Gatsby
Enlightened
I picked up a Leatherman rebranded Fenix L1T v2.0 Cree Q2 in the combo Costco pack - I've been wanting an L1T for some time and this was a heck of a deal (with the Blast going into my car center console as backup).
I have to admit that the L1T really surprised me with how nicely made and useful it is as a task light. It is plenty bright on NiMH cells - seems to be about as bright as my Novatac 85P on max so the 93 lumens rating seems to not be exagerrated very much. Solid build quality, a very crisp and robust feeling forward clickie which is quite useful, and two well chosen light levels. While the low could be lower (I really like a low low but that somewhat necessitates a three level light to have a useful task level) but the low is a nicely chosen level that is pretty useful for most tasks - somewhere in the 15 lumen or so range (it falls between my Novatac primary and secondary levels which are set to 10 and 22 lumens). It would be interesting to get a Lifepo 3.0v 14500 and see how it does - get L2T performance in an L1T form factor...
But what is a really nice surprise is how creamy the beam is - the Q2 has a nice tint and the beam shape is a very smooth and bright hotspot with a clean and smooth transition to a useful sidespill. It is on the slightly floody side and is not a long range spotter, but for medium and short distances it is an excellent beam shape and perfect for around the house tasks - working under the cabinets or sink, etc...
I know it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the digital multi level lights - but the head twist mechanism is reliable and solid, easy to use and understand - and the beam and levels are very well considered for most uses.
It definitely seems to be under the radar and gets very little press - even from Fenix it seems - but should definitely be on folks list when looking for a simple to use and very well designed AA based light.
I have to admit that the L1T really surprised me with how nicely made and useful it is as a task light. It is plenty bright on NiMH cells - seems to be about as bright as my Novatac 85P on max so the 93 lumens rating seems to not be exagerrated very much. Solid build quality, a very crisp and robust feeling forward clickie which is quite useful, and two well chosen light levels. While the low could be lower (I really like a low low but that somewhat necessitates a three level light to have a useful task level) but the low is a nicely chosen level that is pretty useful for most tasks - somewhere in the 15 lumen or so range (it falls between my Novatac primary and secondary levels which are set to 10 and 22 lumens). It would be interesting to get a Lifepo 3.0v 14500 and see how it does - get L2T performance in an L1T form factor...
But what is a really nice surprise is how creamy the beam is - the Q2 has a nice tint and the beam shape is a very smooth and bright hotspot with a clean and smooth transition to a useful sidespill. It is on the slightly floody side and is not a long range spotter, but for medium and short distances it is an excellent beam shape and perfect for around the house tasks - working under the cabinets or sink, etc...
I know it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the digital multi level lights - but the head twist mechanism is reliable and solid, easy to use and understand - and the beam and levels are very well considered for most uses.
It definitely seems to be under the radar and gets very little press - even from Fenix it seems - but should definitely be on folks list when looking for a simple to use and very well designed AA based light.
