Atomic_Chicken
Enlightened
Greetings!
I received my P3D today. I'll try and do the best objective review of it that I can... but dont' be surprised if there is a little "bias" in it!
OK... my first impressions when taking it out of the packaging is that I thought it would be heavier. This thing is LIGHT! After removing the tailcap, and loading it up with batteries, it's still only about 1/2 as heavy as one of the pair of Surefire A2 Aviator flashlights I EDC. The thin-ness of the battery compartment walls and tailcap walls does NOT inspire confidence - I'm sure that the first time this is dropped from any distance onto a rock or other angled protrusion, it'll probably dend or cave in. However... it does seem thick enough to survive normal day-to-day use, it's not "foil thin" or anything like that. The light has a hexagonal machined gripping surface, but it's inset - so it won't prevent it from rolling off a table if you try and lay it down. The tailcap friction ridges are not deep or angled enough to really provide a very good grip - they appear to be there more for show than actually helping you undo and tighten the tailcap. This is good though, in a way... it makes it harder to strip the very fine threads that hold the tailcap onto the body.
My CREE emitter is almost perfectly centered (I understand this is somewhat of a lottery - I've seen a lot of uncentered ones for sale in classifieds). It casts a smooth, round beam that has a few slight rings in it - but not so much that you notice them. The beam has a slight purplish tinge to it - again not so much that you really notice it unless you're looking for it. I actually like the color of the light, and the beam geometry is good (nice mix of flood and throw).
To be honest, I expected the P3D to be brighter - I'd heard so many glowing reports about the new CREE based LED lights, I just thought it would "flood out" the room with light. Actually, when comparing it to my Surefire L2, it seems to be only slightly brighter - if I were to take a guess at the ACTUAL Lumens being output, I'd guess around 110 to 120 - not the 160 advertised by Fenix.
The finish is nice - but seems more "painted on" and glossy rather than the matte hard-anodization I've grown to love from Surefire. The tailcap rubber cover is very cheap looking - like a pair of the thick rubber gloves you see in janitors closets... it's slick and shiny looking... and has a kind of unpleasant "sticky" feeling to it. I like the clickie function, very easy to operate (although not quite on the same level as Surefires LOTC system...). I actually like it BETTER than the Surefire in one way - you can do a quick click and have the light stay on... whereas you have to turn the surefire tailcap to get to the position where it will stay on.
I find the "optional modes" to be a bit annoying - every other time you turn it on it goes to the flashing strobe mode, and you have to depress the tailcap switch slightly to switch back to the constant-on mode... or switch to strobe mode before turning it off, so you know next time it goes on there will be constant light instead of strobe. I wish Fenix had done a "2 quick presses" or some other intentional sequence to get into the strobe mode - instead of the "every other time" thing.
EDIT: After reading the replies below, and further experimentation with the light, it's come to my attention that the switch back-and-forth between the turbo and strobe mode is normal for quick presses of the switch, and that if you wait more than 2 seconds before turning the light back on, it works like I'd expect it to and always comes on in the "Turbo" mode. I've upgraded the ergonomics score by 1 point because of this.
Overall: an impressive light for the money.
Quality: 5 out of 10
Brightness: 7 out of 10
Beam Quality: 7 out of 10
Aesthetics: 8 out of 10
Ergonomics: 7 out of 10
Value for $ spent: 8 out of 10
Overall light rating: 7.5 out of 10
Best wishes,
Bawko
I received my P3D today. I'll try and do the best objective review of it that I can... but dont' be surprised if there is a little "bias" in it!
OK... my first impressions when taking it out of the packaging is that I thought it would be heavier. This thing is LIGHT! After removing the tailcap, and loading it up with batteries, it's still only about 1/2 as heavy as one of the pair of Surefire A2 Aviator flashlights I EDC. The thin-ness of the battery compartment walls and tailcap walls does NOT inspire confidence - I'm sure that the first time this is dropped from any distance onto a rock or other angled protrusion, it'll probably dend or cave in. However... it does seem thick enough to survive normal day-to-day use, it's not "foil thin" or anything like that. The light has a hexagonal machined gripping surface, but it's inset - so it won't prevent it from rolling off a table if you try and lay it down. The tailcap friction ridges are not deep or angled enough to really provide a very good grip - they appear to be there more for show than actually helping you undo and tighten the tailcap. This is good though, in a way... it makes it harder to strip the very fine threads that hold the tailcap onto the body.
My CREE emitter is almost perfectly centered (I understand this is somewhat of a lottery - I've seen a lot of uncentered ones for sale in classifieds). It casts a smooth, round beam that has a few slight rings in it - but not so much that you notice them. The beam has a slight purplish tinge to it - again not so much that you really notice it unless you're looking for it. I actually like the color of the light, and the beam geometry is good (nice mix of flood and throw).
To be honest, I expected the P3D to be brighter - I'd heard so many glowing reports about the new CREE based LED lights, I just thought it would "flood out" the room with light. Actually, when comparing it to my Surefire L2, it seems to be only slightly brighter - if I were to take a guess at the ACTUAL Lumens being output, I'd guess around 110 to 120 - not the 160 advertised by Fenix.
The finish is nice - but seems more "painted on" and glossy rather than the matte hard-anodization I've grown to love from Surefire. The tailcap rubber cover is very cheap looking - like a pair of the thick rubber gloves you see in janitors closets... it's slick and shiny looking... and has a kind of unpleasant "sticky" feeling to it. I like the clickie function, very easy to operate (although not quite on the same level as Surefires LOTC system...). I actually like it BETTER than the Surefire in one way - you can do a quick click and have the light stay on... whereas you have to turn the surefire tailcap to get to the position where it will stay on.
I find the "optional modes" to be a bit annoying - every other time you turn it on it goes to the flashing strobe mode, and you have to depress the tailcap switch slightly to switch back to the constant-on mode... or switch to strobe mode before turning it off, so you know next time it goes on there will be constant light instead of strobe. I wish Fenix had done a "2 quick presses" or some other intentional sequence to get into the strobe mode - instead of the "every other time" thing.
EDIT: After reading the replies below, and further experimentation with the light, it's come to my attention that the switch back-and-forth between the turbo and strobe mode is normal for quick presses of the switch, and that if you wait more than 2 seconds before turning the light back on, it works like I'd expect it to and always comes on in the "Turbo" mode. I've upgraded the ergonomics score by 1 point because of this.
Overall: an impressive light for the money.
Quality: 5 out of 10
Brightness: 7 out of 10
Beam Quality: 7 out of 10
Aesthetics: 8 out of 10
Ergonomics: 7 out of 10
Value for $ spent: 8 out of 10
Overall light rating: 7.5 out of 10
Best wishes,
Bawko
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