Which Fenix torch?

[theclaud]

Hmmmm. Useful information - thank you all. I've almost made up my mind.

Mr Paul - am I right in thinking your question was a tad facetious? Anyway, I have no intention of going near a Tesco, even if they're rolling free torches into the street at shoppers feet.

 

[theclaud]

No. Tesco do 3w led torches for less than a tenner. A few people on here rave about them.

Yes I've heard that - I thought you were mocking the predictability of my thread. Apologies. I'm going to buy a Fenix anyway. Is it pronounced like the bird that rises from the flames, or like those foxy things with big ears?

 

[MacB]

I still think you basically get what you pay for. I bought 2 Fenix L2Ds, the output was okay - but the battery duration was pants for anythign but 1 way on the commute (30-40mins). If you've not already got rechargables then also factor that into the Fenix cost so that's another 10 quid, making it, what 40x2 for the lights, a tenner for the mounts, so 100-ish ballpark total. (one of the Fenix also stopped working pretty pretty soon but perhaps I was just unlucky).

Pair of Aye-Ups runs 6hrs off one rechargable battery, mounts for 2 bikes iirc included in the kit, much less cumbersome design, so no bobbing about off-road or if mounted on bar extenders, great for bombing around country lanes and far more light than you'd need around town - 150 quid. I'd say with the battery life and design Aye-Ups are far more bang for you're buck than the Fenix.

weird I get 2 hrs on full power from my rechargeable AA's, bought from
http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/batteries/gp_rechargeable_batteries.html

when I started commuting in Jan it took me 2 hrs each way so this is well tested.

As said I'd like to put a fit and forget dynohub on the commuter but as a battery powered alternate I'm good with the Fenix. Only felt the need for one as well.

 

[Bodhbh]

weird I get 2 hrs on full power from my rechargeable AA's, bought from
http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/batteries/gp_rechargeable_batteries.html

when I started commuting in Jan it took me 2 hrs each way so this is well tested.

Well I seem to be in a minority as most owners who post seem happy with them, but I wasn't overly impressed with the ones I got. I tried initially with Duracell non-recharagables, which it flattened within 1/2hr. Okay then, so I think I posted here or Bikeradar and was advised to use recharagables - I got the 2500mAh Energizer ones iirc. So switched to them and got about 10mins more. Then one fo them packed-in altogether, which I sent back. Perhaps I got a bad batch, but they didn't seem great from my experience - then 50 quid more and you're into Aye-Up terrritory and for a fraction of the price you can make do nearly as well with Tescos lights and hoseclips.

 

[Randochap]

Bicycle lights are poorly made and provide far less light for your money in comparison to a torch.

Tell me another.

 

[andrew_s]

I also like the look of this

"This" being the Hope Vision 1.

It's a little brighter than the L2D, and has 4xAA and thus lasts almost twice as long.
The downside is that if it decides that batteries can't cope with the brightness setting you've selected, instead of going dim, it just turns itself off.
You can turn it right back on in a dimmer setting, but that's no help if the "off" was at an injudicious time, and you crashed first. On the other hand, you are less likely to knacker your batteries if you end up using a mismatched set.

P.S.
What can't people but something useful in as the link text?
For something like this, I've got to follow the link to find what's being talked about. Had it been put in as the Hope Vision 1, I'd have known what it was without following the link. A lot of the time it doesn't really matter, but some people have a knack of picking a site that's really slow to load, just because it came top of the google list (and that's assuming that it's not a page with frames, where copying what's in the address bar doesn't take you to what you should be looking at).

 

[D4VOW]

Tell me another.

You're not comparing at the same price point. For the price of the torches we are talking about you can buy a Cateye EL-530. It's made of cheap plastic and has a very poor light output in comparison. To get the same output as a torch you need to be spending a lot more money for a bike specific lighting system which also require external battery packs to power them.

 

[Randochap]

You're not comparing at the same price point. For the price of the torches we are talking about you can buy a Cateye EL-530. It's made of cheap plastic and has a very poor light output in comparison. To get the same output as a torch you need to be spending a lot more money for a bike specific lighting system which also require external battery packs to power them.

While I may not be comparing the same price point, if the price point isn't getting decent lighting then that's irrelevant.

Is there something wrong with external battery packs? Not that I use batteries at all, except for my backup lights.

 

[kyuss]

I'm with Randochap on this one. To me it's kind of like using your mobile phone as your main camera or an mp3 player as a hi-fi. They're cheap and perfectly capable for the odd occasion, but not exactly designed for the job.

A year or two ago I could understand the attraction to Fenix torches (there was nothing else came close for the money) but with the L2D costing £43 plus another £7 for the bar mount there are better options out there these days. The hope vision 1 (which also takes rechargeables) is only £20 more and will give you more light for more time (3hrs at 240 lumens vs 1.8hrs at 180 lumens) and best of all it doesn't look like you've bodged a 15cm long dildo to your bars.

I guess that's why I didn't consider them when I was looking for a decent light. I just can't imagine riding around with something so long and awkward looking attached to my bars.

 

[Llama]

for cheaper batteries and chargers than the fenix site take a look at
7dayshop.com

 

[MichaelM]

I just can't imagine riding around with something so long and awkward looking attached to my bars.

When it's dark, and the torches are running, you don't actually notice them

 

[Randochap]

When it's dark, and the torches are running, you don't actually notice them

Great endorsement for a light!

 

[Randochap]

I To me it's kind of like using your mobile phone as your main camera or an mp3 player as a hi-fi.

Excellent comparison! Except using those second-rate products won't endanger your life.

 

[Piemaster]

I bought the Fenix because I needed a replacement for the 2xAA maglite I use at work, mainly as it seemed to be going through bulbs nearly as fast as batteries. What clinched the fenix for me was that (based on info from here) with a lockblock it also made an excellent bike light.
The versatility was the key for me. The P2D will do everything I want of it, I wouldn't wan to carry a bike light around with me at work all day.

 

[RedBike]

I'm all in favour of the cheaper torches. At £20/£30 there's nothing to match them in terms of bike lights

The way LED technology is progressing things might be totally different in a years time but IMO at the moment if you want a super bright light with a run time of several hours you're still best of paying the premium for a dedicated set of bike lights.