Fenix TK10 LED Flashlight Review*

• Will not tail stand. The switch boot is out past the end of the tail cap. (see photo)

• With the switch protruding out past the tail cap I found the switch is easy to push and I didn't feel the tail cap was too sharp. I have looked at the pictures of the T1 and I believe this has to be a positive update on the TK10. (See Photo)

• The head and Bezel are one piece. The Stainless Steel is gone. The bezel tops are cut fairly square and the result is they are not very sharp. I found them acceptable.

• Anti-roll design works well.

• Tail Switch is a single stage forward click with momentary on. Switch feel is always a debatable feature but in my opinion Fenix got it right. The click has a nice medium feel to it. Not too light or too heavy.

• Not designed for 18650 Li-ion batteries. I measured the I.D. of both ends of the battery tube at exactly 17mm.

• Placed in one foot of water for 20 minutes. No intrusion of water detected.

• Dropped 4 times at a distance of 4 feet onto a folded towel placed on a Concrete floor. No damage detected. Testing that the components were mounted solid and would not easily come loose was the only test (that could have been destructive) I was comfortable with since I new this light would be used and depended on, sold with full disclosure, or given away.

• The LED was centered.

• The Lens was very clear and you can see the anti-reflective coating on it. I detected no debris in the head.

• The finish was beautiful. There were no machining marks anywhere I could find on my sample. There were no uneven spots in the HA-III coating. The head, battery tube, and tail cap all matched as though they were polished and coated together as one piece. A very nice looking light and better looking than its predecessor. IMHO. My pictures don't give it proper justice.

• The threads could have used some grease but were smooth right out of the box. The threads also seemed a little more heavy duty to me than other lights I own.

• Target identification was listed out to 200 Meters and I thought I should touch on this. I have no 200 meter beam shots but my tests confirm the light will shine this far especially in a completely dark atmosphere. In my tests at 105 meters there was plenty of light. After 150 meters the quantity of light starts falling off to the point that these old eyes start straining. If I really wanted or needed to light up an area 200 meters away on more than just a rare occasion, I would want something with a little more kick. Remember this is my opinion only and the quantity of light you need at 200 meters may be less than I feel I need.

• No SOS or Strobe modes.

• The head is not designed for user changeable Drop Ins.

• The removable belt clip is thick and stiff. It takes two fingers to pull it away from the light and is the way I think a clip should be. It should securely hold the light on the belt and still allow the light to be easily removed. It almost appears in the pictures as though it would move with the head. It does not. Once tightened in place the clip does not move. I did have a problem with the screws. In my opinion the metal is too soft and while tightening the Allen wrench it twisted inside the screw heads. If you don't plan on taking the clip on and off often you should be ok, plus there was an extra set of screws. Fenix will definitely have to provide better quality screws. With the tactical ring in place I found the belt clip very difficult if not impossible to use because the tactical ring is in the way. I'm not sure if they were designed to be used together or not; wouldn't some users want to use the belt clip and tactical ring? It is also interesting I have not seen any pictures of both installed on the light. So, I took a close up picture of the light with both the tactical ring and the belt clip installed.

• The tactical grip ring could be tightened forward or backwards giving it a Quarter (1/4) turn adjustment or it could be left floating (moving a half turn in either direction). In my opinion it was placed forward enough for good light balance and yet rearward enough to comfortably operate the switch in my medium sized hands. Good job on the tactical ring.

• High mode called Turbo Mode by Fenix (225 lumens) is selected by tightening the head. Low mode called General Mode by Fenix (60 lumens) is selected by loosening the head.

• The Switch boot is a dark burnt orange color. I really thought it complimented the finish of the light much better than the bright orange shown in preliminary pictures. This is used for covering the threads when the tactical grip ring is removed and not used. The manual says it is rubber, but it sure felt like aluminum to me and it was threaded on the inside. I believe one of the photographs shows this. I tried crushing it between my fingers, (lightly of course) and it is very firm like aluminum. I doubt it is rubber unless it is a formula I'm not familiar with.

• I measured the outer diameter of the battery tube and the tail cap at 25mm or a couple of thousands under one inch. The light should work in one inch scope rings for those who want to weapons mount it. Just remember the head is 34mm for clearance purposes. The total length measured 134mm from the head to the end of the switch boot. (Around 5.25 inches.). The usable mounting length between the top of the battery tube and the end of the usable tail cap was 64mm or approximately 2.5 inches.

• The holster was heavy nylon and the light would fit in the holster head up or head down and with the tactical grip ring attached. The holster had a Velcro strap.

• The light could be locked out by loosening the tail cap one quarter turn. A feature I prefer on all my lights.

• The Knurling on this light was good. Not quite as deep as another favorite manufacturer of mine but still very nice.

• The tint was different than any LED light I own but also to my liking. That's a lottery game we all play when we purchase lights on the Web. I like the warm sometimes slightly green if I can have it. The tint on the TK10 was white and very warm, and almost appeared to have a little red in it when compared to my Surefire G2 with BOG-Q5 and Olight T20-Q5. Both have a very cool white beam that looks blue when compared to the FenixTK10. I'm not sure if this will come out in the pictures or not. Color is hard to capture correctly with imperfect white balance and the fast shutter speeds of a camera.

• Both the Fenix TK10 (225 lumens) and the G2 with BOG-Q5 drop in (230 lumens) had around the same size spot at short distances with the TK10 having a soft corona around its core. Also both lights visually appeared around the same brightness with a slight edge going to the Fenix. The two completely different tints made it impossible to determine which was actually brighter, but again I thought the Fenix TK10 was. One thing I have learned. I am not using a light meter and visual interpretations are sometimes misleading, especially when dealing with different colors. Both lights have excellent spots and are bright! Again I'm not sure how much of this will be detailed in a picture.

• The Reflector is an Orange Peel type. I believe I read somewhere that Fenix will not be issuing the TK10 with a Smooth reflector. Based on the beam quality of my sample I can understand why. Visually the rings are very well controlled. At short distances there is a bright spot, a very small soft corona around the spot and then the spill. There is just a hint of interruption just past the soft corona but you really have to strain to see it and it does not show in the pictures. Out of the now 6 Q5-led lights I own, the TK10 has the best beam quality and tint hands down. All of my other Q5 flashlights have noticeable rings. Of course the TK10 also has the biggest head of all my Q5 lights. I hope my sample is indicative of all the TK10's, and not just a unique and unusual sample. Everyone should experience the Q5 like this. See the first two beam shot photographs taken at two or three feet. If the picture of the TK10's beam doesn't bring a tear to your eye, then you're not a true flashaholic. Notice the rings in the BOG and the lack of rings and very smooth beam of the TK10. Well believe it or not it only gets better as it opens up. The spill on the Fenix TK10 is just a solid wall of light with no rings and no artifacts.

• The lanyard is missing from the all in one shot because I hadn't noticed it fell on the floor. The lanyard is black and (1/4) wide by 6 inches long. It is included in the box. Hey regardless of what my wife says I'm not perfect.