Which is better for a female, E01 or P1 CE?

[nobita]

I'm getting a light for a female because she's working graveyard shifts at a hospital.

I personally have a couple Fenix (including the P1CE)

I like the upcoming E01 because of its runtime and battery type (she probably doesn't even know what a CR123 is :laughing. E01 also comes in with varity of colors which is cool (want to get her a orange one, any thouht on the color?)

I like the P1CE because of its output (90 vs 10 of E01) and it will help her fighting off stuff better than the E01, but the runtime is only 2.5 hrs.

Please disregard the price difference

Which one would you get ? (I'm leaning toward a natural P1CE slightly)

Thanks guys/girls

 

[Yucca Patrol]

I'm not sure what exactly she has to fight off with her flashlight, but you should also consider the Fenix L0D which runs on an AAA battery but gets really bright with its various modes. Very good run-time if she doesn't use the brightest mode all the time. 75 lumens at the brightest and 8.5 hours at the low 11 lumen setting. Small and fits on the keychain very nicely.

Definitely don't get someone who is not into flashlights a model that uses a CR123 battery. They'll go to the drug store for a battery, find out it costs $5 and never use the light again.

If you are a super nice guy, get her a couple AAA eneloops and a charger and she'll never be without light. . . .

 

[nobita]

Thanks Yucca. Yea I'm staying away from the CR123 lights now. I didn't want to get the L0D because it has multiple levels. I will read it over again..

anyone else?

 

[xcel730]

For a female who's not into flashlights, I think I'll first the the E01. Reasons: (1) It comes with a few colors (black and natural may be too dull for female), (2) It's small, (3) As Yucca said, CR123A batteries are intimidating for non-flashaholics, (4) She'll probably think that the E01 is pretty bright for a 1xAAA flashlight. Once she gets warmed up with using a flashlight, then you could get her something better ... she'll appreciate the P1 more after comparing with the E01. That's my $0.02

 

[nobita]

Thanks xcel730. I like the idea of going from low to high. I'll get a orange and a blue E01, what do you think?

There's still 1 week before they ship so please flood me with ideas until then.

appreciated...

 

[nerdgineer]

You weren't clear on what she wanted the light to do. The E01 sounds like a good light for finding things in low light or the dark; but if she needs to sweep a dark parking structure so see if there's anything suspicious lurking in the corners, she's going to need something with a lot more throw. For the latter, I'd pick the PID CE. I like it more than the regular P1CE. Screw it down for high, otherwise use it on low, or whatever. If you don't want the CR123, then at least a L1D CE or L2D CE if she can stand the size.

 

[warlord]

E01 or L0D. Keep to a standard battery and something that'll fit on her keychain or it'll never get used or carried. Odds are that she won't really use it most of the time anyway. But giving her something that is useful and always on hand will increase the chances.

 

[Marduke]

For a general keychain light, I say E01 for the simplicity, choice of colors, and it works fine on alkalines.

 

[nobita]

Yeah, sorry nerdgineer, guess I wasn't clear enough. It's definitely a starter light, so multiple modes are out, on top of the CR123. I don't like the sizes of your suggestion. They are too big.

E01 or L0D, yeah hard to decide, but look at the colors !!!

I'll order some E01s first I suppose ......

 

[xcel730]

You're welcome Nobita! I like the fact that E01 have a variety of color (just imagine how boring ipod will be if it's all white :nana. I'm actually quite surprised they didn't have a pink one, considering how well pink sells for (e.g., laptops, ipods, etc). I can't help you with the color, since it's a personal thing. I did order the orange (hard to resist anything orange) and black one myself. I think it'll be a very nice starter light for a non flashaholic (plus it's only $15). The simplicity of using 1xAAA batteries and just on/off function makes it a lot less intimidating. 10 lumens is plenty bright for close up work. A few years back, I spent like $25 to buy an led drop-in for my maglite solitaire, and it was only about 10 lumens ... I was so proud of how bright it was in comparison to the incan bulb.

