Help me, should I get the Fenix L1p or the L2p?

Please bare with me for a rather lengthy question, but I'm a noob here and english isn't my first language.

I've been racking my brain for a while now over which light should replace my old 2D maglite, and after hours of review reading I've decided that one of the Fenix's suits me the best. I'm on a quite tight budget after christmas and being a student and all, so the obvious answere to get them both wont apply on me.
The size different isn't a biggie for me, but the abrupt regulation of the L2p could be a problem, and it seems like it doesnt use up all of the batteries power which seems like a waste. I actually like the fact that the L1p will go on for a couple of hours with low light, and that I could just pop in a new AA when it's out or just to get a bright beam again, insted of 2 for the l2p (twice the amount of batteries to carry around for a weekend in the forest), especially when they have the same runtime.

According to Roys chart the L2p is 69% brighter, and some other reading at this forum gives the l2p 100lux more in throw or so, add the fact that L1p isn't fully regulated and drops out full power rather quickly, but how much of a difference does that make in real life? As I understand it, it's quite easy to stare onself blind on numbers and forget that your senses actually wont register changes that seems huge when you only read the numbers. Add the fact that some threads here even states the L1p is brighter than the L2p!

And does any of them even come close in throw to a regular 2D light (well, the first 10mins at least, after that my mag was less than impressive, not to say depressing).

To break it down.

1. How much brighter is the L2p in real life? If it's a lot and noticable I'll go for the L2p.
2. Would a L2p and my old long life cluster-led cover most situations, or should I get a decent thrower like the Streamlight 4AA Luxeon (rather hard to obtain in Sweden) and the L1p just for fun?
3. Should I just surrender to the Li 123 mafia and get a 2 stage Nuwai TM-301X-3 to cover all my needs which is rather tempting but getting cheap 123a Li in Sweden is a hazzle so this isn't really an option.


Sorry for a long (probably unnecessary long) post, the only excuse I got is that I'm tired and confused.

The Streamlight 4AA Luxeon has killer throw. Get it and the smaller (L1P) Fenix.

You will not be sorry with these two lights. Best buy and bang for buck. I don't think anyone here will argue that.

Based on what you wrote, I'm not sure why you want the L2P. The difference in LUX is about 250 LUX. The L1P 2.5 will throw about 75ft max and the L2P about 90ft MAX with usable throw being 30% less. So not that much difference in throw. The output is a bit more noticable but not really too big a difference. The nice thing about the L2P is the 5hrs of runtime on Lithium AA's or 4hrs on NiMHs.

I recommend you get the SL4AA PP Luxeon with 4hrs runtime and about 180ft of max throw... if you really want a smaller EDC type pocket light then go for the L1P 2.5

jus' my 2c

Oh! And welcome to CPF. Hope you stay a while.

Hrmm... that is a lot of questions!

Well, none of the Fenix lights are going to compare to a 2D Mag as far as throw but they are still very decent and very usable lights. Throw is largely a function of reflector diameter and/or depth. NO light in the Fenix size class can throw like a 2D Mag at anywhere near $40.

I own an L1P, and L2P and an L1 (not premium). My L1P and L2P have exactly the same tint (luck of the draw) but I can't see any substantial difference in brightness or throw going from the L1P to the L2P. I only use NiMH cells so maybe there is more of a difference with alkaline cells. But on those NiMH cells, I get over two times the runtime with the L2P as the L1P. If you value runtime over brightness, you might try to track down a V2.0 L1 or L1P. The current flock of L1Ps are the v2.5 which trade off a LOT of runtime for an itty bitty bit of extra brightness.

I used to have a TW0J-modded Q3 with 2 stage clickie and I usually ran it on rechargeable 123 cells so it was quite a bit brighter than the Fenix but only got about 40 to 45 minutes or runtime on high... but for most uses, low was fine. I never did a runtime test, but I'd imagine it was in the neighborhood of 4-5 hours but that's purely a guess.

Overall, I'd say if you don't have an issue with the added size of the L2P, I'd probably get it over the L1P, esp if you are considering using NiMH cells which I would strongly suggest you would. Even when it drops out of regulation, it's not like it drops to zero output... It's still enough to walk around the house or wherever you if it is pretty dark. The L2P will also likely be easier to handle with gloved hands.

Overall, the Fenix series of lights are quite desirable in my opinion. They give good brightness and respectable runtime for their diminuitive size. They are trimmer than pretty much ANY 123 light. They throw reasonably well... actually quite well considering how small the reflector is but if you want throw, I'd probably get a bigger light.

Re: Help me, should I get the F L1p or the L2p?

Its hard to make a choice as the L1P and L2P are both as good as each other,
Most would say the L1P due to its size, I like the L2P for its runtime,
If in doubt get both, eaither way you can't lose

I would ANY time trade the little bit of more throw (with an ugly light dot) of my old Mag 3D,

for the much better, brighter light of my 2AA led lights at flashlight distances, and the greatly reduced size and weight.

