Fenix E01 still best AAA-long life for the money?

I need to buy 5 lights for emergency purposes.

Im looking for AAA lights with long battery life for less that $30 each.

Ive had one for a couple years that has served me well. The only thing I don't like is the purple tint of the light.


Is the Fenix E01 still the best option for what I'm looking for?

Depends on who is using the lights, if they could handle the ITP A3 lights for ~$20+ they have a nicer output using cree emitters and have 3 modes. I haven't had one to know about the run time but AAAs are so small you probably would find yourself using the higher output modes and just having spare batteries.

Moving this to the LED Flashlight forum.

Bill

How about the Fenix E05? It has a reasonable runtime with substantially better tint and output. I got one for my Dad and he loves it. Great floody beam. around $20

The E01 is hard to beat. I have an E05 that I like better though. For occasional use you won't notice the 3 hour run time at all. I have used mine for over a month of short daily use & its still going strong!

The E05 is what I was looking for.
Whats the difference between the R2 and R4 model?

Ordered two R2 models.
Ill check them out and see if they are worth ordering more of.

I would still be curious to know what the R2 and R4 differences are.

Thank you all for your help

Before the forum crash, we had a "nice" (read: heartbreaking) winter torture test with an E01 which later got replayed using an E05... Well, the E01 took the beatings much better than the E05 and has a longer runtime. Missing a lens, I would (actually do) prefer the E01 over the iTP A3 when it comes down to ruggedness / emergency situations. Of course, the usefullness of the iTP A3 is broader thanks to the three output modes.

Cheers
Thorsten

My last ditch light in my pants pocket - sealed to keep the lint out of the parts, the white, heatformed piece of polystyrene acts as a diffusor.

22HERTZ said:

The E05 is what I was looking for.
Whats the difference between the R2 and R4 model?

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Im in the same boat. Gonna pick up some E01's for wife and kids and an E05 for me. I would also like to know the difference between R2 and R4.

sorry, wrong post

Meh. No one in their right mind is going to shovel snow with a flashlight attached to the shovel, or smash it against a wall.

The R2 E05 is warm & creamy in the beam. I forgot what I read about the R4. I like the R2 version a lot. It beats the E01 with its purple/blue tint. You won't be disappointed with the R2 version. The beam is a nice warm white color.

if long run time is the goal, then definitely yes, the E01 is the best-buy today (most recent test till dead was 55 hours on an alkaline).

but the E05 is far nicer for edc.

Xacto said:

I would (actually do) prefer the E01 over the iTP A3 when it comes down to ruggedness / emergency situations. Of course, the usefullness of the iTP A3 is broader thanks to the three output modes.

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Personally I'd go with the A3 for emergency situations. I wouldn't be looking to hammer nails in with the flashlight so ruggedness would be a lower priority than usefulness. To me the 3 output modes would be very important in an emergency situation because that gives you the ability to run the light for a long time (low mode) while also having the ability to produce brighter light (high mode) when needed. I'd suspect that the A3 would be less likely to fail than it would be to get lost.

Of course part of it is that I hate the E01 with its angry purple beam, that's the only light I've traded away after buying. I do still have my A3 and my L0D though - I like those!

For under $30, small, 1 x AAA - I vote the ITP A3 EOS Upgrade. The Q5 version is now $17.50 and the R5 version is $20.50. The value for money is great and the 3 output levels would be very useful.

I hope they are. I just ordered three of them from Battery Junction at $12.50 apiece.

E01 is a great value if you can deal with the tint.

If you can't handle the purple, try to find an Arc, or a Peak Matterhorn single in the marketplace.

If all you want it for is emergencies, the E01 is hard to beat for the $$. Another option would be Gerber Infinity Ultra's if you wanted to use AA's (much longer runtime).

The ITP A3 "upgrade" is ~20 (sometimes can be found for less). It has a better beam, better tint, and 3 modes where the low would provide plenty of runtime. It doesn't tailstand unless you file the nub off (or by the Maratac vs). The ITP is best for keychain use and the Maratac vs. feels the best every other way (knurling and tailstanding). Both weight less than the E01 and are a little shorter.

Will the E01 and E05 run off of lithium AAAs?

I don't know much about lithium...

Are some better than others?
What would you suggest I buy to feed them?

22HERTZ said:

Will the E01 and E05 run off of lithium AAAs?

I don't know much about lithium...

Are some better than others?
What would you suggest I buy to feed them?

Click to expand...

depends on how often they are used and how they are stored. If you use them often alkalines or even LSD nimh may be more economical but if rarely used lithiums will store for 15 years with no leakage while alkalines left unattended could leak before they date easily.

tbenedict said:

If all you want it for is emergencies, the E01 is hard to beat for the $$.

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I agree. The beam and tint of the E01 sucks in comparison to the E05, but the E01's runtime is great. Additionally, the E01 is tough, according to torture tests the E01 is tougher then the E05. I own both... you can't go wrong with either.