Very excited to receive a unit of Fenix E28R from Fenixlight a few weeks ago for testing.
A 18650, side-switch, 1,500 lumens compact flashlight that offers convenient USB-C fast charging and comes ready with a 3400mAh 18650 ARB-L18-3400(LG) battery.
Let's take a quick glance at the specifications:
Aesthetically, Fenix E28R looks average compare to other similar side-switch flashlight...
the included uni-direction, rotatable pocket clip feels sturdy but it does not offers deep pocket carry
the protruded lanyard hole design does offers tail-stand ability, and with optional accessory like a diffuser tip, camping lampshade or any fitting self-made diffuser (like a bottle cap), you can turn this into a lantern for 360° wide area illuminations.
pictured above is using a fitting plastic bottle cap as a diffuser... and it happened to turn the greenish tint of E28R into a nice neutral warmish tint, well suited for tent and night reading use. pictured shown is Fenix E28R running at Medium mode of 350 lumens, but by my not so scientific guesstimate, the thick diffuser cap cut the light output to ~120 lumens (less than the output of Fenix E28R Low Mode, 150 lumens), so this is not a good diffuser to use as >60% of lights are wasted.
despite the appearance of being thicker than other similar 18650 light, it feels good holding in hand...
the copper colored metal electronic switch is easy to find in the dark and gives great texture feedback when click.
the lightly frosted optical lens gives out bigger hotspot compare to other reflector-based flashlight.
copper colored stainless steel bezel ring...
this is one of two aesthetically nice design of Fenix E28R, the other being the copper colored stainless steel switch button.
the head contact (positive), with physical polarity protection...
the body tube is just a simple tube with negative contact spring to complete the electrical current...
another look at the body tube, good thickness there and square-cut threads and O-ring are generously lube from factory.
battery is inserted into the body with positive button contact facing towards the head.
the included 3400mAh 18650 LiIon battery - ARB-L18-3400(LG).
the flap/cover for the USB-C port.
flip-over the cover will reveal the USB-C fast charging port, in my charging test, the port pulls ~1.8A for charging and the whole flashlight feels warm during charging. Fenix claims to feature an inner waterproofing treatment to the USB-C port, thus, it should be safe even if the cover was broken or the charging port was subject to water immersion.
Fenix E28R features single button UI with a multicolor LED indicator at the center of the button/switch. The LED indicator shows the battery status:
- Green light ON: 85% - 100%
- Green light Blinking: 50% - 85%
- Red light ON: 25% - 50%
- Red light Blinking: 1% - 25%
and can only be activated at flashlight OFF state.
A single click will light up the indicator LED for 3 seconds to show the battery status. The UI of Fenix E28R follows its usual press-and-hold for 0.5 seconds for ON/OFF, single click to cycle the modes of Eco-Low-Medium-High-Turbo. Strobe must be activated explicitly by holding the switch for 1.2 seconds (just hold it down until your flashlight flashes) in either ON/OFF state.
There are mode memory in all modes except strobe.
Electronic lockout can be engaged by double-clicking the switch button from OFF state, Fenix E28R will flashes twice to indicate the flashlight is in locked state. When in electronic lockout state, Fenix E28R will just flashes twice to indicate its electronic lockout is engaged. There are several ways to unlock Fenix E28R:
- Method 1. Double-clicking the switch button again, Fenix E28R will flashes twice, Fenix E28R will turned-On in Eco mode.
- Method 2. Connect the USB-C fast charging port to a power source via USB-C cable, this will disengage the electronic lockout.
- Method 3. Loosen the body quarter turn, this will effectively cut-off/open the current flow. This is also an effective method to mechanically/physically lockout Fenix E28R.
When electronic lockout is disengaged, the flashlight will reset the default mode back to Eco.
When we lockout via the loosening the head/body method (aka mechanical lockout), Fenix E28R remember last used mode.
During charging, the status indicator will light up constant Red and turned into Green when E28R is fully charged. You can still use Fenix E28R during charging, however, there is only single Eco mode brightness available for use during charging. Also, yours truly does not recommend using the flashlight during charging.
Interestingly, Fenix E28R can also be use without the body tube when connecting the USB-C fast charging port to a power source as seen from above picture. However, you only have access to Low mode (not Eco mode) when used in this manner.
my measured output:
*The usual disclaimer: I do not claim the above measured lumens as authoritative nor an indication of over/under-stating the number given by manufacturer. It's calibrated against some known light output (e.g. SureFire, Elzetta, etc.) so take it with a grain of salt and just as a relative reading.
and the runtime tested, without any fan cooling:
last but not least, size comparison with a few other Fenix flashlights...
In conclusion, this is a good value EDC and bag-carry flashlight. Now, I wish Fenix would put a better tint LED in it (or neutral white/High-CRI), it would be an even better flashlight than what it is now... greenish 
.
Thanks for reading.