I recently purchased 2 fenix e11's as beater/loaner flashlights from ebay for roughly 27~ USD each and wanted to share my opinion on this light
the light comes in a plastic clamshell with a cardboard outside
small area on the back of the packaging containing some basic literature and spare parts
factory specifics:
LED:
Initial impression and size
At first i thought that the light would be bigger but its smaller than my 'old' l1d, being both shorter and slimmer than the l1d
the light has some basic for lack of a better word 'knurling' on the body which gets the job done nicely.
On the back of the light it has a momentary clicky which protrudes so unfortunately it cant tailstand.
imho it feels really small, not keychainable but small non the less for an AA clicky.
accessory content:
As we have come to expect from fenix, each light comes with a lanyard, spare o-ring and a spare booth
because of how fenix had packaged the manual it was impossible to get a nice picture of it but its a simple sheet of paper.
it shows the light, how to insert the battery, which batteries it can and can not use (manual flat out says 1.5v and no 14500)
some basic maintenance and trouble shooting tips. On the back of the instructions are the same instructions but in presumably Cantonese.
the light also comes with a warrenty card for those who wish to register their light.
From the initial specs i had read online i thought that the light would basically be a L1D with the UI of the L1T but i was wrong.
UI is a basic click on and off with momentary with a low and high mode depending if you tighten or loosen the bezel of the light. completely remove the head and drop in a single AA battery to power the light.
the light feels smaller, compacter, allmost feels like fenix took the original nitecore EZ-AA and then added a clicky on the back
light is just shy of being 2 cm wide
strange camera angle but i checked it before and after this photo, the ruler was lined up and the light was just under being 10 cm long
as you can clearly see the light is slimmer than the L1D
also shown in the picture is the TIR lens that the E11 has
for all those wondering: yes there is a hole inside the lens for the beam shape but no its not opened on the outside of the light, it wont collect dust or anything.
the fenix E11 certainly isnt the smallest of the AA line up available now a days but it still feels very small, easily carried in pouches, pockets, anywhere without being to bothersome
the tailcap of the light is removable but not easily done
one of the two lanyard holes showing aswell as the seam on the back of the light
the light has 4 indentations in the back to unscrew and access the clicky/rubber booth
not feeling like scratching up this light already, i did not try disassembling the back of the light. regular needle-nose pliers fit the spaces, no fancy tools needed
now lets move to the front of the light, showing the pill and threading
the threads on the light are small but square cut which should help with durability, didnt notice any grit or grinding in them which is nice.
Polarity protection is installed on this budget light. i dont need it but not everyone is 100% alert when changing batteries so its a nice feature for an entry level edc light
(fyi the light seemed dirtier in this picture than it really was)
Not a direct comparison to slim lights such as the EZ-AA or the Quark mini AA but the light has some body thickness and space for the threading. personally im not worried about this light snapping at the threads or the body being crushed like i was with some of the ultra small AA lights i owned
BEAMSHOTS TO COME
i would add beamshots but the new camera i own has all kinds of options but no set ISO so i cant get a nice comparison.
The beam of the light is floody, no real hotspot, a large light area with spill. the light is by no means a thrower anything beyond 20 meters lights up but nothing distinct enough like with 'normal' lights. If anything the light is for searching inside cars, bags, cabinets, dropped items within 5 meters or so imho
*EDIT*
cant get the camera to take nice consistent beamshots, even with locked iso so its going to stay as a description only unfortunately
conclusion
the fenix E11 is a nice budget minimalistic flood-ish light which is great for gifting to non flashaholics friends or relatives.
