The Fenix HP11 - a Review in Four Parts

[Nyctophiliac]

I would like to cast my vote in favour of this light.

Five hours underground with it as my primary headlamp (on a helmet, natch) and constant use has confirmed its usefulness and reliability. For the most part the lamp was on in medium mode - only going to a higher mode for long distance illumination. (People tend not to like it if you dazzle them when down a mine!)

The headstrap is of sufficient size to go around the rim of the caving helmet and a couple of pieces of gaffer tape ensured that it wouldn't come off in extreme circumstances. The diffuser was used for most of the time and only raised for long distance viewing - I didn't find a tunnel that the light could not illuminate to the end on turbo.

Despite me bumping the light and it's batterypack on the roof many many times, the light functioned very well indeed. Most of the other cavers had Petzl Duo, Raptor or Stenlight lamps, but were impressed with mine.

My backup lights were never used and I did not need to change the batteries at all.

Very happy with this lamp and thanks to this review that I went for it.

Cheers Subwoofer, now to figure out how I attach it to my cycle helmet!

Just a couple of pics so far:

Showing how my tape anti glare fix works - not too pretty, but functional.

A diffused high was enough light for this shot.

Fellow flashaholic Remoteneeded proves he is unafraid of small spaces or mud!

 

[GulfCoastToad]

Therrin, not enough info to reproduce your diffuser.

I found if I go to "walmrt's" pharmacy and buy their empty contact lens case with translucent caps, I can hot-glue/amazing-goop the edges a cap to elastic ($1, in fabric department) then tightly glued to the head the lights. When not in use, just flip the diffuser off to the side. This design seems to work very well on one of my lights; the contact lens case cap diameter seems to be perfect for most lights; and would work on hp11 in a pinch. I figure if this hp11 diffuser breaks off, I can reattach with this method, with added benefit of no elastic touching metal bezel. (Stock diffuser slightly insulates the warm metal, though only a potential problem with turbo mode.).

Can you post some pics of this mod?

 

[Kitchen Panda]

My big Christmas treat this year was an HP11 in yellow (thanks to my very thoughtful wife picking up on 2 months of hints, including a shortcut to the Fenix site on her desktop). Apart from household use, I plan to take this headlamp with me on my occasional site visits to hydro power plants and industrial sites (mostly I'm deskbound, but a couple of times a year I get out into the real world).


I failed the top strap IQ test, but at least I knew it was a test. The owner's manual does show the strap correctly assembled, but I guess I've gotten used to hand-holding consumer instruction manuals. A little Googling was helpful to figure out the top strap. I was pleased to find the straps allow the unit to be attached to a hard hat. Since if I drop a hard hat it may float down river for days, I will probably attach the lamp and hat with some kind of lanyard to prevent loss if I nod my head while looking over a tailrace handrail. I can pull my toque down over the battery box to help keep it warm, thoguh I suspect several hours in cold weather will still freeze the batteries. The battery cord is too short to tuck the box into a parka pocket.

One problem in the review seems to have been fixed. My lamp, serial number F45RB100731, was packed with a different diffuser - the clear lens drops into an opaque rim, and there's a tab at the 7 o'clock position (with hinge at 12:00) to flip up the diffuser. This eliminates the black marker/tape treatment others had to use to get rid of glare. The tab catches enough light that you can see if you've left the lamp on.

I've never owned a headlamp before, and now I wonder why. It's been terribly convenient around the house as I familiarize myself with the unit (I'm not playing, I'm training!). Though minor household work like stacking folding chairs or making the bed aren't much of a workout for the lamp, it is surprisingly comfortable to wear for hours at a time. It did get used for a semi-serious job when I was fixing some lamp sockets at my mother-in-law's house. One thing I really appreciate is that the light comes from between your eyes, making easy to see down deep holes (like lamp sockets). I was startled one evening to realize I could effortlessly see down into the back of the subwoofer speaker port while sitting on the couch. It was also useful for cleaning up Christmas toys that had rolled under various furniture.

Low-low (4 lumens) is quite enough for navigating around furniture or reading a Kobo (it was a good Christmas for gadgets). The 50 lumen setting is a lot of light and I like that the lamp should run for 20 hours at this level...I don't have to worry about changing batteries every few hours. Turbo mode will be useful for big/deep/dark openings that I run across, and actually lasts a long time, though I haven't clocked it yet. I did check the current draw in the various modes and it looks consistent with the advertised time on 2500 mAh NiMh. I suppose to get the weight down I could put in L91 lithium/iron disulfide cells, but I bet I'd only need 3 to get the same run time (and roughly the same voltage) as four NiMh.

Forgot to mention - beamwidth is about 7 degrees for the hot spot, according to tape measure, calculator and a little trig. The beam is much wider with the diffuser on, but I didn't measure it.

The construction looks...adequate. There are lots of hard plastic pieces that obviously shouldn't be abused, such as the battery carrier and the headband clips. That's OK, though, I won't be using this unit for hard usage in a cave. However, I may get to go underground in a mine this year, and I'll be sure to bring this lamp with me if I do.

