Fenix 205 Lumen LED Flashlight

The Fenix LD20 LED flashlight is digitally regulated and digitally controlled. It has two output modes which produce a total of six levels of output. These modes not only allow the user to select the best compromise between brightness and runtime for any given task, but they also help to aid in an emergency. The LD20 does all this and still retains a very compact size and uses a commonly found AA battery. If you're looking for solid reliability, digitally-regulated brightness, and compact size, this Fenix is for you. ◎ Cree XP-G LED (R4) with lifespan of 50,000 hours ◎ Two modes (6 types) of output, generation/turbo selected by turning the bezel (patented) - General Mode: 9 lumens (71hrs) -> 50 lumens (13hrs) 105 lumens (5hrs) -> SOS ◎ Turbo Mode: 205 lumens (2hrs) -> Strobe ◎ Max beam length：135 meters ◎ Digitally regulated output - maintains constant brightness ◎ Uses two 1.5V AA ( Alkaline, Ni-MH, Lithium ) batteries, inexpensive and widely available ◎ 150mm (Length) x 21.5mm (Diameter) ◎ Made of durable aircraft-grade aluminum ◎ Premium Type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish ◎ 60-gram weight (excluding batteries) ◎ Waterproof to IPX-8 Standard ◎ Toughened ultra-clear glass lens with anti-reflective coating ◎ Push-button tail cap switch ◎ Capable of standing up securely on a flat surface to serve as a candle ◎ Anti-roll, slip-resistant body design ◎ Included accessories: holster, lanyard, body clip, two spare o-rings, and a rubber switch boot

Owner Reviews, Ratings, Comments and Criticism
This version of the Fenix LD20 uses the new Cree XP-G LED (R4), which produces more light for the same amount of energy. Thus, it's essentially the same as the standard LD20, but brighter at all light levels. The flashlight comes with a belt clip, lanyard, and a really nice tactical belt pouch. The design of the flashlight body has a very "industrial" feel, and is slimmer than the pictures suggest. The narrowest part of the body is only slightly wider than the AA batteries it uses, and flares out at the cap and tail. Personally I find the design unique and attractive, and it fits very nicely in the hand. The machining is top-notch and highly detailed, and has a very high-quality feel to it. The coating is an attractive satin black, and seems very durable (my Fenix daily-carry light (a single-AAA L0D) has been in my pocket for nearly two years and still has no scratches). The lens material is very hard and is seated very securely. The lens bezel has a five notch scallop, so the flashlight stands securely on the bezel, but the rear cap has a two notch configuration surrounding the button for lanyard attachment. This means that although you can stand the light on its base for "candle" type operation, it's not very stable in that position. I personally never use my flashlights like that, but if you do, you'll have to be very careful to get it to stand by itself. The basic operation of the flashlight involves two controls, the button on the rear cap, and the screw bezel. The light turns on and off using a full click of the button, with "soft clicks" of the button cycling through the light modes. To switch between the "normal" and "turbo" mode sets, you twist the top bezel slightly. The rotation between the turbo and normal modes is only ~1/8 turn, which was much less than I expected. Although you'll probably leave it on the normal modes most of the time, the cap is only slightly unseated from the fully screwed-on position, and I feel confident it won't compromise the watertight integrity of the light. The controls are intuitive once you've used it for a few minutes, and frankly I prefer using buttons rather than twist controls. Interestingly, if you unscrew the top bezel, it opens into the top end of the battery compartment, so I suppose you could load batteries from either end. This means that the entire top bezel, containing the LED and all of the electronics, is a single, sealed module, which really seems like a great design. The light output of this flashlight is quite impressive. The Low setting (9 lumens) is more than sufficient for a lot of personal use and all indoors use, and has a ridiculous 71 hour runtime. Another reviewer mentioned that they thought the Low and Medium settings looked the same, and when used indoors, the 50-lumen Medium setting does look about as bright as the Low setting. However, when used outdoors, the Medium setting is clearly brighter and has a much longer throw than Low. The 105-lumen High setting is quite bright for a handheld light. I found it illuminated objects a good hundred meters away, and is really more light than I need in most situations. The 205-lumen Turbo mode is like having a small star in your hands. The illumination and throw is just amazing; it fully lit the ~3 acre area I was using to test the light, and the reflection was somewhat painful when aimed at nearby objects. The light does warm up on Turbo, but that's not surprising, given the amount of power it's using. Overall I found it highly satisfying to be able to choose between a high level of battery conservation or a high level of light, with the four primary modes nicely covering all possible situations I could think of. Personally, I'm not sold on the two flashing modes (SOS and Strobe); I don't really have a use for the flashing modes and I found it slightly annoying to have to switch past them, but I'm sure that if I ever got lost in the woods I'd appreciate them. The beam pattern is unique to the lights I have, and I really like it. The center "spot" is larger than my other lights, and has a very uniform distribution. There's a slightly dimmer spot in the very center, but it's only visible on a white wall. The larger center spot makes the light much more useful than a narrow-beam spot, while still having a long throw. Overall, this is a phenomenal flashlight and I'd highly recommend it. The sheer quality of the light is visible in every detail, and it's a pleasure to use. The decision between the standard LD20 and this 205-lumen model is up to you, but I feel it's worth the small premium for the additional light efficiency.