|
Fenix LED Flashlight
Fenix E01 LED Miniature Flashlight
by "Mad Dog" Earle for webBikeWorld.com
Summary: Super small, lightweight and very well made,
all-aluminum machined body, water resistant to IPX-8. Provides
good illumination with rugged build.
Background
I'm always on the lookout for interesting new gadgets and gizmos --
especially flashlights. I found this Fenix EO1 LED flashlight
recently and since it's such a cute and tiny little guy, I wanted to
report on it as a twofer-one with my report on the
Doc Allen Versatool kit.
It wasn't long ago when an LED flashlight was an expensive
novelty, but now in 2009, LED flashlights have probably surpassed incandescent
bulb flashlight sales by a big margin. In fact, there are more LED
"tactical" flashlight companies then ever, producing every different style and
shape you can imagine.
There are many reasons for the popularity of LEDs, which have
been addressed in the various webBikeWorld reviews of LED light bulbs for
motorcycles. And LEDs are perfect for flashlights, because the lights draw
very little power, making the battery last much longer -- an important factor in
a flashlight. LED bulbs also generate very little heat, they're resistant
to vibration and they last a long time; typically 100,000 hours or more.
They do have a few drawbacks, but for flashlight use, those are
minimal. Also, when the LED light and the reflector assembly are correctly
designed, an LED flashlight can generate a powerful amount of light that is
evenly distributed and the light is much "whiter" in color than the "yellow"
light from an incandescent bulb.
The Fenix E01 LED Flashlight
The benefit of the strong light output is that it doesn't take a huge, heavy
flashlight to do the job. The Fenix E01 is a good example; this is a very
small flashlight, about the length of a cigarette and about the thickness of a
tube of lip balm (71 mm long by 14 mm in diameter). It only weighs 14
grams without the single size AAA battery that fits inside.
The Fenix E01 is open only at one end, which probably helps it
meet the IP (Ingress Protection) 8 water resistance "standard". Basically,
all this means is that the flashlight can be immersed in water, but it is not
dive rated and there are no times or pressures associated with the immersion.
Also, the outside of the E01 is fully knurled and it has a low
reflective military green style hard anodized coating.
From the motorcyclist's point of view, the bottom line is that
the E01 should at least be able to withstand a rain storm, a wet pocket or an
occasional drop in a puddle.
Fenix E01 LED flashlight. Screw-in head (L) and flat base with keychain
loop (R).
Operating the Fenix E01
The E01 is turned on by screwing in the head, a feature I don't really like
because 1) it takes two hands to turn it on and off and 2) I'm always worried
the head will turn and the light will go on in a tank bag or pocket and wear
down the battery. But, since a rubberized button would probably add
weight, bulk, complexity and cost to a little guy like the Fenix E01, I can
overlook it in this case.
The E01 has a high-quality, thick O-ring at the base of the
threads and Fenix includes a spare O-ring in the package. What's
interesting is that the LED "bulb" doesn't have a cover. It's just a bare
LED which is, I guess, glued or sealed into the bottom of the reflector.
The reflector is simply a bare aluminum machined cone, machined out of the head.
So it does not have a separate chrome-plated or polished reflector.
This doesn't seem to affect the light output though. The
Fenix E01 throws a nice, even light pattern, but remember, this is only a small,
single LED powered by a single LED battery. It's perfectly acceptable for
its designed use as a tiny, lightweight near-keychain sized emergency
flashlight, but you won't be using it as a substitute for an H4 bulb.
The Gordon LED flashlight (L) vs. the Fenix E01.
Gordon LED flashlight (L) and Fenix E01 (R).
The photo above is a rough attempt at illustrating the power of
the small Fenix E01 compared to the much bigger (and only $4.99)
Gordon LED flashlight (review),
which was a 2007 webBikeWorld Product of the Year award winner.
It's an apples-to-oranges comparison, but useful for
illustrating the differences. The photo above was taken in a completely
dark room; on the left is the Gordon LED and on the right is the single-LED
Fenix E01.
The Fenix E01 is obviously much smaller than the Gordon, so when
size matters (sometimes smaller is better!), the Fenix is the winner. The
Gordon is still a fantastic deal and a great little flashlight, but I wouldn't
want to carry it all the time in my pocket, and there's no keychain I can think
of that would hold it.
