MacTech
Enlightened
I recieved my L2T from 4Sevens this morning, before i went into work, i've had all day to play with it, and have been very favorably impressed with it
For the longest time i never really saw the point of the L2 series of Fenixes (Fenii? ), sure you got full regulation and a slight increase in brightness, but in a less pocket-freindly form factor, the nice thing about the L1 series is the fact that it can dissapear so effectively into my jeans pocket, i forget i'm carrying it until i need it, i figured a minor brightness increase wasn't worth the loss of the pocketability
...after all, a 3 watt Lux isn't *that* much brighter than a 1 watt, the L1P held it's own quite capably against my G&P 3W upgraded SureFire G2, yes the G2 was brighter, but at the cost of pocketability, and for most of my EDC needs, the L1P was more than sufficient, when i needed a really bright light, i always had my P61'ed SF 6P in the belt holster
a few weeks ago, on a whim, i ordered a P1 from 4Sevens....
okay, i was wrong about the differences between a 1 watt and 3 watt Lux, the P1 put out *amazing* amounts of light for it's size, i just wish it had a multi-stage feature.....
with the August discount ending, i wanted to sneak in another order under the wire, so it came down to another P1 (black this time) or the L2T
i decided to go with the L2T, mainly for the dual-level thing, as i really liked my hacked L1 with modded 2-stage tailcap (10 ohm 1/4 watt resistor in the tailcap)
the light arrived today, fit and finish is typical high Fenix quality (although *this* Fenix has a tiny horizontal scratch in the reflector, just like my P1, doesn't affect beam quality in the least, so it doesn't concern me), brightness on high is right up there with the P1, low could be lower, but still not bad, although low really doesn't work well on Energizer AA Lithium cells, it drops maybe 5% if that, i think the light may just be running in direct-drive mode until the current drops down to 1.5V per cell instead of the standard 1.7V of Lithium AA's, no matter, as i plan to run those Kodak/Sanyo NI-MH AA rechargables in the L2T anyway, they work perfectly with the HI/LO setting...
As i was playing "Fenix-Lego", i discovered a cool feature, my 2-stage L1 tailcap worked on the L2T, and actually gave me a *third* level, the true low 10 ohm setting....
with the L2T's head in the Low position, i could twist the light on, and alternate between the 10 ohm Low and the stock Low by clicking the tailcap, the "off" position became Low, the "on" position became "Medium" (normal Low setting), and twisting the head to High with the switch on gave the full High setting, with the head on High, clicking the switch to "off" switched down to the 10 ohm Low
i then proceeded to swap the two switch modules between the two tailcaps, moving the L1's switch module into the L2T's HAIII tailcap, and putting the L2T's module into the HAII L1's tailcap (the switches appear to be identical red-button switches)
so with a simple switch swap, i now have a 3-level L2T, very cool
this 3-stage L2T has already replaced a few lights in my EDC arsenal....
I normally EDC;
Fenix L1 Lighthound Special with 2-stage tailcap (RF pocket)
Fenix P1 (RF pocket
Fenix E1 (change pocket)
SureFire 6P w/P61 (belt holster)
SureFire G2 w/ 3W G&P Luxeon and UCL glass lens (LF pocket)
Inova X5 (LF pocket)
Mag Soli w/ MJLED (keyring)
of all of those, the L1, X5 and G2 see the most use...
i no longer need to carry the L1, and may end up selling it to a co-worker who is new to quality lights, maybe i'll keep it for a spare/backup light, as it is the limited-run L1 Lighthound Special with the binned Lux from the L1P, and minus the HAIII and multicoated lens, then again, i do have a spare L1P as well, so the L1 is truly superfluous
the E1 is also unneccecary, as the super-low on the L2T puts out a similar (actually a bit less, to be honest) amount of light, and has a far superior beam pattern, the E1 is too nice to bang around on the keyring, i have a Pewter MJLED'ed Mag Solitaire for that, don't care how scarred up *it* gets
i also just ordered a Fenix E0 to replace the E1/Soli.....
technically, the P1 is also unneccecary, but that's just too cool of a light and so small it *does* dissapear unnoticed into pocket, so i *will* be carrying the P1, since it takes up no space anyway, it also *really* impresses the "unenlightened"....
the L2T on high is *almost* as bright visually as my G&P 3w equipped SureFire G2, and is narrower and more pocket freindly, uses more common (and more stable) batteries, so the G2 will also be unneccecary for EDC, and will go back into the center console of the car, there if i need it (i'm usually within walking distance of my car should i need it anyway)
the MiniMagLED 3AA has a brighter hotspot on spot focus, and a wider flood beam on flood, but there are still faint artifacts in the beam, the L2T has a more "SureFire-esque" beam, the MMLED will outthrow the L2T, but the L2T has a more *useful* beam, the MMLED may also end up as a car light, as it fits in the center console better than the MagLED 2C (which doesn't fit in the center console *at all*)that's that's jammed between the center console and passenger seat, that MagLED 2C will either become a trunk-light, or come back into the house and just put in the "Box-O-Lites" of extra lights i don't use anymore nut keep for backup purposes
the Inova X5 white also is superfluous and will either end up as a car light, or back in the "Box" as another backup/emergency light....
So, with the L2T, i can trim my EDC down to;
Fenix P1
Fenix L2T
SureFire 6P
maybe the Fenix E1/E0 as they take up almost no room anyway
Soli/MJLED
the G2, X5 and MMLED 3AA can be moved to Car Duty, the L1 can be kept as backup or sold to my co-worker, the 2C MagLED can be moved from Car Duty back to Backup, maybe slap a MJLED PR in it for a long-runtime power outage light...
the L2T is an awesome little light, and even better in it's 3-stage incarnation....
