In this - our second FourSevens review of the day - we are going to take a look at yet another recently updated light that is sporting the 2nd Generation Cree XP-G LED. But this time it is a slightly different category of flashlight, namely that of the more casual variety, the Preon P2.
As per the usual, here are the specifications:
SPECS
| DIMENSIONS | Length: 5.05 inches/Body diameter: 0.6 inches/Head diameter: 0.6 inches/Weight (without batteries): 0.8 oz |
| LED EMITTER | CREE XP-G |
| VOLTAGE RANGE | 0.9V-3V |
| SPOT BEAM | Angle: 18.2°/Diameter at 3mm: 960mm |
| FLOOD BEAM | Angle: 81.5�/Diameter at 3mm: 5.2M |
| BRIGHTNESS LEVELS | Low: 2.2 lumens, 23 hrs / Medium: 22 lumens, 6 hrs / High: 160 lumens, 0.8 hrs |
| SPECIAL MODES | Strobe: 1.6 hrs / SOS: 4.8 hrs / Beacon Hi: 8 hrs / Beacon Lo: 40 hrs |
| REFLECTOR | Textured |
| BODY MATERIAL | Type-III hard-anodized aircraft-grade aluminum |
| BEZEL MATERIAL | Type-III hard-anodized aircraft-grade aluminum |
| LENS MATERIAL | Optical-grade glass lens with antireflective coating on both sides |
| INCLUDED ACCESSORIES | Batteries, split ring for keychain attachment, spare o-ring |
The Preon P2 is essentially a penlight on steroids. But unlike most other penlights, this one puts out damn near 200 lumens with the new generation of XP-G LED. Ok, it's for less than an hour, but it is a penlight, powered by two AAA batteries! There is just a limit to how much you can ask for in this envelope. Let's start with the video.
Output
The reflector on the P2 is by necessity quite small. This results in a rather large hotspot that takes up a significant portion of the entire beam. The light orange peel texture does its best to eliminate any artifacts, but this is definitely not as pretty a beam as the Quark Turbo we recently reviewed with the same LED. That is not horribly surprising however, and given the constraints of the envelope, the output is really quite nice.
Tint is almost pure white, as before only leaning very slightly towards the blue end of the spectrum. The LED itself appears perfectly centered in this specimen.
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| You can see the well-centered LED here and the nicely textured reflector. |
The lens is anti-reflective coated glass, no cheap plastic here!
The three brightness settings available are nicely spaced and offers a good range of useful output. Tint control is generally good, with no ugly greenish tint appearing on the lower settings.
There is also several strobe settings, which includes two beacon settings, one high and one low setting.
Design & Build Quality
Just like the other FourSevens flashlights I have reviewed, the Preon boasts some very nice machining and the fit and finish is impeccable. No square cut threads here, admittedly, but that would probably have been asking a lot. The threads are still very smooth overall. Very good anodizing, available in several different colors.
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| These are the threads and O-ring at the front of the light. This is the easiest avenue for replacing the batteries. |
The pocket clip is yet again an excellent design which for me is a huge selling point.
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| FourSevens really knows how to make an outstanding pocket clip. |
I also rather like that the switch is covered with an aluminum cap - embossed with the FourSevens logo - with a rubber switch boot underneath. That's a nice solution that gives you both durability and water-resistance. It also looks and feels very nice.
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| The switch is a reverse clicky, and with the metal cap, it has a very nice feel to it. Positive click, smooth action. |
No knurling on this one, but that would have been surprising on a penlight. I do not feel that it is a drawback, the feel in the hand is very positive, thanks to the firmly attached pocket clip and slightly tapered shape.
Batteries are best accessed through the front, by unscrewing the head of the flashlight. Removing the switch is a bit fiddly, so it just makes more sense to go through the front.
Lettering is minimal, but nice and crisp.
Overall, it rather feels like an expensive pen.
Accessories
The Preon P2 comes with a spare O-ring, split ring for key-chain attachment, and a set of Rayovac batteries.
Pretty sparse, but again, not surprising for a penlight.
Conclusion
The Preon P2 has the potential to be completely unique product in the market, but it is hamstrung by the switching system. With no ability to program a certain mode into it, you are left with never really knowing what setting you're going to be in when you turn on the light. For my needs and preferences, that is simply a non-starter. The format has a great deal of potential and if FourSevens were to implement a different control system, this light would be a fantastic option for Every Day Carry for people in a lot of different fields.
But that would - in my opinion - hinge entirely on a revamped mode selection system.
Even something as relatively simple as remembering the last mode you had it in would be a huge benefit. That would solve pretty much all the issues I have with this light.
Fix that, Foursevens, and you'll have a real contender on your hands!
With that being said, I cannot recommend this light, entirely due to the mode selection issue.
You can see more information here: FourSevens Preon P2
"With no ability to program a certain mode into it, you are left with never really knowing what setting you're going to be in when you turn on the light."
ReplyDeleteConsidering that there are only 3 main modes and that the light always starts in the lowest mode I don't quite understand how you'd ever encounter a situation where you wouldn't know what setting you're going to get. You will always get the lowest setting when turning the light on fresh. If you take into account that the flashy modes are hidden within the preon, the main mode selection system that it employs can almost be viewed as a simplified version of a system that is adopted by most modern day flashlights. I have the Thrunite Neutron 1A (I also have a preon 1 and 2), a torch that memorizes your last used setting, and I can assure you that after a period of non-use I can never remember my last used setting. In addition to this, every time I want to go back to the lowest setting I have to cycle through a series if flashing modes rather than just turning off the light and getting automatically reset back to the lowest setting.