My Fenix L1P is dimmer then my Arc ?!?!

My fenix L1P is even dimmer then my first runs Arc LS.
Not to mention it's a no match to my Inova xo3, as well as all my cheap 3w clones.

I thought It uses best binned Lux I and output is comparable to a lux3.
Is my Fenix defective?

I read from other thread that real lumens of xo3 is arouind 40 as opposed to advertised 80. L1P advertise 46 Lumens. But L1P is not even half as bright, so real lumens is around 10-15 ?!

Any honest businessmen out there? :thinking:

ledled said:

My fenix L1P is even dimmer then my 3 years old Arc LS.!
Not to mention it's a no match to my Inova xo3, as well as all my cheap 3w clones.

I thought It uses best binned Lux I and output is comparable to a lux3.
Is my Fenix defective?

Click to expand...

Well it would be disappointing if when mine arrives is dimmer than my ARC AAA's.

But this is a light powered off a single AA cell, I have no expectation this will put out more light than a 123 powered LuxIII flashlight.

I think you may be expecting too much? Buy another package of batteries, maybe the batteries your using are not up to par? How long has it been running on it's current battery?

DUH of course it will be dimmer

you see, the arc ls uses a cr123 battery which can drive a 1 watt at the mah they need
also, the arc has voltage and current regulation(which i believe do exist in the arc)

fenix only has MAX brightness and will dim even more after awhile.

even the best bin led is no match when not driven to full spec.

I thought Fenix is driving the star at spec 350mA. Its still a solid light and definitely the KING of 1AA lights. I just thought it can complete with the 3 watters with low bins.

Excuse my ignorance, but I always hear this term "bins" being thrown around as being some indicator of brightness. What does it stand for?

InfidelCastro said:

Excuse my ignorance, but I always hear this term "bins" being thrown around as being some indicator of brightness. What does it stand for?

Click to expand...

Look here for info: Bin Codes Explained

ledled said:

My fenix L1P is even dimmer then my first runs Arc LS.
Not to mention it's a no match to my Inova xo3, as well as all my cheap 3w clones.

I thought It uses best binned Lux I and output is comparable to a lux3.
Is my Fenix defective?

I read from other thread that real lumens of xo3 is arouind 40 as opposed to advertised 80. L1P advertise 46 Lumens. But L1P is not even half as bright, so real lumens is around 10-15 ?!

Any honest businessmen out there? :thinking:

Click to expand...

You probably got a bad one. My Fenix L1P puts out more light than my brightest Arc LS did (except for the Arc4+). It even puts out more light than my LSHF-P did according to my meter. Which, by the way, means my Fenix puts out about 30 lumens with a freshly charged NiMH AA cell and drops to around 27 lumens after a short time.

I believe Bin Coding is a method of describing the specifications of an LED in a short and simple manor.The code consist of 4 parts: The flux rating, tint, Vf (forward voltage), and color. Sometimes the color code will be left off. Leaving just a 3 part code.

after so many post after me, i think this is wat you should do

install a brand new duracell batt into the fenix

install a brand new cr123 cell (duracell if you can) to the arc ls

now you compare the brightness.

if the fenix is still dimmer then the arc, you can go *censored* the manufacturer of fenix L1p and *censored* until he send you a new REAL L1p

Anyone has beamshot comparion of any of the followings:
Fenix is manufactered in China, not sure what I can do, just to confirm mine is indeed no as bright as the rest of 90%. Anyone has beamshot of the following comparsion::

-Arc LS vs Fenix
-MXDL 3w vs Fenix
-Smartfire 3w 1L vs Fenix.
-xo3 vs Fenix


Compare the Fenix with Arc is probably most difficult because the beam pattern is totally different. Hotspot is a lot smaller with the fenix, while sidespill is a lot smaller with the Arc

It has comparable output to Smartfire 3w running off cr123, but significantly dimmer than smartfire running off RCR123.

I don't have the QIII, so I don't know how bright the Q3 is.

I don't know about the ARC, but on the X03... you weren't really expecting a $40 1 watt light that runs for almost three hours on a single 1.2V AA cell to be able to keep up with a $70 3 watt light that runs for two hours on two 3V 123 cells, were you?

The Fenix is a nice light, but it can't quite defy the laws of physics!

