grip.
OK, so I could try another side-by-side grip, right? Sure, but the darned flares get in the way of working the switch again! It's a lot easier to do than when using the SF/Rogers grip, but once in a while, I'd hit a flare with the bony part of my thumb and not reach the switch button immediately. Did I mention
the flared tailcap has to go? I can almost hear someone saying: "but then the light won't tailstand"… well, I don't care! If a gun is out, you are NOT going to invite your "guest" over for a game of poker under the candle light.
The flared tailcap has to go. Period.
Other "features":
I think the
2 modes in the T1 are a great feature to have. However, it's hard enough to switch between them with 2 "free" hands (the clip gets in the way, and often I end up twisting the tailcap off and not changing the output mode).
It simply cannot be done once a gun is out. I don't see a way around this. Trying to program the board so a sequence of clicks activates one level over the other will only lead to confusion and would reduce the effectiveness of this light in a tactical setting. As much as I love 2-stage lights, this is one "feature" :green: that I would not mind see dropped from this light. It's simply impractical to have.
Get rid of the two stages if this is to be a tactical light.
I have no idea why
the tailcap button has to be orange. It wouldn't matter if it's pink – you won't see it in the dark! Oh, yeah, that's why it has
GID specks embedded into the rubber…
The last things I'm going to be looking at when my gun is out are the color of the tailcap button, and whether it has GID or not. I will find the tail switch by feel, and that's all that matters. OK, assuming those darned flared doesn't get in the way.
Me likey the
sturdy clip. It's a little on the "big" side, but everything on the T1 seems geared to being that way, so it doesn't stand out too much as not fitting into the general design. I had the light clipped to my pants all day today, and it worked great. Back to its "tactical" functionality… :thinking: I'd prefer to have a "grip" ring and not a clip. The light is large enough that it's probably going to end up in a holster, so why have a clip? Last night I had the T1 in my coat pocket, so the clip wasn't really providing any positive functionality to the light.
I noticed also that the clip is rubbing off the anodizing. Not a major thing, but I figured I'd mention it. I have another gripe with the clip – it gets in the way of changing modes. I want to be able to hold onto the body of the light and turn the bezel. Wait, can't do that, because the clip is attached to the bezel and I'm holding onto the clip…
I like how the
stainless steel bezel ring looks. It's obviously thick and strong enough to protect the bezel of the light. However, the very first thing I did to it when I got the light was to pull out the file on my Leatherman and smooth out those edges – they're sharp! I guess a little tumbling would get rid of those. Again, nothing major, but I thought I'd mention it. I don't think it'd matter in terms of the bezel ring being used as an impact surface. :devil:
Final thoughts and ramblings:
I have mixed feelings about the T1: On one hand, it's very well built, looks nice, as far as I can tell has excellent anodizing quality, bright as they come, beautiful beam, great throw, etc. Unfortunately, based on my experience using it in conjunction with a handgun, I have my reservations about the T1's functionality as a "tactical" light. Don't get me wrong, it's not that it can't be used as such – it excels in a lot of tactical features. However, there are enough "little" things that make me think Fenix was trying too hard to fit too many features into a single light and some major characteristics of a serious tactical light were overlooked.
I mean… GID rubber button, flared tailcap? I dunno, guys. That's all fine and dandy if you're an armchair mall ninja (those are the deadliest), but out in the real world,
those things aren't going to give you the edge against an armed opponent (that's what "tactics" is all about, not the looks of something). I'll probably upset some people with this, but somebody's got to say it: We all know Fenix listens to CPF'ers input. I see many of the things people "wish for" in this light: 2 modes, candle mode, GID button, clip, etc. It's OK to want all those things but,
in this case, putting them all together actually diminishes the intrinsic utility of the light for tactical purposes.
Improve the grip on the body, get rid of the flared tailcap, streamline the interface (drop one mode), forget the clip (or change it so it doesn't get in the way of the modes) – those are the things that are going to help me use this light more effectively while a gun is out. So, as it stands, I think the Fenix T1 is an outstanding light but, by a combination of small factors, it fails to deliver in the very area it's intended for. I can only hope that Fenix continues to be open to feedback from CPF'ers and decides to incorporate features that would improve the performance of this light in serious tactical circumstances (and get rid of those features that are getting in the way).
Finally, I want to reiterate my appreciation to 4sevens for rushing this light out so we could have it on time for the class. :bow:
