confused about fenix p1's

bladefrenzy · Jul 7, 2007

Hello all, I am a bit confused (stay that way a lot,lol) with these new lights, so many versions. Which one is just a standard light. I am not sure what the cree is at all. Sorry to be such a newbie still, haven't been around for quite awhile. Thanks ahead, Steve

BSCOTT1504 · Jul 8, 2007

The standard Fenix P1 is just that. It is just a P1. It has a 3 watt Luxeon led that produces 55 lumens. They have been marked down to 40 bucks at the Fenix-Store and if you use CPF 8 when ordering you will get an 8% discount with free shipping!! :twothumbs

BB · Jul 8, 2007

Many of the lights have P1D-CE where "CE" is Cree, "D" is digital output control (multi-level, sometimes +SOS, +Strobe).

You can go to the fenix.com store and in the upper left, choose the flashlight family--like "Cree"...

For example, here are all of the Cree XR-E "CE" lights at Fenix.com. Right now 12 are listed.

Just to make it a bit more confusing, here are the "Limited Edition" Fenix lights--which also happen to be "higher binned" (and therefor a bit brighter) Crees (basically brighter and most lights have a medium orange peel (MOP) reflector to "fuzz-up" the beam a bit (fewer rings/beam artifacts). But they are not listed a Cree lights in the search link.

-Bill

BB · Jul 8, 2007

So, to make it confusing, there is:

*Special Edition Q2* Fenix P1 CE (Cree P1 with brighter bin and MOP)
Fenix P1 CE (Cree P1)
Fenix P1 (T Bin Luxon)

And each of these are probably available in both black and natural anodizing. And not including the P1D digital family and it variants.

-Bill

Any Cal. · Jul 8, 2007

All 3 in above post will have similiar look and run time. Only difference will be the brightness. High, real high, or higher yet.

jki · Jul 8, 2007

The next step up from the standard P1 is the P1-CE, the "CE" meaning that it uses the CREE LED. The CREE LED has significantly higher brightness (watts/amp) for the same drive current than the Luxeon-based standard light, but the diodes are more expensive, and so are the CE versions of these lights.
The ultimate version of the P1 at the Fenix Store is the P1-CE-SE. This is a limited edition (only 50 units made) that uses an even higher grade CREE diode with higher efficiency (brighter still), more neutral white color, and a MOP (medium orange peel) reflector that results in a smoother, more floody, beam quality. I have one of these and it is an excellent flashlight!
I think that the MOP reflector versions are now an option on the regular versions of the P1. You can choose either MOP or polished smooth reflector versions. The smooth reflector gives a slightly brighter central hotspot to the beam which gives it better throw, but the sacrifice is that the beam quality in the spill area around the central hotspot is not quite as bright as the MOP version, and tends to exhibit artifacts (dark rings) that bother the "white-wall hunters."
For the LE version, that comes only with the MOP reflector, the loss in throw in the central hotspot due to the mottled reflector seems to be offset by the brighter overall LED, so you get both smooth, bright spill and virtually no sacrifice in throw compared to the regular P1-CE.

dasanii19 · Jul 8, 2007

jki said:
The next step up from the standard P1 is the P1-CE, the "CE" meaning that it uses the CREE LED. The CREE LED has significantly higher brightness (watts/amp) for the same drive current than the Luxeon-based standard light, but the diodes are more expensive, and so are the CE versions of these lights.
The ultimate version of the P1 at the Fenix Store is the P1-CE-SE. This is a limited edition (only 50 units made) that uses an even higher grade CREE diode with higher efficiency (brighter still), more neutral white color, and a MOP (medium orange peel) reflector that results in a smoother, more floody, beam quality. I have one of these and it is an excellent flashlight!
I think that the MOP reflector versions are now an option on the regular versions of the P1. You can choose either MOP or polished smooth reflector versions. The smooth reflector gives a slightly brighter central hotspot to the beam which gives it better throw, but the sacrifice is that the beam quality in the spill area around the central hotspot is not quite as bright as the MOP version, and tends to exhibit artifacts (dark rings) that bother the "white-wall hunters."
For the LE version, that comes only with the MOP reflector, the loss in throw in the central hotspot due to the mottled reflector seems to be offset by the brighter overall LED, so you get both smooth, bright spill and virtually no sacrifice in throw compared to the regular P1-CE.

I didnt know only 50 LE's were made. Would that be 50 for black and 50 for Nat? Im glad I bought 3

By the way, where did you read this at?

carrot · Jul 8, 2007

Okay. I'll attempt to break it down.

P1 -- original Luxeon version. Plenty bright for most people, the absolute smallest CR123 light from Fenix. Simple on/off, only one output level.
P1D -- digital series Fenix, with 3 output levels and SOS and strobe. Uses a Luxeon LED. Larger than the P1, but still pretty reasonably sized. (Still pretty tiny!)
P1D-CE -- digital series Fenix, same as above, but with a Cree LED. Cree LED's are twice as bright in this application as a Luxeon, with no drop in runtime. If the extra cost doesn't matter to you, there is no disadvantage to the -CE models.
P1-CE -- updated version of the P1. One output level (simple on/off), uses a Cree LED for twice the brightness. Runs slightly longer than the original P1 but not by a significant margin (5-15 minutes). Ever so slightly larger than the P1 (new brass heatsink), with a modified design but aside from brightness functionally the same as the P1.

Also note, Cree versions are about twice as bright as the Luxeon models, run for about the same amount of time if not slightly more, and do not get as warm.

There's also special editions that use orange peel reflectors that make the beam smoother and "more pleasing to the eye," as well as (slightly) better binned LEDs (hand-picked, essentially). They are a bit more money but some believe they are worth it.

paulr · Jul 8, 2007

Better also take note of the P2D since it's so closely related to the P1 family. It's another digital 1x123 light like the P1D-CE, but with a different interface that uses a clickie switch. It's a tiny bit larger than the P1 series. I believe it uses the same head as the L1D-CE/L2D-CE so you can swap in a 1AA or 2AA battery tube if you want to use AA power.

Finally there's the P3D, which is a two cell (i.e. larger) version of the P2D. It runs longer since it has 2x the battery power, and its turbo mode is somewhat brighter (higher power).

Between all these, if I wanted a digital 123 Fenix light, I'd probably take the P2D over any of the P1D's because of the P2's nicer UI. I'd also take the P2D over the P3D since it's smaller, almost as bright, and uses a single cell so I don't have to worry about mismatched cells and stuff like that.

Since I'm anti-digital I got a P1CE instead, which is the nicest Fenix that I've had so far (L1p, L0D CE, and now the P1CE). However, the L0D CE is the one I use the most, because it's tiny (easy to EDC) and runs well on a commodity NiMH AAA cell (guilt-free lumens).

Lite_me · Jul 8, 2007

dasanii19 said:
I didnt know only 50 LE's were made. Would that be 50 for black and 50 for Nat? Im glad I bought 3 By the way, where did you read this at?

It was in cpfmarketplace... HERE.

dasanii19 · Jul 8, 2007

Thank you

confused about fenix p1's

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