Fenix Lights - L1D CE

So just to start some size comparisons with a T1 and a Mini Maglite:

How it looks in my hand (it was smaller than I thought which can be good or bad depending on what you're looking for):

It's so small and light that it would be comfortable for neck carry...

One of the things I do not like about the light:

The lanyard hole is too small for my taste... I like to be able to use paracord at least because I think that that kind of lanyard is too fragile (even if the light weights nothing).

Now some beam shots:

Those are taken to try to show outdoor at night the intensity of the light (as poorly as my camera can do) personally my eyes do not read lumens they just know if it's fu%$ing bright or not... To tell you the truth, I received the light one morning and immediately try it with some AA that was in a remote control for ages (I was not using AAs anymore except in some of them...). The light was unimpressive... I thought I had received back my Inova X5 which was not what I was expecting. In the afternoon I had the time to go buy some new alkaline and then there was light...

On top is the L1D CE beam and under is the T1:

It's 2 different pictures. As you can see the T1 beam is more " compact". Those shots were taken +/- 7m or 22 feet away from the wall...

Here's the "9 lumens" beam:

Here's the "40 lumens" beam:

And finally, here's the "80 lumens" beam:

I'm also no Morse specialist but had the impression that trying to read SOS I would fall asleep before the end of the "O"...

Concerning the strobe function, It's not fun but it doesn't bother me that much...

The construction and the button doesn't look as solid as my T1 which is a reference for me. But that could be proved wrong with some use...

Overall, I'm really happy with this light so far... It's impressive to see such a small package push out so bright with AA batteries. I personally think that it make a great EDC as a pure light but it's less useful than a T1 or an ED2 if you're looking for something to hammer a face...

Best regards,

Rod

Little update on the review after 3 months... I'm still really happy with the light as an EDC light... But...

I had some issues with the light oscillating when I turned it on. I believe it's due to some instability in the processor taking care of the power variation. It's not regular but happens...

Tonight, I turned it on to show it to some friend, it worked right. I used the strobe, it worked right. And when I tried to use it again, it would not!

I thought it was the battery as I had used it quite extensively the night before.

I changed it but the lamp was still dead...

I unscrewed it to see if their were any burn marks but nothing special.

I fixed everything and play with the clicky. After some time, it started working again and has been so far...

Anyway for a tactical use, I cannot recommend a model with that kind of failure. I NEVER experienced something like this from my Inova.

Best regards,

Rod

Further update :

As mentioned before, my Fenix L1DCE was left in a drawer for some days for the following reasons :

I hated the reverse click

The fact that the button was unreliable turned me away

Nonetheless Fenix seems to be willing to improve their products :

They came out with a conversion kit to make the revers click a forward one on most of their models :

https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_40&products_id=465

For $9 it’s really a must…

I also ordered some Deoxit a product they were selling that’s supposed to improve your light connections:

https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=25_62&products_id=276

 
$8 was also a steal...

I quickly got the package.

First, the conversion kit is placed in 10 seconds. The button sticks out more so you cannot use the light as a candle anymore. I personally have the impression that this one is more solid and supple than the old one.

I then used a drop of Deoxit and one of Deoxit Gold to clean the thread with a Q-tip…

End result, I have a little now that fulfills my need even more than when it was brand new.

I prefer the ergonomics of the new button and it even make the lamp work better in my opinion.

Best regards,

Rodolphe

PS: Take note that even if the 2 tubes are really small, they can be used a lot of times…