Fenix HL10 Review

For review section consideration..

Fenix no stranger to the headlamp market out with a new compact headlamp.

Features including
· 70 lumen max output
· 3 brightness levels (70,27,3)
· 90 deg beam angle
· 100 tilt

The light is in AAA format with the lens perpendicular to the body. Similar to zebralight and spark, the body is removable from the headband.
This offers some flexibility in usage.

Keychain light?
Fenix promotes that it can be used as a keychain light. It does NOT come with a keyring to attach. If you had one attached you would not be able to tailstand the light. Actually with a key ring I highly doubt it will fit in the headstrap holder as there isn't a big enough gap. The hole for a keyring is actually pretty shallow and combine that with the fact that the body material is a aluminum is a recipe for a disaster. The keyring will eat through the hole in no time. I would suggest anyone trying to use this a keychain light, to use one of those fabric cell phone straps in the hole. Then periodically check if the strap needs replacing. This would allow the strap to be left in place while the light is in the headstrap holder. To be honest I think it's more of an after thought or just to promote as a feature of the light.

The holder
Plastic, argh. I hate plastic. My old petzl headlamps all have cracks or broken pieces eventually in the body. Plastic sucks, it's cheap, looks cheap and becomes brittle in the cold. The design is actually more aesthetic then anything. The orange piece that flips in out and out of the way is superfluous. The metal holder holds the light very tightly. But it's very unsightly and this orange piece is very nice to clean up the look. Reminds me of an engine bay of a german car which is full of a lot of plastic actually covering anything worth looking at.
Ok, the metal holder which holds the light. Well I'm glad that it's metal. Functionally better in that it's not going to crack under use. So here is the CON as everything in the flashlight world has it's pro's and con's. The metal holder indeed does scrape up the light. Not in the entry and exit of the light body but actually the rotation of the light. The feeling of the rotation is scrape scrape scrape scrape. It takes quite an effort to rotate. So yes the holder rubs off the anodization on the edges. (Day 2 anodization damaged)
The holder takes up quite some space because with it the flashlight is the size of a AA headlamp (Zebralights). AA is better in every aspect I think. There is just so much more capacity. If you want to argue that AA battery headlamp is heavier, just use a battery sleeve to use an AAA with your AA headlamp.
Con, The rotation angle sucks. Sometimes I use a full 90 deg with my headlamps. If I have a flood headlamp I would occasionally wear it around my neck then rotate to in front of me. I cannot do this with this headlamp.
Another con, it's such a beeatch to remove and you must remove for battery changes. For a light that can potentially eat up a lot of AAA's. OMG, you will end up losing the light while yanking out in an inopportune moment. Under stress this light is really awful for battery changes.
Pro of the holder, haha yes there is one. Because plastic is rigid rather than a rubber one (Zebralight, Spark) The holder center part is the area that is actually touching my head. Not the sides where it's attached to the headstrap. I know that with a rubber boot that it pulls in the side nubs and leaves marks in your forehead. So I think it's more comfortable.
Another pro, I think the metal holder can handle small variation in tubes size .This holder works with my MBI HF flashlight(aaa size keychain light). So I could potentially use this holder to hold other AAA lights if I want. For example I want to use a light with more throw.

Strap
I love it. The way it's designed, you can tighten it down to a very small size. For example, attach this headlamp to your wrist for lighting(180deg rotation would be handy for this). It's clever that it has a clip at the end that can tidy up the excess strap material.
Con, well it's a pro too. It's pretty thin. Which means that it can be carried neatly and compactly especially with a rubber band. So the con is that because it's so narrow it's not as comfortable as a wider strap. Let me compare to my Spark ST5. That headlamp is nearly double the weight. The thing is, it doesn't feel that way at all. The straps are thicker and there is also a top strap. Hard to tell but I think the ST5 would hold better for long term usage in comfort level. Maybe it doesn't matter as the light will run out of juice before it gets uncomfortable haha.
Pro, strap looks less "geeky" than a top strap design.

UI
Makes sense but not intuitive. Not for a Zebralight/Spark user which is used to a single click turn on. I am constantly fumbling with the UI.
Makes sense for them to have the hold on/off because Fenix does not use battery lockout. Which makes sense because Fenix has been using rear battery holders as well as tube designs. So a hold to turn on/off and a single click to switch modes with mode memory.
I hate that I have to bypass High to get to low if I am in medium. Perhaps FoursEven penlight design of a mode memory with a cycling from low is a better idea. I can't be for sure as I have not tried in person.
Well at least it's easy to explain to someone. Not a deal killer but it doesn't feel natural for a non-Fenix headlamp user.
I still prefer a battery lockout. This headlamp will use energy with any battery installed. Unless you decide to carry the battery separately. Good luck with that because like I said it's a real pain to switch batteries! BTW , threads and o-rings came dry.