For the longest time i never really saw the point of the L2 series of Fenixes (Fenii? ), sure you got full regulation and a slight increase in brightness, but in a less pocket-freindly form factor, the nice thing about the L1 series is the fact that it can dissapear so effectively into my jeans pocket, i forget i'm carrying it until i need it, i figured a minor brightness increase wasn't worth the loss of the pocketability
...after all, a 3 watt Lux isn't *that* much brighter than a 1 watt, the L1P held it's own quite capably against my G&P 3W upgraded SureFire G2, yes the G2 was brighter, but at the cost of pocketability, and for most of my EDC needs, the L1P was more than sufficient, when i needed a really bright light, i always had my P61'ed SF 6P in the belt holster
a few weeks ago, on a whim, i ordered a P1 from 4Sevens....
okay, i was wrong about the differences between a 1 watt and 3 watt Lux, the P1 put out *amazing* amounts of light for it's size, i just wish it had a multi-stage feature.....
with the August discount ending, i wanted to sneak in another order under the wire, so it came down to another P1 (black this time) or the L2T
i decided to go with the L2T, mainly for the dual-level thing, as i really liked my hacked L1 with modded 2-stage tailcap (10 ohm 1/4 watt resistor in the tailcap)
the light arrived today, fit and finish is typical high Fenix quality (although *this* Fenix has a tiny horizontal scratch in the reflector, just like my P1, doesn't affect beam quality in the least, so it doesn't concern me), brightness on high is right up there with the P1, low could be lower, but still not bad, although low really doesn't work well on Energizer AA Lithium cells, it drops maybe 5% if that, i think the light may just be running in direct-drive mode until the current drops down to 1.5V per cell instead of the standard 1.7V of Lithium AA's, no matter, as i plan to run those Kodak/Sanyo NI-MH AA rechargables in the L2T anyway, they work perfectly with the HI/LO setting...
As i was playing "Fenix-Lego", i discovered a cool feature, my 2-stage L1 tailcap worked on the L2T, and actually gave me a *third* level, the true low 10 ohm setting....
with the L2T's head in the Low position, i could twist the light on, and alternate between the 10 ohm Low and the stock Low by clicking the tailcap, the "off" position became Low, the "on" position became "Medium" (normal Low setting), and twisting the head to High with the switch on gave the full High setting, with the head on High, clicking the switch to "off" switched down to the 10 ohm Low
i then proceeded to swap the two switch modules between the two tailcaps, moving the L1's switch module into the L2T's HAIII tailcap, and putting the L2T's module into the HAII L1's tailcap (the switches appear to be identical red-button switches)
so with a simple switch swap, i now have a 3-level L2T, very cool
this 3-stage L2T has already replaced a few lights in my EDC arsenal....
I normally EDC;
Fenix L1 Lighthound Special with 2-stage tailcap (RF pocket)
Fenix P1 (RF pocket
Fenix E1 (change pocket)
SureFire 6P w/P61 (belt holster)
SureFire G2 w/ 3W G&P Luxeon and UCL glass lens (LF pocket)
Inova X5 (LF pocket)
Mag Soli w/ MJLED (keyring)
of all of those, the L1, X5 and G2 see the most use...
i no longer need to carry the L1, and may end up selling it to a co-worker who is new to quality lights, maybe i'll keep it for a spare/backup light, as it is the limited-run L1 Lighthound Special with the binned Lux from the L1P, and minus the HAIII and multicoated lens, then again, i do have a spare L1P as well, so the L1 is truly superfluous
the E1 is also unneccecary, as the super-low on the L2T puts out a similar (actually a bit less, to be honest) amount of light, and has a far superior beam pattern, the E1 is too nice to bang around on the keyring, i have a Pewter MJLED'ed Mag Solitaire for that, don't care how scarred up *it* gets
i also just ordered a Fenix E0 to replace the E1/Soli.....
technically, the P1 is also unneccecary, but that's just too cool of a light and so small it *does* dissapear unnoticed into pocket, so i *will* be carrying the P1, since it takes up no space anyway, it also *really* impresses the "unenlightened"....
the L2T on high is *almost* as bright visually as my G&P 3w equipped SureFire G2, and is narrower and more pocket freindly, uses more common (and more stable) batteries, so the G2 will also be unneccecary for EDC, and will go back into the center console of the car, there if i need it (i'm usually within walking distance of my car should i need it anyway)
the MiniMagLED 3AA has a brighter hotspot on spot focus, and a wider flood beam on flood, but there are still faint artifacts in the beam, the L2T has a more "SureFire-esque" beam, the MMLED will outthrow the L2T, but the L2T has a more *useful* beam, the MMLED may also end up as a car light, as it fits in the center console better than the MagLED 2C (which doesn't fit in the center console *at all*)that's that's jammed between the center console and passenger seat, that MagLED 2C will either become a trunk-light, or come back into the house and just put in the "Box-O-Lites" of extra lights i don't use anymore nut keep for backup purposes
the Inova X5 white also is superfluous and will either end up as a car light, or back in the "Box" as another backup/emergency light....
So, with the L2T, i can trim my EDC down to;
Fenix P1
Fenix L2T
SureFire 6P
maybe the Fenix E1/E0 as they take up almost no room anyway
Soli/MJLED
the G2, X5 and MMLED 3AA can be moved to Car Duty, the L1 can be kept as backup or sold to my co-worker, the 2C MagLED can be moved from Car Duty back to Backup, maybe slap a MJLED PR in it for a long-runtime power outage light...
the L2T is an awesome little light, and even better in it's 3-stage incarnation....