A few months ago I emailed my details in reply to a post here on Candle Power Forums for a request for reviewers for Fenix products.
Didn't expect to hear anything more really but a couple of weeks ago got an email from a UK Fenix dealer (www.thephotonshop.co.uk) stating they had a Fenix TA30 waiting to ship to me if I still wanted to take part. I had to think long and hard about it, perhaps for as much as a second and a half 😀 , before replying in the positive.
I received the light a few days later and my initial impressions were very good. I have several Fenix lights and this one seems the most rugged.
In brief the TA30 is a 3 x CR123A cell LED light with 3 different light levels plus a strobe. It is has a black hard anodized finish with nicely cut knurling on the body and tail cap. Both the head and tail cap are scalloped, those on the head have quite sharp edges while the tail cap ones are much less aggressive.
The crenulations on the head are designed to be used as a strike bezel and I'm sure would be very effective as such but they do have a few drawbacks.
A rotating collar on the head accesses the different light levels, there is a small indented circular marker that matches up with a simple pictogram for the light level. Fenix state the light levels are as follows: low – 9 lumens, medium – 60 lumens, high - 225 lumens with the strobe at 230 lumens. I have no way of measuring these but in comparison to lights of similar quoted levels they look accurate.
The selector ring makes distinct clicks as you change levels and these is some sort of detent under the ring with a resistance you have to overcome to switch levels. I was able to switch levels one handed, rotating the ring with my thumb and forefinger while holding the torch against my palm with the other three. This resistance is a good compromise between ease of use and not changing the level accidentally.
On mine the selector ring goes slightly passed the strobe detent before the spring brings it back. As it does not do this at the other end of its 90-degree rotation i.e. at the lowest setting I'm guessing it's a fault with my torch, as I have not heard anyone else mention it?
The light came with extra O-rings, a wrist lanyard and a spare rubber switch boot. There were 3 x CR123A in the package as well but I think these must have been a pressie from the dealer (thanks Rob) as other people have reported that they don't ship with batteries as standard. This light could have been purpose made however for AW's protected 17500 Li-ions rechargeable batteries. The fit for these batteries is superb with no rattle at all and of course guilt free lumens. I know they are supposed to be 17mm diameter but 17500's do vary by brand but I only have AW ones so cant say what else will fit.
I was planning to use this light on my duty belt (I am a police officer) but struggled to find a suitable holster in my varied collection. In the end I used a leather SureFire holster designed for one of their old Ni-Cd powered rechargeable lights. The fit was reasonable but it's an open top holster that lead to issues but more of those later.
The light can be held and operated comfortably in both a hammer handle and cigar type hold. The light is quite head heavy but the knurling is good and I have not managed to drop it yet.
The switch is a forward clickie that allows momentary on with a good distance of travel before it clicks on fully. This is good for "tactical" situations where you don't want the light to stay on accidentally where you only wanted a quick flash as it were!
The scalloped tail cap protects the switch and should prevent accidental activation in most instances. It does not interfere with getting the light on and off when you want to however and was easy to operate wearing leather duty gloves.
Most of my patrol time is spent on foot and the TA30 didn't get in the way on my belt although I did keep "catching" my skin on the sharp edges of the crenulations when I went to draw it. The light got quite a bit of use even on day shifts, during a house search, checking out nasty dark corners of stairwells in car parks etc.
The LED is properly centred and the light orange peel reflector does its job of smoothing out the beam very well, nice smooth beam with a tight hot spot and no visible artefacts even when you white wall it.
The beam pattern is more throw than flood and so is suited to medium/long distance stuff rather than close in work. It lit up a fox very well at about 80 yards distance and was great for looking for house numbers on doors from the road without getting out of the van 😀
Medium didn't get much use as I usually want either a small amount of light at work or everything 😀 The low level was good for navigating very dark paths etc without completely knackering your night vision with bounce back.