Beam
It's a round even flood. I'm sure no different than an H502. Even my iphone led is more focused in comparison

Outputs
Nicely spaced. Actually I would be content if they got rid of high as it's not so much brighter than medium visually while eating up batteries. Thanks for not putting disco modes.
High makes the body really warm. High actually kicks down at 5min. I'm not sure to what output. My guess it's medium because if I single click it goes back to high. Seems consistent at the 5 min mark which makes me think it's timed. So High is more like a temporary Turbo?

Misc
Light did come with a battery but yuck a non-duracell. FoursEven has a more premium image by including a Duracell with their lights. But it's a super small complaint considering the price of the light.
I noticed in usage that while in medium and the battery running low that the output dimmed down. The light didn't just cut off. So that's nice that I know I will have time to swap the batteries so and can run the low for now.

Trump Card
The PRICE, just under 30usd. I think it's priced to be a winner. For a flashaholic it's in the "disposable" price range. 20-30usd gift giving price range.

Why I bought
Yes, I buy my own lights and usually I am pretty picky about what I spend my money on. One of my most used lights in my life was my Zebralight H501 which I lost unfortunately. I feel it's a similar type of like. Who am I kidding? The H502 is closer but I'm such a cheapskate so I thought what the heck I will give it a try. H502 is a better light in every aspect. Same size, more modes, zebralight efficiency, zebralight minimalistic design. But it's much more expensive and I somehow feel that it's plagued with some manufacturing troubles(usually there are some people with light problems)
I was also considering the Petzl E-lite.

Wish List
Warm emitter. This light is not going to win any output contests so stick with a more pleasant tint. Reading cooking etc all improved with a warm tint emitter.
Make a AA version. Don't increase the holder size. Dump the orange piece. Use an black anodized metal clip to have a clean look. Keep the head size the same and increase the tube size. While keeping the price in tact! Ha!
Shorter holder? So that the battery cap sticks out so I can replace the battery without taking out the light! Not a deal killer but..

Uses
For indoor anything. While you are indoor you are not looking down any far corridor. The next wall is 30ft away.
Reading, emergency use, cooking, laundry, etc. ahem warm tint would be better for reading. Ahem. Small digression, I think AAA would go fast in a store at emergency time so I would keep a bunch around if that's your use.
Walking. Medium is good enough for walking.
Camping. Camping tasks are similar to at home tasks.
Fishing?
Camera enthusiast. Just need a low light for swapping lens in a dark environment. Or supplemental lighting to help their lens focus better. Small enough to just leave in the bag.
I feel like it's a light for someone who likes a Petzl E-lite type headlamp. Just enough light to see what your hands are doing. BTW they are the same price and the Fenix won over because it's AAA common use battery.

Not for
Running. Well maybe if you are in a familiar area or just want to "be seen."
Biking or any other extreme sports.
Not for a person who will use high a lot. Actually I would recommend for a person who uses low the most and medium occasionally because it's annoying to swap the battery.
High stress situation, hunting? Climbing? Hiking treacherous terrain? LEO work



Forgive any grammar problems. Typing as I think.
I will include pics and a short video later when I have time.

This thing is quite easy to take apart.

You just need a pair of needlenose pliers. It's not locked. Just unscrew the button.
Underneath you have a rubber button that has a plastic ring. That makes sense otherwise the metal ring would chew up the rubber upon tightening.
Under that you have the main electronics. It's all together.
The gray bezel inside isn't glued. It just comes off as well as the lens that focuses the led.
The led is swappable but you need some skills to swap. It's a pretty small area to work with.
No grease anywhere.
I can see the positive contact area has a thin rubber ring. I'm assuming this is to physically protect from reverse polarity.
I don't know how the outer glass is attached. Maybe glued in. Without the glass it will not be water resistant as there is no o-rings for the gray bezel inside.

Initially I want to take it apart because I want to add tritium tubes inside behind the lens. But there is no space. The lens completely surrounds the led. The Gray piece surrounds the lens.
I bet you could color that very small recess where the led enters the led if you wanted to change the tint.

I think it would be cool if fenix offered different colors just buy using different color lens optics.

When putting back together, pay attention to aligning the headsink with the body. You will see what I mean. The led is on a board this board has two tabs that slightly stick out. The top of the bottom where the button is has two slots. The tabs align with the slots. This is where the heat is transferred to the body.

Thanks for all of the great information!

I know this is an older thread, but thanks for sharing your opinion on this light. And I'm really glad to see your second post about easy to open the light up as I'm planning to swap in a Nichia 219 high cri. Just ordered this headlamp.

Thanks

Yes, I know I am very late posting.

I have had an HL10 (amongst other headlamps) for at least two years and personally love it for shortish range stuff.

I spend most weekends at my parents now - my dad has dementia amongst other things - and prefer to wear my HL10 when going to sleep and I don't have to put on lounge, hallway, dining room, kitchen and other lights finding my way to food or toilets after they go to bed.

I agree with previous commenter that the low mode I tend to use most frequently with normally a brief hop into medium mode for 30 seconds or so if I really want a bit more light.

When I need it, I switch to an HL50 which is more than bright enough for the majority of my requirements.