Fenix (L1D, L2D, P2D) vs. Arc LS *review* (updated)

Okay, I started a thread a short while ago about my desire to acquire a light to replace an Arc LS. I was given a lot of great information from various CPF members - some lights were true to the Arc reputation ie. durable, reliable, well-engineered, relatively bright, expensive, etc. The problem with some of these choices was my need to have a light powered by 1AA or 2AA. That was a must for me and it ultimately eliminated some lights from the running.

I decided to pick up a Fenix power pack (P2D Q5 w/L1D body) and a Fenix L2D Q5. Here are my thoughts.

First, these ain't Arc's. Not a complaint however, just a fact. Part of being a responsible consumer is knowing what you're buying before you buy it. I knew Fenix wasn't up to Arc's quality and fit & finish before I ever placed the order, and I was right. The Fenix logo on both lights is "out of focus", the threads aren't as clean as on the Arc's, the finish isn't even close to being as good, and it doesn't have the Arc "feel." Again, just pointing out what I already knew.

Performance - the performance of these lights kill the Arc's in every way. The L1D powered by a single alkaline AA puts the old Arc4+ to shame in terms of brightness. The L2D and P2D embarass it. Not sure if Fenix skimped out on the LED's the way they did on the rest of the light, but if they did, you wouldn't know it judging from the performance of these lights. Plain old progress I suppose.

Fit and finish - I already mentioned it, but Arc has (had) it all over Fenix in this respect. If Fenix destroys Arc in terms of performance, Arc destroys Fenix in terms of fit and finish. Not even close.

Quality - Again, Arc has this one covered... mostly. The only area where the Fenix is better in terms of quality is the switch, at least compared to the kroll switch on my 2AA Arc LS. That thing was the most unreliable switching mechanism I have ever had the misfortune of operating. Time will tell how long the Fenix's switch will hold up.

Overall, I am more than satisfied with my Fenix purchases. I think I got exactly what I paid for and I'm looking forward to putting these lights through their paces. My favourite light is the L1D. Free lighting (for me), small size (the L2D is waaaaaaay too long for my liking), great performance even on cheapie alkalines. It all adds up to a great light. Believe me guys, if these lights are junk, I'll be the one to tell you. The L1D is my worklight and will see VERY frequent everyday use. It'll be dropped, scratched, covered in brakleen, covered in parts cleaner, covered in snow and ice, and it'll go through one or two alkalines per day. If it truly is junk, the light won't last more than a week or two. I'll let you know how things progress.

Re: Fenix (L1D, L2D, P2D) vs. Arc LS *review*

The Q5 emitter in the Fenix you bought is top notch. :thumbsup: Best currently available in a light.

bigred said:

... and it'll go through one or two alkalines per day...

Click to expand...

Performance will be considerable better on NiMh.

See runtime charts here:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/fenix_l1dce-l2dce.htm

Re: Fenix (L1D, L2D, P2D) vs. Arc LS *review*

cave dave said:

The Q5 emitter in the Fenix you bought is top notch. :thumbsup: Best currently available in a light.



Performance will be considerable better on NiMh.

See runtime charts here:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/fenix_l1dce-l2dce.htm

Click to expand...

Yeah, I saw that before I bought the light(s). The difference between alkalines and NiMH is astounding. Thing is, I get as many alkaline AA's as I need (free of charge) and my L1D is never in a position where batteries are scarce. As soon as a AA alkaline goes bad, I just throw it out and pop in a new one.

Re: Fenix (L1D, L2D, P2D) vs. Arc LS *review*

try a energizer e2 lithium... it may be a bit brighter than alks with more runtime ,maybe you can get those e2 for free

Re: Fenix (L1D, L2D, P2D) vs. Arc LS *review*

All the talk of Arc's supreme quality gets a bit tiresome to me. I was once the proud owner of an Arc AAA, and an Ls premium. The Ls was modded with a 3 watter, reflector etc.... The Arc AAA rode on my keychain for a couple years and looked like crap quickly. My Fenix LOP has been on my keys for a couple years now...and it looks like crap also! In my opinion a keychain light looks better after the anodizing has worn off. Why do people worry about scratching a keychain light?

The LOP has been dropped, washed, lost for weeks in a snow drift, but it keeps on being my all time favorite light. Bright, simple and a perfect beam!

The Arc AAA was plagued with issues right from the factory, something thats been largely forgotten with time. The beam on my AAA was basically hideous. If you received a light today with that sort of beam the outcry would be deafening.

My Lsh was a great light...after it was modded. From the factory the anodizing was miss matched...and it was labeled a premium. It never rode on the keychain because it was my baby. I finally sold the Arc Ls when Cree's came along, and bought a Fenix P1Dce then a P2d Q5. As you say the Fenix lights are as advertised. The quality isn't bad considering you can buy a couple of them for what we paid for an Arc Ls back in the day.

Re: Fenix (L1D, L2D, P2D) vs. Arc LS *review*

bigred said:

Yeah, I saw that before I bought the light(s). The difference between alkalines and NiMH is astounding. Thing is, I get as many alkaline AA's as I need (free of charge) and my L1D is never in a position where batteries are scarce. As soon as a AA alkaline goes bad, I just throw it out and pop in a new one.

Click to expand...

Please, this is wasteful regardless. A 2 pack of AA rechargables would be $15 with a charger and reduces a lot of landfill waste.

