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First impressions.
Got mine unexpectedly today (I thought they weren't out until May sometime??) so that was nice..
Anyhow, first impressions are overall, very good.
Of course I didn't read the instructions and had an anxious couple of
minutes before I figured out the .5 second press to turn on/off. (I've
been a Zebralight fan for years and guess I'm institutionalized by their
UIs)
I've played with it a bit since it got dark and I like it. It's very very 'light 'if you'll pardon the pun.
Feels lighter than my Zebralight H50. The 27 lumen-mid range level seems brighter than that, but that's OK.
So far I've read a book with it for an hour or so on the low setting (3 lumens) which I found just about OK for my aging eyes.
The holder seems a bit excessive to me; metal clip housed in a large-ish
plastic housing? Maybe that's just me. I would also be concerned that
removing and replacing it in a metal clip would damage the finish.
I took it out of the headband holder thingy because the holder weighs
17grams on its own and I wasn't liking the feel of the plastic on my
forehead; mainly because the elastic headband on its own -without even
connecting the size adjuster - didn't really fit me ( in fairness I
have to admit I do take an XL or frequently XXL hat size and that's with
very short hair). I'm now using it with a ZL headband and silicone
holder.
The light itself is very compact. The glass is nicely protected. It feels like a good quality item to open/operate etc.
Top: 47s P0, Middle: Fenix HL10, Bottom: Fenix LOD
The UI is straightforward; when its on, give a quick click to cycle through the modes L/M/H/L/M/H etc.
Last used mode is memorized.
The switch is practically silent and feels robust. It takes a little
more pressure than I expected to depress it, but I imagine I will get
used to that. The only thing that surprised me about the switch is that
it is marginally above the rim of the switch surround, which means I
can't candle-stand it head first on a surface without it leaning to one
side (it stands on the other end just fine). I guess I thought it would
be recessed in the head to avoid accidentally turning it on, which I did
try to do by pressing the head down on a hard surface and its not that
easy to do, so I'm sure it wont be a problem -but it is possible.
The beam spread is good. Being used to my H50 and H502D I'm more used to a little light thrown in the peripheries.
I'm not big on tints etc, so 'm not going to pronounce on that. You can
get some idea of relative tints from picture. The HL10 is the one in the
centre. ZL502D is on top, H50 on bottom.
There are some rings visible (if you look for them) when the light is
about 18 inches from the wall, but I'm not very put out by that, I just
mention it because I know some people can be.
The only other niggling concern I'd have is how strong the lanyard ring
holder would be (see pics). My trusty LOD has taken quite a battering
over the years, as ou can see, but I've never lost it. The hole on the
HL10 looks pretty near to the edge - I'm not sure if that thin sliver of
metal would survive too many 'incidents'.
Overall I have to say I'm very pleased, despite the criticizms I listed
here. I am not sure yet whether it will displace my ZLs as my
night-time light, but that might have a lot to do with how much I've
spent on them over the years.
Would I have bought them if I'd had the HL10? Probably not.
So when you consider the cost of the HL10 it's an excellent light.
It was worth the wait.. 'cos lets face it, for those of us who pre-ordered when it was announced, it was quite a wait.....
