The 5th generation of the Fenix E35 flashlight has everything that u`d expect from top EDC model: a bright LED, a capacious 21700 battery and fast type-C charging. I like and welcome all this, but there is alo something that i definitely dont like. What is it?
SPECS
- Brightness and throw 3100lum and 260m\15103cd
- LED LUMINUS SST-70
- Power supply: 1 Li-ion battery 21700 Li-ion (Fenix ARB-L21-5000 V2.0 included)
- USB-C built-in charging
- Side button with built-in charge indicator
- Magnet in the tail
- Ultra-thin TIR lens(well, dont think so)
- Reverse polarity protection
- Durable A6061-T6 aluminum
- HAIII premium hard anti-abrasive anodizing.
- Dimensions and weight: 120 x 24.8 x 26.5mm\4.72’’ x 1.04’’ x 0.98’’ and 148g \ 5.22oz with battery
Package and appearance
S\N of my flashlight is 14. One of the very 1st in batch, so it was sent me so early that Fenix didn`t even got package to put it in.
So I use a photo from the product page as an illustration. Buyer gets a standard premium looking black and yellow plastic box that contains everything you need: the flashlight itself with a 21700 battery inside, type-c cable, lanyard, o-rings, manual and warranty card. Someone might say that it would be nice to get a holster as well, but I think that your pocket is the most used holster for EDC flashlight.
Fenix E35R is just 2mm longer then the previous model. That is minor difference as well as other ones pic. The only real difference for me is built-in charge.
The size of Fenix E35R is quite usual for a 21700 powered flashlight. 12 cm length means that this flashlight is quite comfortable for both your pocket and your hand.
The appearance remained unchanged. Yeah, you see that this is a brand flashlight, but E35R has nothing especial in design unlike, well Fenix TK35UE v2 - this model really stands aside from the row of other flashlights. Fenix E35R is just a good looking workhorse. And for the masses of people, for Fenix target audience this will be more than enough. Ah, i really think that matte anodizing gives any flashlight a more expensive look.
I`ve got a photo that illustrate evolution of E35 model line. It is not really good quality, but gives you an overall idea. E35R is the one at the right end.
Magnet in the tail of the flashlight easily holds it horizontally with a battery inside.
The clip is not tight, so you can remove and put back it without scratching anodizing. Not that I was embarrassed that the clip is one-sided, but is it difficult to machine an additional seat for the clip near the head?
The flashlight has a comfortable grip, but the knurling is very smooth and not tenacious at all. Two-sided clip would help here, actually. Or adding a little bit to tail diameter to form sort of saddle.
As i expected, there is just only one spring at the tail cap.
Machining is perfect as usually for Fenix, threads are well lubricated.
The head is almost the same diameter as the rest of flashlight body. There is no cooling ribs here, but that is not a problem at all as an EDC flashlight they are nothing but a decoration
To make full-fledged cooling fins, you need a head of completely different size. Like this monster, for example. Although, okay, this is still an extreme)
The button is flat and small. But it is easy to find due to the fact that it is located on top of a flat area. There is the usual red-green charging indicator. I also I like the color of the button and bezel, a good design decision.
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There is a type-C charging port on the opposite side of the head. The previous, third generation Fenix E35 v3 was released in 2020 and didnt have built-in charging port. A strange decision, of course. Fenix is very reluctant to implement all the technical innovations, but they already had models with built-in type-c charging already in 2019 models.
The rubber plug of this charging port closes tightly and opens easily. Everything is perfect here.
Finally, the flashlight released in 2023 has a built-in charging port. Wow, better late than never. It takes 3 hours to fully charge 5000mah 21700 battery from the kit.
The bezel is flat, with the same “looks like brass” coating as the button. Below it is a TIR lens. The manufacturer claims that it is ultra-thin lens, but judging by what I see, this is the most common TIR. Marketing is marketing…
I admint that Fenix produced a flashlight with really thin TIR lens - Fenix E16. One of the few Fenix flashlights that I would have been willing to keep in my pocket at the time of its release. A supremely beautiful flashlight and lens.
The LED remained unchanged, it was the same as in the previous version of E35 - Luminus SST70
**UI
Fenix flashlights are reliable. I mean they are really durable. Fenix flashlights are easy to use. They can be used immediately without even opening the manual. But the flip side of this simplicity is the absence of everything that makes using a flashlight convenient.
Most of Fenix flashlight doesnt have instant access to turbo and none of them have have instant access to firefly mode (actually, there is no firefly mode at all). I dont think im too picky when I prefer not to get blinded when turn flashlight on at night. Lots of people are as well, im sure. But this time there is a sort of solution. When you unlock Fenix E35R, it turns on in Low mode! Great! 30lums is still not a really dim mode, but, well, that is really blinding light.
Oh, how great it would be if Fenix flashlight could switch between 2 UI: the simplest for ordinary users and little bit mode advanced for users with experience. I`ve already seen different UI in lots of other flashlights, so that is definetely not a rocket science.
Now everything is as usual
Long press OFF-ON
1 click - switching brightness in ascending order
2 clicks (times) lock
Hold from ON - turbo
HOW FENIX E35R ILLUMINATES
The days when you could expect neutral light from Fenix are long gone. Now there is no options - and light of Fenix E35R is cold white , around ~5900K.
Luminus SST70 is the LED with high brightness and good range. But it has one problem - it has green tint in lower modes. So is here, but at acceptable level. Initially i didnt even noticed this green tint. And only when I tested E35R with Opple, i`ve seen that.
However, as in the case of simple UI, the average user will not notice this greenery at all - he simply does not know what happens. I tested it personally on friends - they didnt realize that there was something wrong with the light.
The flashlight reacts quite sensitively to cooling and in the presence of wind it will step down only to the level of 50% of the maximum, and this is even higher than the High level itself! Great. A small saw of active thermal control is visible, but it is totally acceptable, these are not crazy swings of 30-40% brightness like those that finally repelled me from having any interest in Klarus flashlights (there was also problems with abovementioned green tint at the same time btw).
Flashlight will sustain maximum brightness for arount half a minute, which is not bad for a flashlight body of this size. In general, you will have about a minute of good brightness here. To be honest, I didnt expect that Fenix will handle brigntess stabilization and active thermal refulation that good. The last is a real challenge.
1000lum High is the standard for a short Turbo like 5-7 years ago. Now you will have 2 hours at such a level, which is more than enough for an evening walk both both in runtime and in brightness.
350lum Mid - excellent running light. And you have enough of it for the whole night.
What about light - wide and dim sidelight, wide and bright hotpot
as you can see, chances are low that will ned to climb abopve even Mid mode in ordinary needs.
what about throw, i confirm that Fenix E35R will enable you to illuminate things at 200m. That is really good for EDC flashlight. In turbo mode, of course.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
E35R is a new Fenix flashlight, but i believe it will be a successfull one - it has everything for it. Fenix E35R has an impressive brightness, ~3000lum is enough for your eyes for all any everyday purposes. In terms of runtime, too. And this is a normally stabilized brightness with normal (I was pretty surprised ) active thermal control.
The light itself is really close to a classic cold white one, with almost invisible green tint. The flashlight sensitively reacts on cooling and let you use a brightness level which is even higher than the High mode. There is a capacious 21700 battery, type-c charging and a magnet at the end - everything meets modern standards
In short, this is a top EDC flashlight by Fenix standards. So why do I find it unsuitable for me?
Fenix E35R, like almost any Fenix flashlight, is exactly the flashlight that would give to my dad. He has repeatedly said that he does not care about color temperature, tints and user interface flexibility with instant access to minimum and maximum brightness, lock mode etc.
He needs a flashlight which is bright, reliable and easy to use. With fast and standart built-in charge as well. That’s it, no more requirements. Fenix produced, produces and will produce flashlights for thousands of ordinary users like my father. Flashlight that will serve faithfully for many years. Major dealer wrote me once that Fenix has a very low defect rate and I totally believe it. Fenix CL25R is my very first brand flashlight - and it has been in service for almost 10 years. Withstood the rain, and frost, and falls. Neither i had any problems with or heard complaints about several dozens of Fenix flashlights that i reviewed and then sold.
But the user interface of Fenix is the main problem for me. Someone considers it simple and convenient - for me it is primitive. I described all the details above in the “user interface” section. Though, i must notice that Fenix finally did a step forward and added sort of instant Low (but didn`t go far enough to add so useful really low mode). And it is exactly because of user interface that I find almost any Fenix flashlight unsuitable for me. There are exceptions, of course are minor. HP30R v2, TK32UE v2
But is it bad that Fenix flashlights fit my dad and don’t fit me? No, that’s good - let everyone get what suits him best. Someone is buying low-profile high-speed tires, and someone is looking at a new winch for an SUV. There are SMDM, NMOBHM and TNBM - each has it`s audience.
If you are just an ordinary user with a tight wallet, then, no doubts, Fenix E35R will please you. It has everything for this.
If you long time BLD member who know what “Anduril based direct drived quadripple of dedomed HiCRI LEDs” stands for, then it is likely you prefer something else, and you already know it. I stated the reason above.