Happy with L0D Rebel!

I recently picked up a Fenix P1D CE Premium Q5 light just for fun. Quite a good light, though I was a little frustrated that it didn't come with an OP reflector. Also, I didn't really think about how much I dislike buying CR123 batteries here, so I decided to get an L0D Rebel.

I decided to compare it to my trusty old Arc AA which has been on my keychain for several years now and has always treated me well and has been found useful on numerous occasions. The weak beam of the L0D is just a bit brighter than the Arc, so I decided to set it to high...


I didn't know I would get anything like this out of an AAA! I'm pretty satisfied.

I've also seen comments and beamshots from other posters, but it's hard to get a feel for the light output and quality relative to the size of the light unless it's in-hand. I'm not tossing out my awesome P1DCEQ5, though I suspect the L0D will get a lot more use!

You are absolutely right, Fenix L0D Rebel is a small light that fits into any pocket and when you switch it on shows a lot of muscle.

My P1D Q5 is on the way but I was expecting an OP reflector also - the Fenix website says:

These have a special prototype MOP (medium orange peel) texture reflector to smooth out the beam.

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So I guess I'll find out in a couple days what that means. :candle:

I love both the Fenix L0D and P1D lights.

I'm using LiFeP04 chemistry 3V rechargeable Lithiums most of the time in my CR123A lights. I got the All-battery 6 cells & charger for $27 including shipping deal (still on I believe). I like testing different lights though, and I'm not sure of the runtime on the rechargeable cells yet, so I recently picked up 50 of the Ultralast CR123A cells for $40. So far so good.

Great light! I have an L0D-RB80 in the box, but I can't replace my L0D-CE on the keychain yet. It works great and I'm attached, it was my first Fenix light, and I only got it because of a gift certificate... now 10 Fenix lights later I should curse that gift certificate that got me started.

I actually just finished my first battery(Energizer) in the L0D, and I dropped in a Lithium for my second battery.

Enjoy!

The L0D is a great little light, but it's bound to be challenged by it's small AAA battery, so it needs the most efficient emitter it can get, and putting a Rebel 80 in there when Rebel 100's are readily available is just plane stupid.

Some time back, when I pointed out how stupid it was that Fenix was too cheap to spring for an extra buck or two to put Rebel 100's in their L0D's, one dealer popped up with a post claiming that some of them have Rebel 90's anyway.

Sounds like you got one of the good ones, but to everyone else out there DON'T RUN OUT AND BUY A 'LOD RB80'.

One Japanese dealer had a run of LOD Rebel 100's made up, and when confronted with this fact our local American dealer first claimed that they didn't exist, then implied that the Japanese dealer had done something that wasn't strictly playing by the rules. (The rules apparently being that Fenix did a big fat run of Rebel 80 L0D's and now expects a bunch of suckers to line up to buy them up before they are going to come up with the Q5 or Rebel 100 version of the L0D).

The reports on the Rebel 100 L0D's received from the dealer in Japan were incredible (and a Q5 emitter L0D would also no doubt be awesome), so it's well worth waiting out Fenix's little 'waiting game' scam to get one of the higher output emitters in your LOD.

Again, not trying to make you feel bad. From the beam shots you posted, looks like you got one of the Rebel 90 L0D's (for the Rebel 80 price!), so you got a good deal, but for my money, it's worth waiting for Fenix to quit playing this stupid little game and offer a higher output version of the L0D.

Fenix-store has the red LOD with a Cree Q4! I was tempted to go with the Rebel80 because I like the beam and tint on the Rebel I have, but the LOD with Q4 is rated as having more lumens. I have a couple 3v litium rechargables on the way. We'll see how that red LOD's finish holds up on my key chain.

Those red L0D Q4s look beautiful.

could a l0d even use a q5. not enough Vf right?

i noticed alot of l0d going on sale. people looking to upgrade

f22shift said:

could a l0d even use a q5. not enough Vf right?

i noticed alot of l0d going on sale. people looking to upgrade

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In FourSeven's recent post he reiterated that not all Q5s have a high Vf. Some do. I think the Vf 's may be less consistent in the highest flux bins right now. I think the Q4s are more consistent and that is why Fenix went with them. The perfect L0D at this point would have a low Vf Q5, although the difference in flux probably would be hard to notice.

