Fenix LD40 review - lots of pics

Hi all,

I just received the new LD40, ordered from Mallard Spring. This is the newest 4 x AA battery offering from Fenix, and my second Fenix purchase after the 8 x AA TK40.

Please excuse the less-than-stellar Iphone pics....




Included in package:

1. LD40 flashlight
2. Braided lanyard, similar to TK40 example
3. Extra o-ring
4. Very nice holster/sheath
5. Instructions
6. Warranty card

This flashlight uses a Cree XP-G R4 in neutral-white, rated at 248 max lumens. The reflector is smooth, and the die well-centered.



Size compared to iTP A6 Polestar:










First Impressions:

Taking the light out of the package, the first thing I noticed was the very heavy head in relation to the body. I was expecting it to be top-heavy with batteries, but it turns out to be very nicely weighted when powered with NiMH batteries (recommended in instructions.)

The holster is a very nice piece, with a secondary Velcro attachment. This allows for belt carry without removing one's belt, or attachment to a non-removable object/strap. Of course, there is a regular belt loop as well.

The head is anodized aluminum, mated to a molded plastic body. Battery insertion is achieved through removal of head, which requires quite a bit of initial effort. The threads on the plastic body are noticeably coarser than on most metal-on-metal threads of a similar diameter. My LD40 came with lightly greased threads.





The battery holder is asymmetrical and unidirectional.








Hand-feel is greatly inferior to the TK40, and the battery carrier is flimsier than the oft-criticized A6 Polestar unit.

After installing the recommended NiMH batteries (no 14500s!!!) there is a noticeable rattle in both the switch and battery carrier.

There is a bit of flex to the main housing when empty and head is off, very little when fully assembled.

The shape does fit my hand nicely, and the design has one less potential point of water intrusion than a TK45, and the same number as a TK40 - with one more button.

Operation:

This light has two buttons (see above): one larger, rubber-coated forward-clicky and one smaller, electronic clicky. Both buttons require firmer pressure to operate than the TK40's single button.

The larger button first provides engagement on the way down its longish travel, allowing for signalling, before a loud "click" fully energizes the light. The LD40 remembers the last illumination level when turned off.

The LD40 has four distinct illumination levels:

1. Low - 4 lumens
2. Medium - 43 lumens
3. High - 110 lumens
4. Turbo - 248 lumens

The smaller, bare metal button has three functions:

1. Changing illumination level
2. Toggling between normal and flashing modes
3. Changing flashing modes

The flashing modes are as follows:

1. SOS - 64 lumens
2. Slow flash - 64 lumens
3. Strobe - listed at 278 lumens

Now, some more subjective comments:

The LD40 is a good thrower, and should be considering the size of the reflector.

I'm not impressed with the beam. At all levels, it contains a distractingly dark center artifact and very ringy beam. It resembles a 3-level bullseye or target.

The strobe function strangely fluctuates between a very fast strobe for about two seconds, then a slower strobe for about ten flashes. This pattern repeats.


The Good:

• Good thrower !
• Good runtime on 'Turbo' setting (3 hours + unverified)
• Nice, useable low
• Excellent holster
• "Hidden" strobe modes
• Is much cheaper than TK40

The Bad:

• Feels much cheaper than TK40
• Can't tailstand
• Alkalines NOT recommended
• Odd strobe
• Output for size or battery configuration not stellar

The Ugly:

• Rattle(s)
• Frame flex
• Ugly, ringy beam with dead spot in middle

Overall, I feel this to be a near miss from Fenix and will likely be excising this light from my collection. Please PM me with any trade ideas.

Beamshots to follow.

*Reserved for beamshots*

:sick2::green:
Plastic? Separate battery holder? No thank you! Maybe it's just me, but I think the higher percentage of metal a flashlight is, the more I like it. Plus, dropping a decent amount on a flashlight I expect it to be a decent material. Polymers have a place, but not on my lights. I suppose this thing might shine (no pun intended) in colder climates, but I'd rather just use gloves and metal. Plus, I wish fenix could have done something with a non-removable battery tube. It's just one more thing to break.

As for the rattle, I really dislike that on my quark AA^2. So I feel you there.