Bill

 

[LUPARA]

THANKS for the great review! I actually ordered the HP11 before reading the review, after which I was very comforted at my choice of headlamp.
I almost bought a Zebralight H50, mainly because I like to keep things simple ... but I will get much more use out of the HP11 'cos it will be used outdoors where throw is a comfort
when hiking through areas that tends to have feral dogs, wild bore etc., things that need to be seen at a distance; and it will also serve as my bike light.
I'm sure that we're about to see some cool newer designs and improvements that will make the HP11 look like a dinosaur in a couple of years!!

 

[asval]

Nice and informative thread

Was considering buying the HP11, but the cost and lack of proper water protection turned me off it (IPX 6 :shakehead). Chose the Klarus ST20 at $40 with IPX8 rating :naughty: and lighter weight at the cost of not being able to load 2 AA's . Sure the HP11 has 37 more lumens, but from looking at a couple of sites I don't think it'll make that much of a difference.

Here are the sites I used for comparison if anyone is interested

First one has the hp11 with a bunch of other lights which I used to the best of my abilities to find a comparable light to the Klarus ST20 since it only appears in the second link.

http://fonarik.com/test/indexen.php?model=218&scene=1&mode=0

http://www.light-reviews.com/klarus_st20/

Granted the HP11 does include accessories (strap+ diffuser) for those extra $25, but for my application I don't think it'll make a difference since I just want to strap it to a bike helmet and use it for camping trips.

Hope I made the right choice :sweat:

 

[Freely]

Great thread! It was just what I needed to determine if the Fenix HP11 was the headlamp for my needs. I've decided to order one tonight. Thanks to the OP for his excellent review and continued follow ups. :thumbsup:

 

[Freely]

One problem in the review seems to have been fixed. My lamp, serial number F45RB100731, was packed with a different diffuser - the clear lens drops into an opaque rim, and there's a tab at the 7 o'clock position (with hinge at 12:00) to flip up the diffuser. This eliminates the black marker/tape treatment others had to use to get rid of glare. The tab catches enough light that you can see if you've left the lamp on.

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]



If you position the diffuser so that the tab is located at the 10 o'clock position and the hinge is located at the 2 o'clock position, then no light is visible to your eyes with the diffuser either open or closed. The diffuser reflection problem is fixed!

 

[robostudent5000]

nice! a functional diffuser. maybe fenix is finally getting it after all.

now only if they would get that a lot of headlamp users need a mode in the 10-20 lumen range.

 

[subwoofer]

That diffuser looks so much better. I'm glad Fenix have listened and updated the design.

 

[vēer]

Thanks for this awesome review, I was really tempted to pull the trigger on Hp11 about a week ago when it was on sale for 49$ but resisted since there is no real use for it at the moment and I dont have that much cash to keep it as a spare one
Not yet...
Really love what Fenix did with this one, almost 4h on max from 4xAA batteries is really respectable, I wish they made something with 1xAA and ZebraLight functionality form factor wise and mode wise as well.

 

[Kitchen Panda]

Great pictures - thanks for illustrating the new diffuser. And turning the diffuser works well, too - one of those ideas that's obvious once someone else points it out to me. I wouldn't last five minutes in the wild.

Bill

 

[Freely]

Great pictures - thanks for illustrating the new diffuser. And turning the diffuser works well, too - one of those ideas that's obvious once someone else points it out to me. I wouldn't last five minutes in the wild.

Bill

I was working in my attic with the diffuser hinge in the 12 o'clock position and noticed the glare from the tab in my peripheral vision. I just rotated the diffuser until the tab glare was gone. I found that if I rotated the diffuser too far then the glare from the hinge became visible. Through trial and error I eliminated all glare from the diffuser. The right spot turned out to be about 2 o'clock for the hinge and 10 o'clock for the tab. It's clear that the diffuser was designed to rotate on the reflector barrel because it glides smoothly yet securely holds the position the operator selects. It's only going to change position if the operator selects a change.

Thank you for your mention of the updated diffuser as I would not have purchased this headlamp with the old diffuser design. :thumbsup:

 

[postieboy]

I am sick to death of my original diffuser so this is good news. It is a great headlamp and IMHO only let down by the diffuser.

When open does the new diffuser still catch a bit of light? My original is fairly loose and never fully gets out of the beam and even half closes while walking catching the light. Does the newer one stay in place and not wobble about when open?

Has anybody ordered the updated diffuser from Fenix? I just checked their website and the product photo looks like the original. I would hate to order another diffuser and be stuck with another useless original one!

 

[Kitchen Panda]

I am sick to death of my original diffuser so this is good news. It is a great headlamp and IMHO only let down by the diffuser.

When open does the new diffuser still catch a bit of light? My original is fairly loose and never fully gets out of the beam and even half closes while walking catching the light. Does the newer one stay in place and not wobble about when open?

Has anybody ordered the updated diffuser from Fenix? I just checked their website and the product photo looks like the original. I would hate to order another diffuser and be stuck with another useless original one!

