Layman’s Flashlight Reviews

4Sevens has breathed new life into the AAA cell by offering the Preon series of lights. More than a collection of individual flashlights, the Preon Series offers something akin to a buffet of options allowing you to truly make the light your own.

4Sevens Preon Series

Meat and Potatoes

Aluminum or Titanium? How many cells? Clip, keychain, smooth? Twisty or clicky? Pick your color. These are the decisions that have to be made if you choose to go with a Preon. Built on a base of the slim AAA cell, the Preon is large light performance in an unassuming package. The use of a durable, solidly attached, deep-carry clip with the twisty Preon I makes for a light so easily pocketable and unobtrusive that it is nearly possible to forget you are even carrying it. There is now no excuse to not have a light with you at all times.

The Preons play host to the same winning user interface as the Q-MiNi lights. A simple Low-Medium-High sequence with 4 special modes hidden away where they won’t be accidentally activated. It is a good UI for a light that might be loaned out to the uninitiated since it only takes a few seconds to learn the basics. The three levels have been well spaced and carefully chosen to give noticeable increases in output or significantly better efficiency. Producing 70 lumens for almost an hour from an AAA cell is no mean feat, and increasing that to 160 with only one more cell is simply astounding.

The use of the XP-G in such a small textured reflector creates a beautiful smooth, floody beam that is perfect for close to medium distance illumination. There is a spot to spill transitional corona that further increases its usability. This light does use PWM to accomplish its multiple modes, however due to its extremely high frequency (2.6 khz I believe) this is completely a non-issue during use.

Preons with their XP-G's

4Sevens proprietary matte finish anodizing for these lights is still being touted as type III, and after several weeks of torture testing I find I am inclined to agree. One of these Preon I’s was assigned the dreaded keychain duty for the duration of my testing. The only noticeable wear was at the point of contact between the body and the split ring used for attachment. The remainder of the body survived the incessant jangle and repeated drops quite admirably.

Constructive Criticism

Though the unique anodizing of the Preons does help to provide extra tackiness to the grip, it is still the dead middle of an arid winter here in the midwest. Between the lack of knurling and stiffer threading I was often left struggling for purchase when attempting one handed operation using the twisty interface. Even some subtle shaping would serve greatly to alleviate this trouble without even needing to resort to the standard rhombic knurling, thus still setting this light apart from the pack.

If the twisty is a little too difficult, the clicky option suffers from the opposite affliction. The protruding button of the clicky tailcap standard to the Preon II is so easy to push that accidental activation was the rule of the day. The frequency which I felt my pocket heating up from this light was quite surprising. In fact, I can confidently say that the interior of my pockets saw more of this lights runtime than I did during its time in the spotlight. Either stiffer springing or a more protected button is needed to reclaim this setup from a “shirt pocket only” designation in my book.

Tailcap options

Conclusions

The fact that an AAA based light can compete with and even outperform most 2xCR123A based lights from only a few years past highlights the incessant march of technology. To do so in such a simple, yet elegant form however, is just shooting for extra credit.

4Sevens Preon Series

Provided for the duration of the review by 4Sevens.com

Fenix E01

The Fenix E01 is a little light trying to fill a big role.  Hardly bigger than the AAA cell that powers it, this little light seems to be designed around the ability to be completely forgettable, but only until it is needed.

Fenix E01

Meat and Potatoes

The Fenix E01 utilizes a Nichia 5mm LED to provide consistent low levels of illumination for extended periods of time.  The fact that the E01 has a flat discharge curve over the first 10 hours of battery life is fantastic.  This light is the perfect key chain companion ready to serve in a moments notice, even for just an average Joe who wouldn’t normally take to carrying a larger, higher powered flashlight at all times.

The simple twisty switch supplements this intent by performing as a no frills reliable and out of the way switching mechanism that doesn’t add any unnecessary bulk to the light at all.  With no extra parts at all, it literally cannot get any simpler than this.

One of the most interesting features of this light has been proven through numerous documented accidents and destructive testing.  Through the combination of quality building materials and light weight, this light appears to be nigh unto indestructible.  Tales have been told of E01’s surviving falls from multiple stories in height, apparently unperturbed by the precipitous drop, nor the concrete impact awaiting the end of the trip, that would invoke the demise of lights with more gargantuan proportions.

Constructive criticism

My E01 does have one glaring fault that I find slightly disconcerting.  The bad news is, it’s big.  The good news however, is that it is quite likely my individual unit rather than a design flaw for the entire run.  The LED is angled quite severely off to one side shedding a beam that is disturbingly out of alignment.  The further away from myself I shine the light, the further off center the beam shows up.  Navigating my way around a dark room, I find myself having to consciously aim the light away from my intended target.  Whether high, low, left, or right of center depends entirely on how I happened to extricate it from my pocket on that particular occasion.  I know that this is not likely to be a design error, and that Fenix is probably not exactly intending this to be within tolerance, however apparently some further care needs to be taken when inspecting the final product before it leaves the factory destined for the hands of the consumer.

Off center beam

Another point of contention where this light could stand to improve somewhat is the tints.  No, that is not a typo.  The beam of the E01, though it still classifies as white overall, is actually a varying duo of two different tints throughout the beam.  The diffuse hotspot appears with a strong blueish hue fading extremely smoothly into a yellow toned corona/spill.  Admittedly, this concatenation is only apparent when hunting down the elusive uninterrupted stretch of white wall, but it is there none the less.

I have read of some high end, semi-custom lights in this category sporting a Cree based high color rendition 5mm LED.  While I suspect it will be some time before that caliber of LED begins to show up at this pricepoint, it would be quite a feat if Fenix were to be able to become one of the first mass production lights utilizing this technology.

Conclusions

This little light has an occasional use or emergency use mindset that benefits it greatly.  It’s long lasting low level light is probably better suited to a disposable Lithium AAA cell rather than rechargeables of whatever sort, due to its ability to not be in your way until you find yourself in need of light.  From finding a keyhole in the dark, to navigating a prolonged power outage, these are the situations where this light really shines.  My E01 has found it’s way onto my keyring, where it is likely to endure for some time to come.

Fenix E01