You don't explain what you want to do with the light, so it's hard to answer. For a lot of usage, throw doesn't matter much. Surefire lights have lots of output but they purposely have a wide beam, to maximize usefulness at close and medium distance, at the expense of throw.

Second, you don't explain why you want an LED light, or whether incan might be ok. Did you consider the Streamlight Strion? That will kick the pants off your Mag, and have very low battery expenses (it's rechargeable). It's incandescent and sort of like the Pelican M6 or Surefire 6P but with a lithium ion battery.

If you want an LED light with throw, there's various modder lights like the Aleph 3, that might be more expensive than you want to deal with. They, too, can run on rechargeable lithium ion cells. The same goes for the HDS EDC series, which in its lowest priced configuration (EDC Basic 42) is about 3x the cost of an L1p, so again that may or may not be within your range. Or if you go with a 123 light, you could just decide to order a box of 123's from overseas once in a while.

Get both
http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1060

I have both and use the L2P more, I think due primarily to its almost unreal runtime. I like the thought of turn it on, let it run, no worries, it'll go forever... over 3 hours constant brightness with rechargeable NiMH cells, the regulation on the L2P is really great! The L1P is a great EDC for pocket carry and no slouch for runtime as well, and cheaper than paper plates to operate with rechargeable NiMHs.

My 2 pesos, which is what it cost me to run my L2P on my desk tonight

L1P with the two stageswitch mod is just about PERFECT for camping.

Small, light weight good run time on high great run time on low.

I use the 10 ohm mod and leave it running all night in the tent as a tent light using the white Fuji film holder as a dufussing globe. I use HIGH for walking around outside.

If you want to use it as a walking outside light around light on low I would suggest either the 2.5 or 5 ohm resistor mod.

If I used a light everyday for work I would go to the L2P due to the easier to keep up form factor.

wwglen

Wow, thanks for all the fast and helpfull answeres.
Not your fault that I still cant decide which one to get, they are so similar and both have good both small advantages

I'm primarily going to use the light for fishing (need a long battery life lantern type like spread of light, my old cluster led does this job fine), walking, boating (good thrower) and miscellaneous night jobs (small). Incadescent is not an option for various reasons. And as I'm typing this, I'm realizing that it would be next to impossible to cover all those needs with a single light with my budget. Since there isn't much of a difference with output and throw I'll get the L1p and get a descent thrower later or just stick with my 4D handheld torch for the boat.

The runtime with nimh with the l2p are tempting, but isn't kind of risky considering the full regulation to overcharge the batteries?

Thanks for the welcome Cromag, I've enjoyed this forum for a while only as a viewer, just hoping I wont become a complete flashaholic...


Happy new year to you all!

Lobo said:

The runtime with nimh with the l2p are tempting, but isn't kind of risky considering the full regulation to overcharge the batteries?

Click to expand...

Do you mean over-discharge the batteries Lobo? If so, I wouldn't worry. I've done a few (non scientific) tests and it seems that the L1P will suck NiMH batteries down to very low (possibly damaging) voltages, whereas the L2P eventually fulls out of full regulation and doesn't seem to suck the batteries below 1V.

Both are fantastic lights for slightly differnt reasons. As anyone on CPF will tell you - get both

gadgetnerd said:

Dwhereas the L2P eventually fulls out of full regulation and doesn't seem to suck the batteries below 1V.

Click to expand...

the L2P regulation also work with only one rechargable. is that right?



You have too batteries. sometimes they won´t match.
Was a seriuous problem with my first 4AA Digicam...

If its strictly between the L1P and L2P, get the L2P for the runtime.
They are nearly the same price. Either way you'll be happy I think.

Ken

What is your 4D handheld?

Might want to install a Radio Shack XPR103 in it.

Lobo said:

I'm primarily going to use the light for fishing (need a long battery life lantern type like spread of light, my old cluster led does this job fine), walking, boating (good thrower) and miscellaneous night jobs (small). Incadescent is not an option for various reasons. And as I'm typing this, I'm realizing that it would be next to impossible to cover all those needs with a single light with my budget. Since there isn't much of a difference with output and throw I'll get the L1p and get a descent thrower later or just stick with my 4D handheld torch for the boat.

Click to expand...

Hi! :wave:

For your case I would go with the L2P. It sounds like you need something for general utility more than anything else so I would take the extended run times for your situation.

I have both but the only reason I carry an L1P is because space is at an absolute premium on belt and in my pockets. I literally have a "Bat Belt" being I carry a gun, extra mag, phone, and lighter on my belt alone, a flashlight can literally be the straw that broke the horse's back for me so I want as small and powerful as possible. If not for this reason I would carry the L2P more.

Either way you will be impressed with either, just my $.02 cents.

Thanks for all the answeres again. I finally went for the l2p, the size is actually an advantage (if youre not allready carrying a gun,phone, batarangs etc.. ), and the great use with nimh is nice to.

Icebreak: Dont know the brand, it's some noname, but it works ok. Only thing I could whish for is longer batterylife, that's why I'm looking for a led-replacement, but I'll wait with that now, thight budget.