Owners of Fenix TA21: please share thoughts.

Yesterday, I stumbled upon the Fenix TA21 - again!

It wonders me, why I never read anything about it here? I saw it over a year ago on the "fenixstore.com" site and now, I saw it again at 4sevens.com.

It looks like a very good piece of kit, especially the enormous amount of modes, and the user interface!

It (still) has the Q5 LED however, which may be a bit outdated? I'm not into LEDs that well, but when I informed myself well, after the Q5 the R2 came, and now we have the R5?
Question is: is the "upgrade" from a Q5 -> R5 a real big one? Or can we speak from an "evolution" rather than a "revolution" to speak in BMW-terms?
If the Q5 has 200 Lumens and the R5 has 250, then this is a non-issue to me. That's hardly a visible difference...

Please share any other thoughts, positive and negative, with me. I will decide upon YOUR thoughts to buy one or not...


Timmo.

it is one of the best fenix flashlights ever. huge range of use and never heard of any problem.

For me, the TA21 is the light that started my very recent flashlight addiction. Got it as an anniversary present from my wife. Great light, with awesome build quality. No battery rattle at all with an 18650. The tailswitch has a satisfying and solid click. The UI is very easy and after playing with it for a bit, you know how many turns you need to go from one mode to another without having to look...for example, I keep it on the high setting, and know that turning it four clicks counterclockwise will get me to the lowest setting.
It also stays nice and cool...I had to leave it on for 20 minutes on high to feel any significant warmth.
The removeable clip is very solid.
The beam has a warmer, yellow tint to it.
I like that the strobe mode is really fast compared to my only other strobing light.

The only downsides are that it isn't able to tailstand, and it's quite a large light for it's output. Also wish Fenix at least included one of their cheap-o holsters for it, as it's somewhat difficult finding one that really fits well.

It has a WARMER tint to it? That's quite exceptional for a Q5 LED isn't it?

Does the revolving ring have clicks, or is it "clickless" as with the SF U2?

It is indeed quite long. But, 225 Lumens is not to be sniffed at! On the other hand... a PD30 does more or less the same and is much smaller, in diameter as well as in length... but it LACKS this fine user-interface!!

Any more comments on it? It seems like I'll have to pull the trigger on it sooner or later :green:

Timmo.

325addict said:

It has a WARMER tint to it? That's quite exceptional for a Q5 LED isn't it?

Does the revolving ring have clicks, or is it "clickless" as with the SF U2?

It is indeed quite long. But, 225 Lumens is not to be sniffed at! On the other hand... a PD30 does more or less the same and is much smaller, in diameter as well as in length... but it LACKS this fine user-interface!!

Any more comments on it? It seems like I'll have to pull the trigger on it sooner or later :green:

Timmo.

Click to expand...

far away from PD30.

TA21 is the best.....and something else.

PD30 is something completely different. TA21 is TOP LEVEL tested flashlight.

the purpose of the ta21 could be : a durable flashlight for each situation,
it's clearly not an edc, nor the best tactical thrower.
but it's built like a tank, warms very gently even in extended use in high.
the beam is cree ringy, but still has sufficient spill thanks to the OP reflector.
12 modes is certainly too much, but the selection ring feels solid, and if you put some more paint marks it could be easyier to find the adequate mode faster.

note that unlike the RRT2, there is no delay or preflash when changing modes or when powering-on the light.

12 modes too much? Not to my taste
You ALWAYS have the right performance/run time ratio this way

Still I don't know if the selector ring "clicks" in every position, or that is is without clicks like the Surefire U2 has... can anyone tell me?

Timmo.

sorry, :thinking:
you have an audible click in every position !

That's JUST what I miss in the U2... :candle:

Timmo.

It definitely has a warmer/yellower tint to it than my R2 lights.
All the clicks are audible.

I do wish that it came with a ring spacer to fill the gap if you were inclined to remove the cigar ring.

It's definitely my all-purpose around the house light. I do wish the lowest setting were even dimmer.

I have a DX Ultrafire WF-502B light with an R2 LED in it, this one is VERY blue indeed. If it was that color of light the Fenix would give, I wouldn't buy it, this is only acceptable for a $14,- light, but certainly not for a light costing around $100,-!!
Thanks for the info on the color of the light

Timmo.

I have not TA21 but TA30. Yes; it's not the same light but in several respects it's the same. What I know it's the same emitter. Same max output. Same kind of brightness setting system. I like the revolving mode system of TA30. The mid mode is too low in my opinion; it's stated 60lm but is -50lm, same as TK10. I would wish it was the twice. Therefore I found the brightness modes of TA21 of 80 and 120lm to be interesting.

Long time I have considered to get TA21. Not fo the sake to use all the modes, but to get a brightness mode between 225 and "60"lm. Also TA21 has an even lower low mode of 4lm with even longer runtime than 9lm with TA30.
Anyway: if TA21 is of the same quality as TA30 I really recommend it.

Regards, Patric