LED Lenser P14 review

I recently bought the LED Lenser P14 @ frys in Renton Wa. I was looking for a light that was both bright & has long runtime. The focusing prism also
caught my eye as well. I get stuck out at night working on cars or trucks occasionally & needed a light that could go the distance time wise.
I also wanted a light that used standard everyday size battery that has good safety when using rechargables.I see no value in a bright light if it
only lasts a half an hour. I count 1 hour as the very minimum that the light should be able to provide sfficiently bright light to do the tasks
that I need to do. I also use rechargables wherever possable to cut down costs & reduce the trash that you get with throwaways.

Before anybody gets into it with me about the virtues of lithium batteries & regulated circuits just let me say that I have owned them before & have
tried three different brands of rechargable lithium ion batteries & have been for the most part very disappointed. The locally available lithium throw aways
are way overpriced as well. It was nice having the regulation but regulation can only help so much then the quick loss of intensity or in in some
cases though this was not the fault of the regulation but of the batteries (Li-Ion regulated/protected batteries) you suddenly had no light at all.

The problem I had with most standard (alkaline-NiMH) batteries was poor performance of the lights themselves, at least the ones locally available. Almost
all my previus attempts to get decent performing torches that used AA or AAA batteries were for naught. The only reasonable performing one used
3 AAA batteries & did not have the desired runtime that I wanted or ultimately the brightness of the Inova regulated lithium battery type torches.
I also knew that there was no excuse for the poor perfomance of these torches other than poor design. 3 AA batteries have much more energy storage than
CR123a batteries. The CR123a batteries have about 25-50% more energy than 3 AAA NiMH batteries & about 2/3rds the energy of 3 AA NimH batteries. Most
of these torches had no regulation, very little heatsinking & the resister values were wrong to get the claimed power they were advertizing.


This brings me to the torch in question here which is the LED Lenser P14. Some of the features of this light are.

1. Focusing prism that can actually be focused too almost any desired diameter, within reason of coarse.

2. the use of standard everyday AA batteries that are cheap even in the rechargable format.

3. More than adaquate heat sinking that allow the torch to operate at high power for extended perion of time without
overheating unlike some cheaper lights that I own.

4. Big but not too big, still smaller than a 2 D size battery torch.

5. Focusing the light can be accomplished very fast with one hand operation. Takes less tha .5 seconds to focus it to any desired diameter beam.

6. Long runtimes at high brightness especially with NiMH batteries. Less so with alkaline batteries but still not bad.

7. 3 brightness levels but max is not one that it will let you run continuously without modification. Note this
torch is capable of running continuously at max setting if one want to do the mod which is simple. The heat sinking capabilties are
definately up to snuff here.

8. Very good construction

9. Extensive use of O-rings to keep water out. Note however that due to the focusing mechanism this torch is not dunkable.

10. Very nice & sturdy nylon carrying pouch.

11. Comes with 2 complete sets of reasonable quality alkaline batteries

Here is how I see this torch. First the good

1. first off the focusing prism. The prism is definately this torches calling card I.E. its numero uno feature. It is not without its problems
but it is still better than the alternatives that I have seen. The spot is very tightly focused & as a result this torch has excellent thow.
Not the best throw but very very close behind. My best thower is much tighter focused but has less overall light than the P14.
That one is my husky 4 watt cree tactical torch.

2. The use of standard batteries, YAAAAAHHOOOOOOO, A cheap to run light that actually performs very well finally!!! A first for my collection.

3. Bright with a capital B. Oh, did I say this light is bright? I must be getting old & repeating myself in my old age. Honestly though this is overall the
best performing torch that I have or even that I have ever had that didn't have to be tethered to an external power supply.

4. I got about 3 hours of high brightness light out of 4 eneloop AA batteries (this torch takes 4 AA batteries at a time) before modification.
2.25 hours after the modification. This time quoted is the time it takes to get to the point of noticable dimming on NiMH batteries with 2000mAH storage.
This is quite good considering the intensity of the light coming from this torch.

