My personal take on Fenix.

[sawlight]

Just opinion, I'm not bashing!!!

I got two EO1's, on for the shelter, one for the keychain.
A little bigger than I had hoped for, a lot brighter than I had expected. But the purple tint, on both, kills me!!! I was using one today trying to chase wires in an electrical cabinet, it altered the color of the wires so badly it was very hard to use!
The machining seems GREAT!! Fit and finish, threads are smooth, the knurling feels "just right" and everything works as advertised.
Not that impressed wih the anno., but I am hard on lights, and the little bit that has worn off in a week, well, probably was forced off!!!
For $17 shipped to you're house, buy it! I don't think anything is going to come out for a while that can beat it, and be at you're door in three days!

I recently bought a P2D SE off of MP, Q2 OP, for a gift (OK, OK, I had to play with it:nana It's natural, its grippy, but still too slick for my taste. I cannot belive how slender this thing is compared to my Novatac!! It's reall almost to small for me!! One of these things Knurled would be GREAT!!! (Oh, and a pocket clip)
The beam, WOW!!! Really, WOW!!! Nice tint, matches or beats the beam patten of my Novatac! I acctually preffer the Fenix due to the whiter tint!
But I HATE the UI!!!! Yes, it's easy enough, but I geuss I have gotten spolied, I can get anywhere NOW with the Novatac (or Surefire L1), I am not fond of having to cycle it to get there.
Maybe it's this lights perfect emiter/reflector combo, but I really cannot tell the difference between high and turbo! Is that common?
Bottom line, there are better lights out there, but for the money, I am VERY IMPRESSED!

 

[Stress_Test]

I'll add a comment or two if I may (I'm a new Fenix owner myself.)

I've seen several people say they think the EO1 is too big. Man, if this light were any smaller, I'd worry that it would blow away when I sneezed! haha

I know a lot of people don't like the EO1's purple beam, but I knew about it going in, and it doesn't bother me because I got it as a backup and not a primary light. About the only time I'd be using it (other than for fun!) is if my primary light was dead.

About the high/turbo thing -- I've got an L1D also, and I find that when shining on a wall indoors it's tough to really tell the difference (I know it's not much anyway on the L1D). On your light, I suspect it's much more noticeable if you're in a big open area. Also, as the batteries run down I find that the modes all kind of merge to the same level.

 

[Gator762]

Someone else mentioned how much your eyes adjust... A good non-light reference was painting a wall. First the white primer, than an off-white, which looked yellow compared to the primer. Once all the primer was coated, it looked white.


Now that I have around 8 or so LED flashlights I notice the difference when I compare them side by side. But in daily use, I really don't notice it.

What really stands out is how most incans look yellow in comparison.

ETA: I like Fenix lights... Good quality and value, and I like the UI on them.

 

[sawlight]

I knew of the purple beam also, and purchased it as a backup light as well. I just hoped it was exaggerated. It's not.

As for the turbo, this is outside, 80% dark conditions shinning it on the house across the street and hitting light poles 50+ yds away. 35ish yds to the house. No discernible difference to my eye.
BUT the beam on this thing is INCREDIBLE!!!! I was told of this at purchase time and it was not an exaggeration.Perhaps that explains a bit of this?

 

[Badbeams3]

I recently bought a P2D SE off of MP, Q2 OP, for a gift

Jeese, This must be hard on new folks...cause it`s hard on me:tinfoil: I bought a P2D Q5 OP off BG but use the L1D body from TFS more. Love it! In P2D form the differance between high and turbo is noticable to me...maybe because it`s a Q5 rather than Q2?

 

[Stress_Test]

Eyes can definitely play tricks on you. I found this out when I compared a RiverRock 2AAA to my 2AA MagLED, and couldn't really tell a difference!! It was a good lesson about how it really does take a massive increase in lumens to make a noticeable difference to your eyes. It was also a good lesson about how to spend money wisely! Doh! haha

 

[Probedude]

Last night we were at a friend's beach house (not on the beach - just near it) for a party - was on the roof using the E01 to see how far it would throw. Lights up the area below pretty well in the dark but the purple tint was horrible!

Then walking back to our car - daughter was using the E01 to light the path. Boy did the light bother me.

Indoors I don't find the E01's purple tint that bad, but I think that's because it's so bright it overwhelms the eyes. As a walking light outside though, brightness is decent but that purple tint is horrible.

 

[IceRat]

I bought the E01 at the end of April, and just love it. I use at work to look inside of computers. I don't have any trouble with the bluish tint and wire colors. Mine doesn't seem that blue to matter.

