Got Fenix L2P today

I got my Fenix L2P today.

Wow! This thing BLOWS AWAY the mini mag lite that I had been using! I guess you get what you pay for. Incredible light output for 2AA. Very much worth the $50.

Sorry, for the excitement. I am still new to this.

Dave

Glad to hear you like it... do you own a L1P also? I hope to get one of those after Xmas.

I don't have the L1P but now I am thinking about getting one of those, too, just because the L2P is so awesome.

I'd like to see how much dimmer the L1P is than the L2P. I want to see more direct comparisons. Supposedly it's the same light output with shorter life in the L1P but someone here posted a beamshot showing the L2P to be quite a bit brighter than the L1P.

I just got my L1P and I thought that was good, can't wait till my L2P arrives

I'm not sure how representative it is of the sample, as I've only got one of each, but my L1P seems to be actually ever so slightly brighter than the L2P... :shrug:

in actual practice though, the difference is small enough, that the slightly bigger/less tight hotspot of the L2P makes it seem brighter at short-medium ranges.



pic clickable for larger version =)

When I look at the beamshot in the middle, it looks like the L2P is very slightly brighter.

GrnXnham: i see what you are saying (or seeing) the corona of the L2P does seem slightly brighter than the L1P in the middle pic. however, the hotspot of the L1P to me seems brighter in the underexposed pic (though probalby due to tint & a more concentrated beam) than the L2P. i really should go buy me a light meter =P

however, i'm not sure why many are claiming (or even hoping for) up to 60% brighter levels for the L2P over the L1P... they both use R-bins, rated at 31.8-51.7 bulb lumens. Given that the reflector/emitter setup seems to be the same in both, the L1Ps must all be at the lower end and the L2Ps at the higher end to get that 60% brighter claim..? i personally was expecting no more than a longer-running (albeit also longer in length) L1P =P

GrnXnham : Congrats for your light I am sure you are excited ... enjoy your light to the fullest

let's talk again after "new" wears off

Manufacturer, "General":
if it was a light for $20 - $25 .. I am sure, it will beat Mag in any and every aspect. also a true HAIII (thicker coating) would be nice

If the manufacturer has to grow & fast, they should reconsider pricing ... as if it's not a "speciality" light and built for the "general" public, they are competing against $2 - $20 lights ...

true MiniM@g at 12 - 15 still seems to be an "hi-end" light for the "general" public.

On Runtime, 2 Hours on Alkaline.. with Full regulation is not as good as I had thought, i was expecting atleast 3 - 3.5 hours on Alkalines and atleast 8 Hours on Lithium's

Sharp Drop / Sudden Darkness isn't the indicator of best thing in regulated light, a steep / logarathmic drop with a long "moon" mode would always be benificial (as with most of good regulated lights)

.... ah... i am expecting way too much from this light...

Let's wait for a review from Quickbeam & Criag too...

as for me i am happy with my QIII TWOJ DD RCR123 Li-ion & Heat Sink ... Small... Bright (will blow away any of fenix range) any time... + "moon" mode ... (especially in ultimate survival case requirements)

I've got an L2P on order from Lighthound and can't wait!

Personally I don't care if the L2P beam is not much brighter than the L1P, I'm more excited about having full regulation for several hours off NiMHs. I don't know about you guys, but I'm never sure when the L1P is dim enough to warrant a NiMH battery change.

gadgetnerd I have ordered the L2P for the same reasons, longer runtimes
I recenty purchased the L1P due to its practical size, I think they both are as equally good as each other. Its about time that a flashlight manufacture (Fenix) have made available a quality instrument with a reasonable price tag

gadgetnerd said:

I've got an L2P on order from Lighthound and can't wait!

Personally I don't care if the L2P beam is not much brighter than the L1P, I'm more excited about having full regulation for several hours off NiMHs. I don't know about you guys, but I'm never sure when the L1P is dim enough to warrant a NiMH battery change.

Click to expand...

as i understand, nimh batts aren't supposed to have any 'memory' effects unlike nicd's, but overdischarging them can be harmful. so if you have a charger capable of charging single cells, maybe one option is to change batteries based on a certain estimated (or fixed) time use instead of trying to figure out when the beam has dimmed too much maybe

The L1P gets pretty dim when the NiMH runs out but it's still bright enough to find your way around (maybe 2-3 lumens). I thought the hazard of overdischarging was the possibility of reverse charging in a multi-cell setup. This can't happen with 1 cell. I don't think it can happen with 2 cells, but I'm not thinking real clearly right now. It's mostly an issue with large packs.

Discharging an NiMH cell below .9-1.0V reduces the charge capacity and number of useful cycles.

In a multi cell application, the cell(s) that run out first can actually be forced into being reverse voltaged. That's basically the kiss-o-death.

Over discharge is bad, reverse volatge is much worse.

An L1P can easily overdischarge an NiMH AA if you run it past where it initially begins to dim noticably. At that point, it will still be putting out a decent but noticably diminished amount of light. It sounds like you're running way past that.

