Z
z_someguy4747
Guest
I finally got my PD31! This is my first rechargeable battery Lion light! Here are a few beam shots of the PD31. I used my LD20 for comparison. It is the next best light that I have. The PD31 is on the left and the LD20 is on the right. I am very new to lights so I will not call this a review but I will mention some things that I have observed. 
Also the shots are all taken with fresh batteries. AW18650 2600 mAh charged to 4.15v(on their first charge, not sure if that matters or not.) in the PD31 and fresh out of the box Duracell Procell AA's in the LD20.
I know you all know what this light looks like but I couldn't resist a little shot of my fast growing bunch of lights. 14 days ago I didn't have any!
This is just a quick shot of the hot label. This is the one part of the light that Fenix omits from their website.
I also thought it might be helpful to add a photo of the light in my hand to give you an idea of the size. I have pretty average sized hands. I usually wear a large comfortably or size 10 gloves.
Turbo
High
Medium
The above shots were all taken at ISO200, f/4, and 1/30sec
Low
This shot is of both the lights on low. The exposure has been adjusted(5 stops more light. ISO200, f/4, and 1 sec so that the low mode of the PD31 can actually be seen. It is much lower than the LD20! This is really nice. It is comparable to the low on my LD01.
The shots below are of both the LD20 and PD31. I am attempting to show their throw. The furthest wall(my subject so to speak) to the left of the dumpster is about 60 yards away give or take 10 feet or so. I counted them out by walking. Sorry I didn't have anywhere better for this. I know it is not very dark and it doesn't give you a good idea of the flood of the lights but I figured something was better than nothing.
No lights on in this photo. Just so you could see what it looked like dark.
LD20
PD31
Overall I am very happy with the PD31. I like the color of the light quite a bit. It has a cool white color. The photos are pretty accurate for color.(At least on my screen but it has not been calibrated in over a month!) In actual use the color is much less noticeable. Alone the light appears as if it could be a neutral tint but only with close examination and photos do you see its cool tint. The beam itself is very clean as far as I can tell. I do not notice a donut hole but I am sure some will because of the smo reflector. Again I am new to this and may not notice what you veteran flashaholics will. I do notice that it is significantly cleaner than my LD20. I don't think the pictures do it justice in that respect. Also, I was not sure what to expect with the 304 lumens as I was told a 100 lumen jump was hard to notice unless it was 0-100 but I find it quite a bit brighter than my LD20 rated at 180 lumens. It also seems to have decently better throw. In addition to liking the extra brightness I also really like the lower low mode. I think I will appreciate that when I wake up during the night and do not want to wake my girlfriend. I am not sure if it is quite as low as a moon mood like many of you seem to love but it seems pretty low to me.
The build quality seems excellent. As you may have noticed I have quickly taken a liking to Fenix so I may have already developed a bias. The light feels very sturdy and well built. The square threads feel very smooth. The anodizing seems very high quality just like my LD20. The pocket clip seems strong but not too strong. Twisting the bezel to switch from normal to turbo works flawlessly. I have no problems switching between the modes using soft presses. I have heard others complain about the tail standing of Fenix lights. I personally think they tail stand fine. Sure, you can't knock the light much without it falling but if you don't touch it, it will not fall over on itself. I guess I would not put it on a bench in the wind but anyway. My only small complaint is the hot symbol. I don't really like it there. However, it is a very small detail and in the end I don't really care. I would also like a momentary on function but I guess we can't have our cake and eat it too! The output is impressive and I feel the modes are well spread out. I think the UI is the probably the best you can do without a programable UI.(again I haven't tried a lot of lights but the UI seems logical to me) In normal mode it starts out on low. Soft clicks result in the light switching to medium, high, and then SOS mode. Twist the bezel and you enter turbo mode. Soft click again and you get the strobe mode. Overall I am very happy with the light. I am glad I jumped the gun. I was a little nervous about buying a light without any reviews, testimonials and etc... but I had liked what I had seen from other Fenix lights. The output and size sounded appealing so I got it. I think the PD31 will make a lot of people happy. I hope this thread provides some useful information for someone, whether you are looking to buy or hoping to get yours in the mail. Let me know what you think. Thanks in advance!
