This is my first review on CPF, so please feel free to give me feedback!
Fenix TA20
- review -
I.Package
II.Accessories
III.Dimensions
IV.Body & Finish
V.UI
VI.Output
Conclusion
Recommendation
Pictures
I. Package
The light came in the standard paper – box and was shelled with plastic. I was used to this from all my other flashlights I have from Fenix. As far as I know, the TK40 is the only Fenix – flashlight that does come in a plastic-box. Nothing exciting, but nothing wrong with that.
Also, as I was used from other Fenix – flashlights, I was able to see the flashlight through a plastic window in the paper box. The most important information were printed on the box:
-highly impact resistant structure
-mechanical ring-switch for adjustment of output
-throw beam over 200 meters
-170 hours max runtime
Next information on the paper – box: "Max 225 Lumens" and "Two 3VCR123A Batteries"
Now these are really the most important information about the flashlight and they were all visible on the front of the paper – box.
II. Accessories
The light came with:
-a lanyard
-two spare O-rings
-a spare rubber boot switch
The lanyard looks stronger and more solid than those from older Fenix – flashlights. I am sorry that it still is not adjustable to the wrist. It is long enough to go over my bare hand and wrist, but it just get's close when I am wearing my tactical gloves. I would definitely prefer a longer and adjustable lanyard. For the lanyard, there are two different options to fix it to the light (see: IV. Body & Finish).
The spare O-rings and rubber boot switch are nice to have when you need them because these are the parts of the light that are most likely to be replaced so time in the future.
I would like to have a holster with the light. There is a strong clip (see: IV. Body & Finish), but I am used to carry my lights on my duty-belt. And out there in the rough world of police – work, a holster gives me more a feeling of security. I will see if the flashlight is going to fit in some holsters available to me (i.e. the Blackhawk U-mold / combat holster). But I think that Fenix should think and work on that.
III. Dimensions
Fenix gives official information about the dimensions as follows:
Length: 168 mm
Diameter of Head: 35 mm
Diameter of Body: 25,4 mm
I checked them and they are all correct.
Weight was given with 175 gr. from Fenix, excluding batteries. I checked it as well and it was correct to.
The light gives a good and solid feeling in the hand. There is nothing of slippery like on the older Fenix – flashlights like my old P3D. The weight and the size are ideal. The balance – point is where the knurling on the body ends. So the flashlight is a little bit head-heavy, but that is no problem, even when holding the light in the cigar-hold / Roger's- / SureFire-grip.
IV. Body & Finish
As mentioned before, the body gives a solid feeling and tells you, that there is nothing this light has to fear. As I treat all my lights with respect (because my life can depend on them), I will not make any torture – tests, but using it on a daily basis when on duty.
The Finish was perfect when it was "out of the box". I could find no failure in the HA III finish on the whole flashlight.
The Text (Fenix TA20) and Serial number were clear and fine letters and numbers. On the selector-ring, there are four different symbols (each for every type of output) and a white dot as a reference point on the body, right under the selector-ring. All those symbols are made very nice and are good visible.
The flashlight's body has 5 different parts:
-Head (with selector-ring)
-Body / battery – tube
-Clip (removable)
-Cigar-hold ring (removable)
-Tailcap (with switch)
The head and body are not to be separated, as far as I tried. But I did not use "full force" to give it a try (see above: no torture-tests). The head is crenelated, but not that sharp. I do not think it will damage my clothing or a holster. But the battlements are big enough to hurt, if you get knocked with the head of the light.
The head has no knurling, also not on the selector-ring. It has a structure to provide better grip, but that does not replace good knurling.
On the body, there is good rhombic knurling on the area where an operator would grip the light. That provides good grip and a solid feeling, also with my tactical gloves.
The clip, as mentioned above, would not be my first choice. But until I tested the flashlight with some of the available holsters, it will be the way I will carry the flashlight. It makes a strong and solid impression. I strongly believe, that it will keep the flashlight in it's place, but we will see in the next weeks. The clip is removable. To remove the clip, you need to unscrew the tailcap and the cigar-hold ring (along with the O-rings).
Cigar-hold ring is an element, new to me. None of my flashlights had such a feature before. But it was one that I was looking for. The cigar-hold ring supports your grip, no matter if you hold it in the Roger's / SureFire-hold or in the common "ice-pick"-hold. When holding the light in the Roger's / SureFire-hold, the grip-ring supports that technique perfect. It provides very good grip and helps pulling the light in to make use of the momentary on. The cigar-hold ring is removable. To remove the cigar-hold ring, you need to unscrew the tailcap (along with the O-rings).
The tailcap seems to be a little longer than on other comparable Fenix-Flashlights, but that is just my impression from seeing flashlights like the TK10 or TK11. I will try to get a comparison in the next weeks. The tailcap is crenelated. That gives the tailcap both: good protection of the switch and good access to the clip, all at the same time.
The Switch in the tailcap works great. It is reachable from everywhere and allows the light to tailstand on a plane surface. Activation of the flashlight (both: momentary-on and constant-on) works very good with and without my tactical – gloves.
V. User Interface (UI)
The User Interface (UI) was one of the most interesting points about this flashlight:
The Fenix TA20 offers 3 different levels of output and strobe. According to Fenix, those three levels of output are: 4 lumens, 50 lumens and 225 lumens. I do not have the equipment to measure the output, but I compared it to the output of my Fenix PD30 (see: VI. Output).
To select a level of output, the operator twists the selector-ring on the head of the flashlight.