Thanks for the review. Now I have 2nd thought about getting one. Can't wait to see the beam shot to decide!

Thanks for the review :thumbsup:

But the battery container does not look really relyable to me. :thumbsdow

Quite some time ago I vowed to myself never ever buying anything with a battery container again. And this battery container does not really look like it's going to change my mind.

Also it is possible to make high-quality and rugged plastic lights. From your review it sounds like the LD40 does not belong to this category.

Anyway thank you for the very objective and honest review. Often reviews come to the "what-a-great-light" conclusion, no matter how sub-optimal it is. You had the honesty and courage to tell us that you spent a lot of money and are not satisfied with what you got. Chicago X, you have my highest respect. Thank you very much!

Lucciola

wyager said:

I suppose this thing might shine (no pun intended) in colder climates, but I'd rather just use gloves and metal. Plus, I wish fenix could have done something with a non-removable battery tube. It's just one more thing to break.

Click to expand...

Plastic handle for colder climates, yes. But in colder climates AA primaries and or NiMh rechargables are not perfect. If a light is made for cold environments it's got to run on lithiums or on LiIons, IMHO. Sure there are AA lithiums as well, but they are more expensive than CR123s, at least from the sources I found around here.

Same disappointment from me about the battery container. The LD40 has a plastic handle anyway which would be easy to shape for direct battery insertion.

I have been eagerly waiting for a LD40 review. Now I am less than excited. I'll wait for more details, but at the moment I think I'll rather invest in another Quark, possibly a Turbo.

Lucciola

Thanks Chicago X for the review and pictures!

Alkalines NOT recommended

Click to expand...

What is the reason to that? I think alkalines would work well at all modes except from the highest? Fenix website says: Uses four 1.5V AA (Ni-MH, Alkaline) batteries.

Regards, Patric

Very interesting, thanks for sharing! :thumbsup:

Chicago X said:

...
I'm not impressed with the beam. At all levels, it contains a distractingly dark center artifact and very ringy beam. It resembles a 3-level bullseye or target.
...

Click to expand...

Some units have a more profound "black-hole" in the beam profile while others are somewhat less (still visible though). Mine has the same "black-hole" visible above 1 meter... :shakehead the worst part is... this "black-hole" is inside the usual "donut-hole" of typical XP-G in SMO reflector... and... despite it being neutral white, the greenish tint seems to be the norm... (I hand-picked mine to have less green )
and I don't know how but Fenix has manage to bring back the ringy beam profile to an emitter like XP-G... :sick2:

Other than the above... I kinda like the construction and the feel in the hand.
Anodizing (of the head) however doesn't seems to be as good as the TK-series... I have 2 small missing ano dot just by rolling the light on a wooden table.
UI is unique... and it memorizes both sets of mode. :thumbsup:
The battery carrier is more secure than TK40/TK45 as it stops the battery from falling off... but the design resulted in requiring more efforts to remove the batteries.
There are no battery rattles... the "noise" comes from the power button protruding mechanism when shaking... if you press and hold the power button and shake it... there will be no noise at all.
I also like the new fast-slow-fast-slow strobe setting, it's fun to play with... tho I don't have any practical purpose for it... did I tell you it's fun? Yes... it's fun to play with... :nana:

Now we just wait until fenix brings back OP reflectors.
I've got a feeling there will be so much product returns with these black holes and donuts that fenix starts putting OP reflectors in their newer lights.
I for one am not getting any xp-g lights with smooth reflectors until I here reports that the beams are getting better.

Thanks for the honest review. I'm always on the lookout for good AA powered lights and was interested in this one. I was hoping it would turn out to be an something like an updated Streamlight ProPoly, but I guess not.

Interesting Flashlight,but a little bit big....:huh:

Regards Jens

The donut hole is a special fenix' feature to not damage eyes if ever you point the beam in someone's face.
:goodjob: Fenix !

I was going to sell my TK12.R5 but finally i'm going to keep it because it has a very slight donut hole without ringy beam.

Thanks for the review! I've been checking everyday for new info on this light. Here's a video review (not in english) I stumbled upon. (OP, I hope you don't mind me posting this link in your thread).

