notamchris
Newly Enlightened
I just received a Fenix E01. I really like this light. I got it as a possible replacement for my old BS led Arc AAA.
My Fenix E01 Mini Review and comparison to my aging Arc AAA:
The Good: Perfect anodizing, fairly bright, long runtime, well made, tail standing ability, smooth threads, $15 shipped – Thanks 4Sevens!
The Bad: Compared to the Arc AAA, it is big! Also the hotspot is not centered in the beam although it doesn't matter much in real world use.
Now to the good stuff!
I had an extra Arc AAA (backup in case my primary one broke) which has sat unused since I bought it – my primary one just simply NEVER failed me! I decided to do a drop test off my balcony which is on the 5th floor. Below is a paved parking lot. I lobbed both the never used Arc and my brand new Fenix E01 off the balcony to see what would happen.
The contenders:
Both lights were turned on when they were dropped. As soon as they hit, I ran down to see the damage. I picked up the Fenix and it was still on! It works perfectly. I picked up the Arc and I got nothing. I decided to swap the batteries and the Arc fired up on the battery that was previously in the Fenix. The battery that was in the Arc got a bit crushed. The amazing thing is that the Fenix was able to fire on the crushed battery from the Arc, and no matter how many times I tried, I could not get the Arc to fire from that battery.
The most important thing is that both lights survived! The Fenix took more physical damage than the Arc, but the Arc crushed the battery. Now, I used to take my EDC Arc and throw it against walls, floors, etc to prove its durability and I have never had a crushed battery so it does take a lot of force to make that happen. Like I said, I have abused my original Arc and I have never been able to make it fail!
The aftermath:
The lights kept rolling around and not staying put where I wanted them to, so I propped them up with my battered original Arc AAA. The two lights that are side by side are the ones that got dropped.
As you can see, the Fenix has a chunk missing from the tail as well as a few other minor gashes. The Arc almost looks perfect! It has a couple of VERY small chips in the anodizing on the head, but otherwise it is perfect!
I am going to have to buy an Arc GS now to really compare them! I have a feeling that I will prefer the Arc simply because of form factor – it is a lot smaller than the Fenix.
One valid point is that my test was done with an OLD Arc AAA. I am assuming that the new Arc's are at least as sturdy if not more sturdy than the old ones that I have. Both lights are incredibly well made though, and I have to congratulate both Fenix and Peter (Arc) for making terrific products.
My Fenix E01 Mini Review and comparison to my aging Arc AAA:
The Good: Perfect anodizing, fairly bright, long runtime, well made, tail standing ability, smooth threads, $15 shipped – Thanks 4Sevens!
The Bad: Compared to the Arc AAA, it is big! Also the hotspot is not centered in the beam although it doesn't matter much in real world use.
Now to the good stuff!
I had an extra Arc AAA (backup in case my primary one broke) which has sat unused since I bought it – my primary one just simply NEVER failed me! I decided to do a drop test off my balcony which is on the 5th floor. Below is a paved parking lot. I lobbed both the never used Arc and my brand new Fenix E01 off the balcony to see what would happen.
The contenders:
Both lights were turned on when they were dropped. As soon as they hit, I ran down to see the damage. I picked up the Fenix and it was still on! It works perfectly. I picked up the Arc and I got nothing. I decided to swap the batteries and the Arc fired up on the battery that was previously in the Fenix. The battery that was in the Arc got a bit crushed. The amazing thing is that the Fenix was able to fire on the crushed battery from the Arc, and no matter how many times I tried, I could not get the Arc to fire from that battery.
The most important thing is that both lights survived! The Fenix took more physical damage than the Arc, but the Arc crushed the battery. Now, I used to take my EDC Arc and throw it against walls, floors, etc to prove its durability and I have never had a crushed battery so it does take a lot of force to make that happen. Like I said, I have abused my original Arc and I have never been able to make it fail!
The aftermath:
The lights kept rolling around and not staying put where I wanted them to, so I propped them up with my battered original Arc AAA. The two lights that are side by side are the ones that got dropped.
As you can see, the Fenix has a chunk missing from the tail as well as a few other minor gashes. The Arc almost looks perfect! It has a couple of VERY small chips in the anodizing on the head, but otherwise it is perfect!
I am going to have to buy an Arc GS now to really compare them! I have a feeling that I will prefer the Arc simply because of form factor – it is a lot smaller than the Fenix.
One valid point is that my test was done with an OLD Arc AAA. I am assuming that the new Arc's are at least as sturdy if not more sturdy than the old ones that I have. Both lights are incredibly well made though, and I have to congratulate both Fenix and Peter (Arc) for making terrific products.
