Purpose of review:
I was lucky enough to win a prototype Fenix TK45 and this is my review.
I work in anaesthesia in an operating theatre suite and my interest in this flashlight stems from an occupational viewpoint.
My theatre manager has recently been organising a power failure emergency pack which would be duplicated in all 10 theatre suites. This would be utilised in case of emergency back up generator failure.
As one might expect the somewhat obvious choice of a D cell maglite (non LED) was put forward as the flashlight for the emergency pack.
I thought it might be a little more interesting and far more functional to suggest an alternative, and as such I intend to put forward the TK45 for consideration to the theatre manager.
The areas that the flashlight would need to perform are, from an operating theatre perspective, 3 fold:
Firstly, to replace the function of the theatre lightsd in an emergency:
Secondly, to illuminate the anaesthetic machine and surrounding area:
and thirdly, to illuminate the corridor area's for evacuation (in case of fire etc):
Flashlight description:
The TK45 has a matt black anodized finish, it is 20cm tall and 5cm width at its widest point at the triple LED heads (it is broadly similar in size and weight to a 2 D cell maglite).
It can be dismantled into 3 sections comprising LED head, main body/tube and tailcap.
A plastic battery housing is contained within the flashlights body.
The main body of the TK45 acts as the hand grip and is deeply knurled and further micro grooved for a sure grip in all conditions:
The LED head is a little unusual looking in design in that it comprises of 3 individual heads mounted close to eachother in a pyramid configuration:
The LED's used for this prototype versions are XP-G R4 and I understand that the final version will be using the R5.
The design of the LED head seem's to have polarized opinion on the various forums on which it has been discussed, with the majority being uncomplimentary about the flashlights looks.
Aesthetics not-with-standing, I would comment that the design of the head lends itself to efficient heat dissipation and will allow longer run times on turbo mode due to the spacing between the 3 LED heads:
I have read comments on other forums that the head design will make cleaning difficult, which I feel is a fair observation.
The flashlights head has 2 rubber switches on its side, one of which cylcles between the various modes, the other turns the flashlight on and off. They have a nice positive tactile feel and their positioning is nicely placed for easy operation:
The flashlights tailcap is a simple screw fit affair with an O ring for water resistance. It benefits from a wide, deep thread pattern which Fenix claim is more wear resistant than previous designs.
The battery housing holds 8AA batteries (alkaline or ni-mh) and is made from a fairly brittle plastic that feels less than robust. All metal contact points are gold plated:
Overall the flashlight feels well made and screws together nicely, although I should mention that Fenix were at pains to make clear that as a prototype version, quality control may not have been as stringent as on production models. I can only comment on my TK45 but it appears flaw free both in construction and operation.
Flashlight performance:
I have owned the TK45 for a week and have been extremely impressed with its performance from standard alkaline batteries.
Fenix claim the following output and run times which I have no reason to dispute:
tubro 760 lumens for 2 hours, high 312 lumens for 6.5 hours, medium 95 lumens for 22 hours, low 8 lumens for 232 hours.
In terms of operation the left button cycles through the flashlights modes in the following order: Low, mid, high, turbo.
If you press the right on/off button twice (fast), it operates the strobe function, onto fast/rapid. This can be altered using the left button to cycle through the strobe options comprising: fast strobe (high power), sos (mid power), warning flash ( mid power, flashing twice a second).
On my prototype all of the functions operate very smoothly and reliably.
I have taken (attempted!) a few night shots of the beam using my Leica camera. The corner of my garden that is illuminated is 15 meters from the flashlight.
Turbo mode (760 lumens):
High mode (312 lumens):
Mid (95 lumens):
Low (8 lumens): This mode runs from just one of the three LED heads:
The good and the bad:
In terms of the flashlights good points I would firstly say that the body of the TK45 is very well made, I like that it can be run on simple AA batteries (and even better rechargeables). The power output is extremely impressive, on turbo mode it feels like a search light, it has a comprehensive menu of modes, it is strongly built and water resistant.
On the negative I would argue that the battery housing is needlessly flimsy, I do not know why they chose to make it from brittle plastic. I doubt if it would stand being dropped onto a hard floor.
I would imagine that the biggest negative for some would be its looks as I have seen it being described in uncomplimentary terms on several flashlight forums.
Personally I am more interested in day to day performance and in this respect, for me the TK45 gets the thumbs up.
