Equipment Overview: Fenix torches
July 01, 2018

Equipment Overview: Fenix torches

All news

Headlight: small, but very important part of sailor's equipemnt

In the extreme conditions of a Mini yacht, it is especially important to have reliable personal equipment, which you do not pay much attention to when you are sailing on a yacht. On the first race I came across the fact that ordinary flashlights on batteries do not suit me: fragile bodies, short life between replacement of batteries, uncomfortable buttons and weak light. I tried Petzl, Black Diamond, cheap lanterns from Decathlon ... But all this did not suit me. For qualifying swimming and the Mini en Mai race, [Fenix] (https://fenix-russia.ru/) gave me two flashlights on lithium-ion batteries 18650 , and I would like to share the results of their testing with you .

Common parameters

Both lanterns are made of anodized aluminum, the case has IPX8 protection class - I did not try to dive with it into the water, but the wave covering and falling into the hold they experience without problems. I caught it from the puddle, shook off the water and went on. Since the amount of electronics inside is kept to a minimum and, I suspect that the board is flooded with a protective compound, the drop from a height of 1-2 meters for my "phoenix" is also not a problem. Lanterns are durable, albeit unusually heavy, for those who are used to light plastic foreheads. But it does not interfere, although at first it seems that the head will tire of the heaviness to wear, after a while I just forget that I have a forehead on my head.

The tape is comfortable, with two adjustments and a cross strap - the lantern does not move to the nose, it sits well. The case easily turns on the bases upwards downwards for a direction of a beam in the necessary point, from sharp jerks the head itself does not turn.

Batteries and life time

I tried different batteries with capacity from 2000 to 2600 mAh. A simple and inexpensive element 18650 (300-400) rubles with a capacity of 2000 Ah is more than enough for 3 days of use in racing mode. At some point I decided to check how much the flashlight will work on a large battery (2600 Ah) in the "eco" mode - low power. I hung it under the ceiling of the yacht as a luminaire and did not turn it off, waiting for the battery to settle down. The experiment had to stop in 3 days, because I went to the race :) and the lantern was needed on the night taxiing. 18650 is power! I now have 6 elements of the 18650 on the boat, and I think that this is enough for the lanterns to work for at least a month or two.

[HL55] (https://fenix-russia.ru/nalobnyy-fonar-fenix-hl55-xm-l2-u2/)

[HL55] (https://fenix-russia.ru/nalobnyy-fonar-fenix-hl55-xm-l2-u2/) is a simpler flashlight than [HL60R] (https://fenix-russia.ru/nalobnyy- fonar-fenix-hl60r-cree-xm-l2-u2-neutral-white-led /), but I like it more than I like, and mostly I use it. Simple control system: pressed the button - the flashlight has earned. I pressed again - switched the mode. He held the button - turned it off. This simple mode of management is very helpful, in those moments when the brain is on the verge of self-shutdown from lack of sleep. For comparison Petzl and Black Diamond, I always turned on that in the blue LED mode, then in the flashing red mode - expensive manufacturers, stop making lanterns for using which you need to read a book thick with "War and Peace" !!

Yes, there is no red LED - but on a single boat it is not particularly needed: the flashlight is mainly used in medium power mode to illuminate sails, red light is not needed here, you will not blind the teammates. If you need to highlight the top mast, or buoy at the entrance to the marina - the high power mode highlights the most distant objects. The instructions say that the lantern can overheat if they are to shine for a long time at full power - but this has never happened to me.

Protection from the entanglement of the poles of the battery is, and this is valuable: I repeatedly inserted the battery with the wrong side. The button is ONE and it's big :) - it's convenient for my awkward fingers.

In general: simple, reliable, convenient. Give two.

[HL60R] (https://fenix-russia.ru/nalobnyy-fonar-fenix-hl60r-cree-xm-l2-u2-neutral-white-led/)

If you need a flashlight to shoot down a beam of light flying over you aircraft, then this is your choice. Turning it on full power for the first time, I inadvertently sent the flashlight into my eyes .... Very bright! Bunnies before their eyes jumped for 10 minutes. Structurally, the flashlight is almost identical to the HL55 - but the button is not so convenient: it is much smaller so that the USB connector can be mounted. However, I do not use it - I load all the elements on the shore, and then just change.

The lantern itself is capable of producing much more powerful light, and I usually use it to illuminate the approaches to the marina. Demonstrating his full power of the commission on safety before the race Min en Mai, I easily justified the absence of a powerful headlamp on board. The lantern has red light, the intensity of the red LEDs is weak, but if you walk in a team this can be an important factor for choosing a flashlight.

In general, the lantern is good, powerful and convenient, but I use it much less often than [HL55] (https://fenix-russia.ru/nalobnyy-fonar-fenix-hl55-xm-l2-u2/). The reason is simple: complex control mode. If you inadvertently make a very short press including the flashlight, it starts flashing to indicate the status of the battery charge. This is not very convenient, if you get 5 bright flashes instead of "eco" mode, night vision immediately sets. If you start two Fenix ​​lanterns yourself - set up two identical ones: the mode by pressing [HL55] (https://fenix-russia.ru/nalobnyy-fonar-fenix-hl55-xm-l2-u2/) and [HL60R] (https://fenix-russia.ru/nalobnyy-fonar-fenix-hl60r-cree-xm-l2-u2-neutral-white-led/) is slightly different, and I constantly turn the 60R into flash mode.

To the lantern is attached a good quality element 18650 which keeps very, very long. Just two times it was charging him from the moment he appeared on board. For those who like to take with them a few wires and gadgets on the hike, it will be useful to charge via the USB connector Summary: powerful, good lantern. You can safely take it, but I liked it more.

In general, I liked the lights. Thank you, Fenix! If you express my attitude to him with one phrase, then it will be something like this:

Latest news

All news

Свяжитесь с нами

Благодарим за письмо. Мы обязательно ответим вам в течение дня.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Contacts

Skipper Fedor Druzhinin
Skipper@60north.ru
+7 911 939 5130
+7 981 877 0076
Media and partners communications
Alexandra Melnikova
ya.melnikova@gmail.com
+7 921 094 2474