Fenix 15th Anniversary AAA Flashlight Review
The Fenix 15th Anniversary AAA flashlight is one I’ve had bouncing around for a while. Why not post up some photos (and a bit of testing.)
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to a Fenix 15th Anniversary AAA product page. The light is no longer available, but shop Fenix-Store.com for the latest and greatest.
Versions
There is just this one version.
Price of the Fenix 15th Anniversary AAA
This light had an MSRP of $78, but I think the street price was more like $49.95.
Stay tuned to Fenix-Store.com for upcoming Fenix lights!
Short Review
Alright, it’s a twisty. You probably know I don’t love twisties. But this one is quite neat with the copper sleeve (sleeve?) and anniversary branding. For those reasons, I have really enjoyed this light! Of course, XP-E2 is a bit dated….
Fenix 15th Anniversary AAA Long Review
The Big Table
| Fenix 15th Anniversary AAA Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Cree XP-E2 R3 |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $49.95 |
| Cell: | 1xAAA |
| High Runtime Graph | Medium Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | |
| Switch Type: | Twisty |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 85 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 87 (102.4% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 4.1 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 45 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 76lux @ 2.169m = 358cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 37.8 (84% of claim)^ |
| All my Fenix reviews! | |
^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.
What’s Included
- Fenix 15th Anniversary AAA
- Primary AAA cell
- Lanyard
- Spare o-ring
- Papers (probably originally a manual, but I’ve lost that)
Phoenix
The phoenix is a long-lived, immortal bird associated with Greek mythology (with analogs in many cultures) that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. Some legends say it dies in a show of flames and combustion, others that it simply dies and decomposes before being born again. [1]
Package and Manual
No manual is included, but I think the back of the box probably covers most of the info. Also inside this box (which is really a sleeve) is a plastic case suitable for storage and even display of the Fenix 15th Anniversary AAA. Sorry, I lack a good photo of that one.
Build Quality and Disassembly
I might have said elsewhere that the body is copper. I don’t actually know that… Fenix calls it “rose gold plating” and it doesn’t smell like copper. It very much feels like copper though and looks like copper.
Fenix also doesn’t state the body material, but I’m nearly certain that the light is stainless. So stainless with a rose gold plating, and not aluminum with a copper sleeve. Either works for me. The point is that the weight is nice!
The Fenix bird logo doesn’t specifically do anything for me (I don’t have any special love for birds. Or hate. More of indifference. I mean they’re delicious, so… ¯(ツ)/¯ ). But this emblem is very nicely placed. It’s raised, so there’s good texture from it.
Here you can see the tailcap, which has attachment points for the lanyard. This tailcap reminds me of some bad haircut, but I can’t place it. Let me know in the comments.
Whether the body is stainless or not, these threads (despite not being the cleanest – this is a 5-year-old light after all) are very smooth.
Inside there’s a spring in the tail end, and on the head is a simple mcpcb contact. Not even a brass button or spring. But hey, it works. This isn’t a duty light.
Size and Comps
Flashlight Size:
Length: 2.6” (66.5mm)
Diameter: 0.6” (14.5mm)
Flashlight Weight: 1.1 oz. (31g) excluding battery
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually the fourth photo).
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple. A very nice 18650 light.
And here’s the light beside my custom engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats.
Here’s the twisty Fenix 15th Anniversary AAA beside the mechanical clicky BLF-348!
Retention and Carry
Included with the Fenix 15th Anniversary AAA is a necklace-type lanyard.
This lanyard attaches by first attaching the split ring to the flashlight. There are a couple of holes in this unusual tailcap for lanyard attachment.
There is no pocket clip, magnet, pouch, or anything else included for carrying the Fenix 15th Anniversary AAA.
Power and Runtime
A single cell powers this flashlight. The maximum voltage is 1.5V, so any AAA-sized cell will work. Primary, rechargeable, both are fine. Lithium-ion is not supported. 
The cell is installed in the usual way – positive terminal toward the head. I didn’t use the primary cell that was included; I tested with a LADDA AAA (NiMH).
Below are a couple of runtimes. The output claims are met for all modes. There’s a big stepdown on High. After that, the light maintains on the Medium output level for quite some time.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps (@1.5V) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 85 | 1h | 87 | 0.65 |
| Med | 25 | 4h15m | 26 | 0.15 |
| Low | 8 | 14h30m | 8 | 0.04 |
Pulse Width Modulation
No PWM on any mode!
Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor.
Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.
User Interface and Operation
The Fenix 15th Anniversary AAA is a twisty light. Tighten the head for on. Loosen for off. It’s very simple. And there are no hidden modes.
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Tighten head | Low, if the light has been off for >~5s |
| On | Loosen head | Off |
| On | Quickly loosen then tighten head | Mode advance (LMH) |
LED and Beam
Fenix has used a Cree XP-E2 emitter in this flashlight. This emitter is covered by a very short TIR, too.
I won’t say much about the emitter here, since (again) this is a 5 or so year old flashlight. I will say, though, that with moderate pressure to unscrew the driver, I was unable. So I can’t comment about emitter swaps. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that you’d have trouble fitting another emitter under this very short TIR. But you’re the expert on that!
These beamshots are always with the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.
Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)
I keep the test flashlight on the left, and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Very nice looking
- Great embossed “mythical phoenix” insignia
- Good user interface (despite being twisty) – no hidden mess to muck it up
- No PWM
- Hits output claims
What I don’t like
- Twisty
- No pocket clip
- Emitter green tint but again, a 5-year-old light… can’t fault it too much.
Notes
- This light was provided by me for review. I was not paid to write this review.
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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