MacTech
Enlightened
I just picked up a couple Fenix E01 keychain lights, as their runtime looks quite impresive, especially on lithiums
I've had the E0 in the past, and was never fully impressed with it, it was a nice light, but mine just felt, well, cheap and "delicate", due to it's light weight, thin-walled construction, also, it's head turned too easily, leading to inadvertant, accidental activation in pocket as well
I traded up to an Arc AAA-P CS, and was more than happy with the solidity of construction and the beam profile of the Arc, but I wasn't a fan of the battery-dimpling post in the bottom of the case, however, the head had decent resistance to turning and it has never accidentally turned on in pocket
Now with the release of the Fenix E01, I have another keychain light to test out....
first off, the battery tube section of the light is *very* solidly built, it feels thick and sturdy, it actually makes the Arc battery tube feel thin by comparison, the E01 appears to be milled out of thicker aluminum tubing than the Arc, as it has a similar inside "lip" as a CMG Infinity, the E01 has two machined flats on the sides of the battery tube, which are actually quite helpful when mouth-holding the E01, the flats give a little more grip than the Arc's round battery tube, the E01 also has a flat bottom, and is capable of tailstanding for use in "candle-mode", the Arc's lug-tail prevents tailstanding in it's default configuration
secondly, the knurling on the E01 is nice and grippy, how it stands up to keyring life remains to be seen, out of the box, it's a hair grippier than the Arc, but not to the point of being abrasive, compared to an E0, the E0 does not feel like it has *any* knurling
thirdly, the head on the E01 *still* turns a hair too easily, but this could be remedied with a good silicone lube, or a slightly thicker O-Ring, the Arc has the ideal amount of turn resistance for me
Fourthly, the LED is set a good deal deeper into the head than either my CS or DS Arc AAA's, this is good for protection of the LED dome, but it does tend to restrict the overall amount of spill, brightness-wise, there doesn't seem to be too much difference in brightness between my DS Arc and the GS E01.
both have a generally bluish hotspot, with yellowish corona and spill, since these are keyring lights, the tint issues endemic to a 5MM white LED are not even worth noting, let alone worrying about, these are emergency/backup/keyhole-finding lights, accurate color balance is not really neccecary, heck, I'd love to see Fenix put in a truly power-sipping red 5MM in the E01, if we get 20 hours total runtime with a slightly thirstier white LED, imagine the runtime on red...
Fifthly, the E01 uses a spring in the battery tube instead of a battery-denting post like the Arc
Sixthly, the E01 has an estimated runtime of 20 hours, at least 10 of that in perfectly-flat regulation, the Arc is semi-regulated, for around 5 hours, with a long tail of dimming light, the Fenix has a definite advantage here
Finally, the E01 is both slightly longer, and slightly wider (diameter) than the Arc, the E01 is about the diameter of a standard AA battery, and about 1/4" longer than a standard AA cell, the Arc is slighty longer and wider than the AAA that powers it, the Arc has a distinct advantage in compactness
both lights are great, each has their advantages and disadvantages though.....
Arc AAA series;
Advantages-
truly compact size, barely larger than it's battery
excellent resistance to accidental turn-on
time-tested durability and reliability
Disadvantages;
negative contact post in the battery tube dents/crushes the negative pole of the battery if tightened too much
shorter runtime
supposedly overdrives the LED beyond spec, reducing LED life at the expense of brightness
Fenix E01 series;
Advantages;
excellent regulated runtime
less overdriving of LED
spring-based negative terminal is kinder to battery
nice grippy knurling
deep set LED protected from damage
Disadvantages;
Unknown long-term reliability (looks like it'll be quite good, perhaps right up there with Arc)
slightly larger diameter and length
less spill than the Arc thanks to the deeply-set LED
either light would be a great keyring light, it's a tough decision for me though, I love the longer regulated runtime of the E01, but it's just a hair too wide and long for keyring carry for me, and since it's a new design from Fenix, it doesn't have the established reliability record that the Arc does, I can rely on the Arc to just work when it's needed, the E01 hasn't been out long enough yet to establish a record
Don't get me wrong, I AM NOT MALIGNING the E01, I have no doubt that it'll be just as reliable as the Arc AAA, it just hasn't been out long enough to prove itself, a simple fact
that said, every other Fenix I've owned has been utterly reliable, with the exception of a problematic L2T (Luxeon) that has a bit of flicker and doesn't show much difference between low and high even with fresh batteries, that original L2T has been my only "bad" Fenix
I look forward to putting the E01 through it's paces, I have every confidence it will pass with flying colours
Great work, Fenix, the E01 is an excellent little keychain light
I've had the E0 in the past, and was never fully impressed with it, it was a nice light, but mine just felt, well, cheap and "delicate", due to it's light weight, thin-walled construction, also, it's head turned too easily, leading to inadvertant, accidental activation in pocket as well
I traded up to an Arc AAA-P CS, and was more than happy with the solidity of construction and the beam profile of the Arc, but I wasn't a fan of the battery-dimpling post in the bottom of the case, however, the head had decent resistance to turning and it has never accidentally turned on in pocket
Now with the release of the Fenix E01, I have another keychain light to test out....
