Fenix L2D Q5 - didn't like it

[Igor Porto]

Well, I don't like wall beamshots, preferring real life pictures. So I went to the backyard and took a few.

All tests were made with fully charged 2500mAh NiMH Sony AAs.

The Terralux 2AA TLF-3C2AAEX uses a CREE Q4 LED and is rated at 220 lumens on high. I like it, it combines good throw and spill, usabe to 30 meters. The only complaint is the anodized finish, it's not type III, must be II or lower, and scratches rather easily. The LED is well centered, and the overall feeling is solid. The threads on the tailcap could be better. The switch is not tactical, requiring a full press to turn it on. A light press changes to low mode, 100 lumens.
My test revealed about 2 hours and 20 minutes on full power, then it ran for another hour on half power. While on high, the body felt very warm, a good sign of heat dissipation.


The L2D Q5 was a disappointment for me. The LED is slightly off-centered, and it whines very loudly on turbo/strobe/sos modes. It spills way too much for my taste and does not seem that bright for 180 lumens. It doesn't remember last brightness setting, and it's very annoying. Well done, Nitecore.

The L1T is awesome, so much light in a little package, it's 1AA on steroids. Love it. LED is perfectly centered and it's beautiful. Has a very slightly blueish tint, but it's still white, just the way I like. I prefer its tactical switch over the L2D switch. The beam pattern is different from L2D, it throws more, and yet has some spill.

Using the L1T head with the L2D body yielded my favorite set, with nice throw, really bright light and good spill. Maybe the L2T is the light for me.

The strange thing is the L1T on 98 lumens is brighter than the L2D Q5 set at high mode with 107 lumens. Maybe my L2D is a dud, or the L2D isn't all they say about it.

But I don't wanna risk another one, since I didn't like the beam pattern.
I will return it tomorrow and exchange for two L1Ts, and I will pay a small difference.

The store doesn't have L2T models. They have P1D, P3D and TK10. But they use CR123s and they're very expensive. I prefer AAs.

For throw I'll still be using a MagLite 2D LED.

I also bought a white diffusor and red lenses. Very good.

The holster is very good.

Here are the pics, they're self explanatory:

Comments are welcome. Please note that this is just my opinion, no strings attached.

Thank you.

 

[Woods Walker]

There seems to be more flood on the L2D than the rest so thinking the overall lumen output is higher. Did you try it in the woods etc? This is where the flashlight comes into its own for me. The mix of flood and throw helps me see more as there are no 300 foot line of sight for the most part on the trails.

 

[Igor Porto]

Haven't tried it in the woods yet, they arrived today. I tested the Terralux on Sunday and it was good. The MagLite is good for hunting, spotting game at longer distances in the middle of trees and bushes.

 

[Woods Walker]

I tend to be in the tree stand so only use my headlamp hunting to get me up there in the early am. Kinda hard to climb holding a flashlight. Ok try them both out in the field. Compare both the flood and throw. Keep in mind that I like floody lights for trail work as often area lighting helps me find my way back to the trail if turned around during a night hike etc. If there was one light that did all things for all people the numbers of lights on the market would be kinda small. Overall I can't help thinking the lumen rates for the L2D Q5 are right based on your photos and with consideration to the flood.

 

[Igor Porto]

Woods, that's probably true, since I'm not used to flooder beams, and they might have tricked my eyes, and I misjudged them.

But I won't have a chance to test it on the woods, 'cause I'll return it tomorrow. The whining is way too loud for my ears. Will keep using the Terralux for flooding for now.

 

[Federal LG]

Comments are welcome. Please note that this is just my opinion, no strings attached.

If it´s only your opinion, maybe the problem is not in the light.

Throw capability is a question of reflector geometry. What kind of reflector does it have ? Smooth or OP ?

My L2D Q5 has a perfectly centered LED pill, and does not make any "hiss" sound while in Turbo, Strobe or SOS mode.

Like someone said, it looks like you got a faulty L2D.

But, if you want throw, I´ll suggest Fenix TK20 instead the L2D.

 

[Stereodude]

But I won't have a chance to test it on the woods, 'cause I'll return it tomorrow. The whining is way too loud for my ears. Will keep using the Terralux for flooding for now.

I have 5 or 6 L2D's, and none of them whine at all (even held to my ear). :confused:

 

[pipsqueakspace]

Yup i just got my New Fenix L2D Q5 a couple days ago and its fantastic. I love it. Makes no sound at all when in turbo....i'm thinking yours might have some kind of problem?

 

[Igor Porto]

Can someone who has a L2D Q5 and L1T post pictures from 10 to 20 meters, comparing the spots? Compare L2D on high with L1T.

My reflector is OP.

 

[Woods Walker]

Yup i just got my New Fenix L2D Q5 a couple days ago and its fantastic. I love it. Makes no sound at all when in turbo....i'm thinking yours might have some kind of problem?