When I open the diffuser, there's a little shadow of the diffuser in the corona, but if you've got the hinge at the 10:00 position the shadow is up and out of the way. I haven't noticed mine tending to slip down, but I usually have the diffuser down. The headlamp has been only lightly used, though it does see regular morning use in making sure the socks match the shirt and pants.

My HP11 was ordered before Christmas and came with the new diffuser. I ordered one for my brother in February and it, too, came with the new diffuser - the serial number was only about 20 higher than mine. However, these orders were from the Toronto outlet and I guess your odds of getting the old diffuser are different if you've got a longer pipeline (though Newcastle is actually 4000 km closer to China than is Winnipeg).

Bill

 

[Freely]

I am sick to death of my original diffuser so this is good news. It is a great headlamp and IMHO only let down by the diffuser.

When open does the new diffuser still catch a bit of light? My original is fairly loose and never fully gets out of the beam and even half closes while walking catching the light. Does the newer one stay in place and not wobble about when open?

Has anybody ordered the updated diffuser from Fenix? I just checked their website and the product photo looks like the original. I would hate to order another diffuser and be stuck with another useless original one!

Yes, the diffuser does still catch a bit of light if it is not fully open. As you can see, the hinge is controlled by a plastic tension tang. Mine is still new so the tang works perfectly but as it ages, I'm sure the tension will be reduced and the diffuser will tend to not open fully or wobble. You can also rotate the diffuser on the reflector barrel to move the hinge to the 12 o'clock position when the diffuser is open to make sure it is out of your line of sight.

The difusser is listed as AD03, however, the pictures I've seen are of the old design. Brightguys has the device listed for three dollars. I would call them and describe the new design or show them these pictures to make sure you're ordering the correct device.

Also to slow down excessive wear on the plastic hinge and tension tang, you could put a drop of silicone or plumber's grease on the friction point.

 

[arizona1]

has anyone been able to find a place to buy the new diffuser? All the places i looked have the old model.

 

[arizona1]

Okay so i have been emailing fenix in regards to this new diffuser. This is what they keep saying:
The photo posted on the CPF forum is not what Bright Guy has on his website. Please compare. Here's his:
http://brightguy.com/Fenix/Fenix+AD03+Diffuser+Lens
The CPF forum photo has a little protrusion of the lens. We have the current Fenix products (since we are the central US distributor) and ours is the same one that Bright Guy has, both without that little protrusion. So Fenix's current model is Bright Guys and ours.
I compared the diffuser lens in our new shipment of HP11s with the AD03 and they are exactly the same.

So, they make it seem like they dont even know about the new diffuser. How is this even possible if it has been shipped out with the HP11's. It clearly looks to be a new model of diffuser. Does anyone know anything? To the people that bought the HP11 with the new diffuser, where did u get it?

 

[Freely]

It's pretty clear that whoever you spoke with is not knowledgeable about the Fenix product line. He kept referring to the protrusion on the diffuser lens as if that was the major difference. The real difference in the new model is that the lens is recessed in the black housing so that the edges don't throw light off in all directions. You can clearly see in the brightguy photo that the old diffuser lens sits on top of the housing and is not recessed. The protrusion on the new model is there because with a recessed lens you need that protrusion to flip the lens up and away from the light. You're wasting your time dealing with a person that is so unfamiliar with the product. That is why I think you need to call several vendors until you find someone that knows about the product.

I bought my HP 11 from a vendor on Ebay who had the lowest price ($59.90) and free shipping. I suppose it is possible that big vendors with huge inventories of Fenix products in stock may have older versions with the old diffuser. We know that the new diffusers exist.

 

[florinache]

Hello everybody!
My HP11 arrived last week (after 1 month of waiting). It has the new diffuser, which, indeed, does not stay fully open and catch a bit of light. The glare in the potrusion...a bit of black tape and it's done.
I removed the upper strap, the lamp stays well on my head without it.

Here are some running times:

with 2700 GP NiMh: 6h30 on high (not turbo), + 5h on mid and after 11 more hours on low I got bored of waiting, it was still running
with 2500 Eneloop XX: 8h55 on high + 20 more minutes the next day (I shut it down in the evening, after it switched automatically to mid mode) + 2h on mid + after 40 hours on low is still running.

The Eneloops were brand new, after just one discharge, the GP's were after 20 or so discharges and right after a full discharge.

I think it's a great lamp, well built and with a nice yellowish beam, good throw.
The diffuser is ok, but I believe it won't last too much.
The wire is a bit too long, even on my climbing helmet. It would have been nice to be coiled.
I'd love it to have one more level of lighing, at 20 lumens or so, for using it on familiar trails and around the camp, it would last much longer than the 55 lumens level, which I think is a bit too bright for that.
Anyway, I love it, it's a good replacement for my Primelite Race.

 

[degarb]

I was getting similar 6.5 ish on high, until I got my smart charger that charged batteries singularly, not in pairs. Helped alot. I also bought new powerex 2700s and eneloop pro.