Very nice review, Chicago X. Perhaps our expectations were a little too high. As echoed by others I'm sure Fenix will be getting quite a few comments to build upon from users worldwide.

Chicago X said:

Hand-feel is greatly inferior to the TK40, and the battery carrier is flimsier than the oft-criticized A6 Polestar unit.

Click to expand...

I would still be interested in a torture test to see how this thing holds up. I'm rather disappointed that Fenix has abandoned "TK" design principles with their newest line of AA lights. Here's an idea: How about a 1xAA TK light? I'm dreaming again

swxb12 said:

I'm rather disappointed that Fenix has abandoned "TK" design principles with their newest line of AA lights. Here's an idea: How about a 1xAA TK light? I'm dreaming again

Click to expand...

Nice idéa! A 1AA light in similar design as TK10-12 models I would like...:thumbsup:

Metal to plastic threading:shakehead, I think I'll pass on this one.

Swedpat said:

Thanks Chicago X for the review and pictures!
What is the reason to that? I think alkalines would work well at all modes except from the highest? Fenix website says: Uses four 1.5V AA (Ni-MH, Alkaline) batteries.
Regards, Patric

Click to expand...

Hi Patric,

The instructions state that use of AA primaries (alkalines) will result in decreased performance and runtime. (Paraphrasing, don't have instructions in front of me.)

I was a bit surprised reading that bit, since both the early copy and product literature tout the worldwide availability of AA-size batteries.

rookiedaddy said:

{snip}... I kinda like the construction and the feel in the hand.
Anodizing (of the head) however doesn't seems to be as good as the TK-series... I have 2 small missing ano dot just by rolling the light on a wooden table.

Click to expand...

Interesting. The ano on my example was the most impressive feature, and it really highlights the difference in 'feel' between head and body.

rookiedaddy said:

...UI is unique... and it memorizes both sets of mode. :thumbsup:
The battery carrier is more secure than TK40/TK45 as it stops the battery from falling off... but the design resulted in requiring more efforts to remove the batteries.

Click to expand...

I like the UI, and listed it as a "good" attribute. Also, in my example, the battery carrier is far flimsier than the TK40's. Would you possibly be able to post up pics of your carrier to compare?

rookiedaddy said:

There are no battery rattles... the "noise" comes from the power button protruding mechanism when shaking... if you press and hold the power button and shake it... there will be no noise at all...

Click to expand...

In my example, the button noise is the louder of the two rattles. I had the same experience with holding the button, and it isolated the (lesser) battery rattle.

jonnyfgroove said:

Thanks for the review! I've been checking everyday for new info on this light. Here's a video review (not in english) I stumbled upon. (OP, I hope you don't mind me posting this link in your thread).

Click to expand...

No worries ! The more info, the better ! :thumbsup:

swxb12 said:

{snip}I would still be interested in a torture test to see how this thing holds up. I'm rather disappointed that Fenix has abandoned "TK" design principles with their newest line of AA lights...

Click to expand...

If nobody makes me a trade offer (koff) I just may end up doing a TK40-style torture test......:huh:

Thanks for your review.
This is a little worrying. There is a LD40 on it's way to my mailbox.
I guess I'll have to see how I like it. I don't mind the plastics by itself but it has to feel reasonable sturdy.
About the beam I don't know what to think. There has been beamshots that looks fine.
The LD25 has also got some criticism about a donut hole but I think it looks good even though I also can see it. I did put some slightly diffusing film on the lens that improved it, maybe that works on th LD40 as well.

I bought some extra rechargeables today so I am prepared when it arrives!

Chicago X said:

I like the UI, and listed it as a "good" attribute. Also, in my example, the battery carrier is far flimsier than the TK40's. Would you possibly be able to post up pics of your carrier to compare?

Click to expand...

from your pic, my carrier is the same as yours, here is a pic of mine with GP Recyko+ batteries in it...


EDIT: just to be clear... , I do agree that the battery carrier is not as strong as the one in the TK40/TK45, I said it's more "secure" because of the 4 little notches that are holding the series batteries in place, and I'm having a hard time removing the battery from the carrier with short fingernail... sorry for any confusion caused...