A blast from the past: Whatever happened to your Fenix L1P?

onthebeam

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 14, 2005
Messages
837
Less than two years ago, Fenix hit the market with the L1P and the CPF group buy catapulted this little bargain priced light (for the time) to superstar status, even netting it the title of Flashlight of the Year.

We've obviously seen lots of copycat lights since then, the CREE revolution, and all kinds of small flashlights with multi-stage wizardry.

Still, I sometimes long for the days of simple is best and the L1P did many things well at a breakthrough price "way back" in 2005.

So, whatever happened to yours?
 
Last edited:

paulr

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 29, 2003
Messages
10,832
I gave mine to a friend who had admired it and hinted that she wanted one. I replaced it with an L0D CE which I have mixed feelings about (like the tiny size and brightness, don't like the complex UI). More recently I got the 15 dollar MTE copy of the L1P, which is perhaps a little brighter than the L1p (the MTE uses an SSC led) but may have a flicker problem (acted weird but may have just needed tightening down). I'm not too impressed by Fenixes more recent efforts which seem a bit pretentious to me, though the new P1CE is the best-made of the three Fenix lights I've bought.

In my view the breakthrough aspect of the L1p was only partly the price. More important was that it used one AA cell, a format which the fancier flashlight makers had turned up their noses at, and worked well on NiMH giving near-zero operating costs. I think being able to use that extremely common, rechargeable power source while still being able to use L91 lithiums or commodity alkaline cells was a big part of the L1p's attraction to a lot of us here.
 
Last edited:

Minjin

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 21, 2002
Messages
1,237
Location
Central PA
Mine is currently taken apart awaiting the new driver board that should be for sale in the next few weeks. I also have a really nice seoul to put in it as well. I can't wait. I've always like the feel of the light and it'll be great to bring it up to date.
 

aceo07

Enlightened
Joined
Jun 24, 2005
Messages
554
Location
East Coast
I bought at least 3-4 of them and gave them away as presents to friends, family, coworkers. I never got one for myself since I already had the Inova XO and Nuwai Q3 at that time.
 

carrot

Flashaholic
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
9,236
Location
New York City
I would be still using mine but it seems to have disappeared from one of my pockets one day. I figure someone else eventually picked it up and is incredibly happy with their new toy.
 

yaesumofo

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 21, 2003
Messages
3,701
Location
Eastern Pacific, LAX DM03 sw actual
I still have mine.
It replaced my q3 as the BU car flash light.
Yaesumofo

Less than two years ago, Fenix hit the market with the L1P and the CPF group buy catapulted this little bargain priced light (for the time) to superstar status, even netting it the title of Flashlight of the Year.

We've obviously seen lots of copycat lights since then, the CREE revolution, and all kinds of small flashlights with multi-stage wizardry.

Still, I sometimes long for the days of simple is best and the L1P did many things well at a breakthrough price "way back" in 2005.

So, whatever happened to yours?
 

BBL

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 19, 2004
Messages
770
Location
eu/at
Just one month ago, i needed a flashlight for a specific purpose. And among all my high priced lights, in the end i choose the L1P. Useful beam, useful output, better runtime, aa-cells, no flicker mode, protected button.

I even thought about buying an additional L1S - the only light that is simmilar.
 

Amonra

Enlightened
Joined
Jan 18, 2005
Messages
779
Location
Malta
I gave mine to my cousin for his long trip to Australia where it is getting good use daily
 

LEDcandle

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 15, 2005
Messages
1,943
Location
Mushroom S'pore
At the bottom of Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand :(

Took it for my watersport adventures but didn't secure it well enough... though it is a little 'dated', I still loved it.. not to mention it cost me like $65 then due to shipping it to and fro the dealer (I got 2 bad pieces).
 

onthebeam

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 14, 2005
Messages
837
I replaced it with an L0D CE. . . don't like the complex UI.

I agree. That's the problem in some of these new lights. Lots of features, but also lots of features I don't use and a cumbersome interface makes it hard to get to the light level you want fast. Twisting past strobe modes is just plain silly I think that things are still evolving. Simple is still best in many ways.

The L1P was simple and solid. I still have my L1T but don't use it that much even though it's only two modes. The low isn't low enough.
 

RebelXTNC

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Messages
433
Location
North Carolina
My first L1P is often on my belt, since I either EDC it or a P1 depending on what I'll be doing that day.
I bought an L1S but haven't been that happy with it so I still prefer my trusty perfect original L1P.
I have a couple of others, one for backup to my original and one that's a little green that I keep next to the computer.
I also have a spare L1P body tube but didn't use it with the second L2P I bought since it's a little green too.
Those first Fenix lights I bought; L2P, L1P, P1, were all perfectly satisfactory so I've stuck with them and use them daily.
 

Omega Man

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 15, 2005
Messages
1,378
Location
East Coast
I had CPF'er EngPaul put a SSC in it for me. It's still on board as a backup EDC for my SSC'ed Q3.
I don't like twistys at all, and have no desire to even mess with anything after the L1P, with all those modes.
 

Tjin

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 25, 2005
Messages
85
i still EDC mine L1P everyday on mine belt. It's just a simple light that isn't to weak or bright, fits most of mine needs. I have bought CREE's and multimode models, but they have always ended up lying on a shelf.
 

koala

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 5, 2003
Messages
2,295
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Hey :twak::nana: the Fenix L1P is no pass. It's still as good as the day it was introduced. Once it's modded right, the L1P easily out shines many others today. The original circuit is highly efficient.

My L1P was modded with my own microcontroller after a few days of ownership. It rides with me to work everyday, ever since I bought it, the original belt holster is surprisingly well built, it's still in very good condition. I use the modded L1P everyday for checking servers and hardware, the Lithium Ion gets recharged once a week.
 

not2bright

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 3, 2005
Messages
396
Location
St. Louis, MO USA
Both of my L1P still get used very frequently and are loaded with ROV Hybrids so they are always ready for use.

One stays on the nightstand for general use around the house and the other resides in a drawer in my home office, ready in the event of a power outage.

I EDC'ed them for a long time, even after I purchased the L1DCE. The smaller size of the L1P in an Inova X1 sheath makes for unobtrusive EDC.

I EDC a Rexlight now since it is the same size as the L1P but has multiple levels and high output like the L1DCE. Another reason is that if the Rex was lost during EDC I wouldn't care as much as loosing one of the L1P. :shrug:
 

Greg

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Apr 19, 2004
Messages
170
Location
Toronto, ON, Canada
I bought and still have 2 of them. I originally gave one to my dad and I kept the other one. After getting a Jetbeam MKII running on 14500, I gave mine to my mom who surprisingly uses it more often that I thought she would. I got to tell you, they were amazing when I got them. Brighter than 3d mag after a little while of use and all that with a single AA. Before that, I thought CR123 were the only option to get a decent amount of light out of a flashlight. Fenix sure proved me wrong.
 
Top