5. Construction of this torch is very good but too me not excellent. See comments below.

6. Even though this torch is a little too big to pocket the carrying pouch more than makes up for this shortcoming.
I've ripped out a few pockets carrying much smaller torches than this one. The pouch will prevent this problem from occurring.
It is quite sturdy too. It uses 2 methods of securing it to your belt. Heavy duty snap & heavy duty velcro. You won't be losing this torch
off your belt any time soon.

7. Heat sinking in this torch is nothing short of excellent dispite what others have said. I'm sure glad they bought the raw drivers instead of those
mounted to the Cree stars. In spite of Crees claim of excellent heat transfer for the stars I found that in anouther light of mine that used the Cree star
the heat build up on the star was quite high compared to the heatsink that it was attched to which to be honest was also inadaquate on that torch as well.

8. Having three levels of brightness is a very good thing indeed. I just wished they had made the max setting one that you
could use continuously as well as high. Other that that this feature is perfect

Now the bad

1. Not truely water proof but then again they do not claim it either. The only place water can get in though is at the holes in the head which are
there to allow the focusing mechanism to work. Everything else is sealed with O-rings.

2. The thing that make the construction of this torch not excellent is #1 the slop in the head that can cause the beam to be off center & #2 The
focus mechanism does not stop perfectly at the best point for the smallest spot. It over shoots it by a slight amount.

3. It is not regulated. This only concerns those that demand regulation. In my experience this torch really doesn't need it if you use NiMH batteries.
The torch doesn't seem to dim much to the eye until the batteries are down to less than 1 volt each & then it start to dim pretty fast at least to a point.
This is usually what happens with regulation too. Also not all regulaters maintain perfect intensity either & this torch will match & or beat many of those for
both intensity & duration.

4. The outpup from the focusing prism is rather ringy at most settings. This may bother quite a few of you. The head is a little loose & this results in the beam being slightly off center at times. Also the focusing mechanism doesn't stop at the best overall focus for the spot beam, It overshoots it a little.

Overall impression of this torch is very very good. My best torch to date & probably will be for some time.

good review. Is there any chance of some photos and beamshots.:twothumbs

Thanks for the detailed notes on this light. A couple of Questions, what did you pay for it at Frys? Can you provide a link to the modification? I have not read much on this light; I'll do a search, but in case I don't find it it would be good to have it linked in this thread.

I am surprised you've had bad luck with Li-Ion cells, the AW18650 have worked so well for me after years of fighting with NiMH cells. I am liking eneloop NiMH now though; the LSD batteries are like the first decent consumer rechargeables in my mind. I'm picky... but Li-Ion and Li-Ion-polymer are just the greatest.

Thanks Again!

1. No photos at the moment. I will try for some in the near future.

2. The mod is very easy to perform. The switch & resistors are in the tail of the light & are easily accessable by unscrewing the tailcap from the battery carrier. There is no wiring that runs the length of the battery carrier, the switch actually resides between the two rows of batteries electrically. Be carefull when unscrewing the tailcap from the battery carrier though because the battery carrier is kind if flimsy. Grasp only near the tailcap.

You will see four small screws then. Take these 4 screws out & you will see the switch mechanism. You will need to desolder the switch from the switch carrier to be able to get to its under side as this is where the resistors are.

Once the switch is out you will have to make a decision which brightness mode you want to give up, the low or the high. I gave up the high position but really wished that I gave up the low as its really to low for any of my purposes. There are two resistors there that are in series with the batteries when activate
There is a 100 ohm & about a 1.5 ohm resistor. The 100 ohm resistor controls the low setting & 1.5 ohm resistor the high position. All you need to do is bypass whichever resistor for the brightness level you want to give up by soldering a piece of small wire around the resistor.

After that the reassemble the light in the same manner as you took it apart. Then you would only have two brightness levels but you will be able to use max brightness without having to hold the button in.

Warning: Definately do not use the energizer 1.5 volt lithium batteries in the modded light. These kick out substantially more voltage under load than the NiMH batteries. I don't even recommend them in the stock torch but the Max setting on the NiMH batteries is close to what the lithium batteries would provide in high position. Max will definately damage the light in short order with lithium batteries if used continuously at max setting. Currents would be way beyond max rating for the LED even with the good heat sinking that this light has.

