Added Pic: Overall Happy, but Minor Disappointment With 2 New E01s

[PseudoFed]

Just got two new Fenix E01s (olive) from Fenix-Store, with their usual outstanding service, CPF discount, and free shipping. Fit and finish on the lights is excellent. I put in new Energizer AAAs (don't have any Duracells in my office drawer), and off to a dark bathroom I go, along with my Arc AAA-P (CS).

The bathroom is in the interior of a large building, and has a motion activated light switch with a manual "off". So, off the lights go, and on come the E01s.

I was disappointed to see their light as blue/purple or maybe even slightly more so than my older Arc CS. Also, though the E01s had a larger, more oblong hot spot, their spill was less, and not as bright. My Arc is running an older Duracell which has been in the light a couple months, and sees maybe 1 minute max of usage every other day. The Arc overall appeared brighter with more useable spill!

I will try new Duracells for a head to head comparison after my eyes get dark adapted tonight in my garage, but I was expecting more lumens out of the E01s' GS LED.

Again, I'm happy overall at the amazing quality of the E01s for their price ($13.80 each after CPF 8% disc), but I guess I was expecting at least slightly brighter and/or whiter.

On my desk at about 6 inches-E01 on Left, and Arc on Right (crappy cell phone pic but I think tint is evident):

<a href="http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/Pseudo-Fed/?action=view&current=E01vsArcAAA-PCS.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/Pseudo-Fed/E01vsArcAAA-PCS.jpg" border="0" alt="E01 Vs. Arc AAA-P (CS)"></a>

Jeff.

 

[fordwillman]

Re: Overall Happy, but Minor Disappointment With 2 New E01s

My two EO1's were very purple in output. Worst color leds I have. The only justification is the cheap price and long run times. If my wife had not liked the purple color (exterior color of anodizing), I would have sent them back.

 

[PseudoFed]

Edited to add pic.

 

[PseudoFed]

Re: Overall Happy, but Minor Disappointment With 2 New E01s

My two EO1's were very purple in output. Worst color leds I have. The only justification is the cheap price and long run times. If my wife had not liked the purple color (exterior color of anodizing), I would have sent them back.

I agree with you on the runtime. If they get most of what's advertised I'll be happy. I can live with the purple tint, though it is more noticeable in standard use then that of the Arc. Again, overall I'm happy-just not thrilled.

 

[BabyDoc]

Just got two new Fenix E01s (olive) from Fenix-Store, with their usual outstanding service, CPF discount, and free shipping. Fit and finish on the lights is excellent. I put in new Energizer AAAs (don't have any Duracells in my office drawer), and off to a dark bathroom I go, along with my Arc AAA-P (CS).

The bathroom is in the interior of a large building, and has a motion activated light switch with a manual "off". So, off the lights go, and on come the E01s.

I was disappointed to see their light as blue/purple or maybe even slightly more so than my older Arc CS. Also, though the E01s had a larger, more oblong hot spot, their spill was less, and not as bright. My Arc is running an older Duracell which has been in the light a couple months, and sees maybe 1 minute max of usage every other day. The Arc overall appeared brighter with more useable spill!

I will try new Duracells for a head to head comparison after my eyes get dark adapted tonight in my garage, but I was expecting more lumens out of the E01s' GS LED.

Again, I'm happy overall at the amazing quality of the E01s for their price ($13.80 each after CPF 8% disc), but I guess I was expecting at least slightly brighter and/or whiter.

On my desk at about 6 inches-E01 on Left, and Arc on Right (crappy cell phone pic but I think tint is evident):

<a href="http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/Pseudo-Fed/?action=view&current=E01vsArcAAA-PCS.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/Pseudo-Fed/E01vsArcAAA-PCS.jpg" border="0" alt="E01 Vs. Arc AAA-P (CS)"></a>

Jeff.

Jeff, if you are only experiencing ONLY a minor disappointment with your E01s, enjoy them for what they are. You can't expect a lot more than what you got for your $13.80, although it would be nice. If what you wanted was an inexpensive AAA keychain light that is well made and has a long runtime, the E01 is the light for you. You do, however, have to settle for fewer lumens if you also need the long runtime.

If long runtimes are not that important, Fenix does make another more expensive keychain light, the LOD, which can give you the white light and round beam you want, along with 3 adjustable output levels, strobe and SOS. It will cost you about $43, which may or may not be, depending on your means, too much to get what you really want. For the people who love the E01 even with its purple beam, the added expense of the LOD doesn't make sense, particularly if they are also EDCing another larger light. For others who consider light output quality all important and only want to carry a single keychain light, the LOD, if you can afford it, is the way to go in my opinion.

 

[sol-leks]

Is it possible you got a bad e01?Or maybe you just arent giving it a fair test. I know my eo1 can make a pretty decent spot about 25 feet away. However yes I agree with above, maybe you should consider saving up for an lod, I have both and they are both great.

 

[PhotonBoy]

+1 on the L0D CE Q4 - beautiful little light. Does all that the Arc or the E01 can, plus, it has throw when you need it.

