Fenix Durability and battery life

Hey guys, I recently tried out a Fenix LD20 that my friend got (first time I'd ever held a flashlight that didnt say surefire or maglite on the side) and was blown away by the brightness, beam, and throw of that light. I just got a TK10 to use as my AR weapon light and was again floored by the power and throw.

While they feel plenty durable, I was wondering if yall have any testaments to their durability.

Also, how accurate to fenix's specifications on their flashlight's run times are they really? I mean, they may say the LD20 R4 has a max of 205 lumens at 1.5hrs run time, but is it really more like 45 to 50 minutes or so at the same regulated lumens? (hope that all made sense).

I hope to get an LD10 R4 and 20 R4 soon.

One more question.. where do most of yall buy your fenix lights?

fenix makes awesome lights as far as value and performance balance. the LD20 R4 is almost spot on the the advertised output and runtime was actually 10 minutes longer as seen in the review here http://light-reviews.com/fenix_ld20_r4/ though i guess it also depends on the batteries your use, alkalines will probably be lousy performers comapred to rechargeables

If there are any doubts about the durability of the Fenix TK40, just take a look at this thread:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=233856

I was really hoping that one of the lucky TK45 testers that received their test lights for free from Fenix would have done a similar test as the above one for the TK40. I mean, the TK45 lights were free so why not thrash on them? So far, such a test has not been done though.

Jake Bauer said:

One more question.. where do most of yall buy your fenix lights?

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Mine came from various sources - Fry's Electronics, Amazon, eBay, and 4Sevens. There is no one Fenix retailer that constantly has the lowest prices on all the Fenix lights, so you have to hunt and peck. Note that some of the Fenix dealers offer discounts to CPF members.

If you had any doubts about the reliability or durability of Fenix lights, take a gander at the TK40 torture test thread. oo:

I own several brands of flashlights including everones favorite American Brand but I find that I prefer my Fenix Lights. I have an E20 (paid $27) and a TK11 r2 (paid $63). I got them both from that famous Jungle site with free shipping! I EDC one or the other and can say from experience that they both have great runtime. I changed the batteries in my E20 after a month just as a precaution (alkalines) wouldn't want one of those suckers to leak! I run my TK11 on protected 18650's and have yet to run a cell completely down. (Daily use, not any torture tests) As far as reliability is concerned, I let my 5 year old Niece play with my E20 and after several drops onto ceramic tile it still works flawlessly. Not even a chip on the finish. There are definitely nicer lights out there but for what I paid they can't be beat! If you decide to purchase a Fenix light, I don't think you will be dissapointed. :twothumbs

I did a similar test on my TK20. Didn't boil or freeze it but I can assure you, you WON'T break it.

I think it would be even tougher than the TK40 because there is no battery holder and the body and head have thicker walls.

I'm going scuba diving this weekend and I'm tempted to bring my TK20 to see if it can take it. I'll only be down a handful of feet, and definitely no further than 18m.

Do you think it will survive?

Fenix lights I have a few of, good all round performance. Some of the msall ones can be a bit flickery from time to time but a good clean usually sorts it.

Nornlights said:

Do you think it will survive?

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No - very unlikely. Don't risk it. It's a good light, but 18m (~60 ft) is asking a lot of it. You need a dive light.

Jake Bauer said:

Also, how accurate to fenix's specifications on their flashlight's run times are they really? I mean, they may say the LD20 R4 has a max of 205 lumens at 1.5hrs run time, but is it really more like 45 to 50 minutes or so at the same regulated lumens? (hope that all made sense).

I hope to get an LD10 R4 and 20 R4 soon.

One more question.. where do most of yall buy your fenix lights?

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I'd say they are very accurate and sometimes they under rate the runtime, for example the PD30 R4 is rated to 1.5hr on max and I get close to 2hrs. I have seen this with some other Fenix models I own but don't remember which other models run longer then it's suppose to. Either way I have never tested one that did not run as long as Fenix says it would, I would certainly remember that.

Where to buy them, well there is tons of great places to buy Fenix but personally I most often buy Fenix from the following.

