Took some pictures of my Fenix L0D that have been living on my keychain for the past 33 months. It's still going strong and still looks quite good despite some small dings. The biggest problem is the hole for the keyring, the wear of time has made it so big that I'm afraid I'm going to loose the light when it finally breaks. So the light might have to retire from the keychain. Such a shame, now I have to buy a new one. ;)
The last picture shows how big the hole have become. Such a shame, I really like this light. Even works great on 10440 lithium battery. I'm going to miss the bugger when I finally replace it.
I'm not sure how the tail looks, but I'd try drilling a new hole and keep it on the keychain. If that's not possible I'd still keep it on there until it breaks. :)
Oh who am I kidding? I never would have left it on there for 33 months. I'd have foolishly replaced it with the next hot thing after 6 months. That is a classic and its served its purpose well. I love good tools.
That's the best solution for people with a keychain light made of aluminum because, compared to other metals, aluminum is considered "soft" by mechanical engineers. and yes, if you (OP) continue to wear the Fenix this way, the hole will break through. Just twist the split ring (torque, torsion) against the hole and ..etc..
While it's the best solution and many people do and like this solution, i dont like it. I dont like cords hanging around my keychain, it's a matter of taste and opinion. You pay good money and get high quality LED light, so it should no show signs of wear and tear like a cheapo Maglite Solitaire or similar. It's a shame.
Another solution is you take 2 split rings: a very small one for the direct hole contact (Fenix), and another standard-sized one where you gather you keys. (But even this would wear out the hole after a loong time.)
After i had exact same experience with a 100$'s expensive USB-Stick (Corsair Survivor), i'm so desilusionado that i will never let aluminum hang between my keys again. See the original iTP A3 EOS? They solved it cleverly with a proprietary keychain. And apart from that, iTP offers the A3 EOS both in stainless steel and in Titanium. (i just dont like the optical design of the A3 very much; and its light is not regulated very well.)
My keychain light is going to be a stainless steel or titanium made light or budget light, which i directly attach to the split ring where my keys sit. My bunch of keys consists of my keys, the light, and a single split ring.
i've ordered the lumintop worm SS (72mm length, 39.4 grams incl. eneloop AAA).. so let's see how it does. i might take pictures of my Corsair Survivor for you guys..
I don't think any aluminium will not wear in 33 months on a keychain, so I think it is better to be realistic and try to get solutions, but that is my opinion.
I would also prefer it to be fixed to the keychain without any cords, but it is a fact, it is worn and I don't think it will last another 33 months without doing something, the cord will last less of course, but it is just a cheap cord you can replace many times, or maybe something with steel wire with a transparent plastic cover on it would work better not looking so bad.
So, I think the best idea would had been fenix made something like what the TR X9 for example has, being SST instead of aluminium, which will not add much weight, but will last much longer:
Steve_the_Chief: Great idea, shrink tube is truly a great product.
Regarding THIS Fenix light I'm afraid I'm just going to have to let it go. The hole is just to worn down that the only thing I can do to keep it on the chain is to drill a new hole. But by doing so I don't get the opportunity to buy a new one and that ITP A3 in SS just looks so tasty. ;)
But yeah, whatever the next light will be I'm surely going to use a smaller split ring (a new word I've learnt from this thread) that goes through the hole completely. I'm convinced that if I had used a smaller one this problem wouldn't have occurred.
Regarding the anodizing of the body I'm surprised that it have survived that good, 6 months is a lot less then 33 after all. And the life on a key chain ain't a nice one.
