rookiedaddy
Enlightened
Received a pre-release/prototype version of Fenix E05R back in early March this year together with the Fenix E09R, been using it since then and here is a review of it.
Disclaimer: since I was sent a pre-release/prototype version of Fenix E05R, it comes without any retail box nor any accessories so YMMV.
Let's take a quick glance at the specifications of Fenix E05R:
A thumb-sized flashlight that is suitable for keychain-carry...
size compare to a AAA NiMH battery
and size compare to other Fenix's AAA-sized battery, from left: Fenix E01 v2.0, Fenix E05R, Fenix E05, Fenix E05 SST20
sitting behind a TIR lens is a CREE XP-G2 S3 LED. The tint lean towards greenish at Low and Medium mode, while High and Turbo/Burst is pure white.
due to this protruding lanyard loop design, Fenix E05R does not offer tail-standing capability.
however, the hole is wide and big, yours truly can even fit an 8 strands paracord through...
because Fenix E05R has in-built battery, there has to be a way to recharge the battery, and for this, Fenix offers a Micro-USB port for recharging.
it's the year 2021, decision to still use Micro-USB seems at odd with the industry movement where almost every quality manufacturer is offering USB-C interface for recharging and data transmission.
Fenix could have offer USB-C port for recharging like the Fenix E09R in my not so humble opinion...
recharging the Fenix E05R is simple, just unscrew the body glove anti-closewise until the Micro-USB is fully exposed. Remember to screw the body glove to fully cover the Micro-USB port when you are done charging.
This design (same as Fenix E09R) is quite clever, great improvement over the traditional silicone/rubber USB cover as this provides better waterproofness via the use of o-rings and provides a more secure and durable cover for the Micro-USB charging port. Great feature!
Fenix E05R charges at 5V 180mA from a 2.4A USB source, it takes ~2 hours to recharge Fenix E05R from fully depleted state.
All modes are accessible during charging, include burst/turbo mode
The user interface is using standard Fenix e-switch UI:
Note: Fenix E05R has NO mode memory.
Note 2: It gets pretty hot using the Turbo/Burst mode after 30 seconds. I can feel the burn feeling from Fenix E05R after ~1 minutes constantly holding the e-switch button. I would recommend running no more than 30 seconds at a time unless you are wearing gloves or you are running it in a freezing cold weather.
My measured output of Fenix E05R:
The usual disclaimer: I do not claim the above measured lumens as authoritative nor an indication of over/under-stating the number given by manufacturer. It's calibrated against some known light output (e.g. SureFire, Elzetta, etc.) so take it with a grain of salt and just as a relative reading.
Following is the runtime plot of High mode:
Fenix E05R has a regulated and very stable output overall and the runtime claim is quite spot-on.
Note: since Turbo/Burst mode requires constantly holding of the e-switch, runtime of Turbo/Burst mode was not performed.
In conclusion, I would wholeheartedly recommend this Fenix E05R to anyone. Like the E09R, if there is any improvement I would suggest to Fenix is to offer Fenix E05R in High CRI version using Luminus SST20 or Nichia 219C LED in either Neutral White or Warm White. That would make Fenix E05R a much desirable keychain flashlight.
Thanks for reading.
Disclaimer: since I was sent a pre-release/prototype version of Fenix E05R, it comes without any retail box nor any accessories so YMMV.
Let's take a quick glance at the specifications of Fenix E05R:
A thumb-sized flashlight that is suitable for keychain-carry...
size compare to a AAA NiMH battery
and size compare to other Fenix's AAA-sized battery, from left: Fenix E01 v2.0, Fenix E05R, Fenix E05, Fenix E05 SST20
sitting behind a TIR lens is a CREE XP-G2 S3 LED. The tint lean towards greenish at Low and Medium mode, while High and Turbo/Burst is pure white.
due to this protruding lanyard loop design, Fenix E05R does not offer tail-standing capability.
however, the hole is wide and big, yours truly can even fit an 8 strands paracord through...
because Fenix E05R has in-built battery, there has to be a way to recharge the battery, and for this, Fenix offers a Micro-USB port for recharging.
it's the year 2021, decision to still use Micro-USB seems at odd with the industry movement where almost every quality manufacturer is offering USB-C interface for recharging and data transmission.
Fenix could have offer USB-C port for recharging like the Fenix E09R in my not so humble opinion...
recharging the Fenix E05R is simple, just unscrew the body glove anti-closewise until the Micro-USB is fully exposed. Remember to screw the body glove to fully cover the Micro-USB port when you are done charging.
This design (same as Fenix E09R) is quite clever, great improvement over the traditional silicone/rubber USB cover as this provides better waterproofness via the use of o-rings and provides a more secure and durable cover for the Micro-USB charging port. Great feature!
Fenix E05R charges at 5V 180mA from a 2.4A USB source, it takes ~2 hours to recharge Fenix E05R from fully depleted state.
All modes are accessible during charging, include burst/turbo mode
The user interface is using standard Fenix e-switch UI:
- To Turn ON: hold the e-switch for 0.5 seconds to turn the Fenix E05R on
- To Turn OFF: hold the e-switch for 0.5 seconds to turn the Fenix E05R off
- To engage electronic lockout: double-click the e-switch while Fenix E05R is at OFF state, the light will blink twice to indicate it has successfully lockout. when Fenix E05R electronic lockout is engaged, clicking/pressing the e-switch will make Fenix E05R blink twice.
- To disengage electronic lockout: double-click the e-switch and Fenix E05R will turn on in Low mode
- To switch/cycle modes: while Fenix E05R is ON, click the e-switch to cycle through Low => Medium => High
- To access the Turbo/Burst mode of 400 lumens: hold the e-switch for approximately 1.5 seconds (although the manual says 1.2 seconds), this works whether the Fenix E05R is On or Off. If Fenix E05R is at off-state, it will first turned-On in Low mode and then switch On to Turbo/Burst mode.
Note: Fenix E05R has NO mode memory.
Note 2: It gets pretty hot using the Turbo/Burst mode after 30 seconds. I can feel the burn feeling from Fenix E05R after ~1 minutes constantly holding the e-switch button. I would recommend running no more than 30 seconds at a time unless you are wearing gloves or you are running it in a freezing cold weather.
My measured output of Fenix E05R:
The usual disclaimer: I do not claim the above measured lumens as authoritative nor an indication of over/under-stating the number given by manufacturer. It's calibrated against some known light output (e.g. SureFire, Elzetta, etc.) so take it with a grain of salt and just as a relative reading.
Following is the runtime plot of High mode:
Fenix E05R has a regulated and very stable output overall and the runtime claim is quite spot-on.
Note: since Turbo/Burst mode requires constantly holding of the e-switch, runtime of Turbo/Burst mode was not performed.
In conclusion, I would wholeheartedly recommend this Fenix E05R to anyone. Like the E09R, if there is any improvement I would suggest to Fenix is to offer Fenix E05R in High CRI version using Luminus SST20 or Nichia 219C LED in either Neutral White or Warm White. That would make Fenix E05R a much desirable keychain flashlight.
Thanks for reading.
