Fenix E05R Mini-Review

[run4jc]

Please know that Fenix supplied this light to me in exchange for my honest opinion and review. (I apologize that I couldn't get the photos to flow with the text. Every time I tried to link to a photo, the remaining text all took on the url of the photo link.)

After about 13 years of enjoying and learning about flashlights – as well as having written dozens of reviews, I've really lost interest in writing reviews. Seems that the lights I have (or want) satisfy me, and there's no burning desire to try out mass production lights is just about non-existent.

So why in the world am I writing up a $30 mass produced flashlight? Well – it is interesting to me. Having appreciated the Fenix E01 – the venerable cockroach of the flashlight world – for years, any time they release a light with the "E0x", I at least take a look. In all honesty, most of said lights left me with a 'meh' attitude.

This little guy is, well, different. It's built well, it is a nice size, it's handy, and it has a simple (albeit flawed) interface. And while specifications are rarely as relevant as we'd like them to be, the specs are pretty good.

It comes in your typical blister pack, with specifications clearly presented on the back of the package. You need to have your sharp knife out to get into the little pack – that's some tough plastic!

From the Fenix-Store web site:

Product Description
The Fenix E05R flashlight is a rechargeable mini flashlight that can emit up to 400 lumens from its built-in 320mAh Li-polymer battery. Fully rechargeable via a built-in micro-USB charging port, the flashlight has a maximum runtime of 30 hours. In addition, this little flashlight is built tough with an IP68 dust-proof and waterproof rating. Super small and compact, this keychain flashlight is an excellent choice for everyday carry.

Specifications

• 400 Lumens Maximum Output
• Cree XP-G2 S3 White LED
• Spot beam angle of 22°
• Spill beam angle of 95°
• Hidden Charging Interface
• Can be used while charging
• Instant Burst

Outputs

• Burst: 400 Lumens, 209 ft
• High: 150 Lumens, 55 Minutes, 131 ft
• Med: 25 Lumens, 5 hours, 55 ft
• Low: 3 Lumens, 30 hours, 26 ft

IP68 Waterproof Rating: Fully submersible to 6.5 feet for 30 minutes

Three Color Options
All-in-one metal side switch
A6061-T6 Aluminum Body
Single Switch Operation
6300K Color Temperature

Batteries
Built-in 320 mAh rechargeable battery

Size

• Length: 2.6 inches
• Head Diameter: .60 inches
• Body Diameter: .59 inches
• Weight: .8 oz

Included

• Fenix E05R Flashlight
• Micro USB Charging Cable
• Key Chain
• Spare O-Ring
• User Manual
• Warranty Card

The first thing I noticed was the control button. It's located on side of the light, made of metal, and has a solid feel to it. It doesn't stick up so you won't accidentally activate the light – plus it requires an intentional press-hold to activate the light. Release, and each subsequent press cycles to the next level…3 'normal' levels. Press hold release turns the light off. Press and long hold activates the 'turbo' mode. It's strange – it first comes on at low level, then it switches to turbo for as long as you hold the button down. Let go of the button and it drops back to low.

To lock the light, from 'off' perform a half second double click. When locked, pressing the button will cause the light to flash twice to notify you that it is locked. Perform another quick double click and the light will unlock and stay on in low.

The light uses an optic to produce a nice beam, specified as 22-degree spot and 95-degree spill. It's a nice little beam – a bit too cool a tint for my tastes, but your mileage may vary.

To access the charging port, you twist the ring with the logo clockwise several turns. It has a nice, smooth, solid feel as it turns to finally reveal the charging port. When charging, a small red LED is lit that turns green when the charge is complete.

Only a few things that I don't care for. It's not easy to tail stand. Some folks may not care, but I like a light that has a good, solid perch when tail standing. You have to carefully place it down on the key ring loop and it's fairly easy to knock over, even with just a bump to the surface it is resting on. I'm not crazy about the interface, but that's just me. I described the switching, and while it's easy enough, I'd like it better if a short press turned it on, and a press-hold jumped straight to turbo. Well, it sort of does the latter, but it comes on in low first. Probably too much to ask on a $30 light, but memory would be nice.

What do I like? Size and weight. I normally carry a larger light, but on days when I am wearing dress slacks, or maybe just want to have a backup, this thing fits the bill perfectly. I currently carry a Reylight Ti pineapple mini, and it's great, but this Fenix has considerably more output PLUS it's rechargeable. The tint is cool, but the spot and spill are very useable. While the key ring loop is not easy to tail stand, it is robust should you decide to attach it to your key ring, and the hole is big enough to accommodate larger rings. And Fenix has been around a while – I trust the brand.

So there you go. A neat little light that would make a great gift to your non-flashaholic friends, or just great to have around as a backup. These are available now in lots of places, including popular retailers as well as the Fenix Store.

 

[bykfixer]

Thanks for this review. This one appears to be the state of things to come.

I really like the ordinary E05 except it goes dark suddenly when voltage reaches point X. But at least one has the option of swapping in a new battery. Hopefully this one does dim for a time until it can be charged.

I would suppose the little side switch means a finger tip press required making it a bit of a gamble while wearing gloves. But that's just physics being physics so if one needs warm gloves they should use a bigger flashlight anyway. Just take your glove off and hit turbo to keep those fingers warm, right?

I like the side switch idea, even on a 1xaaa sized flashlight. Maybe this one will catch on and show up in the form of an E12 at some point also.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

It is interesting for sure, the one thing I wonder is the ease of replacing the battery in it in the future as if in 5 years from now the battery is toast for some reason do you have to throw away your light? As someone that had an LD01SS for about 10 years and lost it and could not find a light to replace it as the LD01 series was discontinued I wouldn't hold out hope that 5 years from now they quit making this light and even if they stocked replacement batteries for it likely they would run out of them if it were not a standard cell. The one thing bad about this light over my current (cheap) 1AAA light is I also carry a 2AAA UK LED light with 2 spare batteries in it I can swap into my keychain light when the battery in it (rechargeable duraloop) is dead and keep going, this would not work with this light I figure. I would likely need to consider one that uses 10440 cells instead so I could easily swap cells and continue use of it immediately.

I will await a review with runtime graphs as fenix lights are often all over the place on lights with some stepping down too quickly to take the high numbers seriously and not very regulated outputs too at times.