A blast from the past: Whatever happened to your Fenix L1P?

[Afraid-of-the-dark]

Still have it. It's now slightly used, abused, and scratched up but '"click" let their be light' it still works just fine with the latest NiMH.

Simple is good.

(...as an aside I bought one of those nifty kydex holsters from Litemania that holds the light & a spare battery and this increases the light's utility significantly for me)

 

[cy]

ARC LS first run holds title to world's first mass produced 1x AA Luxeon light.

without question Fenix was first quality production light from China. prior to Fenix, mass produced LED lights from China were in general... low quality.

along with Fenix, 4sevens was a pioneer in marketing quality Chinese lights. to 4sevens credit, he set the bar for quality customer service. CPF of course had a large role in this evolution.

Chinese lights are no different from any other consumer product. local representation is needed when something breaks. how repairs are addressed directly reflects perception of quality.

What a blast from the past! I can't believe that was two years ago!
Before the L1P, the only 1xAA lights were 5mm LED lights. The L1P was
the first mass produced Luxeon 1xAA light. I believe one of the reasons
for it's wild success is due to the single AA source - which is probably
the worlds most common battery!

My L1P is locked away in my safe with a lithium AA inside

 

[4sevens]

ARC LS first run holds title to world's first mass produced 1x AA Luxeon light.

without question Fenix was first quality production light from China. prior to Fenix, mass produced LED lights from China were in general... low quality.

along with Fenix, 4sevens was a pioneer in marketing quality Chinese lights. to 4sevens credit, he set the bar for quality customer service. CPF of course had a large role in this evolution.

Chinese lights are no different from any other consumer product. local representation is needed when something breaks. how repairs are addressed directly reflects perception of quality.

Cy, I stand corrected. Perhaps the L1P was the first 1x AA with a clicky The LS was primarily
a 3v light. Even the later kroll bodies were 2xAA right? But some people cut down the 2AA body
and rethreaded it for the kroll. You probably know better
what kind of production quantities the first LS ran and how many 1AA bodies were made.
The runs were quite small if I recall.

Thanks for the nice comments

 

[NickelPlate]

I didn't get the L1P, but I still carry my L2P around in my tool bag. Plenty bright enough for working on equipment and around the shop.

NP

 

[cy]

Don't have exact production numbers.. but ARC LS first run numbered in thousands. Arc LS first run originally came with 3 bodies. Wayne pioneered the original board design which used voltage biased regulation. this allowed use of 1x AA cell, 2x AA and 1x CR123.

Fenix's ground breaking stainless L1+ and original v1 L1-P with logo on head both had a buck/boost board. would support 1x AA and R123 li-ion without over driving luxeon. a little later cpf'ers discovered an easy two stage mod for L1-P.

IMHO Fenix's real feat was to overcome the stereotype of cheap chinese lights. Fenix did this by building quality lights day in... day out.. then backing it up with great customer service from 4sevens.

very quick on their feet, Fenix constantly came out with models utilizing the latest technology advancements. looks like surefire is not the only company taking advantage of fertile minds on CPF

back on topic... Still got one L1+ stainless, complete with wear from being EDC. another unused with box L1-P is a safe queen.

 

[GrooveRite]

I bought many and gave many away as gifts to people who I know would appreciate them. I gave my last one away some time ago to my mother who still has it somewhere in her house. I currently EDC the P1D-CE Q5 which is the best and brightest light I own and love!

 

[10mmWiseman]

My L1P has disappeared off the face of the Earth.

However my L2P lives in the console of my truck.

 

[louie]

Bought 2, gave one to sister-in-law, keep the other in my day bag as a backup/loaner. Now has a Seoul LED upgrade. When I travel, I like to take 123 and AA lights. You never know what you might need or what batteries you might find, and 1 AA is potentially more versatile than 2 AA.

 

[BentHeadTX]

I gave my L1P away last month to a friend in need. It is calmly resting in her house on a lanyard loaded with a lithium AA battery and 5 ohm two-stage high/low switch mod. The next power failure will be illuminated by the mighty modded L1P!

 

[Seth]

My L1p?

I gave it to my dad, he was needing it while he walks the dog.

Funny thing is, my dad is no flashaholic at all, but he called me to inform me that he dropped his L1p on concrete and now the bezel has a ding and he was sorry about that... And that was after I gave him a L1D CE

On the L1+:

Bahhh.. Don´t remind me...

Back then, The L1+ was nice, but nothing I had to buy.

Looking back, it was inexpensive, had a really nice design and - most important - was a milestone... Fenix´s first commercially made flashlight.

AFAIR the L1 / L1p were made by Fenix after they debuted with the L1+

You know the feeling when you realize ( some years later ) that you are a fool because you didn´t pick up some goodies when they were available... Like the ARC LS´s first run, Fenix L1+, SS civictor´s... :green:

Seth

 

[GarageBoy]

Dad stole it and still has it..

 

[danpass]

necropost:

I was curious what the net might say about the L1P these days.

I still have mine. I'm looking at it right now. Works great.

Even after letting a regular alkaline leak inside of it and it having sat that way for who knows how many years lol.

Inside it now is an Energizer lithium and frankly I've had it with leaky alkalines (they all seem to leak) and have transitioned to Eneloops and Energizer lithiums.

I had the little holster with it as well. Though I believe I threw it out, not so sure on that one.

I'm a big fan of AA lights.

-

 

[Owen]

These days? Man, LEDs have come so far, nothing we had back then would get any notice now. But in their day, they were a big deal.

All I remembered was that mine ended up having issues with the reverse clicky, like all Fenix(and every Chinese light that used them) that I put to heavy use back then, but found these from >15yrs ago on a search:

I have 2 L1Ps. Great little lights, but their output seems highly exaggerated on the forums.
It's a 1w LS running at spec. Fenix did a fine job on the reflector, IMO, with beam size and shape similar to the McR20, but from a smaller package. The construction quality is fine, it looks great, the combination of brightness and runtime from a single AA is awesome, and from the four I've seen side-by-side, they seem very consistent...but it's still a 1w running at spec.
I keep hearing how it's as bright as many 3w lights.
This is an Aleph2 with a [email protected] through a McR20 next to a L1P.

And they used XO bins in them! Everybody else's lights mostly used random bins with lots of very green X1s, very yellow V1s(?), and then very blue YOs. I remember Robocop and I lining up three L1Ps for beamshots, and they were practically indistinguishable from one another. When the SXOH 1w finally became available, he swapped one out, and it barely made a difference except a little increase in brightness.
They really made a name for themselves right off the bat with those lights, and the only nitpick for me was the reverse clickie. Ex-girlfriend probably still has my L1P...and a P1 with a bunch of 123s...and a chunk of my soul..an..never mind:ironic:

Funny, I was trying to remember the P1 a few weeks ago, after looking at the 4Sevens Mini. Could picture it in my head, but couldn't remember the brand or model. Guess now I know where that one went, too...
Thanks for the memory jolt!

 

[justanotherguy]

A beam shot comparo to a modern ZL or something,would be nice