3. I paid 72.99 before tax @ fry's

StandardBattery said:

I am surprised you've had bad luck with Li-Ion cells, the AW18650 have worked so well for me after years of fighting with NiMH cells. I am liking eneloop NiMH now though; the LSD batteries are like the first decent consumer rechargeables in my mind. I'm picky... but Li-Ion and Li-Ion-polymer are just the greatest.

Thanks Again!

Click to expand...

Part of the problem I had was the Inova Xo3 torches that I had could not handle the full voltage of unregulated CR123a Li-Ion batteries (instafry time) & the early ultralast CR123a batteries were LiFePo4 type & had very low capacity. Much lower than the 700mAH claimed. They only lasted 15 minutes at full brightness compared to 2 hours on lithium throwaways. I tried Delkin Devices Cr123a Rechargable which were regulated & got 30-35 minutes light out of them. I also tried the Juice CR123a Li-Ion Regulated batteries & got 45 minutes out of them. The only problem with the Juice regulated batteries other than not meeting the 1 hour mark was the regulator on the batteries would become hot which is a no-no with Li-Ion batteries when used in a torch due to the relatively high current & the use of linear regulation instead of switch mode regulation.

None of these met my goal of an Hour runtime.

Does anyone know why the p14 has a white reflector instead of chrome? To me it seems like heavily polished chrome whould shine better than white. Does the white reflector actually have an advantage?

gilkersA7 said:

Does anyone know why the p14 has a white reflector instead of chrome? To me it seems like heavily polished chrome whould shine better than white. Does the white reflector actually have an advantage?

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The white you see is not the reflector. It is just there to hold the LED in place The reflector is totally clear as it is a prism/lens type reflector with no coatings. It is actually a very efficient reflector system beating many coated systems I've seen. Prisms also seem to whiten the light also. I have 2 torches that use prisms combines with Cree XR/E emitters. A ROV Sportsman Extreme & the LED Lenser P14. The blue corona that you see in the beam of the P14 is from the lens portion where the white spot comes from the prism portion of the reflector. The ROV SE uses a pure prism reflector & almost all the light eminating from it is neutral white. Removal of the head on both torches reveals a pure blue tinted white light.

I was looking at the P14 in Fry's today. I very much like the 4 AA power supply, and it certainly seems bright when you press the "try me" lever on the packaging. I was astonished by how much light came flooding out of it.

However, the $72 price tag is what put me off buying it immediately. For a light that has no regulation or electronic control that is just too much. And now I know that, I don't think I will buy it. For a light made in China at a probable cost of pennies, I feel that skimping on the design like that is just taking advantage of the consumer. Well sorry, I won't buy it (literally).

Mr Happy said:

I was looking at the P14 in Fry's today. I very much like the 4 AA power supply, and it certainly seems bright when you press the "try me" lever on the packaging. I was astonished by how much light came flooding out of it.

However, the $72 price tag is what put me off buying it immediately. For a light that has no regulation or electronic control that is just too much. And now I know that, I don't think I will buy it. For a light made in China at a probable cost of pennies, I feel that skimping on the design like that is just taking advantage of the consumer. Well sorry, I won't buy it (literally).

Click to expand...

If you use NiMH batteries such as the Eneloops you would not be disappointed as it really does quite well even without regulation.

Yes, I have a big stock of Eneloops, and I'm sure it works OK. What bothers me is they are selling a $35 light for $70. That leaves a sour taste in my mouth. They should either sell it for $35 with low tech internals, or sell it for $70 with proper electronic regulation and control. But marking up a $35 light to $70 and relying on the uninformed to stump up the extra money for low tech is price gouging in my opinion.

72 dollars is actually a bargain for this torch as online stores are asking over 100 dollars for the same torch. For the difference in price you can get rechargable batteries & charger if you din't already have them which you do. It will outperform many of the torches that have regulation both in brightness & longevity of brightness with rechargable batteries.

The quoted lumens are the real out the front lumen not the lumens of the emitter.

