EDC for Mom

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smvtsailor

Newly Enlightened
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Jul 18, 2007
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56
Hi!

My mom has a job that requires her to walk through isolated unlit areas. Therefore, I think she needs an EDC light. It needs to be powerful and have a way to quickly switch to the brightest mode. I am torn between the Fenix L1D and the Fenix P3D.
The only thing that is stopping me from getting the P3D is that she won't want to buy new cells because they are expensive. Therefore, she might not use the light when it might be needed.
I've recently heard that there are such a thing as a rechargeable CR123A. However, these run at 3.7V instead of 3.0V. Is it safe for me to use these in a Fenix P3D? I don't want this exploding in her hand!
If I can use rechargeables, does anyone have a suggestion for a charger and cells?

Thanks!
 
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The L1D is plenty bright, and the cells are easy to replace.

I don't recommend li-ion rechargeables for somebody other than a CPF'er - too much hassle.
 
For my mom, I wouldn't get the rechargeables, I know she would get lazy dealing with that. I would buy a bunch of CR123 batteries with a 15 year shelf life for about $1 each and send her 10 or 20 with the light. If you must use rechargeables, I'd say to stick with a single 1 x RCR123 (P2D Rebel 100) as it is still very bright, good runtime, and never a problem with your Mom mixing old and new batteries. If needed get AW rechargeables from Lighthound or other sources here.
 
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smvtsailor said:
Hi!

My mom has a job that requires her to walk through isolated unlit areas. Therefore, I think she needs an EDC light. It needs to be powerful and have a way to quickly switch to the brightest mode. I am torn between the Fenix L1D and the Fenix P3D.
The only thing that is stopping me from getting the P3D is that she won't want to buy new cells because they are expensive. Therefore, she might not use the light when it might be needed.
I've recently heard that there are such a thing as a rechargeable CR123A. However, these run at 3.7V instead of 3.0V. Is is safe for me to use these in a Fenix P3D? I don't want this exploding in her hand!
If I can use rechargeables, does anyone have a suggestion for a charger and cells?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


This is a matter of debate on CPF, but personally, I don't like the idea of running rechargeable li-ion cells in series, so here's one vote for NO, it's not safe. Safety aside: does your mother even want to screw around with recharging the cells when needed?

I say, go with the Fenix L2T V2.0. As you request, it is powerful and it switches to max output very easily (tighten bezel). I think this user interface is way friendlier for a non-flashaholic, as are the AA cells. And the price is pretty decent.
 
I'm now leaning towards the L1D much more than the P3D. I'm not that experienced with the lumens->real world conversion, but I think (from what I read) that the L1D on turbo can temporarily disorient someone at short-medium range. This is a good thing, and the L1D is bright.

soffiler- The L2T is a bit too big, and dimmer than I would like. My mom's eyes aren't the greatest. Thanks anyway though!
 
Smvtsailor, FWIW, I gave my mother an L1T a while back - she loves it.

I have an L1D that I like a lot, but it really isn't all that much brighter (yeah, yeah, I know, Cree-yada-yada) and I was afraid she'd found all the extra modes and get confused. I wanted something as simple as possible for her, and the L1T is bright enough for her needs. If your mom needs more light, then the L1D is one step forward in that direction.


I forgot to mention: the whole "blind an attacker thing" is waaay over-rated. Don't lead her into thinking she'll be completely safe just 'cuz she's got a light.
 
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smvtsailor said:
soffiler- The L2T is a bit too big, and dimmer than I would like. My mom's eyes aren't the greatest. Thanks anyway though!
Click to expand...

It' funny, but many months ago I also gave my Mom an L2T and she loves it. But it's for home use. L1D might be your best bet.
 
I looked at the specs for the L1T V2.0. I didn't realize that it is 90 lumens, and that means that maybe it would be better and simpler. Can high be run for the entire battery life continuously, or is it recommended for short uses? My only other concern is that it may be too bright for close-up work and reading even on low if needed. Is 15 lumens too bright for close-up? If not, looks like the L1T V2.0 may be a winner!