Starting with low a turn counter – clockwise brings medium, the next turn counter – clockwise brings High and the last turn counter – clockwise brings the strobe. The ring gives good feedback (both tactile and acoustic). You can feel when the selector-ring comes into position and you can hear a clear "click" as well (it is a mechanical selector-ring, so I think this was to be expected). The selector-ring is a little bit hard to turn, but there were the same problems on the Fenix TA30 and they disappeared after some use. I think that will be no problem.
Another point is, that there is no knurling on the selector-ring. That makes it a little slippy and does not support secure operation. Knurling on the selector-ring would be a good idea.
For activation of the Fenix TA20, the tailcap – switch is used. The tailcap switch is a forward – clicky. Both, momentary-on (soft press) and constant-on (full press with click) work very good, also with the tactical gloves on.
VI. Output
I do not have the equipment for measuring the output. This needs to be done by someone with the equipment and the experience for that.
Fenix gives the following information about the output:
Low mode: 4 lumens
Medium mode: 50 lumens
High mode: 225 lumens
I compared them to the output of my Fenix PD30.
Low mode of 4 lumens is definitive lower than the low of the PD30 (said to be 9 lumens).
Medium Mode of 50 lumens looks a little lower than the 70 lumens of the PD30.
High output looks quite the same as the 220 lumens of the PD30. I feel that the light is a little brighter but I am not sure if that is because of the 5 lumens or because the TA20 has a different reflector that throws further and so puts more light in the hotspot.
About the beam: I could see Cree – rings. That is no problem in real life application and more or less only visible when white-wall-hunting. I guess that this is caused by the "new" reflector because I have no Cree-rings in the beam of my PD30.
I will test throw in the next days because I have early day-shift and will go into bed before it is dark. But on the weekend, I will be able to test the throw and maybe do some beam shots.
Conclusion
The Fenix TA20 is a solid and well made light. It is designed for the use in wild, rough and unfriendly surroundings. That's not the question.
But my main point of view is from a tactical one.
The low of 4 lumens is fine. It does not disturb night-vision that much and is still enough to read documents or find a way through a garden to a dark house.
50 lumens in medium mode are a little to less in my opinion. Professionals think that 60 lumens is the minimum amount of light, needed to temporary blind an opponent. I do not know, if the ten lumens from 60 to 50 make so much difference, but I would have liked the ten on the other side of the scale: 70 to 80 lumens would have been better.
225 lumens of blinding white light are great! With maximum output, there is no place to hide and it definitely blinds everyone who is in the hotspot.
The idea of the selector-ring is a great one, but the position of the ring is not useable for using the light in low-light-tactical application, because it is not able to operate the light with one hand.
And one-handed operation is vital to a tactical – flashlight. This way, an operator can not make use of the great features of the TA20. There is no chance to change from high mode to strobe mode while holding the weapon in the other hand. I would recommend to put the selector-ring on the tailcap.
I ran a test through our standard low-light-tactical parcour (a station to work on different grip methods and basically a simulation of an in-building – search mission, combining flashlight-operation with tactical movement).
The light worked great and I got positive feedback. But I could not make use of the multiple – functionality of the light because I could not switch modes without the second hand. And having no holster on the belt caused some problems with reholstering the flashlight.
My partner – who was running the test parcour with me – gave me exactly the same feedback.
I found out that the flashlight fits inside the holder of my side-handle-baton. It is not very secure and I need to use the clip for some more security, but I took some pictures and maybe you could get an idea about a new (tactical) holster.
It is for sure a great light, but it misses the tactical approach as a handheld flashlight. I would like to see it mounted on my departement's HK MP5 along with a remote-switch. I will use it as my primary light for some more night – shifts, but then I think it is going to be my secondary light based in my jacket.
Recommendation:
I would change some aspects of the TA20 to be a better light for tactical applications (in order of priority):
1. change place of selector-ring to the tailcap and spend it some knurling (for secure one-handed operation)
2. Creating a solid holster for the flashlight (or at least making it available as accessory). I would like to get a holster made of polymer or kydex and maybe with an inner (spring based) security-system that brings more security and makes drawing and (even more) reholstering the flashlight more easy.
3. Reinstalling a low-battery flicker. I do not like the "falling" into darkness from 225 lumens down to 50 lumens. I would prefer the low-battery flicker I know from my PD30.
4. Adjusting medium output level up to 70 to 80 lumens (keeping in mind that 60 lumens is the minimum for tactical application, this amount of light allows to use also Medium output for tactical applications when batteries are low.
5. optimising beam-shape to minimise the "Cree-rings".
Pictures:
Package of the TA20 after arrival
Content of the package
Fenix TA20 (flashlight) with included accessories (lanyard, rubber-boot and 2 spare O-rings)
Fenix TA20 standing on the head & tail
Size comparison with 2 CR123a batteries
Fenix TA20 in my hand (notice: I can't use selector-ring while using the tailcap-switch)
I need to hold the TA20 this way to use the selector-ring (but I can't use the tailcap-switch this way).
Head comparison (left: Fenix PD30 / right: Fenix TA20)
Size comparison (left: Fenix PD30 / right: Fenix TA20)
Fenix TA20 fitting into the holder of side-handle-baton
Details: The ring holds the head of the flashlight (but not very secure)
Adding some security by using the clip and a strap (already existing on the holder)
Sorry for some poor picture quality. I am working on that.
I made the pictures smaller so I can send the review document via E-Mail to Fenix.
Stephan
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