The strobe is very powerful, I have an upgraded Nighthawk Gladius and a JetBeam III Military with strobes and the TA30 blows them both out of the water. I'm not surprised about the Gladius because of the output difference but it is a lot better than the JetBeam as well. I tried it on a couple of unsuspecting colleagues and even in bright artificial lighting conditions it has a superb effect.
My last shift was a 2000 – 0400 hours and most of that was spent driving the transit van in between checking pubs and clubs and transporting prisoners to custody. The crenulations were a pain, literally and figuratively, in this type of situation as they kept digging in under my stab vest. This torch needs a closed style holster with a strong top to stop this or better still have the head crenulations the same style as the tail cap ones. After 9 shifts of carrying the torch on duty my uniform shirt and stab vest cover have started to show some signs of wear and I don't thing it would be long before holes started appearing!
I keep coming back to the head crenulations as they are the only things that detract from an otherwise excellent light. I actually put the torch in my bag in the van for the last couple of hours of the shift as we were stood outside the main nightclub as a visible deterrent to the revellers coming out. In the UK this torch could easily be classed as an offensive weapon and I didn't want to be carrying it if it kicked off and risk someone (especially me) getting injured by it.
It will take over from my SureFire U2 as my bedside light and I cant think of many better ones to have to hand to investigate things that go bump in the night with its high output and the strobe option, just don't go jabbing it at anyone. If I can figure a way of smoothing down the sharp edges of the head without making a complete hash of the torch it will find its way into my carry options for work instead.
To sum up:
The only drawback to my mind is the sharp crenulations and, because of those, the lack of a holster to allow easy belt carry. Most Fenix lights come with holsters and I'm very surprised this one doesn't?
The Pros:
Very rugged and good quality torch, apart from the selector overtravel, fit and finish are excellent.
Good output levels and an excellent strobe.
Well-designed tail cap that protects the switch but does not interfere with operation.
Ability to use li-ion batteries (I wont buy a torch usually if it is not compatible with Li-ions and this seems to have been designed to use AW's protected ones!)
Very easy user interface to change levels, no messing about with multi clicks on tail caps etc.
Didn't expect to hear anything more really but a couple of weeks ago got an email from a UK Fenix dealer (www.thephotonshop.co.uk) stating they had a Fenix TA30 waiting to ship to me if I still wanted to take part. I had to think long and hard about it, perhaps for as much as a second and a half 😀 , before replying in the positive.
I received the light a few days later and my initial impressions were very good. I have several Fenix lights and this one seems the most rugged.
In brief the TA30 is a 3 x CR123A cell LED light with 3 different light levels plus a strobe. It is has a black hard anodized finish with nicely cut knurling on the body and tail cap. Both the head and tail cap are scalloped, those on the head have quite sharp edges while the tail cap ones are much less aggressive.
The crenulations on the head are designed to be used as a strike bezel and I'm sure would be very effective as such but they do have a few drawbacks.
A rotating collar on the head accesses the different light levels, there is a small indented circular marker that matches up with a simple pictogram for the light level. Fenix state the light levels are as follows: low – 9 lumens, medium – 60 lumens, high - 225 lumens with the strobe at 230 lumens. I have no way of measuring these but in comparison to lights of similar quoted levels they look accurate.
The selector ring makes distinct clicks as you change levels and these is some sort of detent under the ring with a resistance you have to overcome to switch levels. I was able to switch levels one handed, rotating the ring with my thumb and forefinger while holding the torch against my palm with the other three. This resistance is a good compromise between ease of use and not changing the level accidentally.
On mine the selector ring goes slightly passed the strobe detent before the spring brings it back. As it does not do this at the other end of its 90-degree rotation i.e. at the lowest setting I'm guessing it's a fault with my torch, as I have not heard anyone else mention it?
The light came with extra O-rings, a wrist lanyard and a spare rubber switch boot. There were 3 x CR123A in the package as well but I think these must have been a pressie from the dealer (thanks Rob) as other people have reported that they don't ship with batteries as standard. This light could have been purpose made however for AW's protected 17500 Li-ions rechargeable batteries. The fit for these batteries is superb with no rattle at all and of course guilt free lumens. I know they are supposed to be 17mm diameter but 17500's do vary by brand but I only have AW ones so cant say what else will fit.
