I eagerly received my L1T Rebel today. First impressions are mainly positive although there are minor glitches which I hope Fenix can sort out with quality control.
{PLEASE ADD YOUR COMMENTS, BEAMSHOTS,WHATEVER TO GROW THIS THREAD TO MAKE IT AS USEFUL AS POSSIBLE.}
First, the good. Really good! The light is simply incredibly bright, advertised by Fenix as being 90 lumens on high and 15 on low. Although Fenix was known to juice their numbers a bit in their earlier lights, subjectively, these numbers might be on the low side. On high, the L1T is slightly brighter than my Amiite T5 (Seoul), which is said to be 140 lumens and tested at 48.99 throw and 82.50 overall at flashlightreviews.com (Doug, you are missed!) It out throws the CR123 Amilite and has slightly less spill.
On low, both of these lights are rated at 15 lumens; the Fenix is slightlly brighter though. I probably got a very good Rebel emitter unless those new premium 100 Rebels are sneaking into this light unadvertised.
The fit and finish on the outside of the light is very nice. Could have a bit more grip to twist the bezel to switch from low to high but it's not a big deal. I tried the momentary clicky extra switch that is included but ultimately put in back in the box. I prefer the usefulness of a tailcap that can tailstand in candle mode; I use this all the time. With the extra clicky that is rounded and protruding, this is impossible. So, for me, the advantage of tailstanding came out on top over the advantage of momentary on with the extra switch. Still, a nice touch.
I wonder if these may have been rushed out the door. Two cases in point: The instructions were nicely printed on slick paper this time and clearly labeled as the L1T 2.0. As you probably know, this light only has two stages, low and high and that's what I love about it. No annoying clicking through strobe, sos, etc. Yet, the instructions are mistaken in that they are for Fenix' other multi stage lights that are controlled by clicking through the tail. The instuctions list six modes including turbo, etc., and that's a clear mistake in printing.
The second problem is a bit more serious. As others have reported, the head threads are "gritty." Upon closer inspection, a noticeable amount of black anodizing was chipped off the body and landed inside the threads. The threads on the cap were gunked up, too, and it almost seems like the light was wet with paint/annodizing when screwed together; the black color is flecked from the body piece and sort of glued into the cap piece. Nothing shows on the outside luckily but inside it looks pretty rough and feels rough, too. I cleaned both sides for about 45 minutes with alcohol and qtips and then relubed with Magnalube. Much smoother now but it still looks "chipped away" inside the light.
The color of the led is nice. As others have noted it to be slightly warm, I'd describe as slightly yellow but still nice and white. You'd only nitpick the tint when comparing the other lights. I have several Seoul lights which have particularly nice white beams that I use for comparison. Having said that, the new Rebels are brighter than the Seouls, at least at this rapidly fleeting point in time!
One other surprise is that the light is wider than the earlier Fenix AA lights. Takes getting a little getting used to. The head is quite a bit wider and the body slightly wider. Not a big deal, just makes for a slightly less pocketable light than before. Personally, when I want something tiny for the pocket, I'll reach for a CR123 light, a wee CR2, or the smaller yet Orb Raw.
Don't let these comments scare you away. When you turn this thing on, it's VERY IMPRESSIVE! All in all, this light's a winner and a good value for the money, too. Fenix is churning out a dizzingly large array of options these days and always is meeting fast changes in the marketplace. In the process of putting out some darned fine lights, I hope they'll put an eye toward the best in quality control, too.
{PLEASE ADD YOUR COMMENTS, BEAMSHOTS,WHATEVER TO GROW THIS THREAD TO MAKE IT AS USEFUL AS POSSIBLE.}
First, the good. Really good! The light is simply incredibly bright, advertised by Fenix as being 90 lumens on high and 15 on low. Although Fenix was known to juice their numbers a bit in their earlier lights, subjectively, these numbers might be on the low side. On high, the L1T is slightly brighter than my Amiite T5 (Seoul), which is said to be 140 lumens and tested at 48.99 throw and 82.50 overall at flashlightreviews.com (Doug, you are missed!) It out throws the CR123 Amilite and has slightly less spill.
On low, both of these lights are rated at 15 lumens; the Fenix is slightlly brighter though. I probably got a very good Rebel emitter unless those new premium 100 Rebels are sneaking into this light unadvertised.
The fit and finish on the outside of the light is very nice. Could have a bit more grip to twist the bezel to switch from low to high but it's not a big deal. I tried the momentary clicky extra switch that is included but ultimately put in back in the box. I prefer the usefulness of a tailcap that can tailstand in candle mode; I use this all the time. With the extra clicky that is rounded and protruding, this is impossible. So, for me, the advantage of tailstanding came out on top over the advantage of momentary on with the extra switch. Still, a nice touch.
I wonder if these may have been rushed out the door. Two cases in point: The instructions were nicely printed on slick paper this time and clearly labeled as the L1T 2.0. As you probably know, this light only has two stages, low and high and that's what I love about it. No annoying clicking through strobe, sos, etc. Yet, the instructions are mistaken in that they are for Fenix' other multi stage lights that are controlled by clicking through the tail. The instuctions list six modes including turbo, etc., and that's a clear mistake in printing.
The second problem is a bit more serious. As others have reported, the head threads are "gritty." Upon closer inspection, a noticeable amount of black anodizing was chipped off the body and landed inside the threads. The threads on the cap were gunked up, too, and it almost seems like the light was wet with paint/annodizing when screwed together; the black color is flecked from the body piece and sort of glued into the cap piece. Nothing shows on the outside luckily but inside it looks pretty rough and feels rough, too. I cleaned both sides for about 45 minutes with alcohol and qtips and then relubed with Magnalube. Much smoother now but it still looks "chipped away" inside the light.
The color of the led is nice. As others have noted it to be slightly warm, I'd describe as slightly yellow but still nice and white. You'd only nitpick the tint when comparing the other lights. I have several Seoul lights which have particularly nice white beams that I use for comparison. Having said that, the new Rebels are brighter than the Seouls, at least at this rapidly fleeting point in time!
One other surprise is that the light is wider than the earlier Fenix AA lights. Takes getting a little getting used to. The head is quite a bit wider and the body slightly wider. Not a big deal, just makes for a slightly less pocketable light than before. Personally, when I want something tiny for the pocket, I'll reach for a CR123 light, a wee CR2, or the smaller yet Orb Raw.
Don't let these comments scare you away. When you turn this thing on, it's VERY IMPRESSIVE! All in all, this light's a winner and a good value for the money, too. Fenix is churning out a dizzingly large array of options these days and always is meeting fast changes in the marketplace. In the process of putting out some darned fine lights, I hope they'll put an eye toward the best in quality control, too.
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