Fenix E01 vs Arc AAA spec comparison

The new Fenix E01 looks very much like the Arc AAA:

Fenix E01 is $15, Arc AAA is $50 for the GS LED
Fenix 10 lumens, Arc 10.5 lumens
Fenix 7.1cm long, Arc 6.9cm long
Fenix run time 11-hour sun mode plus 10-hour moon mode, Arc 5 hours to 50% light.
Fenix available in different HAIII colours, Arc only available in one HAIII colour.
Fenix can stand on it's end.

Is there a question or something here that I missed? :thinking: Im afraid a thread like this is going to turn into a Arc/Fenix bashing fest. I hope I am wrong.

Depends on what you need
The Arc drives the GS LED harder (over 50mA) so the drop in runtime is a given. My guesstimate is Fenix drives the GS LED at around stock levels of 25mA so the runtime should be double over the Arc. Do you want brightness over runtime? LED longevity comes into play also if you use the light a lot since the E01 is not overdriven.
The Arc should have better HA-III finish so if it hangs on a keychain, the Arc will look much better after a few months of clanging around with your keys.
The other concepts of ultimate durability, beam quality etc. will be answered through time and reviews.
Will Arc go with a Luxeon RB120 high flux LED with better regulation on their next AAA? The battle lines are being drawn... the reviews should be rolling into CPF this coming week.

I think the arc will take more abuse than the fenix BUT for $15 you could buy three for the same price of the arc.

--Cheaper doesn't necessarily equate to better.
--The run time comparison with the published data is pointless, i.e. what percentage of output is moon mode? Let see what an independant test indicates.
--Color? A purple flashlight is better?
--Tailstanding is "better" for some no doubt.

I try to spend my money on USA made products when possible, as a resident of the UK, I realize this is not a compelling argument for you.

Sometimes we get to wrapped up in specifications and features that we land up bypassing better products.

This topic has already been beat to death in the original E01 thread. For those interested, you may want to read this as a side note.

indycrucible said:

--Cheaper doesn't necessarily equate to better.
--The run time comparison with the published data is pointless, i.e. what percentage of output is moon mode? Let see what an independant test indicates.

Click to expand...

Higher prices doesn't necessarily equate to better either.

Unless I'm not understanding, the published run-times are broken out as to how much sun-mode there is to moon-mode in hours.:thinking:

Another thing, can anyone tell the difference between 10 and 10.5 lumens just with your eyes alone? I would rather have 10 hours of well regulated run-time with 10 lumens than 5 hours of semi-regulated run-time with 10.5 lumens. That's a "no-brainer".

10 lumens to 10.5 lumens is a 5% (ish) difference. Not noticeable, even at such low brightnesses

However, that's for rated output. The arc doesn't use a regulated board- just a booster. So while the fenix's line is ruler straight, then drops off, maintaining a low level of light for a long time, the arc will start higher than the fenix, drop off so it's lower than the fenix fairly rapidly, and carry on dropping, similar to how the fenix does when it's out of regulation.

Here's a run time graph from Fenix's web site



And one from Arc's web site

I am very excited about the e01

However, with the posted runtimes they are advertising I would have to believe it will be less brighter than the ARC.

The same way the fenix e0 compared to the ARC cs, even though they both used a nichia cs led. One had 2x the runtime and the other had 2x the brightness.

dd61999 said:

I am very excited about the e01

However, with the posted runtimes they are advertising I would have to believe it will be less brighter than the ARC.

The same way the fenix e0 compared to the ARC cs, even though they both used a nichia cs led. One had 2x the runtime and the other had 2x the brightness.

Click to expand...

Initial brightness only. Shortly after, the Arc CS dips below the E0. I highly suspect the GS will be the same compared to the E01.

ARC shouldn't even be called ARC anymore. It's owned by a company called CIS now and the QC on the Arc GS seems very poor. There are many CPF'ers that got less than perfect ARC GS's, including me. Tomorrow will be one week since I emailed ARC (CIS) so hopefully they'll get back to me soon about my ARC. It seems like the ARC we all grew to love and enjoy isn't there anymore. Unless this CIS company steps up their QC and customer service, lights like the Fenix E01 will just help to put them under. I don't mind spending $50 on an ARC, but it better be a high quality AAA light with the quality and reliability we have learned to love with the early ARC's. If they can't offer that and still insist on charging $50, they are going to P.O. a lot of people.