I was planning to use this light on my duty belt (I am a police officer) but struggled to find a suitable holster in my varied collection. In the end I used a leather SureFire holster designed for one of their old Ni-Cd powered rechargeable lights. The fit was reasonable but it's an open top holster that lead to issues but more of those later.
The light can be held and operated comfortably in both a hammer handle and cigar type hold. The light is quite head heavy but the knurling is good and I have not managed to drop it yet.
The switch is a forward clickie that allows momentary on with a good distance of travel before it clicks on fully. This is good for "tactical" situations where you don't want the light to stay on accidentally where you only wanted a quick flash as it were!
The scalloped tail cap protects the switch and should prevent accidental activation in most instances. It does not interfere with getting the light on and off when you want to however and was easy to operate wearing leather duty gloves.
Most of my patrol time is spent on foot and the TA30 didn't get in the way on my belt although I did keep "catching" my skin on the sharp edges of the crenulations when I went to draw it. The light got quite a bit of use even on day shifts, during a house search, checking out nasty dark corners of stairwells in car parks etc.
The LED is properly centred and the light orange peel reflector does its job of smoothing out the beam very well, nice smooth beam with a tight hot spot and no visible artefacts even when you white wall it.
The beam pattern is more throw than flood and so is suited to medium/long distance stuff rather than close in work. It lit up a fox very well at about 80 yards distance and was great for looking for house numbers on doors from the road without getting out of the van 😀
Medium didn't get much use as I usually want either a small amount of light at work or everything 😀 The low level was good for navigating very dark paths etc without completely knackering your night vision with bounce back.
The strobe is very powerful, I have an upgraded Nighthawk Gladius and a JetBeam III Military with strobes and the TA30 blows them both out of the water. I'm not surprised about the Gladius because of the output difference but it is a lot better than the JetBeam as well. I tried it on a couple of unsuspecting colleagues and even in bright artificial lighting conditions it has a superb effect.
My last shift was a 2000 – 0400 hours and most of that was spent driving the transit van in between checking pubs and clubs and transporting prisoners to custody. The crenulations were a pain, literally and figuratively, in this type of situation as they kept digging in under my stab vest. This torch needs a closed style holster with a strong top to stop this or better still have the head crenulations the same style as the tail cap ones. After 9 shifts of carrying the torch on duty my uniform shirt and stab vest cover have started to show some signs of wear and I don't thing it would be long before holes started appearing!
I keep coming back to the head crenulations as they are the only things that detract from an otherwise excellent light. I actually put the torch in my bag in the van for the last couple of hours of the shift as we were stood outside the main nightclub as a visible deterrent to the revellers coming out. In the UK this torch could easily be classed as an offensive weapon and I didn't want to be carrying it if it kicked off and risk someone (especially me) getting injured by it.
It will take over from my SureFire U2 as my bedside light and I cant think of many better ones to have to hand to investigate things that go bump in the night with its high output and the strobe option, just don't go jabbing it at anyone. If I can figure a way of smoothing down the sharp edges of the head without making a complete hash of the torch it will find its way into my carry options for work instead.
To sum up:
The only drawback to my mind is the sharp crenulations and, because of those, the lack of a holster to allow easy belt carry. Most Fenix lights come with holsters and I'm very surprised this one doesn't?
The Pros:
Very rugged and good quality torch, apart from the selector overtravel, fit and finish are excellent.
Good output levels and an excellent strobe.
Well-designed tail cap that protects the switch but does not interfere with operation.
Ability to use li-ion batteries (I wont buy a torch usually if it is not compatible with Li-ions and this seems to have been designed to use AW's protected ones!)
Very easy user interface to change levels, no messing about with multi clicks on tail caps etc.
