Fenix P1 First impression

I receive my P1 today stuck in a fresh 123 and gave it a twist. I was in impressed. I then put in a RCR 123 (blue 650mAh) and was delighted to se some real output from this light. Yes it is small. the reflector is smooth and the beam is clean. The tint is on the blueish side.
For the money it is a good value. It has typical Chinese fit and finish typical big globs of solder holding in the regulator board. there is what looks to be a hand finished nipple (instead of a solder blob to raise the contact from the board,
The light has a bead blasted finish. I almost feels like it has been cast with the threads machined vs totally machined.
I like the clip for hooking it to keys. I don't like the nylon holder thingy even though it feels heavy duty. I will never use it.

This light will certainly be able to take the place of a firefly or many other tiny single cell lux III lights. As a twisty it has a reasonable action which I was able to improve upon with a dab of magnalube.

One way to look at this is that a light that is this size and puts out this much light used to cost a whole lot more. Now that the Chinese are in this game prices will continue to fall and quick.
As an industry flashlights seem to be growing (have you seen all the lights Pelican makes?)
So for $40.00 (I think that is about what i paid) the P1 is a very good value. it is also a great place to start if you are a flash light freak on a budget.
Yaesumofo

Good and concise review. Thanks.

I am torm between getting this one or the Proton that just came out. Anybody care to give a comparison of the 2?

wonder how it would stack up with the Q3? (since both are single cell 3W w/ reflector)

and "dude, where's my Q3"? (i can't find my Q3, maybe this is a good time to shop for a replacement )

hivoltage said:

I am torm between getting this one or the Proton that just came out. Anybody care to give a comparison of the 2?

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i would imagine that the P1 will win hands down in terms of throw.

-David

I just ordered 1. I went to the Fenix Store website and just ordered a P1. I had no intention to get one I was just looking. Beware if just Looking:lolsign:

I really love mine. Its bright and tiny. Its tint is just like my L1P, as stated above, slightly bluish, but pretty good.

Smithers, there's a Rocket in my pocket!

Got mine 5 minutes ago. Again, supprisingly bright on a 3.0V lithium, and WOW! bright on a 3.7V Li-ion. It gets warm pretty quickly on the Li-ion, much quicker than my Fire~Fly III on Burst (about as quick as my Jil Intelli on Burst with an RCR2). It's hard to tell which is brighter, since the P1 has a tighter beam. The P1 on a Li-Ion will definitely outthrow the FFIII. Against my HDS U60XRGT they seem pretty equal on a white wall. It's too light here still to do a real test. Similar beams patterns.

The tint on my P1 is a very cool white, nearing blue. I thought my U60XRGT had a cool blue tint, compared to the warmer TWO_ bin LEDs in my McLux PD and Jil Intelli, but the P1 makes the XRGT look warm. I'm fine with the tint though. It's not unpleasent, and I don't expect perfect binning in a sub-$50 light.

It's pretty damn small too. Not quite small enough that I'd use it on a keychain. It's maybe 3/16" shorter than the Fire~Fly III with the keychain body (pocket body should be shorter than the P1). But like the Fire~Fly III, even us flashaholics will be impressed by the amount of light that comes out of this dinky light.

I have two small complaints about this light. First, and this seems true with all the Fenix lights, is that they don't come with batteries. On the L1P I honestly didn't mind (since I have NiMHs coming out of my ear), but IMO the P1 really should come with a battery. Getting a light without a battery seems like buying a brand new car and having to push it to the gas station.

The other complaint is that the threading is really rough on the head. Sharp edges rough. I cleaned the lube off with a cloth, and it was snagging the cloth. Added some Nyogel and the twist action got smoother, but it's still rough. I've got some fine grit sandpaper that I'll try on it. Again, I'm not expecting perfection on a sub-$50 light, but the threads on my L1Ps and L2P body were just fine.

Conclusion:

Fenix really hit a home run with the P1. It's small, very bright, and has fantastic regulation and runtime on a lithium primary. In these respects it kills the Amilite Neo T3 (although lags behind on construction). You get:

Small size
HAIII anodization
keychain attatchment that lets it stand on-end
BRIGHT!
Absolutely flat regulation for a full hour and a half
Metal reflector
Anti-reflective coated UCL
Ability to use Lithium Ions if you want

All for less than $50. They're gonna sell a whole lot of these.

gee, why did they come out with this now? I would have probably have bought this over my Amilite..... ahh well, it happens (all too often).

