Non budget AA flashlight: Fenix LD20. Worth it?

Hi guys

I explain the situation. One family member, is tired of the cheap chinese lights as i.e. ultrafire, trustfire, etc... because of their typical failures:

- They flicker when a "part" is not completely thightened

- When they fall into ground accidentaly from a ridiculus 30cm they stop working, sometimes forever, sometimes due to parts loosened due to the impact

- They have bad specifications.... i.e. 14500 support when they only support AA, "inflated" lumen output...

- Switch problems, etc...

- etc... (all of us know)

So, we are planning to spend well the money and buy a Fenix LD20 with R5 (yes, a high quality Chinese flashlight with very good desing and QC controls)

The million dollar/euro question: it will worth the money? (49,90$ free shipping)

It will not have the common problems of the cheap chinese flashlights mentioned above?

Thanks guys!

I think it's worth it. I bought an l2d years ago and I am still using it at work while most work colleges who followed suit in form of cheaper ultrafire c3's had to replace them many times. In a long run you will have more fun with it and it might even pay for itself depending how harsh the usage. I dropped it many times and it never missed a beat. Do it :)

Yes Its worth it. I love mine it has taken multiple falls and it is my EDC.

Thanks!

Important question guys: why the R4 version declares 205 lumens in turbo mode while the R5 version declares only 180 in the same mode?¿?¿??¿¿?

I can only imagine they started giving ANSI specifications

I also reading some where there was a problem with the R4. I don't remember where I read it I might of been on CP

Well, if I am not wrong, the R4 is no longer manufactured... only available is it remains as "old stock still not sold".

Only R5 is being manufactured.... or not?

I don't know of many manufacturer's using R4 bin XPG's. If the demand ist still big enough cree might still make them but don't quote me on that.

I have the R4 version for almost 2 years. It's been dead reliable..

And I imagine its 180/205 ANSI lumens are a lot more than the 220 typical declared lumens of the "romisen/trustfire/ultrafire" cheapo lights... or not?

Any can tell me if the Fenix with 2xnimh produces the same or more light than... let´s say a TrustFire F20 Q5 with 14500??¿¿? or I am dreaming???

While the declared lumens with many cheap lights are inaccurate and often way above the actual output you shouldn't expect the Ld20 to be much brighter than an ultrafire c3. Expect regulation, better heat management, runtime and reliability. The LD20 might be a little brighter but in doing so it's also much more efficient. Check selfbuilt

I have two of them. They are great lights. It will be up to you if it is worth it. You probably can find a light that is as reliable and costs less but the quality of the fenix is great.

Excellent price for LD20 :D ~10 bucks lower than normal :P

And looks like you need 2xAA light. Have you tried Brian's (SB) Romisens? Or why not Xeno E03 with R5? Excellent regulation, bullet proof and with 14500 it rocks :bigsmile: (under $30, shipping incl.)

I have one, Im very happy with it.

Also check out its Quark competitor too...

Sashix: I know the xeno e03... but... I want a "solid" flashlight (I beleive that Fenix is more solid than the Xeno) and the flashlight must be more "throwy" than the xeno e03 (xm-l vs xp-g)

But still... I am not decided in

EDIT: upss you wrote the xeno with R5... I was thinking in the xeno with xm-l

Thanks... I didnt realized that there was a xeno e03 with R5,,,

Does somebody own the LD20 and the E21 ? Is the LD20 worth the additional 20 bucks, when you don't need the additional low mode?

I own a L2D older version of ld20. Couple of my colleagues have it 2 all for few years now. Some lost the light because of misplacing it n none thru failure.I m one of them n all of us replace it with a second piece. Lucky few who didnt misplace has been using it regularly til now.I like the quality n reliability.its worth the $. Believe the newer version should match this, if not, better. Will b getting a fenix tk35 for Christmas

@Vectrex, IMO the LD20 is much more worth than the E21. Is thinner, shorter, it has better looking, is more robust, it has a clip, and 6 modes instead of 2.

In my experience, one thing you're paying for when you get a Fenix is QC. I have exceptional *fire lights that are better value than my name brand flashlights, but I also have *fire lights that turned out to be crap. Every Fenix light I've owned to date performed as expected.

I am still much more likely to grab some budget light. My Fenix (and other name brand) lights serve as backups when my primary light fails, which just isn't all that often these days. So, for me personally, it's not really worth as I already have a bunch of reliable lights I can use in a pinch. Given the scenario you describe, it very well might be.

Fenix makes an excellent product. These have been trouble free so far.