personally i wouldnt really change anything about the light, if fenix is listening i would suggest maybe make a series of this, having another E11 style light but with 2 AA or possibly a nice 2 level CR123 that doesnt break the bank
the light comes in a plastic clamshell with a cardboard outside
small area on the back of the packaging containing some basic literature and spare parts
factory specifics:
LED:
Cree XP-E LED;
Battery: One 1.5V AA (Ni-MH, Alkaline, Lithium) Battery
Waterproof Resistence: IPX - 8 standard(2 meter depth)
Impact Resistant: 1 meter
Max Lifespan: 50,000 Hours
Max Output: 105 Lumens
Max Runtime: 8 Hours 23 Minutes
Switch Type: Push-button tail cap
Material: Water-resistant aircraft-grade aluminum;
Finish: Premium Type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish
Output: 2 modes (twist tight for high, loosen for low)
--High Mode: 105 lumens - 1 hour 50 minute runtime
--Low Mode: 32 lumens - 8 hours 23 minutes runtime
Dimension:--High Mode: 105 lumens - 1 hour 50 minute runtime
--Low Mode: 32 lumens - 8 hours 23 minutes runtime
97mm (Length)x19mm (Diameter)
Weight: 32 gram weight (excluding battery)
Initial impression and size
At first i thought that the light would be bigger but its smaller than my 'old' l1d, being both shorter and slimmer than the l1d
the light has some basic for lack of a better word 'knurling' on the body which gets the job done nicely.
On the back of the light it has a momentary clicky which protrudes so unfortunately it cant tailstand.
imho it feels really small, not keychainable but small non the less for an AA clicky.
accessory content:
As we have come to expect from fenix, each light comes with a lanyard, spare o-ring and a spare booth
because of how fenix had packaged the manual it was impossible to get a nice picture of it but its a simple sheet of paper.
it shows the light, how to insert the battery, which batteries it can and can not use (manual flat out says 1.5v and no 14500)
some basic maintenance and trouble shooting tips. On the back of the instructions are the same instructions but in presumably Cantonese.
the light also comes with a warrenty card for those who wish to register their light.
From the initial specs i had read online i thought that the light would basically be a L1D with the UI of the L1T but i was wrong.
UI is a basic click on and off with momentary with a low and high mode depending if you tighten or loosen the bezel of the light. completely remove the head and drop in a single AA battery to power the light.
the light feels smaller, compacter, allmost feels like fenix took the original nitecore EZ-AA and then added a clicky on the back
light is just shy of being 2 cm wide
strange camera angle but i checked it before and after this photo, the ruler was lined up and the light was just under being 10 cm long
as you can clearly see the light is slimmer than the L1D
also shown in the picture is the TIR lens that the E11 has
for all those wondering: yes there is a hole inside the lens for the beam shape but no its not opened on the outside of the light, it wont collect dust or anything.
the fenix E11 certainly isnt the smallest of the AA line up available now a days but it still feels very small, easily carried in pouches, pockets, anywhere without being to bothersome
the tailcap of the light is removable but not easily done
one of the two lanyard holes showing aswell as the seam on the back of the light
the light has 4 indentations in the back to unscrew and access the clicky/rubber booth
not feeling like scratching up this light already, i did not try disassembling the back of the light. regular needle-nose pliers fit the spaces, no fancy tools needed
now lets move to the front of the light, showing the pill and threading
the threads on the light are small but square cut which should help with durability, didnt notice any grit or grinding in them which is nice.
Polarity protection is installed on this budget light. i dont need it but not everyone is 100% alert when changing batteries so its a nice feature for an entry level edc light
(fyi the light seemed dirtier in this picture than it really was)
Not a direct comparison to slim lights such as the EZ-AA or the Quark mini AA but the light has some body thickness and space for the threading. personally im not worried about this light snapping at the threads or the body being crushed like i was with some of the ultra small AA lights i owned
BEAMSHOTS TO COME
i would add beamshots but the new camera i own has all kinds of options but no set ISO so i cant get a nice comparison.
The beam of the light is floody, no real hotspot, a large light area with spill. the light is by no means a thrower anything beyond 20 meters lights up but nothing distinct enough like with 'normal' lights. If anything the light is for searching inside cars, bags, cabinets, dropped items within 5 meters or so imho
*EDIT*
cant get the camera to take nice consistent beamshots, even with locked iso so its going to stay as a description only unfortunately
conclusion
the fenix E11 is a nice budget minimalistic flood-ish light which is great for gifting to non flashaholics friends or relatives.
personally i wouldnt really change anything about the light, if fenix is listening i would suggest maybe make a series of this, having another E11 style light but with 2 AA or possibly a nice 2 level CR123 that doesnt break the bank
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