First Post.Hey yall i got a L2 and was greatly disapointed. The L2 beam of light is donut shaped and spread to far apart to get any distance. Ive been looking at the T1 and so far I like it except for the 3 prongs at the end cap. Do these prong looking things get in anybodies way (uncomfortable) when pressing in the switch. How would you guys compare the L2 to the T1 and or even Surefire to Fenix. Please give all the advice you can im looking for a led light the around the same size as the l2 or t1. I will be using it around the house, camping, fishing and hiking. I would like the light to shin really far ( if possible) and some nice run times. Even better would be a two stage one like 65 lumens for general use and a really high output to see nice and far on trails. Thanks
There is a wealth of information about how T1 withstands heavy use on the Review board, where there are maybe 3-4 threads of T1 torture tests. If you permit me to summarize it, I would say that the T1 has proven to be extremely tough and resistant to punishment. Its weak point is its switch (as is the case for EVERY clicky switch). However, weak is a relative term here, since the switch usually failed after literally
hundreds of drops onto a hard surface. The Fenix T1 hasn't been thoroughly battle-tested, like Surefire has, but I would say that for 99% of the uses, it should be just as tough. The only real gripe would be that the surface isn't as grippy as I would like... but it has sufficed for my friends' winter hiking trips (I've been busy, so I couldn't go), and they were very impressed.
The 3 prongs don't bother me too much. While they do get in the way a little bit, the switch can still be operated with ease, and the prongs are useful in that they do protect the switch from damage.
The 2 modes are VERY useful (the 12+ hour runtime at 60L is amazing), and on Max, the T1 has an amazing amount of output. The tint on time is a very pure cool white, with no hints of color, and the T1 has the smoothest beam of any Cree-based light I've seen.
The T1 is not a throw king, (an MRV or DBS would serve better for that purpose), but it does well for both close-up and distance illumination, which obviously necessitated some compromise. At night in the woods, with no outside illumination, it'll probably light up everything 200 feet out or so.