My S2 made from Fenix has a very low hum but can only hear it next to my ear. But my L2D Q5 does not make noise or maybe it does however I can't hear anything. Overall unless the sound is very loud and bothers the user from what I read it is a non issue. Going to order one of those fancy SS LD01s. Will stick that in my ear and see what happens. :party:

 

[Stereodude]

Can someone who has a L2D Q5 and L1T post pictures from 10 to 20 meters, comparing the spots? Compare L2D on high with L1T.

My reflector is OP.

Sorry, I don't have a L1T...

 

[KiwiMark]

The L2D Q5 was a disappointment for me. The LED is slightly off-centered, and it whines very loudly on turbo/strobe/sos modes. It spills way too much for my taste and does not seem that bright for 180 lumens. It doesn't remember last brightness setting, and it's very annoying. Well done, Nitecore.

I have an L2D and a Jet-I Pro EX - both are 2 x AA with Cree Q5. I would guess that both have similar output in terms of total light, but the Jet-I has a much brighter hotspot - it is a noticeably better thrower. The L2D has a nicer tint and a very nice looking beam. My L2D makes no noise that I can hear in any mode, my LED seems to be well centred. I have a white and a red diffuser for using my L2D in candle mode and with 4 different output levels available it is a pretty damned handy little light.

I use my Jet-I Pro 1 x AA light more because it is a better size to fit in my pocket and is brighter than either of my 2 x AA lights, but with less run time. Brighter because I use a 14500 which gives more voltage, run time not a big deal because I have 4 x 14500 cells and can swap one over quickly enough. With IBS I can set the mode I use the most to be the first one, so no last setting memory isn't a problem. On full power it throws pretty good, but with a reasonable spill as well.

From your pics the L2D looks OK - seems to be the best flood you own. But I would have it replaced with a non-faulty sample that doesn't make a noise. It seems to me that you are disappointed with your L2D partly because it is faulty and makes a horrible noise and partly because you don't like the beam characteristics and UI - which are not wrong, just different.

 

[f22shift]

do a ceiling bounch to get a better eye measure of the total output.

 

[pipspeak]

I like the MagELD 2D and 3D (have them both) and they are crazy bright with new cells BUT they fade very quickly. Within a few hours of use I notice they are significantly dimmer. And they're big honking lights, too. Not exactly EDC-able.

The L2D has outstanding regulation so it stays bright. But it's a 2AA light with a tiny reflector... of course it'll never throw the same as a Mag. It is a great multi-purpose EDC or travel light, however, and I got one with a smooth reflector to give it a few more feet of throw. There are plenty of other small lights out there that will out-throw and out-shine a MagLED any day of the week. Heck, my little E2DL puts my Mags to shame.

 

[Marduke]

Those pics look just fine to me. The L2D is just much floodier, which can make a bright light look dimmer next to a throwy light. That is how you can have something like a 50lm Mag seem "brighter" than a 200+ lumen flood light when that is obviously not the case.

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

Maybe yours is broken too...
What other 2AA lights is brighter than a L2D Q5? :thinking:

The EagleTac P10A2 is way brighter, there is no contest...

 

[Marduke]

The EagleTac P10A2 is way brighter, there is no contest...

Sure there is. You buy crappy runtime to go along with that brightness.

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

Sure there is. You buy crappy runtime to go along with that brightness.

Some "crappy' runtime, right? :crackup:

 

[KiwiMark]

Some "crappy' runtime, right? :crackup:

I would say so.

Compare to L2D which has:
2x AA 2000mAh Eneloop Turbo 02:01 to 50% High 04:13 to 50% Medium 09:54 to 50% Low 48+ hours
The EagleTac is brighter, but with only 1:17 on high and 7:09 on low. For a brighter light with more throw the EagleTac is better, but if you want a longer run time and a true low then the Fenix is better. I think the EagleTac is actually brighter on low than the Fenix is on medium - not necessarily a good thing.

My preference would be the JETBeam JET-I Pro EX V2.0 with similar brightness to the EagleTac and better options for medium & low. But it is a bit less efficient and gets even worse run time on maximum than the EagleTac. The Fenix L2D compares well for efficiency & run time.
It all comes down to what combination of features you want, like: size, weight, brightness, runtime, beam pattern, UI, battery type, cost, durability, waterproofness, looks, etc.
There is no light that will suit everyone, luckily there are many different ones to choose from. :twothumbs

 

[selfbuilt]

FYI, I've just posted a 2AA round-up review that has all the above discussed lights included:

2xAA Round-up Review: Fenix, Nitecore, Olight, ITP, Eagletac, Jetbeam, Mag ...

The Eagletac P10A2 is indeed the brightest light in my collection - but the difference between the P10A2 and my L2D-Q5/LD20 is less than 5% according to both my lightbox and ceiling bounce.

As for runtime, the P10A2 is indeed shorter than my L2D ... but oddly, my LD20 on Turbo is virtually identical to P10A2. Likely to be an issue with Vf variation, since I ran the test twice with the same result, then tested the same cells back in my L2D (and got within 5 mins of the original longer runtime on that light).

I think the point is that there isn't a huge difference in either max output or output/runtime efficiency between the P10A2 and LD20. The difference comes down to build and feature set (e.g. lack of true low mode on P10A2).