Lots of good info in these links.
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/index.htm
http://www.duracell.com/oem/Pdf/others/TECHBULL.pdf

Mike

Somy Nex said:

as i understand, nimh batts aren't supposed to have any 'memory' effects unlike nicd's, but overdischarging them can be harmful. so if you have a charger capable of charging single cells, maybe one option is to change batteries based on a certain estimated (or fixed) time use instead of trying to figure out when the beam has dimmed too much maybe

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info Somy Nex. After a bit of trial and error, I've decided that once the output from the L1P is at ~50% (ie nowhere near moon mode), I change the battery. At this stage they are usually around 0.95-1.0V.

It'll be interesting to see the battery voltage once the L2P slips out of full regulation.

I got my L2P from 4sevens today. It does seem to have O-rings that are slightly thicker than the O-rings in the two L1Ps I have gotten in the last few weeks. In a direct comparison with the L1Ps with fresh off the charger 2500 NIMH batteries all around the L2P is very slightly brighter. The L2P also has a very slight blue tint compared to the very slight green tint of both L1Ps. I put Energizer E2 lithiums into the L2P and that made it just a little bit brighter than it was with the NIMH batteries.
YMMV,
jclarksnakes

Regarding Fenix prices...

I inquired about becoming a dealer. There Terms and Conditions include:

"1. The retail price should not lower than our suggesting retail price. Fenix L1P should at retail price not lower than $44.95/pc, Fenix L1 should not lower than $29.95/pc and L2P is $46.5."

I'm afraid they don't understand how business is done in the U.S. at all. I also have a small manufacturing company, and it's our dealers who demand that WE as manufacturer don't sell below retail to protect their discounted prices.

I'm afraid they will have some difficulty getting dealers with that policy. I've seen a couple of dealers getting creative (5 free batteries with purchase), but Fenix really needs to allow the American market to 'do it's thing'.

It's interesting too that many American companies trying to do business in Asia make the same mistake: trying to get the Asian companies to behave like American companies.

I guess I'm confused by this.

Why would Fenix care what a dealer is selling their flashlights for?

If Fenix is selling lights to the dealer and the dealer keeps buying them to resale and it's working why would Fenix want to control the price? Let's say a dealer doesn't care to make a huge profit on this light and so they lower the price. Now the Fenix lights are flying off the shelves and the dealer has to order more from Fenix. Isn't this good for Fenix? If the price is controlled by Fenix then there is no competition for a lower price on a Fenix light and then less Fenix flashlghts are sold due to the higher price. This is bad for Fenix.

Yeah, I know, this is simply "Economics 101." I must be missing something here because I don't see any advantage for Fenix to control the price?

Anyone have a clue here?

perhaps they are taking into consideration all of their potential resellers? for example, there may be one who can only prepay up to 100 units, but has to pay a higher price for them, whereas a larger firm could purchase 2000 lights for a significant discount, this larger firm would be able to sell much lower than the smaller business with no such capitol, thus making one of the resellers angry. if they can price fix their units, it would keep both parties happier overall. also, they may be trying to keep a certain positive image for themselves. rather than appearing as just another 'cheap' flashlight manufacturer, they may want a 'higher class' image that people associate with higher prices.

eh, just an idea. i'm no economist either.

magic79 said:

Regarding Fenix prices...

I inquired about becoming a dealer. There Terms and Conditions include:

"1. The retail price should not lower than our suggesting retail price. Fenix L1P should at retail price not lower than $44.95/pc, Fenix L1 should not lower than $29.95/pc and L2P is $46.5."

I'm afraid they don't understand how business is done in the U.S. at all. I also have a small manufacturing company, and it's our dealers who demand that WE as manufacturer don't sell below retail to protect their discounted prices.

I'm afraid they will have some difficulty getting dealers with that policy. I've seen a couple of dealers getting creative (5 free batteries with purchase), but Fenix really needs to allow the American market to 'do it's thing'.

It's interesting too that many American companies trying to do business in Asia make the same mistake: trying to get the Asian companies to behave like American companies.

Click to expand...

Actually, that is a direct violation of federal antitrust laws, it is called price fixing and has been illegal for about 100 years. They cannot tell a dealer or distributor the price they can sell a product for. What they can do is prohibit a dealer from advertising prices lower than a certain price (called MAP short for minimum avertised price) or restrict internet sales to protect dealers and "ensure" that they provide adequate service.

There is a fine line between violating antitrust laws and complying and they have crossed the line.

I too got the L2P about a week ago. My strategy:

2 cheap-o bats (2 hours)
2 Energizer Lithium E2 throwaways (The best rating at approximately 4 hours), but quite a waste of money.

Try some duracell throw-aways.
Try some NIMH rechargables

You'll probably be pleased with the NIMHs (don't forget a car charger) but AAs are in any form the best of all worlds for this size flashlight as you can get bats anywhere, like lost somewhere in the Outback of SA, Australia! Trust me!

Congrats on your purchase. It's a great light, imho.

Andy
Scannist