As far as comparing it to the 3W overdriven with an R123... again, you are comparing a Lux I driven at or near spec vs an overdriven Lux III... that's just not fair. I mean, you know the reason the Lux III is a Lux III is because it performs better than a Lux I, right?

Having said that, I would guess my Fenix L1P is putting out about 30 lumens and should be brighter than an ARC LS.

Here's a beamshot comparing the Inova T3 (very similar to your X03) to the Fenix L1P 2.5 - the Fenix isn't quite as green as the bottom show would lead you to believe. Both are at 15 feet.

The xo3 is only $10 more. Of course, much bulkier. After staring at the Arc & fenix over & over again. It does seem brighter then the Arc but certain not a by a 'wow' factor as I would expect by reading more than 50 review posts about the fenix.

Remember it's a first generation Arc LS which also a factory second with 'urine pee green' tint which is 3 years old which probably before binning code is established. The fenix is usinglatest & greatest best selected bin. I do aware of it's only uses a 1AA as power source but after reading so many posts here and none mention "it's not fair to compare it to this or that....". And I read many post peoople put away their Q3 (lux3) and converted to Fenix as EDC.

To me, my other lights are stand uniquely in its class, as well as the fenix

ledled said:

It does seem brighter then the Arc but certain not a by a 'wow' factor....


And I read many post peoople put away their Q3 (lux3) and converted to Fenix as EDC.

Click to expand...

Comparing a XO3 to a Fenix...isn't that as apples to orranges as it can get?
And yes, I've replaced my Q3 with the Fenix as EDC.

I think your expectations were wrong to begin with.

The beauty of the Fenix is that it does not embarrass itself in the company of other flashlights that are costlier, bulkier and powered by CR123 batteries. The fact that it is smaller than most, has proven durability, fit and finish, runs off common AA's makes it a great value. Where is stands out is that it is the one of the flashlights that combine all the factors people are looking at: price, performance, size, shape, and the right styling. No other flashlight has that right balance of attributes.

this has been discussed in another simular thread.

unofficial output for fenix is 26 lumens as measured by Don's integrated sphere.
unmodded Arc LSH series output was rated at 25 lumens, so both lights put out aprox. same amount of light.

note original Arc LSH used optic VS reflector for fenix, so lux readings mean very little when doing comparisons.
I've handled five fenix so far and agree output is aprox same as unmodded Arc LSH.

please keep in mind luxeon lottery applys to both lights. 25 lumens was a min output for Arc's and would guess 25 lumens would be a max output for fenix with single AA.

so yes most Arc LSH's will be brighter than fenix. A modded Arc LSH will blow fenix away

Please take a look at this thread -

Fenix L1P, over expectation?

I'll repeat -
The Fenix L1 v2.5 is very much in the same brightness class as my other 1 watt Luxeon lights - and those were running on 1x CR123, 2x AA and 3x AAA - and was at least comparable with a Nuwai Q3 (3 watt Luxeon) on regular CR123 (and mine isn't even a P(remium) model - which means it should be only around 83% the brightness of a "P" model).
please click on this link to see the side-by side comparison beamshots -

Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium)

EDIT - Off-Topic - WoW! that's strange!
I definitely posted AFTER Joema -
yet when displayed my post is shown before Joe's
BUT when displaying the thread-list shows mine is the latest post (for now)

ledled said: "...My fenix L1P is even dimmer then my first runs Arc LS. Not to mention it's a no match to my Inova xo3..."

The XO3 is a very powerful light. There's no way the Fenix L1P can match that output.

The Arc LS (LSH-P) has less output and a L1P might approach that. If yours is dramatically dimmer, it's probably defective. Flashlightreviews.com will soon be testing an L1P. Then we'll have independent test numbers to compare with other lights.

My Fenix L1P was roughly the brightness of my HDS U60 between level 2 (42 lumens) and level 3 (30 lumens), and closer to level 3.

The hotspot center is about the brightness of my Peak Caribbean, but hotspot is smaller. Thus I'd estimate the L1P overall output at about 30 lumens. Certainly not 46 lumens, but still pretty bright.

Unfortunately I gave away my three L1Ps as gifts, so can't do further tests, but below are some beam shots I previously took.

Peak Caribbean, Fenix L1P, HDS U60 on max



Left: Caribbean with BatteryStation CR123A, Right: Fenix L1P with e2 lithium
Distance to wall: 41 inches. The rings surrounding the hotspots in the below picture is a photographic artifact -- they don't appear to the eye.