An unexpected model for Fenix. Adhering to an extremely orthodox approach (only cold light, the simplest control, no triple-quadripples there), the manufacturer produced an uncharacteristic model for itself, with neutral light and unusual optics.
Specification
* Cree XP-L HI neutral white LED with a lifespan of 50,000 hours; max 700 lumens
*Automobile optical lens coating process
*Two ways of avoiding accidental activation
*Magnetic tail
*Low-voltage warning function
*Compatible with 16340 Li-ion and CR123A Lithium battery
*Stainless steel side switch for one-switch control
*Digitally regulated output maintains constant brightness
*Overheat protection against high surface temperature
*Reverse polarity protection to protect from improper battery insertion
*Made of durable high-strength and oxidation-resistance aluminum
*Premium type HAIII hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish
◎ 51mm Length x 21.1mm Head x 19.8mm Body
◎ 21g (excluding battery)
By the way, another similar novelty came out — Fenix E16R. Alas, it seems that there is no neutral light — all for the sake of a marketing race of numbers in a turbo. Bullied, the right word.
Packaging and appearance
The packaging is quite good and presentable from a gift position. A black-and-yellow box with a front “cover” planted on a magnet, which, when opened, makes it possible to examine the flashlight itself in detail. On the reverse side, the bulk of the specifications + schedule. The latter, by the way, is the main achievement of Fenix in the field of customer focus over the past couple of years. And it correlates pretty well with what I’ve seen in my tests all this time, so you can believe it.
And if for the time being there was no reason to complain — from the standpoint of design, printing and general presentation, the packaging was devoid of flaws, then the equipment was frankly surprised by the lack of a battery. Sometimes in such situations, they simply manage with a CR132 battery, they seem to have saved it, and you can use it right out of the box. This is not here either. On the one hand, it’s good — for sure, adding a branded can would increase the price tag. And for this difference, you can buy a couple of well-proven Soshine cans (two and a half to three bucks for each), usually I use just a couple for one such flashlight — one acc is in the carcass, the other is in reserve.
On the other hand, for almost forty bucks they could have reported the battery, this is real disgusting. In the purchase for the manufacturer, the price of a penny is for him, if the mentioned Soshine banks go for such an insignificant price tag, then tear the retail price for them with a full set … Be that as it may, once again: there is no account, but due to this you can buy a couple of good ordinary acc.
Directly, this lack of packaging only hits those who take this flashlight as a gift offline, when they have to fork out for acces, which usually cost more than reasonable in such a situation.
The rest of the equipment is simple: the flashlight itself, a lanyard, a ring for attaching to keys, instructions, a guarantee.
The flashlight itself looks good. More precisely, even so, in profile it’s just not bad, there are no special design frills here, but in full face it is damn beautiful due to unusual optics (more on that later).
The sizes are tiny. Of course, I wouldn’t carry it on keys, after all, they don’t have a 2cm diameter for this (this is without a clip), but otherwise it is really extremely compact thanks to 16340 power. See for yourself. On the left is my old companion, an AA flashlight, which I can’t change to something else because of the abundance of different new models that fall into my hands. But, I can say that its modest 300 lumens of maximum brightness is enough for me in all everyday situations. So the E16 with its exhaust is far ahead of this larger model.
The tail is flat, with a fairly tenacious magnet.
The spring on the tail is just like some adult model, unexpectedly thick. Here, by the way, I note that there is no tailcap as such, the head is twisted here, and the remaining “glass” of the body is a separate part. From the standpoint of the convenience of twisting, this is good, it is more convenient to turn the head here than a small tail of this kind of flashlights. When twisting, the clip does not cling to the head. Well, if I already mentioned the clip, that one is double-sided, if you wish, you can stick it on the cap. In the pictures below it will be seen in more visual angles.
From the side of the head there is no spring, which is expected, there is a contact pad.
Rectangular threads are neat, normally lubricated, the lathe is good (it would be surprising to expect a clumsily machined body from a phoenix). As I wrote at the beginning of the review, the carcass does not demonstrate any design frills, the rows of fine knurling are quite tenacious, but nothing more, I have seen more beautiful ones.
All embellishments are concentrated in the head. Here is the name of the model, and a beautiful, probably brass button, and chic-looking optics. Cooling fins are tiny, for heat dissipation in a turbo it’s a dead poultice. But they are quite commensurate with the overall dimensions of the flashlight. At least the high is stabilized here, it’s quite possible that these decorative-looking grooves played some role in this.
The button protrudes from the case by about half a millimeter, which is generally not inconvenient when searching blindly. The course is adequate to the size of the flashlight deep, with a click. In addition to double-click locking (see controls), Phoenix claims that you can physically lock the button by placing a clip over it. And I argue that this is impractical, by clicking on the clip you can press the button without significant effort. Sucked from the finger of a marketing ploy for greater beauty. Be that as it may, I can say that the 2-click lock implemented here is quite convenient and reliable from the standpoint of accidental activation, so there is no problem.
The optics here look amazing, nothing else. Well, of course, it is delightful for someone who can see the beauty in it, I admit that for most people there will be nothing interesting here. Anyway, from a functional point of view, it makes sense — Fenix claims that the thickness of the lens here is only 3mm. There are TIR optics and thinner, but there is a different nature of the light distribution, purely flooded, it immediately turned out to give a good combination of side flooding and somehow, but a visible hotspot (the more long-range HI version of the XP-L LED quite possibly played a role here) . In general, everything turned out with optics, I liked it.
The head is non-separable, the bezel ring here is not only almost a millimeter wide, but also chamfered.
Actually, as for the appearance, everything is fine. The thing is quite pleasing to both the eye and the hand, quite a gift. The only cant is the lack of a complete acc. But again, this is important for someone, it’s a joy for someone, as it will save the cost of at least a couple of ordinary accs in price (on Ali, a package with a pair of spare branded accs costs 15 bucks more, not weak, right?).
Control
Quite normal for this type of flashlight. The only obvious minus for me is that there is no bookmark in LOW from the off mode, but it would be elementary to implement it according to the generally accepted hold from OFF. There are no bookmarks for TURBO, but personally I don’t need it, I’ll rewind 4 modes quickly. As I wrote above, locking with a clip is doubtful, but there is enough locking with a button, since it is sane here.
Flashlight at work
It would be interesting to know the backstory of how Fenix became generous with normal neutral light, which they avoid in every possible way. Be that as it may, it exists and it cannot but rejoice. For maximum clarity, I took the most popular flashlight on the market (I’ll be surprised if it’s not) Convoy S2 + on cold XML from a distance of about 5 meters. The difference is clear. The subject is much nicer in color temperature, his hotspot is definitely narrower than that of the convoy.
These two photos above were taken in the maximum modes for both flashlights. Of course, they shine brighter, I tidied up the aperture to avoid overexposure in the frame. And here, if such a crumb has such a small size, the most important parameter for assessing real use is the thermoregulation / stabilization pair. Well, what can I say, there is no surprise, the flashlight in the turbo heats up and thermoregulation resets the brightness. Cooling has no effect, the brightness is too high for such a carcass. But, in general, about a minute with a little good brightness can be expected. Well, then the brightness will gradually slide down to a quite decent level of about 200 lumens. All in all, I wouldn’t use it. There is no obvious visual difference with a separately rendered High, and the difference in the duration of work is actually two times.
Of course, it makes no sense to set this drop in brightness to minus the flashlight, turbo is turbo, it, like a forced mode, implies a drop in brightness after a while.
High is quite good in terms of stabilization and duration.
For a flashlight of such dimensions, everything is completely expected and sane.
Well, what about the light live? Here it’s worth starting with a reminder that the main patrimony of this size is just a foot-garage-garden light. And here it is, a distance of 15-20 meters that way, Turbo illuminates everything perfectly, and high as a full-fledged main mode is quite consistent.
In a closed (well, in the case of this garage conditionally closed) room, the flashlight is quite good and at a greater distance, here is half a hundred meters.
I think that these two examples are enough to understand what the flashlight is capable of. Despite its small size, its fully-fledged stabilized high mode is quite capable even at an unimpressive 150 lumens.
Well, the video version of the review.
General impressions
From the standpoint of a 16340 flashlight, the Fenix E16 is not bad — it is compact, good in terms of brightness-range ratio and color temperature. From the standpoint of the fact that this is a Fenix flashlight, it is even better, because flashlights of this kind are clearly not a trump card of the manufacturer, which makes a great camping light in the CL line and good headbands, but in other models it demonstrates stubborn obstinacy and orthodoxy.
On the functional side, I have only a couple of minor comments, which I will list below.
The price tag of 35 bucks may confuse readers who are far from flashlight building, but I note that this is a completely normal price tag for branded flashlights of this type. It is clear that for most readers 16340 a flashlight, and even for 35 bucks, did not stick at all, there is a specific target audience. You can consider this review simply as an informative reading.
+ brightness
+ neutral light
+ good light distribution
+ management
+ appearance
+ stability and run time
+ you should expect good quality, after all, a phoenix.
— no ultralow
— no direct access to low
Where to buy and how to save
You can buy Fenix E16 on Ebay or Aliexpress
You can save on purchases with coupons and promotional codes from the discount channel in telegram, see the link to it below in the block «about the author»