Why does Fenix still not offer a REAL low mode?

[fenix store]

I just got the new Fenix HT32 which I love but a real low like 5 or so lumens would have been great.

I don't like that I have to put that flashlight away then pull another one out to get a real low output for maybe a few minutes, then put it away and pull out the brighter light.

It's an inconvenience. My Acebeam 1,300 meter thrower has a 1 lumen moonlight mode and it's all in one package.

I heard back from Fenix. Here is the response the engineer gave:
"The main reason is that flashlights with 3,000 lumens or above cannot reach such low lumens at the same time. If it's too low, flickering will occur. "

So the PD35 V3.0 we recommend may be a good choice for the user.

I can't address the Acebeam features. Just understand patents can be involved. Thanks for your input!

 

[fuyume]

I just can't understand Fenix's reasoning for not having a real low level like 5 lumens or less. I mean how many years do people need to request it before they actually make it happen?

I own two Fenix lights that have 5 lumen modes, the E12 v2.0 (1xAA) and the HM23 headlamp (1xAA). I also own a PD36 TAC (1x21700), whose lowest mode is 30 lumens. Anytime the PD36 TAC is in my hands, you can be sure I'm not going to miss having a mode lower than 30 lumens, and anytime I'm going to want a mode lower than 30 lumens, I won't be reaching for a tactical flashlight.

A true tactical flashlight should never have a low output mode. It should have one mode—maximum output—with possibly a strobe mode. I like the PD36 TAC (and other models with the same operation features), because it has mutually exclusive tactical and utility modes that are physically locked.

I don't need one flashlight to cover every possible use case, so I don't really understand the desire to have a flashlight that has a 5 lumen mode as well as a mode that is anything above 100 lumens. Fenix absolutely sells flashlights with 5 lumen modes.

I also have an Nitecore EC11 (1x18350), which has a red secondary light and a 1 lumen mode, but which is so overly complicated and which I use so infrequently even though it is my EDC light that I forget how to turn it on in either the red mode or the 1 lumen mode, and instead end up turning it on in its 900 lumen mode. Every time I take it out to use it, I have to take 2 minutes to refresh my memory on how to use the damn thing. Worse, it has nothing between 1 lumen and 70 lumens, unless you use it exclusively with CR123As, in which case it goes 1 lumen to 40 lumens. Otherwise, it's a great light, but I really wanted its 14500/AA sibling, the EA11.

My old Leatherman Serac S3 (1xCR123A) had three modes: 5 lumens, 45 lumens, 100 lumens, always turns on in the low mode, one button, no memory. Best utility flashlight I've ever owned, really, except for the fact the CR123A batteries now cost a fortune where I live, and the RCR123As that are limited to 3 V output are longer than an actual CR123A, so I'm afraid to try one and ruin it. That's the only reason I don't use it, anymore.