So, here it is, probably smallest and definitely cheapest Fenix headlamp there is!
(Review sample provided by Gearbest here - use LED2015GB coupon to bring the price down by 8%)
Compared to my current favourite headlamp Xtar H3 and my EDC light Olight S15R:
Small and lightweight, love its small size and low weight, I wish there were more tiny sized headlamps like this with long runtimes and very lowm yet still usable modes.
Made out of plastic, but doesnt feel fragile, headstrap is already attached to the light out of the box.
Weight with headstrap and carrying bag is 39.1 grams, without bag 29.1 grams, bare headlamp without headstrap will be 18.7 grams.
Comes with small and quality feeling carrying pouch which is great, wouldnt want to toss this little thing into a bag or pocket without some kind of protection, despite its visibliy good build quality, its a plastic after all, also, easier to find it among other things.
User manual, warranty card and spare O-ring for battery compartment are also included with the light and carrying pouch.
Headstrap is small in regards to overall dimensions, but not small to be used on a my head, does not feel uncomfortable, can be easily adjusted neither it feels cheap.
The light itself is held to the headstrap with steel wire which hold it securely, bend it open slightly and remove the headstrap. This same steel wire/loop thing will allow you to attach this light to clothes, bags or other place. You can also keep the headstrap on and just secure the light onto things by adjusting the headband.
Plenty of positions in various angles to choose from.
(Did I really just post so many pictures of simply showing how this light can be aligned?!)
Im a bit cautious when it comes the these plastic holders and fixing mechanism on headlights, on cheap ones they tend to fail rather quickly, havent seen people complaining about that in more expensive lights though.
Uses two CR2032 batteries which should, according to Fenix, give you up to 50h on high(8lm) and 90h on low(3lm) of white and 75h of constant red(0.2lm) and 280h of flashing red light. Batteries came pre-installed with plastic spacer between them to keep the light inactive.
I dont have any rechargeable 2032 cells, but they seem to be 3.6V nominal, which means that probably two wont work with total voltage of 8.4V vs 6.xV of primary 2032 cells(Fenix confirmed – voltage will be too high).
Removing the battery cover takes some time getting used to, at first I thought that its not going to come off when using headstraps plastic end but tried to remove it with the coin and it worked! Good to know that the battery compartment has a tight seal, just dont break the headstraps end trying to force the lid to open ;)!
(Black plastic spacer in the middle)
Mode sequence is high-low-red-red flashing. Turns on and off with long press, always starts on high, no mode memory(oh, I wish it did though).
PWM is in all modes but the high one, doesnt appear to be visible when using the light, only if hunting for it with rapid flicks of light in front of the eyes or camera.
Two SMD warm white LED's and two SMD red LED's are what makes this little thing shine(white ones on the sides, red ones on top and bottom, switch in the middle, ie in the front of the light). Im more used to see small and cheap headlamps using 5mm LED's.
The beam is pure flood, no throw. High mode gives you couple of meters of usable light around you, low mode will make that even smaller, so its best to use it either in poorly lit areas in very close distance or outdoors in total darkness, say in tent or near it. Due to its size its good for reading in bed or simply reading in the dark, for me any of the modes aside from blinking one suffice.
Red mode is not bright, but as I mentioned, good for reading or some close up tasks in complete darkness at about arms length. It will illuminate farther than that, but will be too dim to make a real use of it, only slight shapes of objects will be visible, but thats to be expected with such low output.
Compared to my Klarus FL1A red LED's output they are about the same, except that Fenix claims far longer runtimes and much lower output in lumens which is 0.2lm for 75h in Fenix vs unspecified amount of red lumens for 35h in FL1A(which is AA light, btw...).
Red blinking light is more suited for hiking, walking than cycling, because it is not as bright as usually bicycle rear lights tend to be so I wouldnt rely on it when cycling.
Little off-topic - It even fits Olight's FM10 red filter that I bought for S15R, fit is near perfect, however there not enough space for the filter to grab onto so it might fall off IRL, but amount of light was pretty similar to the one from red LED's :D
The only concern that I have about this light is the fact that its front silicone diffuser acts also as a switch, thus, if used with dirty hands or just very often, it will become dirty by itself and will lower the amount of light coming from the headlamp due to dirt accumulating on diffusing cover!
Mode memory would be preferable as well as direct access into red mode.
Also I wish they made on in either black or olive drab ;)! But at least there is a choice between bright green, orange and blue ones.
While it runs on non-rechargeable batteries, they dont cost much in bulk so that should drive up the cost of using this light. However, be cautious and dispose of spent lithium batteries according to local environmental regulations, you dont want that lithium to go into landfill ;)!
Basically Ive described what I like about this light and the only concern, as I mentioned, durability of lights switch cover/diffuser combo. Its a small light, there isnt much to be said about it anyway :D!
For 13.90$(Gearbest's generic LED2015GB coupon will bring the price down by 8%) this is interesting product and one that can fit anywhere, yet maintain some usable light depending on your needs and usage patterns. Emergency bag or occasionaly lurking in the dark might be OK for this light, but dont expect it to replace your regular headlamp.
I hope you liked this review, thanks for reading and feel free to ask question about its performance ;)!