4sevens
Fenix Outfitters
Lighthound
BatteryJunction

Nornlights said:

I'm going scuba diving this weekend and I'm tempted to bring my TK20 to see if it can take it. I'll only be down a handful of feet, and definitely no further than 18m.

Do you think it will survive?

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It is not diving light, but it will survive.

Local dealer tested some older models (TK10, P1D) in a pressure chamber and they all survived pressure equivalent to 40m dive. The only issue was that the pressure switched the switch on

jirik_cz said:

It is not diving light, but it will survive.

Local dealer tested some older models (TK10, P1D) in a pressure chamber and they all survived pressure equivalent to 40m dive. The only issue was that the pressure switched the switch on

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The pressure test was not an adequate test.

1. the light was static in a pressure chamber, not moving about in a diver's hand, not being operated or bumped around as dive lights are. Movement greatly increases the likelihood of flooding.

2. The O-rings were probably new and/or very carefully serviced. Many CPFers do not appreciate the crucial importance of this factor with dive lights. Most purpose designed dive lights have double O-rings.

3. A clicky switch will be operated by pressure, as you say. Once it has been pushed in, the pressure will keep it there and not let it release. A forward clicky will stay on, with no way to turn it off, and a reverse clicky will not operate properly at all.

If the light floods with sea-water, as is likely, it will be ruined. Is it worth the risk? Not in my opinion.

1. I don't think that dynamic pressure changes caused by movement will make significant difference compared to the static pressure in 40 meters. But I'm not a diver so maybe I'm wrong :duh2:

2. I would expect that every diver carefully checks all his equipment before going to water.

3. As I said, it is not diving light and it is not made for diving. But if Nornlights wants to try it at 18m depth. There is a good chance that it will survive

Nornlights said:

I'm going scuba diving this weekend and I'm tempted to bring my TK20 to see if it can take it. I'll only be down a handful of feet, and definitely no further than 18m.

Do you think it will survive?

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Don't listen to the nay sayers. Give it a shot... and don't forget to post your results.

Get some plumbing tape and wrap it around the threads until you almost can't get the parts back together. Should help add to any water-proofness the light already has.

Also give the switch retaining ring a good turn to make sure the switch boot is fastened HARD.

rckshrk said:

Don't listen to the nay sayers. Give it a shot... and don't forget to post your results.

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So why do they make dive lights in the first place then ?
Give it a miss and use a proper dive light.

No diving, is bad, listen to DM51. Especially if you touch the switch any.

But go ahead and make an experiment of it, put the Teflon tape on the threads and lube the boot to body contact point well and see how it does. :naughty:

IPX is rated at 1m IIRC which is about 0.06 atms of pressure. If your light is air-tight the pressure at the O-rings will be about 0.75 atms. About 12x above spec. Of course this is all static pressure and will be much greater if you decide to move your light. 40m will get about 2.8atms....

If you decide to do this, you'll be testing out the warranty instead of the light.

It's a relatively inexpensive light, and the results could be interesting. I think you should go for it. It's not like it's a $1000 custom light or anything, ya know.

jp2515 said:

If you had any doubts about the reliability or durability of Fenix lights, take a gander at the TK40 torture test thread. oo:

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The fenix T1 torture thread(s!) too.

On a serious note, I used the Fenix TK10, TA21 when I was in the military. I can vouch for them, and the torture I put them through is actually more than those TK40 threads. (But I've always been lazy to start those kind of threads, and time has been a factor for me)

DM51 said:

The pressure test was not an adequate test.

1. the light was static in a pressure chamber, not moving about in a diver's hand, not being operated or bumped around as dive lights are. Movement greatly increases the likelihood of flooding.

2. The O-rings were probably new and/or very carefully serviced. Many CPFers do not appreciate the crucial importance of this factor with dive lights. Most purpose designed dive lights have double O-rings.

3. A clicky switch will be operated by pressure, as you say. Once it has been pushed in, the pressure will keep it there and not let it release. A forward clicky will stay on, with no way to turn it off, and a reverse clicky will not operate properly at all.

If the light floods with sea-water, as is likely, it will be ruined. Is it worth the risk? Not in my opinion.

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My TK30, TA21, TK10 have worked in ~10m depth. Water did not get past the O rings. Switches were used etc etc.

Anything more than that though, I'd question the sanity.