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 used to buy Minimag Solitare LED pocket lights, but I can't find them any longer. I decided to try one of these lights and I'm pretty happy with it, so I ordered 2 more as backups since you can't count on products you like remaining available in the future. This is what happened to the Minimag Solitare LED. I attach the light to a key ring with an Acme Thunderer whistle, a house key and a spare car key which are in my pocket all the time for emergencies, but I use this light quite often.

I have to agree with other reviewers, the light should default to HIGH when you turn it on. Instead it defaults to low. Minus 1 star.Other than that, it's 1/4" shorter and 30 lumens brighter than the Fenix LD-01 it's replacing, for $15!

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 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.