Fenix LD20 competitors?

Hey guys,

I recently went on a 9-day-8-night hike in very rugged and remote terrain which included temperatures ranging from 2C - 25C with the average being around 11C. Remote being we didn't see other hikers for roughly 2-3 days out on the back side of the trail. I brought along a lighting system which included:

> Primary - Fenix LD20 R4
> Backup - 4Sevens Preon 2 Ti
> Headlamp - Zebralight H501w
> Batteries: 9xAA L92s, 6xAA alk., 6xAAA alk.

All three lights performed fairly well ... except ...

On night 6, I was using my Fenix LD20 with diffuser tip as a lamp to cook dinner with. I suspended it from a tree branch by the lanyard and the people I was with plus other strangers were using the light to cook our dinners with (mini stoves) in frigid weather. Just to give some depth to the situation, we were camped about 500m above and away from a large glacier.

Anyways, as usual the rest of the hikers we met at the site had fairly mundane and chunky retail-outlet LEDs, and they were marveling at the usefulness of my LD20 + diffuser tip putting out 200 lumens and providing enough light for all of us to huddle and cook.

Enter problem ...

Near the end of the cooking session, I go to adjust the light (lower the output as 200 lumens was not necessary at the moment) and as I have my hands on it adjusting, it flashes a few times like this: Turbo-Off-Turbo-Off-Turbo-Off-Turbo-Off.

After that, the light has never come back on. I was using Duracell Ultra alkalines at the time, and since then no type of battery or adjustment to the head or tailcap has made it work. My only assessment is that the 2C temp combined with shoddy alkalines and turbo mode caused a power spike and fried the circuitry.

Finally, after my long-winded description comes the question...

What is a good "non Made in China" alternative to the Fenix LD20 that has a similar form factor, 2xAA, and puts out good lumens? I don't mind paying more.

The reason I say "non Made in China" is because I also have/had an operational Fenix LD05, which now doesn't work either. It fell off the sofa while I was dozing, and after the fall never put out more than around 3 lumens. New batteries, cleaning the contacts, etc etc didn't work. The brightness maxed out at 3 lumens ... I decided it was another circuitry problem. Therefore from my experience with Made in China lights (Fenix) I am unsatisfied.

I do not think Fenix makes bad products, as both lights lasted roughly 1 year without trouble, but I want a light that I can be confident in, and I have lost confidence in Fenix.

edit: to be fair, I have had trouble with my 4Sevens Preon 2 as well, tailcap issues not circuitry, and I would rather have the Fenix LD05 clicky tailcap instead of the 4Sevens Preon clicky tailcap.

Another data point in favor of the LD20. On night 2 of the hike, we had some issues with predatory animals. Namedly we were night-hiking on a grassy plain beside a river and as we were eating dinner, we had some issues with a few mountain lions which were lurking in the area. I pulled out the Fenix LD20 and was able to do sweeps around our location for the next hour or so looking for the tell-tale eyes in the tall grass. Sure enough there were a couple creeping up on us at first that the Fenix LD20 picked up on from about 200m away and I was able to scare the buggers off with some thrown rocks and loud noises. (That night was not very restful though ).

In other news, recently purchased a HDS Rotary 200. Simply because I have not been satisfied with the consistency of my EDC lights (LD05 and Preon 2 Ti). I am willing to pay top dollar for confidence in the light.

Have you checked out the Surefire 2 AA?

It seems if you are hiking and running into predatory animals, you don't want something that is sorta reliable, but something definitely reliable. Even with a different battery than the LD20, I would say the HDS lights, but you already have mentioned it, so good. I would say something legit and reliable like the Surefire, HDS, and Malkoff trilogy. So, if you are willing to switch batteries, you could get Malkoff MD2+Malkoff M61L, plus a hi/lo switching ring, and it would be very comparable to the LD20, but more reliable because it has a simpler construction.

All high powered LED flashlights have electronic circuitry, and they are all prone to failure, so the answer to this issue would be "if you have a critical application then carry a backup light". Even Surefire makes one that's intuitively named "E1B Backup"....

Nap.

Thanks for the replies.

I'll have a look at Malkoff.

Currently not a fan of Surefire though I do not own any of their products. I don't see their lights as good value, due to the price point in relation to the lumens it puts out. Example being the Surefire E2L AA Outdoorsman. Max of 80 lumens at a $180 price point? I expect 140 - 240 lumens at that price point. Perhaps there is a factor I'm missing here?

Even the HDS Rotary 200, I'm paying $1 per lumen. With an average Surefire, I'm paying $2 per lumen.

I know lumens isn't everything, but for a primary and reliable hiking flashlight I need something with similar output and throw to the LD20.

The LX2 LumaMax is along the lines of the output/runtime I want, but minimum 15 lumens? Come on, night hiking and looking at a map with 15 lumens is a good way to destroy night vision. Looking for a low around 3-5 lumens (or lower), and a max up around 200 lumens.

Quiksilver said:

The LX2 LumaMax is along the lines of the output/runtime I want, but minimum 15 lumens? Come on, night hiking and looking at a map with 15 lumens is a good way to destroy night vision. Looking for a low around 3-5 lumens (or lower), and a max up around 200 lumens.

Click to expand...

Funny. Two days ago, exactly on this line of thinking, I've ordered a Sunwayman M20A R5 and a M10A R5. The first is pretty much what you're looking for, the second would make for a nice backup.

Nap.

there are tons of options. and most of the best ones WILL be made in china. unfortunately.

Take a look at PEAK. You could even call them and tell them what you want. Made in USA, and several different materials available. SS,brass,al,Ti, etc. In reference to the Surefires, you're main concern was one of reliability. That's why Surefires cost what they do. Utter reliability, but geared more towards LE, and military. Thats why you don't find any Surefires with lots of bells and whistles. You're definitely on the right track with the HDS though. You won't find much better than that. Get yourself one of the Surefire F04 beam shapers/diffusers for your HDS, and you'll have nice EDC. Henry made some 2xAA tubes for previous models, so maybe we'll all get lucky and he'll make some for the new models. An HDS rotary stocked with AA Eneloops?:bow: That's what I'm talkin' about!

Quiksilver said:

Currently not a fan of Surefire though I do not own any of their products. I don't see their lights as good value, due to the price point in relation to the lumens it puts out. Example being the Surefire E2L AA Outdoorsman. Max of 80 lumens at a $180 price point? I expect 140 - 240 lumens at that price point. Perhaps there is a factor I'm missing here?

The LX2 LumaMax is along the lines of the output/runtime I want, but minimum 15 lumens? Come on, night hiking and looking at a map with 15 lumens is a good way to destroy night vision. Looking for a low around 3-5 lumens (or lower), and a max up around 200 lumens.

Click to expand...

What you are missing is the way the different manufacturers rate (or under rate) the output of their lights. I would put my 65 lumen Surefire L1 up against my Quark ANY DAY.