Work might even pay that, as it'd pay for itself in 2 weeks at the rate you say you go through them.

Re: Fenix (L1D, L2D, P2D) vs. Arc LS *review*

I await your comments after abusing the L1D CE for a while. I'm not nearly so hard on my lights as that but they may get a bath in diesel once in a while. And will be handled with ICKY hands often!

And I agree wholeheartedly with the comment "if we got a beam as ugly as that today..." about the ARC AAA, but then the ARC AAA always works!

And now I agree with the above comment! I use Hybrid AA in my EDC. You could get a 4 pack for less than $10 at Wallyworld and the Duracell 4 place charger with independent segmented charge indicators, you'd always have a charged up battery available.

Re: Fenix (L1D, L2D, P2D) vs. Arc LS *review*

bluewater said:

The Arc AAA was plagued with issues right from the factory, something thats been largely forgotten with time. The beam on my AAA was basically hideous. If you received a light today with that sort of beam the outcry would be deafening.

Click to expand...

I certainly agree there, mine purchased in early 2002 was junk less than 30 days in. Flickered and was very dim. I completely gave up on it and only have been able to use it after reading a tip by a greenLED about how to fix what was a ground problem. Basically there's a metal ring inside the head which is supposed to connect to the head itself, but barely does. The fix was to beat it with a screwdriver around the head until it breaks off all of the potting and smashes the head into this ring. It doesn't look as bad as it sounds, and it works pretty good now.

I still don't think it's the 5 lumens it was supposed to be, as my L0D Q4 low (8l real output measured) is WAY WAY brighter. I basically only use the AAA when I need a very low light output, and it works very well for that. If I'm geocaching at night, I tend to use it as it doesn't draw as much attention and it's plenty bright enough for that. My L0D on low is too high for incognito caching.

Re: Fenix (L1D, L2D, P2D) vs. Arc LS *review*

did it survive

Re: Fenix (L1D, L2D, P2D) vs. Arc LS *review*

I've had the original Arc LS and a number of Arc AAAs It's not fair to compare them to the Fenixes which are 3 generations more advanced; but if you must, it's no contest in pretty for every performance measure (including reliability), near even in "quality", with Fenixes at about half the price. Even ignoring technology improvements (Cree, multi-level, constant current regulation, et al..), I like the use of glass (and double sided AR glass at that) instead of plastic or nothing (Arc AAA) for the windows, the Fenix spring loaded design for twisties, and the use of a reflector instead of an optic.

However, I do miss the Arc AAA lug bodies - I wish Fenix would offer them on the L0X lights; and like you, I really disliked the Krolls.

Alright, I've been using these lights for over three weeks now, and here are my thoughts.

I don't use the L2D body. Ever. It is simply too long. I could never carry a mini-mag because of the length, and the L2D is just as long, so it never gets used. The only 2AA light I could stand to carry was my old Arc-LS w/ 2AA clicky. The L2D body has been relegated to spare battery carrier.

The P2D is my EDC. I don't play with my lights just for show, so it only gets used when I need light. I think most people use an EDC light sparingly, and that is the case with me. The light output is tremendous and the runtime is fantastic. Puts my old Arc's to shame really. I love the P2D as an EDC, but I will probably switch the body over to an L1D as soon as my 123 supply runs out. I just can't justify buying 123 batteries when a 1xAA light gives me close to the same output with only slightly bigger size and easily obtainable batteries.

Now to the L1D. This one is my all-time favourite light. I use it literally all day long and have put it through a tremendous amount of abuse without a single problem. I took the advice I received here on CPF and purchased an Energizer 15-minute charger w/ 1200mAh rechargeables - light years ahead of the alkalines I was running at first. The L1D has been (repeatedly) doused in parts cleaner, (repeatedly) dropped on concrete, (repeatedly) held underwater, (repeatedly) dropped in snow, and it just keeps coming back for more. I am a mechanic and my hands are often completely covered in grease. So is the light. In this case, I wash the light with brake & electrical contact cleaner. That is some strong stuff and the light's body hasn't been affected yet. In the 3+ weeks I've used the L1D, I have cycled through the switch THOUSANDS of times, full click and half click. Not one single problem.

I used to be a die-hard Arc lover. These Fenix lights have made me forget all about my old Arc's. If Fenix is putting out junk lights, I sure haven't seen it.

I am currently looking to replace my old Arc AAA Premium with a AAA powered Fenix of some sort. Just not sure which one I want yet.

I am now a die-hard Fenix man.

sweet ..thats gunkage, just make sure non of it gets in the head for shortage and make sure its dry after cleaning

i would get an LOD but i have seen reports for the head to come loose & unscrew itself so it may be lost but not sure if thats the majority or few select cases...still a sweet aaa though

Re: Fenix (L1D, L2D, P2D) vs. Arc LS *review*

Get an L0D-CE Q4 olive... it has impressed every single person I've gotten it for, thus far.

Let us know how that Fenix continues to hold up bigred! While I never though of my Fenix lights as junk, I have been impressed by just how much abuse they can take, based on reports and tests done by fellow CPF'ers. I carry many lights, but I always have my Fenix P2D on me.

If you ever wear out a switch you could probably get a replacement, or order one for cheap, from fenix-store.com. It's easy to replace if needed, but I'm not sure if I've ever heard of one wearing out yet.