LongFei said:

I recently picked up a Fenix P1D CE Premium Q5 light just for fun. Quite a good light, though I was a little frustrated that it didn't come with an OP reflector. Also, I didn't really think about how much I dislike buying CR123 batteries here, so I decided to get an L0D Rebel.

I decided to compare it to my trusty old Arc AA which has been on my keychain for several years now and has always treated me well and has been found useful on numerous occasions. The weak beam of the L0D is just a bit brighter than the Arc, so I decided to set it to high...

I didn't know I would get anything like this out of an AAA! I'm pretty satisfied.

I've also seen comments and beamshots from other posters, but it's hard to get a feel for the light output and quality relative to the size of the light unless it's in-hand. I'm not tossing out my awesome P1DCEQ5, though I suspect the L0D will get a lot more use!

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Now buy a pair of 10440 cells and a charger (will be less then 20$ together) and try those out.
You wont imagine the amount of light _that_ will provide.

LED_Thrift said:

In FourSeven's recent post he reiterated that not all Q5s have a high Vf. Some do. I think the Vf 's may be less consistent in the highest flux bins right now. I think the Q4s are more consistent and that is why Fenix went with them. The perfect L0D at this point would have a low Vf Q5, although the difference in flux probably would be hard to notice.

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Hopefully Fenix was able to get low Vf Q4's. Do we know of Cree sorts their Q4's, and Q5's, by Vf? Or is it the luck of the draw?

In fourSeven's post, IIRC, the board is designed to work down to 0.8v or 0.9v. Hope that is low enough. What is the Vf of the L0D-CE?

LED_Thrift said:

In fourSeven's post, IIRC, the board is designed to work down to 0.8v or 0.9v. Hope that is low enough. What is the Vf of the L0D-CE?

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I think the L0D is designed to work from 0.9v to 1.7v but it will work with 3.7v.

If you meant the Vf of the LED, that depends on the LED. I've heard of Q5s drawing 700 mA at 4v and other Q5s drawing 700 mA at 3.6v so Vf changes with the LED.

Gunner12 said:

I think the L0D is designed to work from 0.9v to 1.7v but it will work with 3.7v.

If you meant the Vf of the LED, that depends on the LED. I've heard of Q5s drawing 700 mA at 4v and other Q5s drawing 700 mA at 3.6v so Vf changes with the LED.

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If you are running NiMH or Alkaline, the best bet is a low Vf emitter like a Rebel or a 'luck of the draw' low Vf CREE (for best boost converter efficiency), but if you want to break the rules and use Lithium cells, it's a different story, because low Vf emitters like the Rebel can draw way too much current in 'direct drive'.

Dark Vapor said:

I have a LOD Rebel 80 running on a 10440 with the Streamlight Microstream body (thanks to cbubu sharing this). Although some don't like the switch because it may be a little hard to press.

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You're lucky you can get that to work, because most have had problems with the battery's built in thermal current limiter tripping.

In any case, the MTBF (Mean Time Before FRIED) goes way down for this configuration.

Your not just burning the candle at both ends your burning at at every end (and the middle too). :candle:

But the good news is, if you are like MOST folks who run 10440's in your L0D, you don't use it for anything practical, just for showing off to your friends, so the light only gets run a few seconds at a time.

FYI, none of my friends know I have this light. I use the light when my wife and I are in the bedroom, and I don't turn the house lights on once the rest of the house is dark. I also carry it with me on a daily basis because of the small size (but it's not my edc). I am not going to worry too much about trying to get the full life out of the LED, if the extra brightness might help me out in a difficult situation (of course this will probably never happen, but hey, you never know).

Thanks for your point of view.

LED_Thrift said:

In fourSeven's post, IIRC, the board is designed to work down to 0.8v or 0.9v. Hope that is low enough. What is the Vf of the L0D-CE?

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Please excuse for a bit out of topic, but what's IIRC? Also i've read somewhere, "PITA", what's that? :thinking:

afahmic said:

Please excuse for a bit out of topic, but what's IIRC? Also i've read somewhere, "PITA", what's that? :thinking:

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IIRC= If I Recall Correctly

PITA= Pain In The A$$

lumenal said:

IIRC= If I Recall Correctly

PITA= Pain In The A$$

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I see now, thanks. :thanks: