Fenix L2D Q5 (textured reflector) pic heavy

3

3wolves

Joined
Dec 28, 2007
Messages
1,061
Hi guys,

I ordered a fenix L2D Q5 from lighthound a while ago and I've had it for a couple days now. (lighthound was awsome BTW, my order arrived a week before I expected it:thumbup:). Mine is the OD green finish and I got the textured reflector. It takes two AA batteries which are widely avaliable and cheap. You can purchase a shorter body tube to make the light half it's size. It has 6 output modes for maximum versatility. It is waterproof to IPX-8 standards (I have no Idea what that means) and has a clicky switch on the tail.





Initial impressions



It's very light and compact, I can carry it in my pocket very comfortably. The fit and finish is top notch, even the inside of the barell and the threads are clean and lubricated. The lettering is actually engraved, not just painted on like most stuff. The switch cover is made of a thick durable rubber material which should hold up well, I hate when the button tears a hole through cheaper ones. A holster, lanyard, spare switch cover and 2 spare o-rings are included in the box. I put my own lanyard on it with a glow in the dark cord end.



fenix050.jpg




fenix054.jpg




fenix095.jpg




Size comparison to a BRKT bravo-1 and Spyderco mini manix,



fenix056.jpg




Why I love orange,



fenix061.jpg




To be continued.
 
Continued,



Grip/ergonomics



The multilevel body won't let the light slip easily, it could use some knurling though. A hex shaped portion would be nice to stop the light from rolling around. The switch is uncomfortable to turn on but tapping it to change the mode is easy.



fenix062.jpg




Holster

Very plain and simple but etremely practical. It's made out of nylon and holds the light securely and has an extra wide belt loop. I might modify it to hold a SAK and the red lens filter (I use it so I don't disturb sleeping people). It's easy to carry in a pocket but I wish there was a clip.



fenix079.jpg




Output



General,



low,

12 lumens, lasts for 55 hours according to fenix, It's about the same brightness as an AA mini maglight, maybe a little more. All of the pics that follow only show the hotspot (poorly), the actuall light is waay more intense and bright. I'm just puuting them up to show the difference. BTW, the light is actually pure white, I don't know why the pics show a green tint.



fenix012.jpg




Medium,



53 lumens, last for 10.5hrs. I find this setting Ideal for a perfect balance of battery consumption and brightness.



fenix013.jpg




High,



107 lumens, lasts for 4hrs. As bright as you would ever need IMO. This mode has the farthest throw on the general setting.



fenix014.jpg




SOS,



IMO, it's a thorougly useless feature. I don't know any time I would need to signal someone with the morse code and most people wouldn't even know what it was. I guess if you were signalling an aircraft in a survival situation it might be usefull but the strobe would get someones attention waaaay faster. I would much prefer another light output.



Turbo,



turbo,



180 lumens and lasts for 2.4 hours. Extremely bright, I can light up an entire street with it. The downside is that you can only use it for 10 minutes at a time. I never really bother with it because of that.



fenix015.jpg




Strobe,



I absolutely love this feature. I'll admit, I probably won't use it all that much (exept for fun) but it can come in handy in the event of a car breakdown at night or something. It would also probably scare the crap out of an intruder at night. I tried getting peoples attention from far away with it and it worked like a charm. I don't know haw long the battery lasts with this though.



Durability

Not the toughest light on the planet but it should survive almost anything that could realistically happen to a flashlight. The anodizing is type III which is very tough and scratch resistant.



Cons


There aren't that many, the sos feature is the main one. Some hex shaped parts would be nice to prevent rolling as well. I wish the turbo mode could be used for more than 10 mins at a time but the highest setting on general is more that bright enough.



Overall


I love this light! It's hands down my favorite and I would buy another one in a heartbeat if I lost this. I'm looking at getting an E01 for my keychain as well. Definately reccomended.
 
Last edited:
The remnants of hurricane Ike knocked out my electricity for a week, and the L2D Q5 rode on my belt the entire time. I fed it with rechargeable Eneloop batteries, as I had a generator to keep the fridge, freezer and battery chargers going.

It makes a ton of light, but with its multiple levels and strobe you can get long runtime out of it if thats what you are after. I'm a big fan of Fenix lights.

:thumbup:
 
Good choice ... I also have the L2D Q5 and loving it .... awesome light !

I agree with the Eneloops but also good to keep some Lithiums for back up as you can store them for ever ... I have some which expire in 2023
 
Excellent review, I love my L2D Q5.

It looks like the good people of Fenix have been listening to your suggestions :)

Meet the LD20
fenix-ld20-001.jpg
 
I also have the L2D Q5,,,love it been my edc for over a year and never had a problem with it,,,great light,,
 
vic2367 said:
I also have the L2D Q5,,,love it been my edc for over a year and never had a problem with it,,,great light,,
Click to expand...

Nice:thumbup: I like the gray version. I have an L2D, an L1D, and the L0D for my keychain. Fenix makes a great product with excellent performance.

Powernoodle, glad yours came in handy.:)
 
glad you guys like it cuz i just bought one the other day! Hope it comes soon...

Does turbo mode turn off after ten minutes or does it get to hot to use after ten?
 
Fenix makes a great light. I like the "Olive" color better than the black, but I'm totally disappointed that they stopped the "Natural" color- by far the most elegant looking they have had.
I just can't see why in the world they wouldn't put a pocket clip on the L2 series. I would have bought one by now if they did. That being said, I've got 3 other Fenix lights and they have all been top notch. BTW 3wolves- did it come with the orange switch cover, or did you put it on yourself?
 
tjiscooler said:
glad you guys like it cuz i just bought one the other day! Hope it comes soon...

Does turbo mode turn off after ten minutes or does it get to hot to use after ten?
Click to expand...

no... it doesn't turn off but it does get warm

I have used mine on turbo for over an hour ... no problems
 
I love my L2D as well. While it's not as rugged and bulletproof as an Inova X5 or Surefire, it's the finest blackout/power outage tool I've come across.

It's been through multiple blackouts with me. This year, during the "Gap Fire" in the Goleta/ Santa Barbara area, we had intermittent blackouts for a week. In the middle of a raging Kegger with 100 + people (college student btw) the power goes off. I set the L2d on 100 lumens, let it stand up as a candle (the single best feature IMO) and the party was back on. Needless to say I was quite the hit ;-)

BTW, speaking of hits, does anyone know if the Fenix could survive being used as a SD tool? That's the only doubt I have about the thing.

Thanks,
Mark
 
I just bought one for a buddy who's backpacking around the world for the next 9 months. If that's not a test, I don't know what is!
He's standardized all his electronics to AAs, but he's leaving this week, so I couldn't get him an LD10 or LD20 like I wanted to.
I've got a P1D-CE, TK10 and a few E01s myself. Kickaxe products!
 
I also just got an LOD premium AAA and its nearly as good as my surefire 6p led! now i got 3 fenix a surefire and the biggest maglite made with a better bulb in it. I loove toys...
 
I am looking for something just like this. I own 3 Surefires and love them, but this would be a nice alternative running on AA's instead.
 
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