Fenix E40
Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★★★
Summary:
| Battery: | 4x AA (NiMH Recommended) |
| Switch: | Dual tailcap switch (Momentary on) |
| Modes: | 3+: Low, Medium, High + Hidden Strobe |
| Memory: | Yes |
| LED Type: | 1 x XP-E2 (Cool, Pure White) |
| Lens: | AR coated glass |
| Reflector: | Aluminum (Smooth) |
| Tailstands: | No |
| Price: | $46.52 Shipped |
| Provided by: | TinyDeal |
| Product Link: | http://www.tinydeal.com/fenix-e40-220-lumen-waterproof-flashlight-px2aqv8-p-67780.html |
Pros:
Annodization is flawless
Color match between the polymer battery tube and aluminum head is good.
Perfect pure white tint in the upgraded XP-E2 emitter.
AR Lens and a flawless reflector
Square, lubed polymer threads are smoother than some aluminum threads.
Instantaneous mode memory
Well designed battery holder
No visible/audible PWM
Cons:
Noticeable Rattle in large tailcap switch
Multiple coronas in beam
The UI:
The larger tailcap clicky switch allows for momentary on with a half press (no click) and constant on with a full press (click).
The smaller switch controls mode changing from Low to medium to high. Press and hold for 1 second to enter strobe mode which consists of a repeating fast strobe for 2 seconds then medium strobe for 2 seconds.
Runtime Test:
Fairly straightforward test. I have the light indoors with little air movement (air conditioned test area). Measured the output and the temperature over the course of about 3 hours.
Ambient temp: 76*F
4x Eneloop Pro (Rested 1.36v)
Cells measured .93v at the end of the test.
Quite a nice driver in the E40. There is about a 5% overall output drop over the first ~170minutes due mostly to thermal sag.
Pictures:
The E40 arrived in the normal padded envelope. Inside the envelope was the flashlight in retail packaging.
Included in the packaging was a nice lanyard, replacement tailcap boot, an extra O-ring, and the E40 manual.
You'll notice a superb finish throughout the flashlight. I could find no faults even during my fine-tooth-comb inspection. No sharp edges. No machining marks, scratches, chips or defects under the anno. Really well done.
The only thing I could pick out was perhaps a slightly shinier finish to the polymer battery tube compared to the finish on the aluminum head.
Very impressed by these threads. I was a bit worried it might have the issues the starry light AA light has, but thankfully it does not. The square, lubed threads are perfectly molded and thread into the head better than a LOT of the aluminum threads I've handled. No issues with play or seating here. The O-ring is spot on as well.
The battery holder is very well made. Raised thicker contact areas should prove much longer lasting than the budget version (like the SRK). The batteries are lightly snapped in place. The holder has a groove on one side that makes it so the holder can only be inserted in the battery tube the correct way. The switches are integrated into the battery carrier.
Here's a look at the switch caps.
Mini Breakdown of the head:
The underside is what I thought to be just a contact plate...
... but it is actually a bit more than that. It's a really odd design choice. As far as I can tell the only real thermal management from the emitter is a thin layer of metal (the gold part) on top of the pcb contact plate.
This is what the pcb/emitter deal is screwed onto. A 3mm thick contact plate with some thermal paste between the two surfaces.
Here's the AR lens, pink hue.
Perfectly centered XP-E2.
Beamshots:
Here you can see the multiple coronas. If you look very close you can see the spill outside of the Hotspot and double corona. In order to show what the multiple coronas looks like in person I had to drop the exposure way down which essentially eliminated the spill, but in person the actual beam has a rather large spill. Note that this double corona is really only noticeable while white wall hunting within ~7 feet.
E40 at 50 yards. Low - Medium - High
Solarforce L2i (3AAA), Fenix E40, Mini-A60, Tangsfire C8, Jacob A60.
Here I wanted to show similar emitters. XP-E2 is a bit of a rarity in my collection, but I do have several XR-E lights. I included the XML2 C8 in order to show a really common light. It's definitely not a fair comparison considering the XML2 is being driven at about 4amps by an 18650 cell.
You can see the E40 has a wider beam compared to the very throwy A60, which I have a love/hate feeling about. The Jacob A60 is really cool for an inexpensive super throwy light, but the beam is really unusable imo. I have to use a wider light to see exactly what the A60 is aiming at.
Conclusion:
The Fenix E40 uses an XP-E2 and has a fairly throwy beam, but the hotspot is big enough that it is very usable. I've taken it out into the fields and backyard for the last few days. Its peak usable distance is roughly in the 75-100 yard area. It does a very good job of illuminating a wide enough area in my backyard (80 yards) that I can keep track of the dog's movements no matter where they go, and I can rapidly find them if I happen to get distracted for a bit.
It does everything I look for in a light of this size with the added bonus of using very common, easily sourced AA cells. High quality and great performer, 5 out of 5.
as far as the modding would go… I’m not a creative person I can’t begin to come up with a way to swap in an XM-L, but an XP-G2 would be easy as pie.