first off, the battery tube section of the light is *very* solidly built, it feels thick and sturdy, it actually makes the Arc battery tube feel thin by comparison, the E01 appears to be milled out of thicker aluminum tubing than the Arc, as it has a similar inside "lip" as a CMG Infinity, the E01 has two machined flats on the sides of the battery tube, which are actually quite helpful when mouth-holding the E01, the flats give a little more grip than the Arc's round battery tube, the E01 also has a flat bottom, and is capable of tailstanding for use in "candle-mode", the Arc's lug-tail prevents tailstanding in it's default configuration
secondly, the knurling on the E01 is nice and grippy, how it stands up to keyring life remains to be seen, out of the box, it's a hair grippier than the Arc, but not to the point of being abrasive, compared to an E0, the E0 does not feel like it has *any* knurling
thirdly, the head on the E01 *still* turns a hair too easily, but this could be remedied with a good silicone lube, or a slightly thicker O-Ring, the Arc has the ideal amount of turn resistance for me
Fourthly, the LED is set a good deal deeper into the head than either my CS or DS Arc AAA's, this is good for protection of the LED dome, but it does tend to restrict the overall amount of spill, brightness-wise, there doesn't seem to be too much difference in brightness between my DS Arc and the GS E01.
both have a generally bluish hotspot, with yellowish corona and spill, since these are keyring lights, the tint issues endemic to a 5MM white LED are not even worth noting, let alone worrying about, these are emergency/backup/keyhole-finding lights, accurate color balance is not really neccecary, heck, I'd love to see Fenix put in a truly power-sipping red 5MM in the E01, if we get 20 hours total runtime with a slightly thirstier white LED, imagine the runtime on red...
Fifthly, the E01 uses a spring in the battery tube instead of a battery-denting post like the Arc
Sixthly, the E01 has an estimated runtime of 20 hours, at least 10 of that in perfectly-flat regulation, the Arc is semi-regulated, for around 5 hours, with a long tail of dimming light, the Fenix has a definite advantage here
Finally, the E01 is both slightly longer, and slightly wider (diameter) than the Arc, the E01 is about the diameter of a standard AA battery, and about 1/4" longer than a standard AA cell, the Arc is slighty longer and wider than the AAA that powers it, the Arc has a distinct advantage in compactness
both lights are great, each has their advantages and disadvantages though.....
Arc AAA series;
Advantages-
truly compact size, barely larger than it's battery
excellent resistance to accidental turn-on
time-tested durability and reliability
Disadvantages;
negative contact post in the battery tube dents/crushes the negative pole of the battery if tightened too much
shorter runtime
supposedly overdrives the LED beyond spec, reducing LED life at the expense of brightness
Fenix E01 series;
Advantages;
excellent regulated runtime
less overdriving of LED
spring-based negative terminal is kinder to battery
nice grippy knurling
deep set LED protected from damage
Disadvantages;
Unknown long-term reliability (looks like it'll be quite good, perhaps right up there with Arc)
slightly larger diameter and length
less spill than the Arc thanks to the deeply-set LED
either light would be a great keyring light, it's a tough decision for me though, I love the longer regulated runtime of the E01, but it's just a hair too wide and long for keyring carry for me, and since it's a new design from Fenix, it doesn't have the established reliability record that the Arc does, I can rely on the Arc to just work when it's needed, the E01 hasn't been out long enough yet to establish a record
Don't get me wrong, I AM NOT MALIGNING the E01, I have no doubt that it'll be just as reliable as the Arc AAA, it just hasn't been out long enough to prove itself, a simple fact
that said, every other Fenix I've owned has been utterly reliable, with the exception of a problematic L2T (Luxeon) that has a bit of flicker and doesn't show much difference between low and high even with fresh batteries, that original L2T has been my only "bad" Fenix
I look forward to putting the E01 through it's paces, I have every confidence it will pass with flying colours
Great work, Fenix, the E01 is an excellent little keychain light