-David

I'll wait for a two stages P1....

yaesumofo, Planterz, I'd be interested in knowing if you had the Natural or Black P1. I'm under the impression the Black P1 was perhaps a second run and refined a bit? If yours are Black it would not appear to be so.

Why do you guys think it's so great that the P1 is much brighter on 3.7 volts? That just means the boost converter/regulator isn't doing its job. Otherwise it would be equally bright on 3.0 volts.

Just received my P1 from Fenix Store (thanks David)!

Luxeon perfectly centered, and very nice finish. Lighter than I thought it would be, but that is possibly to me EDC'ing my RAW Ns the past week. P1's tint is whiter than RAW Ns (of course that could vary due to the Lux Lottery) and after Pro Golding all the contacts and battery (AW's RCR 123 Protected 3 volt) just about the same brightness as the RAW Ns. Also, hot-spot transitions more smoothly into the larger side-spill on the RAW Ns though, P1's side-spill is impressive.

Lanyard/key chain clip on the P1 is easier to attach than on the RAW Ns and has round mounting holes opposed to RAW Ns's rectangular openings (which is my only gripe with the RAW Ns). I don't use any of my nano clips on the RAW Ns because the clip is never really free to move/swivel around the rectangular opening and this becomes very awkward especially since it is bound in one position. A round split ring in a rectangular opening just doesn't fit properly.

All in all, very pleased with the P1 and all of the Fenix lights I have purchased.

Niteowl said:

yaesumofo, Planterz, I'd be interested in knowing if you had the Natural or Black P1. I'm under the impression the Black P1 was perhaps a second run and refined a bit? If yours are Black it would not appear to be so.

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Natural/silver.

paulr said:

Why do you guys think it's so great that the P1 is much brighter on 3.7 volts? That just means the boost converter/regulator isn't doing its job. Otherwise it would be equally bright on 3.0 volts.

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Not necessarily. Depending on how it's designed or what the feedback algorithm is it may not be capable of reducing the output enough past a certain level beyond it's normal operating range. (say that three times in a row fast).

What's puzzling though is the runtime plots that show very poor regulation using a RCR123. You'd think that it would at least be flat for a little while longer near the spec'd input voltage range, whatever that is.

Regards,

NP

A light with a step-up converter will be brighter if the input voltage is higher than it's designed for. If it were a step-down converter (like the SF KL1 head), it'd be the same brightness until the input voltage was less than it's designed for.

Re: Smithers, there's a Rocket in my pocket!

Planterz said:

The other complaint is that the threading is really rough on the head. Sharp edges rough. I cleaned the lube off with a cloth, and it was snagging the cloth. Added some Nyogel and the twist action got smoother, but it's still rough. I've got some fine grit sandpaper that I'll try on it. Again, I'm not expecting perfection on a sub-$50 light, but the threads on my L1Ps and L2P body were just fine.

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I have two P1's from two different vendors. One has silky smooth threads and one has some chunky threads like Planterz. If you have one with these chunky threads you better keep it well lubed or it might wear itself out.

frisco

:thumbsdow I'm sorry, I still can't bring myself to buy Chinese. I'd rather spend the extra money on a USA made or even some of the Euro lights. Damn ! it does look good though :lolsign:

city cop said:

I'm sorry, I still can't bring myself to buy Chinese. :

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Better look around your house, including your closet, your computing equipment and all of your electronics!!!

Me, I'm happy to have married Chinese! Well made indeed.

city cop said:

:thumbsdow I'm sorry, I still can't bring myself to buy Chinese. I'd rather spend the extra money on a USA made or even some of the Euro lights. Damn ! it does look good though :lolsign:

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They you'd better forget about 90% of all flashlights. I just got the
streamlight TLR-2 and it's an awesome light, but it says, assembled in usa.

Actually, you're pretty much stuck with mag and surefire. toss the mag
bulbs because those are made in china. And the electronic SF components
90% chance they are made overseas.

In fact, if you are true to your convictions, you'd better not spend another
dime at walmart because 99% of their stuff is overseas/china.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the USA. I'm american through and through
and I'm totally for this country. But you have to draw the line somewhere.

Edit: take another example. Trueblue's KI-123's and superlights I recall
having "made in USA" engraved on the bezel. Thats totally weird cuz the
body is machined in japan and so is the converter. Just because it's labeled
such doesn't mean it is... it could just mean it's assembled in usa