Is your Fenix E01 sloppy and gritty?

Just got an E01 from 4-sevens.

3 questions from others who have them.

Is it gritty when turning the head? I have cleaned the threads twice and relubes to no avail. Seems as if the PCB board extends out past the head and is scraping on the threads maybe? it is very rough and when I first unscrewed the head it was bone dry and almost "cracked" when it finally gave way.

Are your threads sloppy? lots of head play when light is off?

Is your o-ring partially exposed when the light is off? I cant lube the oring for water resistance since it is gonna just attract gunk when the light is off in my pocket becasue it is exposed. to get most of it covered the light has to be on or so close to on you can put pressure on the head and it will turn on

Thoughts, opinions? is this just standard for the E01? It is an inexpensive light but still

gritty threads yes
I've managed to "wear" it off by leaving the threads dry and roting the head a couple dozen times [with the 0-ring removed]. Clean, apply lube, do the same for about a dozen times, clean and relube.

of the ~6 E01s I bought only 2 I had to do this sort of aggressive wearing. I suspect that during the manufacturing of the light the thread's tolerances were tightened when it, along with everything else, went into the anodizing bath.

E01s come with no lube as far as I am aware of, but if your cleaning with alcohol you will notice a stain of sorts on your tissue, which may indicate that there has been some sort of lube applied to the threads, but dried by some unknown means leaving this sort of residue covering every mm of threading and the entirety of the o-ring.

For optimum water resistance, when your lubing your lights, pry out the o-ring using a flat head screwdriver, careful not to jam the tip directly on the o-ring, have it out and rinse with water. apply lube to the o-ring socket before setting the o-ring into it, then apply a thin coat on top of the o-ring.

Sloppy?
It'll cross thread when dry but I'm not aware of any flaws or aberrations on the threads

The o-ring should be completely covered by the body, that is, the top of the o-ring should stand flush to the tip of the body. If your o-ring is protruding it may be the result of:

• The o-ring not be seated properly, which could be because of an enlarged/deteriorating O-ring, which could happen due many reasons, fenix should have provided a spare o-ring, if you suspect the o-ring is defective, try the replacement
• Jammed tail spring where the battery cannot sit all the way into the body and leaving the head protruding slightly, I have never seen this happen but it is certainly possible.
• Manufacturing/parts defect, you should never assume this is the case until everything else has been verified, including areas of the light not regarded in this post.

no to all of the above on my e01.

Mine is buttery smooth...

I suggest you contact 4seven

Mine was great right out of the box, and actually has the perfect amount of friction or resistance, and smoothness

Mine works very smoothly. The o-ring isn't exposed unless I unscrew it more than I need to just to switch it off. I can loosen it about 1 full turn before I start to see the o-ring. Dirt from my pocket does get into that gap and onto the 'top' of the o-ring, but it doesn't get past it to the threads. I cleaned and applied a bit of silicone grease to mine as soon as I got it, and though I was a little concerned about dirt getting in there, it's not getting far enough to do any harm, or effect the operation.

There's no play at all on mine when it's switched off.

litetube said:

Just got an E01 from 4-sevens.

3 questions from others who have them.

Is it gritty when turning the head? I have cleaned the threads twice and relubes to no avail. Seems as if the PCB board extends out past the head and is scraping on the threads maybe? it is very rough and when I first unscrewed the head it was bone dry and almost "cracked" when it finally gave way.

Are your threads sloppy? lots of head play when light is off?

Is your o-ring partially exposed when the light is off? I cant lube the oring for water resistance since it is gonna just attract gunk when the light is off in my pocket becasue it is exposed. to get most of it covered the light has to be on or so close to on you can put pressure on the head and it will turn on

Thoughts, opinions? is this just standard for the E01? It is an inexpensive light but still

Click to expand...

No to all of the above. Mine is darn nice.

Sounds more like an Arc than a E01


On the E01, if the circuit board is seated properly at all, it is impossible for the O-ring to be exposed when the light is turned on. Pictures would be appreciated.

nope no problems as you describe, Just the very purple tint, which I really don't like.

choaticwhisper said:

nope no problems as you describe, Just the very purple tint, which I really don't like.

Click to expand...

that can't be helped unfortunately:candle:

litetube said:

Just got an E01 from 4-sevens.

3 questions from others who have them.

Is it gritty when turning the head? I have cleaned the threads twice and relubes to no avail. Seems as if the PCB board extends out past the head and is scraping on the threads maybe? it is very rough and when I first unscrewed the head it was bone dry and almost "cracked" when it finally gave way.

Are your threads sloppy? lots of head play when light is off?

Is your o-ring partially exposed when the light is off? I cant lube the oring for water resistance since it is gonna just attract gunk when the light is off in my pocket becasue it is exposed. to get most of it covered the light has to be on or so close to on you can put pressure on the head and it will turn on

Thoughts, opinions? is this just standard for the E01? It is an inexpensive light but still

Click to expand...

No to everything.

derfyled said:

Mine is buttery smooth...

I suggest you contact 4seven

Click to expand...

exactly the same feeling when i turn it.

send it back..

No to all of the above. The threads are very smooth with no play, despite having accidentally dropped the head 12 stories. Easy to operate one-handed. I would say you have a defective unit.

Thanx for all the replies guys.

I should have clarified, the oring is partially exposed when the light is off. I actually got to compare mine to another and the other E01 could be turned off and the oring was not exposed and like Zatoichi stated on his I had to turn the head on this other unit more than a full turn or more to get the oring exposed. On mine a 1/4 turn or less from the on postion and the oring is exposed then the light will still turn on with light pressure on the head.
I really think now it is the circuit board sides protruding out past the overal head which are scraping/grinding against the threads and inside of the battery tube. I guess this will "wear" down over time when pitted against the metal parts but......

Tint is purple but it seems just a hint briter than the 2nd unit. Annodizing is completly different shade. Mine is olive , 2nd unit is a light gray almost , not that I care about that just wanted to comment on the huge difference in annodizing shades on the same color (Olive) that can be acquired.

Another "no to all of the above" on my three E01's.

The two we have (from 4sevens pre-order) are very smooth.
The o-ring area gathers pocket fluff quite nicely but it has no effect on the functioning of the light.

They've never been lubed either

Mine was and is buttery smooth

I just bought 6 to give as gifts to co-workers. All but one were very smooth. One was a little squeeky (not rough tho) and needed some lube. None were sloppy in the least.

choaticwhisper said:

nope no problems as you describe, Just the very purple tint, which I really don't like.

Click to expand...

+1 to the tint. Why not just change the O ring if you are having a problem with it? Or just remove it, to see if it turns any better. If it doesn't, there probably is grit in the threads. If you think you have cleaned the threads already, try this. Take a round wooden toothpick and dip it in alcohol. Run the pointed end through the threads. You might get grit out that you otherwise missed. You should be able to see it on the end of the toothpick. Keep using fresh toothpicks until the toothpicks come out clean from the threads. Then relube.

I really would send it back. Mine has a lovely smooth action, not a very purple tint, and the O-ring can be exposed when off, but not always and certainly not worryingly. No head play either.

I do get a very small amount of grittyness when I completely unscrew the head and the PCB brushes against the threads, but other than that you're describing a totally different light to the one I have in my pocket.