Fenix E01 V2 100 Lumen LED flashlight with EdisonBright AAA alkaline battery bundle (Blue)

Purchased the Version 1.0 model about 2 years ago. Unbeknownst to me, the battery leaked last month at the negative terminal, which corroded the interior coil and rendered the light inoperable. I purchased this 2.0 model as a replacement until I could get the earlier model back up and running. That’s how much I depend on a quality AAA keychain light, which are sometimes hard to find. This sort of keychain light is perfect for EDC and is more convenient than the flashlight on a cellphone for tasks around the house, car, or trail. Build quality is the same: full metal construction with an o-ring for water resistance. Attachment point to the keychain is sturdy and won’t break off. The only differences on the 2.0 version is that this body isn’t totally cylindrical and doesn’t have a standing tail cap. That isn’t a problem and doesn’t affect daily use. Rather than sending it back for repair to Fenix, I was able to remove the negative copper coil on my 1.0 version with a dental pick, clean out the corrosion, and reassemble it rather easily. Works totally fine, so now I have two flashlights. That’s still a win. I have used Maglight’s AAA flashlights for decades. For some reason, when Maglight when to LED, they just weren’t as consistent as the incandescent models. Sometimes they would turn on, other times not, even with a fresh battery. Ended up shelving Maglight and buying a Fenix based on their positive reviews. Other than it being made in China, I am totally content with the switch in brands. The size is comparable and the light output exceeds expectations. Run time is as described on Fenix’s website. You can probably get 3 months of occasional use from an AAA battery. Just proactively change the battery, to avoid the corrosion leak described above.

I absolutely love small edc (every day carry) gadgets so when my ancient mini keychain maglight completely died I knew I needed to find a new keychain flashlight that was water proof and would out perform my mini maglight. This fit the mold. It's durable, easy to use, and is very small and light weight. The lumen count and beam size are good compared to other lights in this size category. I keep this light on my keychain with a small gerber multitool, and a small gerber pry multitool (and a small mustache/beard comb because who wants to look like a hobo when they are saving the world with their impressive keychain edc tool assortment... I'm a complete nerd) There are smaller lights. There are brighter lights and lights that have better battery life. There are lights that are probably even tank proof above and beyond what this light is but they also cost a lot more. At the end of the day it's a keychain light bright enough that you can use it to see the ground if you have to hoof it somewhere, it can stun an attacker if you catch them off guard and shine it in their eyes, you can fall in the pool or lake or river with it in your pocket and not have to worry, it lasts around an hour to two hours used continuously, it's fairly unnoticeable in the pocket, easy to use, easy to maintain, and it doesn't cost $50 dollars or more like some better known flash lights. Very pleased with this light and it compliments my mustache/beard comb nicely in case anyone was wondering.

A keychain flashlight's primary purpose is light-in-a-pinch. For getting to and fro your car in the dark. An unexpected walk in the dark and you just need to not trip. In other words, they should be designed to give 'just enough' light and have extended battery life so that the light is available when you need it. Short battery life means you'll more frequently turn on the light and have no light; and since you'll likely be in a pinch, it is especially bad. For example, a well known USA flashlight manufacturer has a keychain light that has one very bright level and, thus, very short battery life. For some in-a-pinch situations the brightness can actually be blinding and the very short battery life means the light will often be dead when you need. In other words, they made it too bright and less reliable (because the battery dies so often). However, Fenix's E01 V.2 is done right. Perfect actually—for five reasons. 1) It's default brightness is 5 lumens which is a very sufficient amount of light for in-a-pinch situations. For comparison, the keychain light I used for 20 years was 2 lumens--it was always 'just enough' light for not tripping, etc. 5 lumens is a fantastic amount of light without being bright. 2) The battery life at 5 lumens is over 20 hours. This is fantastic. You will very rarely hit a dead battery. 3) Light beam is quite floody. This is good because the primary purpose is for close up illumination such as lighting your way so you don't trip. A broader flood of light at your feet is much better than a bright little spot on the ground. 4) Fenix made 5 lumens the default brightness. There are many similar keychain lights (even Fenix has some) that make the second brightness level the default. This is problematic because it encourages battery draining and it's almost always more light than is needed in a pinch. Further, it encourages using the light for 'regular' flashlight needs because it's good amount of light which exacerbates the battery issue. Making the default level 5 lumens encourages using 'just enough' light and getting the long battery life that is important for a keychain light. 5) It's can be really bright if you need it! This is phenomenal. Need to see what's rustling in the bushes or the tree? You've got 100 lumens available to you! Obviously, if you use the brighter levels a lot, you'll get much, much shorter battery life, but it's awesome that you have that option. If you want a perfect keychain light--for light in a pinch--grab one of these!

I do like this light, its well made, reasonable price, good size and weight, and good brightness (at the high setting). The only reason I didn't give it a 5 star was because every time you turn it on, the brightness is at low and you must scroll through med and high to get max brightness. There is no electronic memory to return you to your previous setting. For a keychain flashlight, I want max brightness for brief periods of time and I want a quick switching system to get me there. Overall, happy with my purchase.

3 brightness levels, although typically I only need to use the lowest (longest lasting) level. The highest/brightest level is surprising for such a bitty EDC (pocket/everyday carry) light. The twist-head ON/OFF switch works great and likely seals out water/debris better/longer/more reliably than a tailcap switch; however, that means I need two hands to turn it ON/OFF (versus one-handed with just my thumb), and cannot practically momentarily "blink" out, say, a SOS code or other reason for a quick flash. I'd prefer to skip the middle brightness level, and would prefer that it had a "firefly"/"moonlight" level instead. Also a SOS feature (or, less useful to me, a simple "strobe") would have been nice. But at this size, brightness and price it's still a fine and very useful flashlight -- recommended!

I love this thing! For such a tiny flashlight, it's very bright. Well-made an feels good in the hand. Only thing that is a bit cumbersome is that you have to rotate the top screw-in head back and forth to turn it on and off quickly to change brightness modes. It's a bit of a pain, but by doing that, they made the flashlight smaller, which was probably worth it. It's great as an EDC flashlight where you want something that can just fit in your pocket with your keys and not be too cumbersome. It works great with a NiMH AAA battery.

This is a very nice size for a keychain. I fin myself using it everyday day. I use rechargeable eneloops and the battery lasts so long that I hardly have to think about it. I like that the light level starts low and goes up 2 levels of brightness from there. Some people prefer a light with a push button. I prefer the twist activation with this light. When it’s attached to your keychain and the rear of the the light is attached to the keys, it’s easier to twist the front than to click a button on the back. I had an earlier discontinued version of this light called the e05 which stopped working after about 4 years of hard use. I bought this new version and then remembered there was a warranty on the old version. The old unit is now repaired and works great, but sits in a drawer because I like the new one better. If you need a keychain light, buy this one. There are some options that are cheaper, but you will really appreciate the quality of this fenix light, which is well worth another few dollars.

Tiny yet bright light. Does it go more than 30 feet? Nope. But for immediate surroundings, it works great. Easy to use and won’t inadvertently turn on, long battery life for short uses, even on the highest setting.