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<FLASHLIGHT REVIEWS

FENIX
P1
3 Watt Luxeon

Quick Facts:

Dimensions & Weight
Case Material
Case Features
Case Access Type
Switch Type
Reflector Type
Lens Type
Bulb Type
Circuit
Beam Type
Beam Characteristics
Overall Output
Nominal Color
Battery / Power Type
Battery Life (advertised)
Environmental Protection
Accessories
Special Items of Note
Warranty
Retail Availability & Cost

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L=2.55". Head W=.8" Weight with battery =1.4oz
Aircraft Aluminum- Anodized Type III Black or Silver
Fine machining/Milled & knurled
Two sections are threaded together for battery access
Twist On/Off (Pressure for Momentary 'On')
Matched high-polished reflector
Double coated clear mineral glass
3W Luxeon LED T BIN
Voltage regulating DC/DC circuit (proprietary)
Custom polished reflector
Combination spot/wide-angle - close range use
55 Lumens (Advertised)
5,400º K - approximate
1XCR123A Lithium
105 minutes to 50%(Advertised)
Black or Silver Anodized HA Type III-Throughout
Size matched split ring & Keychain clip (Included)
3.7V protected rechargeable Li-ion battery can be used
Limited Lifetime -1 Year on LED
$44.95 http://www.lighthound.com

Form Factor & Build

1- The Fenix P1 series are pocket sized keychain pocket flashlight that fall in between the tinniest keychain lights and light much larger. The Fenix P1 uses a 1Watt Luxeon LED powered by a single AA cell battery. The Fenix P1 is a mass produced personal tool that exudes high quality fabrication in a production flashlight.
2- The light is a radially symmetrical cylinder with only a bilaterally symmetrical tailpiece- differentiated from the head by a unique keyring terminal attachment approach.
3- The Fenix P1 is a very lightweight pocket light that may also be carried around the neck or on a keychain. Being of roughly the same diameter as the venerable Mini MAG-Lite, it may use accessories made for any light of roughly .8 inches in diameter.
4- All sections are crafted with precision and fit together very precisely with an extremely smooth threading action. One notices from taking the Fenix P1 apart that it is a tool made with high precision CNC engineering.
5- There is no 'play' or rattle anywhere in the Fenix P1. A single 'O' ring seals the junctions between sections and provides, a snug fit and a seal against the elements- especially water. An additional 'O' ring seal prevents water from entering the bezel through the front lens.

Ergonomics & Mount Options 1- The flashlight is ambidextrous.
2- The Fenix P1 allows for single-handed On/Off operation using the waterproof click for On/Off switch.
3- Battery changes are effected through separation of the battery compartment from the fore-end of the light
4- Two 1mm diameter holes in the tailpiece allow for the attachment of a split-ring or lanyard terminal loop. Properly arranged, the light may be stood in an upright posture.
Affordances

1- Stowage- dedicated belt holster.
2-Basic activation- in normal use, light emits from the front of the flashlight when activation occurs through either a clockwise 1º turn from full Off or through the use of the click for On/Off tail switch.
3- Two 'O' rings protect the battery compartment from the environment- one at the fore-end and the second at the rear. Contact pressure with the battery is furnished by a coiled spring in the tailpiece.

Human Factors & Usability

1-The Fenix P1’s On/Off functionality is standard and fundamentally as simple to activate as any of several flashlights of its genre. As such, its cognitive usage model is mostly familiar to people with prior experience with tactical lights.
2- An extraordinary usability characteristic of the Fenix P1- is the fact that it produces a very wide and relatively bright beam for its tiny size- making it suitable for near distance navigation in addition to general searching
3- We didn’t perform physical tests but judged that the lack of knurling would not bee too great an issue in preventing slippage and loss in most situations, even with wet or gloved hands. A natural grip is formed by the flat milling of the hexagonal body section
4- The Fenix P1 is a light that can be carried by itself, on a lanyard or on a keychain. As such, this it highly versatile for many end-users with varied preferences for stowage. As is often the case with keychain lights, the keychain itself-with its attached keys are most of the ‘handle’ while the light may only be partly supported by the user’s hand. The great advantage of the Fenix P1 is that it can be used instead bulkier lights to give a premium quality of illumination.