I've read a number of unfavorable comments about the LED Lenser Lights. My P14 is a superb light and worthy of being called a professional tool in my opinion. I know LED Lenser claims only splash proof but I believe they are fairly well O-ring sealed and I don't believe those holes in the head go all the way through and would not allow water in?

Bill

Hitthespot said:

I've read a number of unfavorable comments about the LED Lenser Lights. My P14 is a superb light and worthy of being called a professional tool in my opinion. I know LED Lenser claims only splash proof but I believe they are fairly well O-ring sealed and I don't believe those holes in the head go all the way through and would not allow water in?

Bill

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Those holes do go through to the point of letting air in & out of the head to allow the focusing mechanism to work properly. Wherever air can get through so can water with few exception & this is not one of them. If this torch falls in water get it out immediately & make sure you do not move its focusing head while in the water as that will draw water into the head assembly. This torch is only rated splashable by the manufacturer for a reason.

It sounds like it has very similar run time to the Fenix E20 (which is regulated). The Fenix E20 is far smaller and takes only two AA batteries. Disadvantages of the Fenix E20 are that its not as bright, the beam is more blueish and the focused beam doesn't throw nearly as far.

Led Lenser P14 Flood


Fenix E20 Flood

P14 runs 2x longer than E20. Using Ni-MH's it's semi-regulated.

phantom23 said:

P14 runs 2x longer than E20. Using Ni-MH's it's semi-regulated.

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Yes I just noticed from this review here https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/205501, the Fenix E20 run time is shorter than the manufacturers claims. Twice the batteries, twice the run time with even higher brightness. That makes the P14 seem more efficient than the E20.

I'd be interesting in seeing some run time graphs comparing the P14 to other AA lights.

phantom23 said:

P14 runs 2x longer than E20. Using Ni-MH's it's semi-regulated.

Click to expand...

Unless it contains an electronic regulation circuit, it is not regulated.

cybersoga said:

Yes I just noticed from this review here https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/205501, the Fenix E20 run time is shorter than the manufacturers claims.

Click to expand...

That is measured with eneloops. I get exactly the manufacturers claimed runtime with Sanyo 2700mAh.

Mr Happy said:

Unless it contains an electronic regulation circuit, it is not regulated.

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I mentioned at the beginning of the review about my views concerning regulation. It is nice but not really nessessary with this torch if you use NiMH batteries. This torch maintains really good brightness throughout the usable life of NiMH batties with no noticable dimming until the batteries are technically dead (less than 1 volt unloaded). This is as good as many regulated torches.

I really did not want this thread to break down into an argument about the pro & cons of regulation. That is why I wrote what I did up front & made it very clear that that it was my intent to not have this argument.

Either you like the torch or you don't, but I think your missing out on a very good torch to ignore it just due to the lack of regulation. It is far brighter in real terms than many regulated torches & lasts just as long if not longer at near full brightness (Dimming not detectable to the eye).

I'm not arguing pros and cons of regulation at all, I'm just trying to make sure people are clear about facts. A poster above said "it's semi-regulated", and a major web retailer is claiming it contains a microprocessor controlled digital regulation circuit. Well either it does or it doesn't. I have no beef either way, I'd just like the facts to be straight.

Honestly I also have no problem with you liking the light. If you are happy with it then good for you. Don't let me take away from your enjoyment.

What I am arguing is that at the $100+ suggested retail price, this light is seriously overpriced. It claims a brightness on the package of 172 lumens, but does not tell you that this is not the normal output and is only available with a momentary click of the tail cap. What's worse is that the "try me" on the package does this momentary click. That's badly misleading.

If the light just has resistors in the tailcap and has no electronic regulation circuit then it isn't worth $100 (or even $70). It doesn't matter that it seems to do OK on NiMH, it is too much money for what you get.

If it were priced at $35 (or maybe even $50) I would be happy to buy it. But at $72 or more, I won't be. I have nothing against how the light performs, it is just too expensive for what it is. Manufacturers should not dress up basic engineering with cute buzzwords and then hike up the price tag in a cynical marketing exercise.