Civictor V1

The Civictor V1 - a 1watt Lux, single AA - was one in the bunch of flashlights 4sevens (http://fenix-store.com/) very kindly sent me on loan for CPF review.

Please see also -

Fenix L1T (vs. L1 v2.5, L2T, Civictor, P1)

Fenix L1P with Color LEDs

Fenix P1 - "pocket rocket"

First question - is it or is it not a Fenix?

As many more observant CPF members have pointed out no where on the light (or packaging) does it actually say Fenix - nor is the Civictor V1 listed on the http://fenixlight.com/ web site.

However 4sevens does list it under Fenix on his fenix-store.com site and says:
"Introducing the Civictor V1! It's the most affordable Fenix to date. But expect the same quality found in all entire Fenix line."

I'll leave the speculation at that, and just look at the light.

Size -

actually shorter than the Fenix L1 - because the Civictor is a twisty - so saves on the clicky switch.

Heads -

looks remarkably similar to the Fenix L1

Supplied pouch -

looks similar in style to the latest Fenix belt pouches - but it is not exactly the same, nor does it have a "Fenix" label.

How does it perform?

vs. Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium) both on alkaline -

on paper these two should be the closest - both similarly spec'd and priced (if you can get a plain non-premium L1) - in my comparison the Civictor looks brighter and has a much better tint than my non-premium Fenix L1.
This is a good performance.

(on alkaline) vs. S1801 1w Luxeon 1xCR123

comparable with the Civictor looking a bit brighter and the tints are even somewhat close - although the S1801 is warmer more yellow - which I like.

vs. Fenix L1T both on alkaline -

(important note - as labeled - the L1T is on the left and Civictor on the right - I've used the beamshots from my Fenix L1T review)
very comparable, with the 3watt L1T on Hi maybe just a shade brighter than the 1watt Civictor V1.

(on alkaline) vs. Fenix P1 on primary CR123A

the 3watt Fenix P1 not surprisingly is a bit brighter than the 1watt Civictor V1.
and as a check the Civictor on Lithium AA (showing only the -2 stops underexposed beamshot - to compare brightness)

Civictor V1 on lithium AA is a shade brighter than on alkaline, and makes it comparable to the Fenix P1 on primary CR123A -
this is very remarkable considering the P1 is a good 3watt......

and I'll leave it at that........

I've tested the output from 3 Civictors vs. 3 L1Ps, using the same battery, and got numbers between the 2 groups which overlapped (and were very close overall). By my samples, the advertised Civictor spec shortchanges it. They are the full equivalent of the L1Ps in terms of output and run time, although YMMV.

Note, my measurements were of total output, not central brightness. The AR glass of the L1P gives it about a 10% edge in central hotspot brightness, but the Civictor distributes that 10% difference into a slightly more spill.

Civictor V1 current draw readings

Alkaline (1.463V open-circuit) = 0.63A
Lithium AA (1.688V o-c) = 1.00A

That's pretty remarkable that the Civictor is drawing 1A with Lithium AA -
no wonder that it was somewhat comparable with the 3watt Fenix P1 on primary CR123A

UnknownVT said:

Civictor V1 current draw readings

Alkaline (1.463V open-circuit) = 0.63A
Lithium AA (1.688V o-c) = 1.00A

That's pretty remarkable that the Civictor is drawing 1A with Lithium AA -
no wonder that it was somewhat comparable with the 3watt Fenix P1 on primary CR123A

Click to expand...

However, the Civictor is drawing it's 1.0 amp at 1.7V while the P1 is drawing whatever it did at 3V. I'm assuming the P1 3 watter drew a lot higher power than the Civictor's 1.7 W.

nerdgineer wrote: "I'm assuming the P1 3 watter drew a lot higher power than the Civictor's 1.7 W."

This is correct - here are the readings from the Fenix P1

Primary CR123A (2.96V o-c) = 0.80A
Rechargeable RCR123 (4.03V o-c) = 0.63A

So on primary CR123A the total power draw for the Fenix P1 at the battery was 2.37watts
(just for interest the rechargeable RCR123 power draw was 2.54watts)

However with the Civictor V1 on 1.7V Lithium and the Fenix P1 on primary CR123A this was what I got....

The Civictor was slightly dimmer but pretty comparable.

What are the current draw readings on the L1P?

On Lithium AA - my non-premium L1 v2.5 draws in the ballpark of 0.63A and the new 3watt Fenix L1T drew 0.78A.
So the Civictor current draw is significantly higher than either of those two.

UnknownVT...Have you tried, or do you know if it's safe to run a Civictor on a protected 14500 LIon cell? I'm thinking of getting one, but only if it's feasible to run it on LIons. Thanx!

PJD

PJD wrote: "Have you tried, or do you know if it's safe to run a Civictor on a protected 14500 LIon cell?"

I think the Civictor V1 shares a lot in common with the Fenix L1P.

So I don't think so - if I recall correctly voltages much higher than 1.7V would damage the light... and 14500 are nominally rated at 3.6/3.7V and can come off the charger at 4.2V - way too high....

However the 3watt Fenix L1T is rated to 4.0V.