spoonrobot
Enlightened
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2005
- Messages
- 396
Penlights have always been an interesting form factor. The simple lines and compact size make them a good candidate for everyday carry but the slow development and lack of any high-powered LED implementation have keep the penlight below the radar of serious light users. Most of the current 2xAAA penlights use a 5mm LED and generally show more strength in the runtime department vice brightness and multiple modes.
Along comes the Preon with it's 2xAAA form factor, high max brightness and top notch construction and design. This light is amazing, I've been using it very heavily for the past 3 days and have found it to be an excellent addition to my EDC. It's a crowd pleaser too, producing lots and lots of lumens from a very compact size.
Let's start with the size. Here's the Preon (in red) compared to my other EDC lights, Fenix L2D/P2D and E01.
I'm going to compare the Preon to my L2D since it's my current EDC, destined to be replaced by the Preon 2. The Preon is much smaller than the L2D in all dimensions. This makes it very easy to carry, it just disappears when clipped to the pocket.
But, thanks to the rougher texture you don't lose much in terms of grip due to the smaller size.
How's the clip? It's very thick and appears to be extremely sturdy. I've noted that the tension is fairly light and as such it may be more suited to shirt pocket carry versus clipped to a pants pocket. I'm going to try putting some heat-shrink tubing on the clip to improve the tension, I'll update on how it goes.
Beamshots! Compared to the L2D the Preon has a much wider beam that does not throw as far but works better at short to medium ranges. Sadly it appears the lottery is in effect, my example has a very purple tint, so much that it makes my purple-purple E01 look pure white. Both lights are on high.
Shots are from 3 feet.
Outdoors: The bag of sand is about 25 yards away.
Preon 2
L2D Q5
Indoors: The end of the hallway is about 10 yards:
Preon 2:
L2D Q5:
Detail shots:
Preon 1 shots:
Of note is the "gritty switch" this is due to the clickie button rubbing the retaining ring. Some light grease in this area may reduce contact feedback and make the switch feel smoother. As mentioned in the Marketplace thread, press the center of the cap to turn the light on/off and then press the edge of the cap to switch modes. This reduces the rough feeling and makes changing modes very fast.
Now that all of the pictures are out of the way, what do I think about the light? I think it's a huge improvement in a battery configuration (2xAAA) that hasn't previously seen a lot of development. This size is perfect for me, I find 1xAAA lights to be too small for comfortable EDC use, the Preon 2 is big enough to be used easily but slim enough to be carried easily as well. The tint on my light is a little disappointing but the overall brightness from such a small size more than makes up for the tint lottery.
How's the UI? I think it makes the most of the round-robin system but is certainly less than ideal. The L/M/H is not my preferred cycle but I find changing levels is fast and they're spaced out enough to make them as useful as possible. Most of my use is at High so a lot of the time I have to cycle through the first two levels before getting to what I want to do. The hidden signaling levels are a perfect implementation of the concept. They're quick enough to get to when needed but they stay out of the way during normal use.
Although I will say that if the light featured a Fenix-style twist head level changing UI it would be absolutely perfect. As it is it's an amazing design that is going to be the light I carry and recommend for EDC use for the foreseeable future.
:twothumbs
Along comes the Preon with it's 2xAAA form factor, high max brightness and top notch construction and design. This light is amazing, I've been using it very heavily for the past 3 days and have found it to be an excellent addition to my EDC. It's a crowd pleaser too, producing lots and lots of lumens from a very compact size.
Let's start with the size. Here's the Preon (in red) compared to my other EDC lights, Fenix L2D/P2D and E01.
I'm going to compare the Preon to my L2D since it's my current EDC, destined to be replaced by the Preon 2. The Preon is much smaller than the L2D in all dimensions. This makes it very easy to carry, it just disappears when clipped to the pocket.
But, thanks to the rougher texture you don't lose much in terms of grip due to the smaller size.
How's the clip? It's very thick and appears to be extremely sturdy. I've noted that the tension is fairly light and as such it may be more suited to shirt pocket carry versus clipped to a pants pocket. I'm going to try putting some heat-shrink tubing on the clip to improve the tension, I'll update on how it goes.
Beamshots! Compared to the L2D the Preon has a much wider beam that does not throw as far but works better at short to medium ranges. Sadly it appears the lottery is in effect, my example has a very purple tint, so much that it makes my purple-purple E01 look pure white. Both lights are on high.
Shots are from 3 feet.
Outdoors: The bag of sand is about 25 yards away.
Preon 2
L2D Q5
Indoors: The end of the hallway is about 10 yards:
Preon 2:
L2D Q5:
Detail shots:
Preon 1 shots:
Of note is the "gritty switch" this is due to the clickie button rubbing the retaining ring. Some light grease in this area may reduce contact feedback and make the switch feel smoother. As mentioned in the Marketplace thread, press the center of the cap to turn the light on/off and then press the edge of the cap to switch modes. This reduces the rough feeling and makes changing modes very fast.
Now that all of the pictures are out of the way, what do I think about the light? I think it's a huge improvement in a battery configuration (2xAAA) that hasn't previously seen a lot of development. This size is perfect for me, I find 1xAAA lights to be too small for comfortable EDC use, the Preon 2 is big enough to be used easily but slim enough to be carried easily as well. The tint on my light is a little disappointing but the overall brightness from such a small size more than makes up for the tint lottery.
How's the UI? I think it makes the most of the round-robin system but is certainly less than ideal. The L/M/H is not my preferred cycle but I find changing levels is fast and they're spaced out enough to make them as useful as possible. Most of my use is at High so a lot of the time I have to cycle through the first two levels before getting to what I want to do. The hidden signaling levels are a perfect implementation of the concept. They're quick enough to get to when needed but they stay out of the way during normal use.
Although I will say that if the light featured a Fenix-style twist head level changing UI it would be absolutely perfect. As it is it's an amazing design that is going to be the light I carry and recommend for EDC use for the foreseeable future.
:twothumbs
