rcv'd LD05 yesterday. waiting on the Al Preon kit. i'll use the Preon exclusively as a 2xAAA (so, why did i get the kit? i'm asking myself the same question). Since the Preon lacks the "moonlight" mode, an LF2XT is still required for those really low [white] light req'd situations.
i've been carrying the LF2XT and a LD01 head +SL StylusPro2xAAA body with some spare cells in a batt. caddy. due to two of the plastic retention springs on my 6xAAA battery caddy being overstressed and breaking through "fiddling" with them (fault mine), i needed to take a Dremel (cut-off wheel followed by grinding stone) to the caddy and it's now a 4xAAA caddy which is even easier to carry.
i had high hopes that the LD05 would replace my "franken-light", but that probably won't happen.
here's my observations on these two lights:
0. the following is based upon what i personally would want in a 2xAAA light and is not a comparison with other small lights (e.g., 1xCR2 or a small 1xCR123 twisty which i personally feel are superior performing lights, primarily due to the lithium power source and maximal brightness of CR123A lights).
1. LD05 is too long and too thick (as far as a 2xAAA light goes).
2. my FL (aka "franken-light") is shorter by the length of the "head" of the LD05 and significantly thinner diameter. it is a so much smaller package. side-by-side, i wonder why the LD05 was designed to be a so much larger package. i shake my head in incredulity at the obvious difference in size.
3. the clickie is far superior on the LD05 - very nice, IMO. the SL clickie on the FL has a terrible feel - perhaps the worst clickie (that still reliably works) that comes to mind right now. the SL clickie *is* a Fwd. clickie.
4. low mode on the LD05 is far lower than than the LD01 head driven by 2xAAA alkaline (which o.p. light closer to what one would expect from a Li-ion powered LD01 - yeah, i know, not recommended, IIRC, but tests have been done and published using a 10440 Li-ion cell). this too high a low (at least until the voltage drops on the cells), and the clickie, on the FL are my only "crabs" about the FL.
5. max output on both lights have different characteristics. by eye, the lumen o.p. of the LD05 might be greater than the FL by a bit, but the hot spot of the LD01 head is more defined and very clearly brighter than the brightest portion of the LD05, so more throw is expected from the FL. the LD05 has a very nice beam pattern, IMO, but i have not complaints about the LD01 head beam pattern and find it quite useful and not at all objectionable.
6. burntimes??? don't know. i used the FL for about 6wks on its lowest setting (which started out way too bright, but after a several weeks use, dimmed to an o.p. level similar to the LD05 on LOW, but continued for weeks more at this low level) with only a few minutes of burntime on MED and HI (certainly less than 20min total) and the cells still checked out at ~10% SOC on my ZTS MBT-1. cell voltage was around +1VDC on each cell, IIRC. only changed out the cells b/c i knew that i was going to need a brighter light for a situation i was planning on being in later that day (MED and HI had noticeably dimmed as well). this setup is a real "tron" vampire, sucking every last "tron" out of them cells. if the LD01 operates down to +1VDC (thought i read that somewhere some time ago), then perhaps it would continue to operate until each cell was ~+0.5VDC??? i would expect burntime to be at the very least comparable to the LD05, but my, apparently erroneous, impression was that the LD01 burned for a longer period of time compared to LD05 published figures for its low output. i say "apparently erroneous" b/c i wonder why Fenix would not use the same, or very similar, electronic design in the LD05 as in the LD01, but perhaps the didn't - i haven't checked to see if this issue is discussed anywhere.
so, at this point the LD05 has quickly found its way into a drawer - it's just far bigger than i want a 2xAAA light to be. i hope that the Preon will be an acceptable replacement for the FL. it's shorter than the LD05, but has approx. the same diameter according published figures. i'm hoping that its brighter high might make it appeal to me so that i replace the FL with it. Or, the lower low might replace the LF2XT (which i have configured to three levels with the lowest at a 1% o.p. level, the others being left at the default 15% and 50% levels - of course, 100% o.p. level is always available as a momentary o.p.), and i'll end up carrying the Preon and FL (when i want to carry AAA lights versus small CR2 and/or small CR123A twisty lights).
my two shekels. hope this info proves useful to someone.
