Re: Fenix PD30
Hi everybody,
my Fenix PD30 arrived just yesterday :twothumbs! I was that happy, I drove to my departement to get some batteries and my P3D for a short comparison.
And here it is:
1rst look:
When I took the the light out and hold it in my hand for the first time, I knew it would be love
! I liked the P3D I had before, but the new form - factor with the "anti-roll" design, the scaloped beezel and the new designed tailcap "feel" very good in my eyes and in my hand!
The body:
One of my main problems with the P3D was its slippery body. Fenix has worked on this problem with success. You have a much better grip on the PD30, compared to the P3D. This comes from the "anti-roll" design and from the new designed tailcap wich is slightly thicker than the battery-tube. And you get a very good feeling of the new knurling at the tailcap.
The new designed tailcap is also a good improvement in my opinion. Without a lanyard it still can tailstand (if you attach the lanyard, you have to push it to the side - open spaced - and once again, the light makes a good tailstand). I do not think it is that much more instable than the P3D.
And the new design gives you better access to the switch (that is important for people like me, who should think about using the lights with gloves on). The switch itself is good, I can't see or feel big improvement here (looks like it stands out a little more than the old P3D-switch). It is still secured from acidental activation by the surrounding tailcap - "bridges" (I don't know the correct term).
The battery - tube looks exactly like the one of my P3D, the laser work (?) on both lights look good.
The new beezel with the "anti-roll" design is another great point for me. As I mentioned before, the hexagonal "anti-roll" design provides you a much better grip on the flashlight. Turning the beezel to change the modes works perfect from the first time on. And the scaloped beezel looks much nicer in my eyes than the old P3D style. It is also very nice to see, if the light is turned on when it stands beezel down on a table.
To summarize: I like the new design of the PD30. The improvements they made (compared to the P3D) are all good for me without loosing the good aspects of the P3D (I liked this light and still think it is one of the better lights available on the market).
So body is: :twothumbs:twothumbs:twothumbs
Handling / Operation:
They kept on the good User Interface of the P3D and that is the one that came the closest to my perfect UI! I love Fenix for
NOT adding a memory mode and for
NOT making a concealed mode. The UI is simple and - in my opinion - almost perfect:
Turning the beezel to select between general mode (beezel turned slightly off the body) and turbo mode (beezel turned close to the body). Turning on will always start with minimum brightness level (general mode) or maximum brightness level (turbo mode). Everything else is easy to reach with just a little touch of the finger.
Thank you Fenix for NOT changing anything about the UI!
UI is: :twothumbs:twothumbs:twothumbs
Output / performance:
After putting some batteries inside the PD30, I went to one of my rooms and made it dark. Then I turned on the P3D for getting a good feeling of how bright it is in all levels. And then I started the PD30.
The first thing that came to my eyes was that the tint is more white-ish compared to the yellow-ish tint of my P3D Premiun RB100. But that is fine for me.
Some told about others of the new lights, that there were "cree-rings" or "donut-holes" in the beam: I could not find such rings! When I was very close to a white wall I could see a slightly "not-that-bright" area around the hotspot, but it was still bright and I had to look very close to see it on a white wall.
As I was used from the P3D, the beam was very nice to my eyes. A bright hotspot (slightly smaller than the hotspot of my P3D) and a huhge spill. That is exactly the kind of beam I would favour for my work as a law enforcement officer.
The light levels do differ a little bit. The 9 lumens of the PD30 appear to be a little darker that 11 lumens of the P3D. Medium level of 70 lumens (PD30) is noticeably brighter than the 50 lumens of the P3D. High level is given with 117 lumens (PD30) against 112 lumens (P3D). I could not really see a differenz. The white light seems to be brighter or clearer, but that comes from the teint I think.
On turbo-mode the PD30 comes with 220 lumens. And I could see the difference compared to the 200 lumens of the P3D Preium RB100.
But what really kicked me off was the new strobe. I am one of those who think: If you know how to use the strobe correctly and what to expect and not to expect from a strobe, then it can be a very nice tactical tool. And this one definitly is: The light strobes with 15 Hz (flashes per second). And it really annoying the eyes and destroying the vision. My vision began to "flicker" just after about one second. And about two more seconds, I got a strange feeling in the head like I was about to loose balance. That was strange and great as well!
After dusk I went out and had a talk to one of my neighbours who is about to becom a member of the German border control. I told him about the light and we played around a little bit. Both lights are perfect for searching in rooms. And they provide far enough throw for urban surrounding. I feel the PD30 having a little more throw than the P3D. As there were no other objects we enlightened some houses that are build right now on a street parallel to ours. The houses are about 20 meters away and we could see everything. So the throw is far enough for me!
output and performance is: :twothumbs:twothumbs:twothumbs
After all, what could I say? I do not think I will need a light for quite some time now. I am very satisfied with the PD30 because most of the aspects, I wrote to Fenix after getting my P3D were picked up and made it into the new PD30.
What aspects do I miss: still no momentary on :thumbsdow and the body I would prefere even more would be the body of the TK10/11 :shrug:.
I love my new PD30 and I would recommend it to everyone looking for a bright but small light.
Stephan
P.S.: If there is need I would try to make some photos the next days. But my camera is not the best, so please be patient with me!
P.P.S.: About the holster:
I like the new holster. I had no problem with the old one because my P3D fitted perfectly and secure, but the new one provides even more security and the light fits perfect: put inside beezel down (the way I will carry the light), you can see the hexagonal "anti-roll" design, while beezel up, it fits that perfect it's hard to put it in the holster that way with the lanyard attached.