If the Fenix E01 will be carried more frequently because of its
size, then it's much more useful than the bigger, brighter, "perfect" flashlight
that's sitting home in a drawer.
The Fenix E01 isn't much bigger than the AAA battery that powers it (L).
LED is uncovered (R).
The LED used in the Fenix E01 is actually a nice quality
Nichia GS LED light with a
claimed 10 lumens output and 100,000 hour life. Nichia is a well-known LED
manufacturer (among other products) and their LEDs are used by many of the
higher quality "tactical" LED flashlight manufacturers.
Fenix claims 21 hours total burn time on the single 1.5V AAA
battery. The 21 hours is divided up into 11 hours at full power, then the
light goes into "Moonlight" mode, providing a limited amount of light output for
another 10 hours.
The E01came with one of those cheap no-name batteries which I
quickly binned and replaced with a new Duracell alkaline. The E01 can use
alkaline, Ni-MH or lithium batteries.
Another nice feature of the Fenix E01 is that it can stand up
straight on a flat surface (see photo above). It has a flat base with a
sort of flat tripod shape.
I don't really like the small hole drilled in one of the arms
though (seen in photo above); it's designed for the small round keychain clip
but it's difficult to get the clip through the hole and I scratched the anodized
surface doing so. I'm also afraid that the hole will wear through, as it
is pretty close to the edge of the arm and eventually I'm assuming that the
circular clip may wear through.
More Fenix LED Flashlights
During my research for this review, I discovered that the E01 doesn't show up in
the 2009 Fenix catalog, but it is still easy to find in any of the online LED
flashlight stores that sell the popular Fenix brand.
Apparently, like the E01 has been replaced by two separate
flashlights, the Fenix E0 and E1. The Fenix E0 is claimed waterproof to
100 feet and has an output of 5.5 lumens and a 20-hour claimed battery life at a
constant brightness.
The Fenix E1 has an aluminum body almost identical to the E01,
with a 12 lumen constant output, but it's listed as water resistant only and has
a claimed battery life of only 3 hours.
The Fenix E01 has to be one of the highest quality tiny
flashlights I've ever laid eyes on. It's actually a Type III aircraft
grade aluminum tube with only one opening -- the head that holds the LED and the
little circuit board screws on to the open end of the tube and the AAA battery
drops down inside.
Conclusion
The Fenix E01 is a really nice little flashlight. It's not a toy -- it's
more like a miniature version of a high-quality aluminum bodied LED flashlight
and it's very handy for motorcycle use. It can be carried on a keychain or
stuffed into just about any pocket or small storage space.
It also works well for travel, whether camping or not. I
always keep a flashlight near me when I'm sleeping in a strange/new place, and
the Fenix E01 is just bright enough to illuminate the way to the rest facilities
but not bright enough to shock me awake.
|
wBW Product
Review: Fenix E01 LED Flashlight |
|
|
| Available
From:
Fenix Light Ltd.
and Fenix
Tactical (Authorized distributor, ships worldwide and has the E01 in
stock) |
List Price: $16.95 USD; $19.95
CAD |
| Colors: Black or Green |
Made
in: China |
| Review Date:
September 2009 |
Note: For informational use only. All material and
photographs are Copyright © webWorld International, LLC - 2000-2011. All
rights reserved. See the webBikeWorld®
Site Info
page. NOTE: Product specifications, features and details may
change or differ from our descriptions. Always check before purchasing. Read
the
Terms and Conditions!
►Your Comments and
Feedback
Please send comments to
Comments are ordered from most recent to oldest.
Not all comments will be published ( details). Comments may be edited for
clarity prior to publication.
From "S.S." (9/09): "Carrying a flashlight is a great idea,
but I think there is a better solution than the handheld models. I have a
Petzl Tikka PLus LED headlamp, and it has several great features that make it
ideal for carrying on a motorcycle:
-
Very lightweight and compact
-
Batteries last a long time
-
Light output can be adjusted from
low to med to high
-
It also has a flashing strobe
setting, which would be perfect if your bike died and you needed to push it
for any distance on a dark road, as the strobe would let you alert passing
cars
-
Obviously, it can be worn on your
head, freeing up both hands to work on whatever is broken
Thanks again for a great magazine!
Editor's Note: We
reviewed some LED headlamp lights; see the right hand column above for links.
|
and help support
webBikeWorld!