Here's my brand new ARC:
http://picasaweb.google.com/wadefulpng/ARCGS

I hate to keep ranting about my ARC GS, but as long as I'm stuck with it because ARC won't respond to my emails in a timely fashion, I don't have a good ARC GS to talk about.

Looking forward to my E01's, hopefully they at least have fairly straight LED's so the light shines where I point the flashlight. With my current ARC GS I point it where I need light and the beam says "Hey! I'm over here now!"

WadeF said:

ARC shouldn't even be called ARC anymore. It's a company called CIS now and the QC on the Arc GS seems very poor. There are many CPF'ers that got less than perfect ARC GS's, including me. Tomorrow will be one week since I emailed ARC (CIS) so hopefully they'll get back to me soon about my ARC. It seems like the ARC we all grew to love and enjoy isn't there anymore. Unless this CIS company steps up their QC and customer service, lights like the Fenix E01 will just help to put them under. I don't mind spending $50 on an ARC, but it better be a high quality AAA light with the quality and reliability we have learned to love with the early ARC's. If they can't offer that and still insist on charging $50, they are going to P.O. a lot of people.

I hate to keep ranting about my ARC GS, but as long as I'm stuck with it because ARC won't respond to my emails in a timely fashion, I don't have a good ARC GS to talk about.

Looking forward to my E01's, hopefully they at least have fairly straight LED's so the light shines where I point the flashlight. With my current ARC GS I point it where I need light and the beam says "Hey! I'm over here now!"

Click to expand...

Wade, I understand you are upset but I think you are misleading people. Arc has been owned by CIS for many years now. This is nothing new.

I to am dissapointed with the new GS and recent problem with communications, However, it still does not take away from there other products. Overall Arc has had a great reputation. Unfortunately, like all businesses the ball has been dropped recently. Hopefully this is just some growing pains that will be corrected and passed.

Time will tell.

dd61999 said:

Wade, I understand you are upset but I think you are misleading people. Arc has been owned by CIS for many years now. This is nothing new.

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Nothing new for you, but it was news to me, and it was news to Sasha (now Greta) as well. So who was misleading people? Greta felt mislead by the fact that she was still maintaining the Arc sub forum for Peter, thinking Peter still owned Arc.

I'm not that upset about my Arc GS, disappointed yes, but seeing other CPF members also getting bad quality Arc GS's, and some still waiting over 3 weeks to get a refund, etc, it's getting a bit annoying. I think people need to know what is going on with Arc these days so they don't end up in the same situation some of us are finding ourselves in. Hopefully if we speak up, CIS will listen and take steps to improve things so the Arc can return to it's former glory.

I editted my above post to reflect that Arc is owned by CIS, etc.

WadeF said:

Nothing new for you, but it was news to me, and it was news to Sasha (now Greta) as well. So who was misleading people? Greta felt mislead by the fact that she was still maintaining the Arc sub forum for Peter, thinking Peter still owned Arc.

I'm not that upset about my Arc GS, disappointed yes, but seeing other CPF members also getting bad quality Arc GS's, and some still waiting over 3 weeks to get a refund, etc, it's getting a bit annoying. I think people need to know what is going on with Arc these days so they don't end up in the same situation some of us are finding ourselves in. Hopefully if we speak up, CIS will listen and take steps to improve things so the Arc can return to it's former glory.

I editted my above post to reflect that Arc is owned by CIS, etc.

Click to expand...

I agree with you and feel your pain on the New GS and recent problems with cust. service.

However, Peter has posted time and time again that decisions are made by the owner and not him. I dont think he ever misrepresented himself as an owner with the new entity formed in 2005.

So, in order to bring this thread back in-line, I'll say that if the E01 lives up to its specs, it will be one heck of a light. I, like many others, are waiting for them to ship.

Its hard to say much when the E01 hasnt reached anyone's hands yet..

Crenshaw

As a fairly new flashaholic, I am anxiously waiting my Eo1's. These will be my first AAA lights. For the price point of the Arc, it is right around lod ce costs. I have read many good things about arc but all this new info on what is/has happened at ARC is disconcerting to say the least.

I have an E01 on order but over-obsession with "specs" misses out on a lot of flashlight enjoyment. Get whatever light you think you will like the most, regardless of its "specs". I still enjoy using my Tekna Splashlite even though its specs are absolutely terrible by today's standards.