Fenix E05 Stainless Steel

[recDNA]

I have no experience with stainless steel but whenever I buy a titanium light it has gritty threads

 

[Ray F.]

I was referring to my aluminum model. I will see about SS when it arrives.


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[easilyled]

are the threads gritty?

No, nice and clean .... and I'm referring to my Stainless Steel version that this thread's about. :nana:

 

[ven]

:laughing:


Threads good here too

 

[recDNA]

Once I start reading up on AAA flashlights I want to buy all of them!

 

[gunga]

Titanium Galls by nature. Very few titanium twisties have non gritty threads (think Tain, makos, and McGizmos).


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[recDNA]

My jetbeam tcr2 gets around it with brass threads. Silky smooth. Of course it is not a twisty

 

[gunga]

Yep. Brass and ti is fine. Ti on ti is often not great. Stainless is usually fine.


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[recDNA]

Only reason I haven't purchased an Eagletac titanium twisty. I can't afford the custom jobs you mentioned

 

[gunga]

I tried an eagletac twisty. Hated it. Also tried titanium innovations illuminati. Also like sand.

The customs are nice but cost a lot!


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[recDNA]

Not surprised.

 

[radiopej]

Ven has some stunning pics. Do you guys think it's okay if I do a mini-review with some beamshots in here? I won one and I'm giving it to my girlfriend's dad for Father's Day, but I always test things to make sure they're okay (yes, the people who are getting them know I do this and they're fine with it). It'll just be some beamshots and comparison shots to the i3S.

 

[radiopej]

I decided to just do a couple of quick shots against the Olight i3S rather than anything exhaustive. Both lights contained Aldi Ni-MH AAA batteries.

The E05 SS is slightly smaller.



The difference of 5 lumens isn't noticeable to me from 10 metres. Even the the increased PBI wasn't very apparent between the two here.



Side by side comparison of medium and high. Once again, about the same. Looking at the photo on medium, the E05SS doesn't seem as bright, though I found that it was while looking at it. It was getting hard to juggle the phone and 2 flashlights.



On low vs moonlight you can obviously see a difference, but I couldn't capture moonlight and low on my phone simultaneously.

The threads feel a little rough, but just slightly more than they do on my i3S. Since it costs more, it would be nice if they were a little smoother. The E05SS lacks the reversible clip, but is just so stunning to look at.

I've taken the lobster claw off the i3S and added a little clip of my own. You can do the same with the E05SS, but it comes with a split ring instead. It's very much designed for a keychain, though I think it could look good as a necklace.

A few people have complained about the new E05 because the beam is too tight. I don't think it is. They increased the maximum brightness 3 fold and the PBI also went up 3 fold (someone please correct me if my logic is wrong). Rather than the single mode E05 being completely gone, they've basically just added a low and a high. It still has the setting that the old E05 had, just with an extra turn.

I think it's about equal to the i3S on high. On medium, the battery life is better on the i3S for pretty much the same brightness. For low, the i3S has that nice moonlight that I find useful in cinemas with very long battery life. The E05SS trades a bit of that battery life in for a useful low that isn't moonlight.

Both can tailstand nicely.

If you find that you don't use the clip and moonlight in the i3S, then the E05SS is a very elegant option because it's just so stunning. It feels solid and performs solidly. I got this one for free from Fenix and will be gifting it. As a gift for someone it looks much nicer than the i3S, although the i3S has a gift box.

My verdict: It's like a clipless i3S that you take to weddings. If the box was redesigned a little it would be perfect for gift-giving to parents.

 

[recDNA]

you mentioned tbe difficulty juggling phone and 2 flashlights. I find whenever I use a keychain twisty I am ALWAYS juggling keys, bundles, briefcase, mail, etc. For that reason the extra twists are imo a major pita. I think all keychain lights should be sold wjth the option of one mode (highest) or programmability allowing highest mode first. It's hard enough doing the twist while light is on a keychain. I cannot do 2 twists without dropping everything.

 

[radiopej]

Sorry, I meant juggling them to keep both lights within the frame of phone's camera and selecting the area of focus

In that case, the i3S starts in medium, which is a handy amount of light. I do see your point about instant high though.

 

[recDNA]

Oh I knew. New. Triple AAA flashlights all seem to be multimode. It just annoys me. Just blowing off steam. nice review.

 

[magicstone12]

thanks for the nice review,I have been EDCing the E05 for about one year,love it.

There is no need to quote the OP to add a one line comment, quote deleted - Norm

 

[feifei]

A new E99 Ti edition will be released,looks like the E05SS,but made of Ti.

 

[radiopej]

Yeah, the E99 Ti looka great. They're doing custom engraving for $1 on Facebook with it and it even comes in a gift box. Looks like it's perfect for parents now

 

[radiopej]

They've got a Facebook giveaway of the E99 Ti.