 

[Sgt. LED]

My orange E01 has a much whiter tint than that. Not white white but certainly whiter than your example! I'd trade it in.

 

[Glowman]

Purple tint... yes very disappointing. I did not expect Nichia LED DS are like this. An LED on a cheapy china disposable lighter is even whiter and brighter than this (on fresh button batteries). Cheap lighters cost just $0.25 here in Philippines. Now I'm just trying to convince myself that E01 is worth its price for being able to run long hours when compared to cheap lighter LEDs. So far, still disappointed. I have almost all of the Fenix models and this is the worst!

L0D Q4 is so much better. Although much more expensive but, really worth it.

 

[PseudoFed]

Thanks for the responses so far. Went to test with different cells last night, and, aaarggh, someone used the last of our Duracell AAAs and didn't replace them!

I agree with several of the sentiments so far. And Glowman, I believe the E01s are supposed to be GS, not DS LEDs.

And folks, BOTH of my new E01s have identical, very purple tinted lights. I have 3 Arcs, all CS, bought at the same time over a year ago. I tried them last night, and one has very slightly more blue tint then the other two, but all 3 are very noticeably whiter at close distances than the E01s.

I did use the E01 this a.m. on purpose after turning off house lights and to leave the house (as I usually do with the Arc), and I must say the purplish tint is not really a problem for this type of light. I agree completely with Baby Doc that for the money, AND the intended use. No problem. But since CPF has me completely screwed up, I'll probably order an L0D...8-}

Thanks!

 

[PseudoFed]

Baby Doc, BTW, I am EDCing another light. The CPF addiction has helped me acquire in the last month an E2DL, an E1B, and a Nitecore Extreme, all of which have seen some EDC time. The E2DL head I use on an FB-2 body, because I strive for bezel down carry. Thanks.

 

[arjay]

I agree with Glowman that the purple tint is disappointing but, the very long runtime on a single AAA is what made me get mine. I live in a country where the power supply is not that reliable and the EO1's are great at power outages. :shakehead

Also, the EO1 is a great backup light since its so small I can drop it in my jeans pocket and not know its there till I need it.

P.S. I know flashaholics love power outages but having the power go pooof!! twice or trice a month ain't fun at all, especially when your on your PC typing something.

 

[BabyDoc]

I, too, carry another light as an EDC. I carry either my NDI, or my Novatac p120. It is totally unfair to compare lights like these to the E01 which costs far less. I do understand how the E01s fit an affordable void for many less tuned into color rendtion than I am. However, being picky in that regard, it is difficult for me to live with the purple beam of the E01, after discovering the LOD Q4. I am not bashing the E01 when I say I would rather own an LOD Q4. Yet, I can't imagine outside of spending over 3 times as much, most people wouldn't also prefer the LOD Q4 and its whiter brighter beam. Yes, the runtime is less, but in most cases especially with another EDC in my pocket, do I really need 10 hours runtime? Furthermore, with an abundance of Eneloops, do I really worry about going through batteries more quickly. Since getting the LOD Q4 my E01s have been temporarily been retired to the drawer with my Maglights. They will come out of retirement when I find an appropriate person who might enjoy them more than I could.

(BTW, if anyone thinks the purple color of our E01s are atypical, I would argue that I hand picked my 2 E01s out of a batch of 30. Perhaps this entire batch was atypical, but all the lights tested exhibited the same color; some LED's were better centered than others.)

 

[BabyDoc]

I agree with Glowman that the purple tint is disappointing but, the very long runtime on a single AAA is what made me get mine. I live in a country where the power supply is not that reliable and the EO1's are great at power outages. :shakehead

Also, the EO1 is a great backup light since its so small I can drop it in my jeans pocket and not know its there till I need it.

P.S. I know flashaholics love power outages but having the power go pooof!! twice or trice a month ain't fun at all, especially when your on your PC typing something.

Arjay, you have given me an idea of what to do with E01s. While I have never experienced, a power outage that lasted 10 hours and didn't think I needed a light with the E01's long runtime, perhaps these E01s will come handy as backups. I will keep one of them with a lithium battery in it in my car, where I can easily retreave it, if a long outage should exhaust my other lights. With my Novatac p120 on its lowest setting, that's not too likely. But who knows, the E01s my be good to give to others around you at that point. With long outages nobody will be too picky about tint, will they? I'dl be worrying more about other things at that point, like food beginning to melt in my freezer.

 

[PseudoFed]

I think I've had it all wrong all along! If the power goes out for that long and it's dark, I go to sleep!....8-}

Seriously though. Just ordered a L0D. Curse you CPF!

 

[BabyDoc]

I think I've had it all wrong all along! If the power goes out for that long and it's dark, I go to sleep!....8-}

Seriously though. Just ordered a L0D. Curse you CPF!

Come on! Don't curse, us. Don't blame us. You wanted one all along, didn't you? :laughing:

As much as something may be a bargain, it isn't when it isn't all you expected. When you get something that you really love, you will never think about its cost.

 

[kts]

You cant go wrong with the LOD..I got 3 :naughty: