Fenix TK11 vs. Pelican 7060: BEAMSHOT COMPARO

[applevision]

Hey team, I finally got around to putting these two beautiful lights up for a head-to-head. In some other threads I had been venturing that the TK11 seemed brighter than the Pelican...and by extension, that it could likely out-throw it... the real world testing has shown this to be false. Let's have a look...

First, let's look at the two competitors, Fenix on the left and Pelican on the right:

A close look at their reflectors may shed some light on why the Pelican is so much more potent:

Now to the world!

These trees are about 170 feet away from the emitters, the bright blue Pelican beam is on the left and the softer, whiter Fenix beam is on the right:

Now a target a little over 200 feet away, here's the Fenix:

And an equally blurry image of the Pelican at the same target:

Okay, now for some shots that address spill a little bit... here's the whiter, broader spill from the Fenix on a target about 100 feet away:

And the tighter spill from the Peli:

Finally, both beamshots going up and out into the night (Pelican on the left):

In sum, these are both delightful and beautiful lights. The Fenix does a superb job in a very compact form with soft, creamy light. The Pelican 7060 however leverages its larger size and deeper reflector to out throw the Fenix, although the beam is harsher and bluer. Both are serious lights and are among my favorites! Enjoy!

p.s. Both lights were fully charged; the Peli has a battery back and I used AW's 18650 for the Fenix. The camera was a Canon Rebel and in Av mode.

 

[djblank87]

Nice beamshots, I have owned both and they are great lights.

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

You are confusing Lux with overall output. The Pelican does have a higher lux reading, but definitely has less overall output. This link will help explain:

http://flashlightreviews.com/features/lux.htm

 

[LukeA]

You are confusing Lux with overall output. The Pelican does have a higher lux reading, but definitely has less overall output. This link will help explain:

That may be true, but the issue these beamshots address is that some had claimed that the TK11 would outthrow the 7060.

 

[youreacrab]

You are confusing Lux with overall output. http://flashlightreviews.com/features/lux.htm

is he? review seems to be addressing brightness not total output.

 

[I came to the light...]

right, and brightness is total output, whereas lux is intensity at its brightest spot, aka throw, which is clearly being tested here.

thanks for the comparison. I hadn't expected the TK11 to do so well, as it isn't designed for throw, but this is still very useful.

 

[artec540]

right, and brightness is total output, whereas lux is intensity at its brightest spot, aka throw, which is clearly being tested here.

thanks for the comparison. I hadn't expected the TK11 to do so well, as it isn't designed for throw, but this is still very useful.

An interesting comparison, but for me, the Fenix wins hands down because it's so much smaller. The Pelikan is twice the size of the TK 11 and I don't like monsters like that......... Strictly a personal viewpoint and I'm not trying to convince anyone or start a fight.

 

[Axion]

I agree completely. The Dereelight DBS would still be smaller then the Pelican (lengthwise at least) and would handily out throw both. Something at large as the Pelican better be packing some serious power to be worth it IMO.

 

[applevision]

You are confusing Lux with overall output. The Pelican does have a higher lux reading, but definitely has less overall output. This link will help explain:

http://flashlightreviews.com/features/lux.htm

Agreed: it seems almost certain that using an integrating sphere the Fenix produces more lumens than the Pelican, but I was truly trying to test lux/throw here. In looking up prior tests I find:

Fenix TK11:
Turbo Spot 11240 Lux Turbo Spill 217 Lux (http://www.light-reviews.com/fenix_tk11/)

and Pelican 7060:
Default Spot 13990 Lux Default Spill 190 Lux (http://www.light-reviews.com/pelican_7060_led/)

But I'm having some trouble finding actual measured lumens from these lights. The advertised is 130 for the Peli and 225 for the Fenix, but I'd like to see real measurements instead of advertised numbers.

Also, I agree that the Pelican is pretty big, but we have to remember that it was designed to replace the big Mag 4D lights that were as much batons as light sources... so since many LEOs are now forbidden to carry such lights, this is sort of a compromise... Form and function.

Many thanks!

 

[Greyhound]

Good thread.

I have both of these lights. I really like them both. Strangely enough, the size and weight of the peli is nice for me....... to contrast the smaller lights that I have....like the TK11.

Good review :thumbsup:

 

[candlepowerforever]

I remember reading reviews that the tk10 or 11 draws less then 0.9A. I believe it was somewhere above 0.8A, if I recall correctly. So 225 lumens is a bit of an overstatement, as it would need to draw 1A at the LED for that 225 lumens.

 

[woodrow]

Apoplevision, Great thread and pics! The Peli 7060 is still an impressive light. While the TK11 or Olight M20 may be more versitile by being smaller and able to take a variaty of batteries.. I think output is about equeal....plus the Pelican as a 18650 (pelican's version of the batt) only light...it has much flatter regulation than the TK11 or M20 on a 18650.