GreenLED: Thanks for the tip. I guess surefire got carried away a little with the "blind an attacker" thing. I guess the TID is better for blinding. (just kidding about TID)
 
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I think the L1T v2 is a good choice. Simple to use, easy to carry, probably plenty bright for her needs and I think AA's are better suited to non CPF'ers. I find 15 lumens is actually a good all around brightness level. I don't know how dark it is where your mom is going to be walking but 15 lumens might be bright enough if there is a little ambient light. Certainly good to have 90 lumens available though.
 
I would give her an Ultrafire C3. Cree XR-E emitter. Runs on a single AA battery. It's plenty bright, certain to woo any non-flashaholic. 1 mode only, no high/low. A smaller size could mean that she'll be more likely to carry it than leave it behind.
$17.00 at Dealextreme. I recommend ordering a few at a time in case any are DOA. Pick the brightest one for yourself, or mom, and gift away the others. Also, a keychain LED. In case her main light fails.

Unless something better turns up by the end of the year, this is what everyone in my family will be getting from me at Xmas. Can't afford Fenix's for everyone.
 
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I have been EDC-ing L1D for a while, personally I find it a bit too big. I just received my P2D-100, I love the form factor. I also find L1D is a bit too dim because I use a diffuser, which I made from the diffuser material of an old LCD (Palm IIIc). Personally I don't find the tight focus is suitable for walking through isolated unlit areas.

Tremendo's idea to buy a bunch of CR123 sounds like a good idea.

P2D_0.jpg

P2D_1.jpg
 
There are also some nice LiteFlux lights. They have a wicked programming capability that Moms might not 'get', but if you set it up, it has a twisty interface that does low and high.
They are available with either 123A or AA power.
Greg
 
smvtsailor said:
What are eneloops? Are they a type of rechargeable battery? What is the approximate runtime? I'm not really that good with battery types.
Click to expand...

Eneloop is a brand-name for a Sanyo NiMH rechargeable battery that has a new chemistry providing relatively low self-discharge.

In case you don't know, normal NiMH batteries have a very annoying habit of discharging all by themselves while not in use. Depending on a variety of factors, they can lose as much as 5-10% in 24 hours, and although they slow down after that, they can still be nearly dead in 3-6 months. So normal NiMH are fine if you use the product constantly and recharge constantly, but they are terrible for occasional use.

Eneloop solves that problem. They lose only 15% in 12 months.

(For reference, alkalines are said to lose about 20% in five years, and lithium about 10% in 10 years)

All these numbers are fairly approximate, just to give you some frame of reference. People, please don't jump in and try to correct me to the fourth decimal place.
 
Thanks! I'm going to go with the L1T v2.0 and eneloop batteries. You guys offer great advice.
 
I gave my mom a P1 and a few spare 123A. She loves the light and has it clipped in her purse for use at anytime.
 
smvtsailor said:
Thanks! I'm going to go with the L1T v2.0 and eneloop batteries. You guys offer great advice.
Click to expand...

I'm not seeing an L1T V2.0 on www.fenix-store.com Are you going with the L2T V2.0 and purchasing an additional L1T body for it?

Also, the L1T is a single AA format. I understand from your previous comments that size/length is important, and the two-AA format is too long. That's fine; it's good that you know exactly what you want. Next question... if you run any NiMH rechargeable (including Eneloop) in an L1T body, you are discharging a single cell at a time. Do you realize that in order to recharge a single cell, you need to shop for a certain type of charger known as "independent channel"? (that's another vote in favor of the L2T... the majority of budget-conscious chargers are set up to recharge cells in pairs)

Finally, are you sure Mom wants to screw around with recharging the battery(s) periodically, versus running alkaline or 1.7-volt lithium?
 
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