I had it the other night out fishing and in the pitch black night it was wonderful. The only problem I had, it was drawing in the bugs. I have it in a neck lanyard and used it more than getting the L2D out of the holster. I even bought a spare one because I might lose it.

 

[THE_dAY]

One other thing about the Fenix lights, they have very efficient circuits.
I don't think there is any other company that can beat their efficiency.

I've also read that the E01 can light up on a battery that would be considered dead in any other light.

But i agree that Fenix should make their lights more grippier either with more aggressive knurling or different body designs.

 

[streetmaster]

But i agree that Fenix should make their lights more grippier either with more aggressive knurling or different body designs.

Fenix has already come out with a new grippy light. And rumors of more to come.

 

[TONY M]

One other thing about the Fenix lights, they have very efficient circuits.

I've also read that the E01 can light up on a battery that would be considered dead in any other light.

This is one reason I love the E01, it fires on near dead cells although not awfully brightly.

 

[sawlight]

Without a doubt the EO1 ROCKS for what it was intended for.
Find a dropped phone or keys in the dark. Light up the way to the car and help unlock the doors at night.
But as a general purpose light, there are better choices I must say.
The anno on the P2D has a good "feel" to it, but I would think if it were cold or my hands were wet it would be slick.

Good to hear they are coming out with knurling!!! Really, the machining/fit and finish on all of the lights so far has been very impressive!!

As for the circuitry, I think Henry and his Novatac and RA lines have Fenix beat on efficiency. But that is my opinion, not proven fact.

 

[Stress_Test]

One slightly odd thing abut the L1D circuitry puzzled me...

When the battery is getting really low, I find that if you press the switch for a mode change, the light just goes off and won't come back on. Same if you click it off then try to turn it back on.

It seems that when the circuit is in steady-state condition, it can continue to power the light even with a low battery. But when you interrupt it with the switch, it doesn't have enough juice for the initial start up.

So the lesson I got from that was, "if the battery is low, don't touch the switch until you either get back into a lighted area or else you have your backup ready!" Otherwise you'll be in the dark.

 

[HKJ]

One slightly odd thing abut the L1D circuitry puzzled me...

When the battery is getting really low, I find that if you press the switch for a mode change, the light just goes off and won't come back on. Same if you click it off then try to turn it back on.

That exist in other lights to, the boost circuit needs some voltage to work.
As long as it is running, it will generate that voltage, but when your turn it off, it needs to get enough voltage from the battery to start generating its own voltage again.

 

[yellow]

But I HATE the UI!!!! Yes, it's easy enough, but I geuss I have gotten spolied, I can get anywhere NOW with the Novatac (or Surefire L1), I am not fond of having to cycle it to get there.

dont own a Novatac,
but they also offer several light + flashing levels.
How are the modes changed there?
How does one come to the level wanted?
(cant find these info on the site)

 

[Hitthespot]

As for the turbo, this is outside, 80% dark conditions shinning it on the house across the street and hitting light poles 50+ yds away. 35ish yds to the house. No discernible difference to my eye.
BUT the beam on this thing is INCREDIBLE!!!! I was told of this at purchase time and it was not an exaggeration.Perhaps that explains a bit of this?

You should definitely see a difference in high and turbo. I have never heard of anyone not being able to see the difference. With my P2D and P3D the only time I could not see a difference was when the battery is weak and just ready to die or I bought some cheap CR123's once and they were weak batteries. If you cannot see a difference I would talk to Fenix.

Bill

 

[THE_dAY]

Fenix has already come out with a new grippy light. And rumors of more to come.

Very nice, thank you!
Now hoping for something similar in a small cr123 package in the near future.

 

[divine]

For the people who will not accept a blue beam, have you seen the Arc AAA Snow? It has a whiter beam.. I carry one on my keyring.

http://www.arcflashlight.com/accessories.shtml

The blue isn't very noticeable on mine.

 

[woodrow]

The Fenix T1, Tiablo MA6 and SF gpz are my 3 most favorite lights ever. (out of buying over 45 med to high end production lights at thousands of dollars) (12 of them SF lights)

Of the three.... if I had to depend on one light NOT to fail.... it would be the T1.

I think Fenix is a great company.

 

[jzmtl]

I don't get why people are complaining about the blue/purple tint of e01. Pretty much all light use 5mm led will have it, and my arc aaa ds isn't any better. Wonder if it's because since e01 is cheap so more people buy it, thus more complain is heard.