Thanks again for the great thread and pics!

 

[LukeA]

I remember reading reviews that the tk10 or 11 draws less then 0.9A. I believe it was somewhere above 0.8A, if I recall correctly. So 225 lumens is a bit of an overstatement, as it would need to draw 1A at the LED for that 225 lumens.

Not at 6V would it need to draw 1A to get 225lm.

 

[applevision]

Apoplevision, Great thread and pics! The Peli 7060 is still an impressive light. While the TK11 or Olight M20 may be more versitile by being smaller and able to take a variaty of batteries.. I think output is about equeal....plus the Pelican as a 18650 (pelican's version of the batt) only light...it has much flatter regulation than the TK11 or M20 on a 18650.

Thanks again for the great thread and pics!

Thanks, woodrow! A while back you were the person who got me interested in CPF--your great reviews and pics inspired me!

Yeah, for my night walks, sometimes I actually feel safer with the Peli--it feels solid and comforting in the hand, but there is no doubt that the Fenix is a nice, compact pocket-rocket.

I wanted to say something else too: the reason why I initially thought that the Fenix could out-throw the Pelican is probably because of the fact that it does put out more overall lumens. The place I really appreciate this is indoors. When you fire these babies up in a room (e.g., doing a ceiling bounce test) the Fenix really shines! (pun intended:sick2

So, though I am a mild-mannered peace-loving guy, in my fantasy-realm if I were going to kick down a door and enter a room with potential dangers, I think that (aside from the fact that the Peli is certainly more substantial as a physical weapon...) I would take the Fenix since it can really flood a space with light in a way that the Peli cannot. This is somewhat subtle, of course, not night and day, but it's real.
:grouphug:

 

[Art Vandelay]

The TK11 runs for 2 hours and 47 minutes before reaching 50% of initial brightness. The 7060 runs for 1 hour and 28 minutes before reaching 50% of initial brightness. The square root of the lux at one meter is 118 for the 7060, and 106 for the TK11. So the 7060 does have a little more throw, as you would expect with its larger reflector. As far as overall output, I think the TK11 has an advantage because it is using a Q5 Cree not the older version the 7060 is using.

 

[MoreLumens4Me]

Thanks for the nice pictures; also wondering how the Olight M20 Warrior Premium would compare?oo:

 

[applevision]

The TK11 runs for 2 hours and 47 minutes before reaching 50% of initial brightness. The 7060 runs for 1 hour and 28 minutes before reaching 50% of initial brightness. The square root of the lux at one meter is 118 for the 7060, and 106 for the TK11. So the 7060 does have a little more throw, as you would expect with its larger reflector. As far as overall output, I think the TK11 has an advantage because it is using a Q5 Cree not the older version the 7060 is using.

Thanks, Art. Could you explain why you use the square root of the lux to determine throw? I find this really interesting.

 

[applevision]

Thanks for the nice pictures; also wondering how the Olight M20 Warrior Premium would compare?oo:

From what I can gather from here http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=207836 it seems like the M20 Warrior would be in last place in terms of throw (especially given what Art says about the square root of the 1m lux reading) as we have:

SQUARE ROOT OF LUX @ 1M:
PELICAN 7060 = 118
TK11 = 106
M20 = 93*

*(based on 8670 lux @ 1 meter from the above review, using the 2 AW's Protected RCR123's which had the highest reading in the tests.)

But it is not far behind at all, basically it's almost 80% as good as the Pelican and 87% as good as the Fenix.

So I was reading more into what Art said... here's a pretty good explanation:

The bottom of the graph is 5000 candelas (5000 lux at one meter), which is still very bright. The distance at which a light will illuminate an object at a given brightness (lux level) is proportional to the square root of the luminous intensity (candelas, or lux at one meter) of the main beam. So the graph shows, for example, that the MRV with 2 RCR-123 cells will light an object at about 140 feet as brightly as a D-Mini will at 100 feet, since it produces about twice as many candelas. In other words, the MRV has about 1.4 times the "throw" of the D-Mini. Numerically, a light with a 10,000 candela beam will produce an illuminance of one lux at a distance of 100 meters. 20,000 lux gives you one lux at 141 meters, etc.

And that is from this thread: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=189436

The physics of this stuff is amazing. When I started reading this forum a year ago or so I didn't have the foggiest idea about these things. Now, little by little I am not only understanding more, but also getting a real-world sense of what these numbers mean. Thanks guys!

 

[woodrow]

applevision, Wow, Thanks for the kind words. I just feel bad that I did not have an unlimited Flickr account until a few months ago... and that some old pics were deleted when I put new ones up...so most of my 7060 review beamshots are lost.

With this thread it does not matter though. Your beamshots are better than mine were.... good job!

 

[sORe-EyEz]

looks like the warm tint of the Fenix gives a better color redition in pic 3 compared to the Peli.