I was lucky enough to win a prototype Fenix TK45 and this is my review.
I work in anaesthesia in an operating theatre suite and my interest in this flashlight stems from an occupational viewpoint.
My theatre manager has recently been organising a power failure emergency pack which would be duplicated in all 10 theatre suites. This would be utilised in case of emergency back up generator failure.
As one might expect the somewhat obvious choice of a D cell maglite (non LED) was put forward as the flashlight for the emergency pack.
I thought it might be a little more interesting and far more functional to suggest an alternative, and as such I intend to put forward the TK45 for consideration to the theatre manager.
The areas that the flashlight would need to perform are, from an operating theatre perspective, 3 fold:
Firstly, to replace the function of the theatre lightsd in an emergency:
Secondly, to illuminate the anaesthetic machine and surrounding area:
and thirdly, to illuminate the corridor area's for evacuation (in case of fire etc):
Flashlight description:
The TK45 has a matt black anodized finish, it is 20cm tall and 5cm width at its widest point at the triple LED heads (it is broadly similar in size and weight to a 2 D cell maglite).
It can be dismantled into 3 sections comprising LED head, main body/tube and tailcap.
A plastic battery housing is contained within the flashlights body.
The main body of the TK45 acts as the hand grip and is deeply knurled and further micro grooved for a sure grip in all conditions:
The LED head is a little unusual looking in design in that it comprises of 3 individual heads mounted close to eachother in a pyramid configuration:
The LED's used for this prototype versions are XP-G R4 and I understand that the final version will be using the R5.
The design of the LED head seem's to have polarized opinion on the various forums on which it has been discussed, with the majority being uncomplimentary about the flashlights looks.
Aesthetics not-with-standing, I would comment that the design of the head lends itself to efficient heat dissipation and will allow longer run times on turbo mode due to the spacing between the 3 LED heads:
I have read comments on other forums that the head design will make cleaning difficult, which I feel is a fair observation.
The flashlights head has 2 rubber switches on its side, one of which cylcles between the various modes, the other turns the flashlight on and off. They have a nice positive tactile feel and their positioning is nicely placed for easy operation:
The flashlights tailcap is a simple screw fit affair with an O ring for water resistance. It benefits from a wide, deep thread pattern which Fenix claim is more wear resistant than previous designs.
The battery housing holds 8AA batteries (alkaline or ni-mh) and is made from a fairly brittle plastic that feels less than robust. All metal contact points are gold plated:
Overall the flashlight feels well made and screws together nicely, although I should mention that Fenix were at pains to make clear that as a prototype version, quality control may not have been as stringent as on production models. I can only comment on my TK45 but it appears flaw free both in construction and operation.
Flashlight performance:
I have owned the TK45 for a week and have been extremely impressed with its performance from standard alkaline batteries.
Fenix claim the following output and run times which I have no reason to dispute:
tubro 760 lumens for 2 hours, high 312 lumens for 6.5 hours, medium 95 lumens for 22 hours, low 8 lumens for 232 hours.
In terms of operation the left button cycles through the flashlights modes in the following order: Low, mid, high, turbo.
If you press the right on/off button twice (fast), it operates the strobe function, onto fast/rapid. This can be altered using the left button to cycle through the strobe options comprising: fast strobe (high power), sos (mid power), warning flash ( mid power, flashing twice a second).
On my prototype all of the functions operate very smoothly and reliably.
I have taken (attempted!) a few night shots of the beam using my Leica camera. The corner of my garden that is illuminated is 15 meters from the flashlight.
Turbo mode (760 lumens):
High mode (312 lumens):
Mid (95 lumens):
Low (8 lumens): This mode runs from just one of the three LED heads:
The good and the bad:
In terms of the flashlights good points I would firstly say that the body of the TK45 is very well made, I like that it can be run on simple AA batteries (and even better rechargeables). The power output is extremely impressive, on turbo mode it feels like a search light, it has a comprehensive menu of modes, it is strongly built and water resistant.
On the negative I would argue that the battery housing is needlessly flimsy, I do not know why they chose to make it from brittle plastic. I doubt if it would stand being dropped onto a hard floor.
I would imagine that the biggest negative for some would be its looks as I have seen it being described in uncomplimentary terms on several flashlight forums.
Personally I am more interested in day to day performance and in this respect, for me the TK45 gets the thumbs up.