Beam Quality & Characteristics 1- The smooth parabolic reflector of the Fenix P1 creates a circular combination beam that is a broad flood of light pierced by a focused circular hotspot at its center. This is a typical beam ‘profile’ for Luxeon emitters used in combination with parabolic reflectors.
2- The wide round-shaped beam is excellent for general searching and is bright and focused enough to create moderately bright direct ambient room lighting in a small to average sized room and still delivers relatively bright light through hand-held or table supported ceiling bounce mode (18'X12' white ceiling + white walls).
3-The Fenix P1 creates a subject illumination in a category that we've codified as a highly Context Inclusive Illumination Window (CIIW) as compared with a Context Exclusive Illumination Window (CEIW) (*5)
4- For one test, we used the Fenix P1 for a typical key-chain light task of illuminating a keyhole. In this test it exceeded most user needs- casting both a broad beam on half of the door as well as producing a bright and focused spot on the doorknob and a good deal of area surrounding it as well. Being substantially brighter than most keychain lights in its size class- and due to it’s wide beam, it served well in close to moderate range navigation around a house and around an automobile- as well as for searching dark nooks and crannies at close range. Searching around the trunk of a car and around the wheels- we predict that it could be pressed into service as an excellent short runtime emergency light. It admirably performed tasks that we typically associate with larger lights. Navigating dark corridors for example, or scanning a large back yard were easy for the Fenix P1
5- There is only a slightly blue bias to the otherwise perceptually white beam. Though not noticable in practice, it is noticably bluer than somewhat pricier comparable lights- that may posess neutral BIN emitters.
6- The wide corona coupled with its diminutive size, give it ‘powerhouse’ status in most emergency situations typically reserved for much larger and heavier flashlights.
7-To test the throw of the Fenix P1, we conducted a Maximum Distance for Object Identification or MDOI (*2) trial and managed to confidently differentiate our test subject (a Black Man’s briefcase) from its immediate surroundings, from as far away as 60 feet with the subject area in near total darkness and the evaluators and flashlight in a moderate level of street sodium vapor ambient lighting (RH=40% at 50ºf). This test simulated a person searching for an object of known size -a briefcase for example- but situated in a leafy camouflaged setting, such as dense underbrush for example. From 60 feet away , the Fenix P1 positively lit up the vegetation surrounding our subject enough to clearly distinguish it from the Black Man’s Briefcase, which lay on the ground. The estimated contrast ratio was 2:1
Light Quality The color chart tests photographed with a digital camera set for Daylight White Balance and exposure set- to properly expose the gray areas of the chart to 50% or Zone V- 'Mid-tone Gray', revealed a color temperature of roughly 6000ºK. Comparing the Fenix P1 chart photograph with a flash (White Balance set to 'Flash') exposure of the same chart reveals a slight bias to blue. This makes it useful in situations demanding good fidelity color differentiation. The Fenix P1 is not intended as a forensics or artwork appreciation illuminator.
Brightness

The Fenix P1 scored Maximum Distance for Object Identification or MDOI at 60 feet -more than adequate for general searching or navigation in an emergency- though not really sufficient in tasks with which larger and more powerful lights are typically associated -such as tactical or emergencies of long durations or covering a wide field.

Conclusions 1- The Fenix P1 is an elegant and well made high performance flashlight that's ideal for close-range tasks including: wearable personal illumination, emergency, and as a back-up to larger flashlights. We judge it to be an excellent choice for near-range general nocturnal activities as well as for everyday personal carry.
2- The Fenix P1 will not disappoint potential owners that expect state of the art performance combined with high quality production build. It exudes the kind of quality one associates with custom made personal tools.
3- Outstanding features include:
- Excellent aesthetics
- Modern surface treatment and durable Hard Anodizing III
- Surprisingly wide, smooth beam color for its size
- Excellent runtime performance
4-Value.The Fenix P1 is a mass produced product and yet it serves its owners with performance and build quality that surpasses its ‘street price’. At this point in time, the Fenix P1 rates 4.95 stars out of a possible 5 stars.
Our gripes were... A) Slightly bluish emitter B) Mineral glass lens is subject to breakage.

4.95 Stars -Highly Recommended
- Value Leader

Pros= Exquisite fit and finish | Exceptional brightness and smooth combination beam | Uses rechargeable as well as disposable batteries | Exceptionally smooth activation action| High quality and performance interpretation of a modern classic | Excellent presentation packaging | Excellent Customer Relationship Management
Cons= Slightly bluish emitter| Breakable glass lens
Pictures









 

Footnotes:

(*1) Medium Men's glove size- Also, a Standardized Flashlight Hand Size Metric (SFHSM)

  Small A-B = 4.5" or Shorter
  Medium A-B = 4.5"-5"
  Large A-B = 5"-6"
  X-Large A-B = 6" and Longer

(*2) Maximum Distance for Object Identification (MDOI). The maximum distance that a person without the aid of magnification-can with normal or corrected vision, under a given ambient level of light, identify an object of known size, and clearly distinguish it from its surroundings. We have tentatively identified the following scenarios for such measures:

  • A single average sized person/body identification scenario
    • Urban (city, inside buildings, dark alley, lit streets)
    • Rural (countryside,farm residential backyard)
    • Environmental (dessert, woods, wetlands, over water)
    • Natural & manmade disaster (fire, flood/mudslide,earthquake, hurricane /tornado,bombing scene, collapsed structure etc)
  • Small Inanimate Object (smaller than a shoe-box)
  • Medium Inanimate Object (Black Plastic 33 Gallon (124Litre) Garbage Bag stuffed with a big sleeping bag)

(*3) Usability testing results - in progress.

(*5) Context Inclusive Illumination Window (CIIW) as compared with a Context Exclusive Illumination Window (CEIW) .

  • CIIW describes a subject illumination paradigm wherein the illumination target is the focus of the beam's brightest disc or 'Hotspot' and peripheral objects to the target are more dimly illuminated in a larger disc that surrounds the focus or hotspot. This outer region is also referred to as a corona or penumbra.
  • CEIW describes a subject illumination paradigm wherein the illumination target is the focus of the beam's brightest disc or 'Hotspot' and peripheral objects to the target are not sufficiently illuminated to be easily discernable at the periphery of subject beam's focus or hotspot.

© 2004 - Imägo Metrics - All Rights Reserved
Original standards designations (including acronyms) depicted in this, as well as all of our evaluations are the exclusive intellectual property of Imägo Metrics LLC and subsidiaries. Reproduction without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.



All Photographs © 2006 - Imago Media


 

 




 

 

 
 
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