I bought my lady a photon freedom light ... i taught her how to increase/decrease brightness, get to SOS and strobe mode, etc. She was like .. she said, "Honey, I don't care too much about flashlights ... I just need something that turns on and off" :shrug: when it's dark. I guess it's like guys not caring what fabric material we wear as long as it's comfortable.

Also, depending on who this female friend is. You may want to consider packaging it nicely. Instead of handing the flashlight to her or giving it to her in the original box, maybe spend a few dollars to buy a nice box to gift wrap it. A little thoughtfulness come a long way.

Thanks xcel730. I like the idea of going from low to high. I'll get a orange and a blue E01, what do you think?

There's still 1 week before they ship so please flood me with ideas until then.

appreciated...

 

[Burgess]

Fenix L0D-CE. Great choice.



But, i would suggest, also hand her a 4-pack

of Energizer Lithium L92 batteries.



Don't expect her to wanna' mess with rechargeables.


Simply state: "These kinda' batteries work best in it."



You are a good friend for doing this.

:twothumbs

_

 

[nobita]

I bought my lady a photon freedom light ... i taught her how to increase/decrease brightness, get to SOS and strobe mode, etc. She was like .. she said, "Honey, I don't care too much about flashlights ... I just need something that turns on and off" :shrug: when it's dark. I guess it's like guys not caring what fabric material we wear as long as it's comfortable.

Also, depending on who this female friend is. You may want to consider packaging it nicely. Instead of handing the flashlight to her or giving it to her in the original box, maybe spend a few dollars to buy a nice box to gift wrap it. A little thoughtfulness come a long way.

Your experience with the lady couldn't have been more true ahhhhhh. Yes I will wrap it up nicely. Thanks for reconfirming my thought !!!



Thanks Burgess for the input, but I will settle for the E01s for now as they are very easy to operate and come in different colors. If things get any better after this, I will upgrade her with something nicer

 

[xcel730]

I handmade a round sinnet keychain FOB for her. Attached the Photon Freedom light on it. Gift wrapped it and all. Like the one you see below (I gave her a yellow light, with orange/blue sinnet). I also told her a nice story of why I wanted to give her this. Needless to say, she liked the overall packaging and story more than the actual light.

 

[Yucca Patrol]

Great idea to wrap it up very nicely. Although you should save the original packing material and printed manual stuff, giving it to her already mounted on a nice lanyard or keychain with an easy to use clip would be great.

Also a great idea to give her a 4 pack of good lithium batteries if she is not ready for rechargeables. . .

 

[Crenshaw]

+ 1 on the LOD, i got one for a lady friend too...

Crenshaw

 

[g8trwood]

I will go against the grain with the P1. I bought one for my wife last year as she frequently leaves her school after dark. The difference between the two (size wise) in a purse is nothing. On a keychain yes.

On several occasions she has been very grateful to have the beam and be able to check out an area before walking into it. you cannot do that with the E01

 

[xcel730]

I comlpetely agree that a P1 would be a better choice. However, I think baby steps would be nice. I think once she gets used to carrying a light, then convincing her to get a better light is a lot easier. It's similar to getting a non-flashaholic to spend $100 to buy a flashlight, which most of us wouldn't hesitate to buy. They have to go slowly from $20 to $30 to $50 to $70 .. then what's an extra $30 for a much better light :thumbsup:. At least that's how I got sucked in.

I will go against the grain with the P1. I bought one for my wife last year as she frequently leaves her school after dark. The difference between the two (size wise) in a purse is nothing. On a keychain yes.

On several occasions she has been very grateful to have the beam and be able to check out an area before walking into it. you cannot do that with the E01

 

[xcel730]

Also a great idea to give her a 4 pack of good lithium batteries if she is not ready for rechargeables. . .

+1 on that. :thumbsup: