The previous model - Fenix E16 pretty impressed me. Fenix almost don’t release 16340 stuff. The more pleasant was the surprise, when far from being an innovative manufacturer showed a flashlight that looked so nice. E16 sincerely delighted me and I seriously thought about replacing my veteran Xtar wk41 with its 300 lumens from 1450 battery, which are not impressive now. Actually, let’s see what has changed in comparison with the previous model.
Here is the official page on the Fenix website.
you can buy Fenix E18R at
➤ ALIEXRESS
➤ AMAZON
➤ NITETORCH they generously offered 20% code HJK5KDNQ valid for all the items in store, including other brands
Specification
- Cree XP-L HI LED with a lifespan of 50,000 hours
- Max output of 750 lumens and beam distance of 136m
- 60mm Length x 21mm Head diameter x 20mm Body diameter
- 33.3 grams (excluding battery)
- Powered by one ARB-L16-700P power Li-ion battery, or CR123A Lithium battery in emergency
- ARB-L16-700P power cable Li-ion battery
- Features lockout function
- Battery level indication
- Automobile type optical lens coating process
Package and appearance
Excellent packaging quality will look decent on a shelf in the store and in the hands of the one to whom you donate this flashlight. Printing and material at a the good level as well. A big plus for the end user here will be the runtime chart on the back. It is fully correlated with reality and fenix here became the first who departed from the usual marketing “1.5 hours in the turbo” (read “2 minutes and drop to 30%).
For some strange reason, the E16 did not include a battery in the kit, in the case of the E18R there is no such problem, everything is there and you can use the flashlight immediately, of course, after charging.
So, in addition to the flashlight and battery, the package bundle includes a charging cable, lanyard, instructions, warranty card and o- rings. Completely standard set.
The design is nice. Well, in my opinion the E16 looked more attractive, but the Fenix E18R also looks quite nice. Look at the flashlight from all sides. And again, there are no special design delights in the profile, but in the full face it is damn beautiful due to the unusual optics (more on that later).
Size is tiny. Of course, I wouldn’t have to carry it on the keys, after all, 2cm doesn’t have a diameter for that (this is without a clip), but otherwise it’s really extremely compact thanks to 16340 power.
The tailcap is flat, the magnet is quite a strong one.
The spring on the tail is unexpectedly thick, and, of course, there is a contact plate at the head side, as expected.
Clip is one-sided. Here, by the way, is the differences with E16 where head was twisted and the clip was double-sided. If I don’t see any particular difference between twisting the heads or the tail, then replacing the convenient two-sided clip with a one-sided clip seems to me a strange step.
Small circular knurling may not be impressive in terms of grip. But this is not a problem, since with such dimensions the flashlight lies in the hand like a glove.
Unlike the previous model - the button in the Fenix E18R is slightly recessed. This is a frankly rare constructive solution, but here it feels quite appropriate. The finger rests on the button quite confidently. Due to the brass ring button looks pretty good. If you place the clip above it, then you can actually lock the button. The button, which is expected, has an indicator backlight. Nevertheless, not the fact that in gloves / mittens it`ll be as much easy to place finger on this button like with gloves off.
On the back of the button there is a magnetic charge contact. Usually I am not a fan of this method of charging (oh, all this brand wires are not cheap), preferring standard micro-usb \ type-c, but it was impossible to place such built-in charge port and keep the same size. So, you have to carefully look for the included cable. By the way, the latter also has an indicator light.
Optics here looks amazing. Fenix claims that the thickness of the lens here is only 3mm. There are thinner TIR optics, but they are different in light distribution, purely flood. This one turned out to give a good combination of side fill and somehow, but visible hotspot (here it is quite possible that the more long-range HI version of the XP-L LED also played its role) . In general, everything turned out with optics, I liked it.
The head sealed, the bezel ring is not only a millimeter wide, but also with a chamfer. So I couldn’t unscrew it as well
Actually, with regard to appearance, everything is not bad. A beautiful little thing with a stunning-looking optics.
UI
It is quite normal for this type of flashlight. Simple and convenient.
But, I believe some improvements might be made: instant LOW from off mode and to turbo as well. As I wrote above, you can also block with a clip, but there is enough locking with a button, since it’s convenient here.
Performance
Unfortunately, happened what usually happens - for the sake of a relatively insignificant increase in brightness ( regarding to the previous model, Fenix E16 ) Fenix placed CW instead of NW… I consider that an obvious step back. At least you could make a model in two versions to choose from. In the meantime, the comparison with the unfading classic ( S2 + XML2 6500K) shows that this CW is not that bad, it feels like light of E18R is about 5500K. There is no visible PWM blink in any mode.
These photos above were taken in the maximum for both flashlights modes. Of course, they shine brighter, I lowered the diaphragm in camera to avoid overexposure in the frame. For comparison, next to Convoy S2 +, then E18R turbo, then high
You can see that although the light in this model is cool white, but it is far from the 6500K at the convoy and looks quite comfortable.
The charging current turned out to be unexpectedly high. Usually for this size, it is worth expecting 0.5A (which is quite acceptable in terms of speed relative to the capacity of an acca), then almost twice the increase is 0.8A. This is, in general, higher than the recommended, but given the price of a penny akkov, I prefer the charging speed to a potential reduction in the life of the ack.
Since the flashlight is small, and I have a hefty brightness relative to the size, it is very important to check what is there with thermoregulation and stabilization. In the turbo flashlight heats up quickly, but not to the frankly uncomfortable level.
The graphs below are quite consistent with those drawn in the specification, except that Turbo in reality drops much faster. The turbo is short, but a couple of tens of seconds should be enough to nice enlighten around.
High is quite good in terms of stabilization and duration of work. And its brightness is definitely enough to move comfortably at a normal walking speed. Light enough to shine on the sides, and ahead to see some kind of obstacle. It is clear that due to the specific optics can not talk about some kind of range. But I remind you, this is 150yumen. And it is quite decent for under-garage use brightness.
I think many readers have some relatively modern AAA keyboard, which at a maximum give that way 110-130 lumens. So the E18R gives a slightly higher brightness + it is 100% stabilized, in contrast to the guaranteed brightness of the keypad, which creeps down.
For a flashlight of such dimensions everything is completely expected and sanity.
Well, what about the light live? Here it is worth starting with a reminder that this flashlight is usually used in underground-garage situations and distances of meters that way in 15-20 meters. Turbo everything is great everything illuminates, well, high as it looks more than worthy.
General impressions
From the standpoint of the pocket 16340 flashlight, the Fenix E18R is quite consistent as compact and sane in terms of brightness-range. It could have been better done by leaving a neutral light … but alas. But in the pros - built-in charging.
In general, I think that a small, purely Fenix step back towards the cold color is still compensated by the latter and the model can be called successful.
+ brightness
- good light distribution
- UI
- built-in charging
- appearance
- stabilization and runtime
- One should expect good quality, after all, a Fenix make reliable stuff.
- no ultralow
- no direct access to low \ turbo
- cold light is not a minus per se, but looks worse compared to the previous model.