• Cree XP-G LED (R5) with a lifespan of 50,000 hours
• Uses two 3V CR123A batteries (Lithium)
• 120mm (Length) x24 mm (Diameter)
• the inner diameter of the tube is 18.8mm
• 64.4-gram weight (excluding batteries)
• Reverse polarity protection, to protect from improper battery installation
• Tail cap switch
• Capable of standing up securely on a flat surface to serve as a candle
• Made of durable aircraft-grade aluminum
• Premium Type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish
Also the shots are all taken with fresh batteries. AW18650 2600 mAh charged to 4.15v(on their first charge, not sure if that matters or not.) in the PD31 and fresh out of the box Duracell Procell AA's in the LD20.
I know you all know what this light looks like but I couldn't resist a little shot of my fast growing bunch of lights. 14 days ago I didn't have any!
This is just a quick shot of the hot label. This is the one part of the light that Fenix omits from their website.
I also thought it might be helpful to add a photo of the light in my hand to give you an idea of the size. I have pretty average sized hands. I usually wear a large comfortably or size 10 gloves.
Turbo
High
Medium
The above shots were all taken at ISO200, f/4, and 1/30sec
Low
This shot is of both the lights on low. The exposure has been adjusted(5 stops more light. ISO200, f/4, and 1 sec so that the low mode of the PD31 can actually be seen. It is much lower than the LD20! This is really nice. It is comparable to the low on my LD01.
The shots below are of both the LD20 and PD31. I am attempting to show their throw. The furthest wall(my subject so to speak) to the left of the dumpster is about 60 yards away give or take 10 feet or so. I counted them out by walking. Sorry I didn't have anywhere better for this. I know it is not very dark and it doesn't give you a good idea of the flood of the lights but I figured something was better than nothing.
No lights on in this photo. Just so you could see what it looked like dark.
LD20
PD31
Overall I am very happy with the PD31. I like the color of the light quite a bit. It has a cool white color. The photos are pretty accurate for color.(At least on my screen but it has not been calibrated in over a month!) In actual use the color is much less noticeable. Alone the light appears as if it could be a neutral tint but only with close examination and photos do you see its cool tint. The beam itself is very clean as far as I can tell. I do not notice a donut hole but I am sure some will because of the smo reflector. Again I am new to this and may not notice what you veteran flashaholics will. I do notice that it is significantly cleaner than my LD20. I don't think the pictures do it justice in that respect. Also, I was not sure what to expect with the 304 lumens as I was told a 100 lumen jump was hard to notice unless it was 0-100 but I find it quite a bit brighter than my LD20 rated at 180 lumens. It also seems to have decently better throw. In addition to liking the extra brightness I also really like the lower low mode. I think I will appreciate that when I wake up during the night and do not want to wake my girlfriend. I am not sure if it is quite as low as a moon mood like many of you seem to love but it seems pretty low to me.
The build quality seems excellent. As you may have noticed I have quickly taken a liking to Fenix so I may have already developed a bias. The light feels very sturdy and well built. The square threads feel very smooth. The anodizing seems very high quality just like my LD20. The pocket clip seems strong but not too strong. Twisting the bezel to switch from normal to turbo works flawlessly. I have no problems switching between the modes using soft presses. I have heard others complain about the tail standing of Fenix lights. I personally think they tail stand fine. Sure, you can't knock the light much without it falling but if you don't touch it, it will not fall over on itself. I guess I would not put it on a bench in the wind but anyway. My only small complaint is the hot symbol. I don't really like it there. However, it is a very small detail and in the end I don't really care. I would also like a momentary on function but I guess we can't have our cake and eat it too! The output is impressive and I feel the modes are well spread out. I think the UI is the probably the best you can do without a programable UI.(again I haven't tried a lot of lights but the UI seems logical to me) In normal mode it starts out on low. Soft clicks result in the light switching to medium, high, and then SOS mode. Twist the bezel and you enter turbo mode. Soft click again and you get the strobe mode. Overall I am very happy with the light. I am glad I jumped the gun. I was a little nervous about buying a light without any reviews, testimonials and etc... but I had liked what I had seen from other Fenix lights. The output and size sounded appealing so I got it. I think the PD31 will make a lot of people happy. I hope this thread provides some useful information for someone, whether you are looking to buy or hoping to get yours in the mail. Let me know what you think. Thanks in advance!
• Cree XP-G LED (R5) with a lifespan of 50,000 hours
• Uses two 3V CR123A batteries (Lithium)
• 120mm (Length) x24 mm (Diameter)
• the inner diameter of the tube is 18.8mm
• 64.4-gram weight (excluding batteries)
• Reverse polarity protection, to protect from improper battery installation
• Tail cap switch
• Capable of standing up securely on a flat surface to serve as a candle
• Made of durable aircraft-grade aluminum
• Premium Type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish
