First nice light - Fenix P3D/PD30 vs. L2D/LD20

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here and your knowledgeable advice is appreciated. I'm a newb w/ lights. My best light, currently, is a Brinkman I bought a few years ago at Walmart. I use Surefire SF123A batteries in it. It's bright enough (though it wouldn't hurt to go brighter) and it just eats through batteries.

I'm planning on buying a couple of lights. First, I want to buy an all around light for all around use including camping, bumps in the night, or carrying in my jacket pocket. I'm thinking of the Fenix P3D/PD30, or the L2D/LD20.

These two seem to suit my needs. The big question here is battery type. Should I go with the P, utilizing a 123 battery, or the L w/ AA batteries? It appears that the P is a bit brighter and the L runs a bit longer. I'm thinking that the deciding factor for me is going to be cost. So, my big question is, which is more cost effective? Quality AA's or 123's?

I'm also going to buy a light for my AR at some point. From what I've read I'll probably go with one of the lights listed above, or perhaps the TK10 or TK11. Do you need to use 123's in a weapons light or are AA's ok?

Another option would be to buy the Fenix P or L for now, and put it on my AR later, after buying a smaller single battery EDC light.

Your thoughts?

Well, IMO the L2D (and its newer counterpart) are too long to be practical. I've got a P3D myself and it's a pretty awesome light, but I wish it were something nicer like a 4 mode programmable (two modes on each loose and tight bezel mode).

After I got this, I kind of wanted to get myself a P2D for 1x 123a (and a L1d tube for it for 1xAA usage), but I'm not willing to spend $60 on a flashlight (I got my P3D for $22 from the 4sevens memorial day sale).

BTW: P3D is totally usable on minimum (that's what I use it on most of the time) and with that it has >60 hours runtime. The newer PD30s are Q5 only iirc, and they're even brighter with the same runtimes.

About 123s vs AAs: if you don't want to become a flashaholic (or someone that otherwise spends a TON of money on 123s and special lights), stick with AAs. A nice set of rechargables will provide great runtimes and if you're not super concerned about sheer maximum brightness. The only problem is NiMH batteries tend to have high self discharge rates - depending on the cell they can totally drain themselves within a year. I find my Duracell 2650mAh cells (most of which recently tested at ~2750mAh actual capacity @ a 350mA discharge rate on my LaCrosse BC-900) don't self discharge a ton plus their capacity is phenomenal. IMO, NiMH rechargable technology is miles ahead of li-ion technolgy in 123a form cells.. last I checked, rcr123a cells would tend to have maybe HALF the capacity of a good primary cr123a.

Now.. if you want a light for harsh conditions or to keep around for emergencies, you can't really beat primary cr123a cells for longevity/operating range.. but CR123a as EDC can be kind of chunky (due to the lights being thicker) and costly (especially if you use your light a lot). It's just too bad that the P3D / PD30 lights don't support 18650 cells.. 18650 rechargable technology seems to be a long ways ahead of RCR123a in terms of capacity.

MOST of my lights are AA lights.. I've got ONE cr123a light (the fenix P3D) which I love, but I'm contemplating selling (along with the cells I bought with it). Even with the great deal I got on my primary cells ($22 shipped for 24 panasonics with expiry of 2016).. I'm not too keen on paying almost a dollar per disposable battery (even though I have yet to put much of a dent in this first pair of CR123As currently in my P3D).

Anyway, it's really your choice. It basically comes down to:

CR123a Pros:
- Usually higher overall brightness, more capacity per cell given primaries, great shelf life & better operating temperature range compared to AAs.
CR123a Cons:
- Expensive batteries, potential for "venting with flame", & easily fry your light by inserting cells backwards by accident if your light doesn't come with protection against it.

AA light Pros:
- Cheap widely available cells (you'd be more likely to be able to find some in an emergency), proven/safe technology & smaller form factor (due to thinner battery).
AA light Cons:
- Not as much energy per cell, & self discharge rates of NiMH.

burns
I'm fairly new as well. My first 2 lights (in many years)
were the Fenix LD01 for the chain & to see if the product was worth the money (it was) and a PD30.
I chose the PD30 for it's size, power and the diffuser I like to use in my business.
After going a few weeks on my first set of CR123, I have a good reference for how they last in my use, so no need for RCR. If I had more than 2 or 3 lights using 123s I might think about a charge system, but not yet.
Thanks to the great discussions and people here, I had a top quality 12 pack shipped for less the cost of 3 local. Suddenly, the 123s don't seem like such a big deal to aquire or pay for.
Both lights were much smaller than I imagined from the pics online.

I have no reference for durability yet, but there is no such thing as a shelf queen here. Both lights are well on their way to being scratched and getting dirty with little hope of ever being treated gently

These are tools, and like the 1000 or so others I have, no mercy. We'll see.

Good Luck

burns said:

So, my big question is, which is more cost effective? Quality AA's or 123's?

Click to expand...

The most cost effective is to get a rechargeable setup which ends up about the same price either way you go. If you have no pressing need for rechargeable AAs, then go with li-ons for the increased performance.

If you are going to weapon mount the light later, then I suggest you get a light that is designed to be weapon mounted in the first place instead of the Fenix L/P series. If you like Fenix, some possibilities for dual EDC/weapon light use would include the soon to be released Fenix TA20/21. But there are plenty of other choices as well.

AA's tends to be more practical for general use. Most consumer electronics use them, and they are more tolerant to abuse. They are safer, and the format gives you all the benefits of CR123 and more.

Well if you want to be totally practical then AA is the way to go, but budget for eneloop batteries and a good charger. If your going to use the light very frequently then the eneloop batteries may not be needed, as you'll be recharging often anyway.

Like mentioned above by Retral, personally I find 2xAA just a bit too long for easy carry, but MANY don't. I prefer the P3D 2xCR123A for the size runtime and output. The nice thing about the P3D is that it is compatible with 2xRCR123 3.7/4.2 Rechargeable Li-Ion batteries if you want (do it for frequent usage senario). But as mentioned for not so frequent use you can buy some CR123A cells on line fairly inexpensively.

OK AR mounting.... people will have to coment on that, but I think I'd go for a light meant for that or something very tough.

Other than that, no matter L2D or P3D I think you'll like them, but it may not be the last light you buy.

Thanks for the advice so far. How much do the extra tubes cost? I'm interested in buying an extra, smaller tube for single battery use. Where can they be found on the web?

Burns

fenixstore here " cpf8 " coupon for 8% off

if you pick up LD10 with 2 battery caps and L2D body/tailcap and P2D body/tailcap thats a complete lego at about $104