Fenix vs. Dinotte 200L?

[acroy]

Sorry, I know both lights have received a tremendous amount of coverage, but...

Does anyone have direct comparison beam shots of the 200L vs. the L2D or P3D Premium??

I've seen a LOT of beamshots of both but never a direct comparison. I own the P3D's myslef and wonder how they "really" stack up to "real" bike lights :rolleyes:

:beer:

[hopperja]

I do not have any beamshots. However, I do have: 1) NiteRider Digital Evolution 2) DiNotte 200L 3) Fenix L2D Premium Q5. The L2D, while not quite as bright as the P3D premium, stacks up well with the DiNotte (you can do a search for my other posts about my thoughts on the two). However, the DiNotte and Fenix are noticeably brighter than the NiteRider. At this point, I think I have the perfect set-up: the DiNotte on the bars, the Fenix on the helmet. They complement each other very nicely!

Finally, a couple years ago I did quite a bit of night riding on very technical mountain bike trails with my NiteRider (for the locals: Skookum Flats, Lake Sawyer, Tapeworm, Victor Falls-RIP). For most of the time on most rides, I set it in the 10 watt setting to conserve the battery. For comparison, both the DiNotte and Fenix beat the NiteRider at the 15 watt setting. I'm sure either would be great for single track.

[rm -rf]

From my review in this thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=357328). L2D on the left, 200L on the right.

http://lh5.google.com/jim859n/RyNd1rhjOTI/AAAAAAAAAQs/GVgtLamm-2Y/IMG_4075.jpg?imgmax=576

The 200L can't project quite as far as the Fenix, since the Fenix beam is narrower. The Fenix does make a good helmet light. The 200L works great on the bars, with a good spread.

[dekindy]

What about two Fenixes on the bars, including mounts, for less than one Dinotte?

Then pair it with a Fenix on the helmet. Total cost would be around $225.

[rm -rf]

What about two Fenixes on the bars, including mounts, for less than one Dinotte?

Then pair it with a Fenix on the helmet. Total cost would be around $225.

The Dinotte is more user friendly. It remembers the last power setting when powering on. It's easy to cycle between the three power levels with one button push, and the lighted button shows which power level it is using. It's simple to switch between medium and high power, unlike the Fenix. I like the three blink warning that the battery will go to low power mode in a few minutes. It has three good blink modes for using it in daytime or twilight. With the spare battery holder that comes with the Dinotte, it's fast to swap batteries.

Other differences: The Dinotte will run about three hours instead of the two hours [edit--actually 2.5 hours] for a Fenix. It takes up less space on the handlebars, is very fast to mount on the bars, and is easy to aim. The custom lens on the Dinotte is very well designed to fade the light out from the hotspot. There's no rings or sharp cutoff of light.

Two Fenixes on the bar would spread out their hotspots, which would help a lot. and they do put out a lot of lumens.

[dekindy]

The Dinotte is more user friendly. It remembers the last power setting when powering on. It's easy to cycle between the three power levels with one button push, and the lighted button shows which power level it is using. It's simple to switch between medium and high power, unlike the Fenix. I like the three blink warning that the battery will go to low power mode in a few minutes. It has three good blink modes for using it in daytime or twilight. With the spare battery holder that comes with the Dinotte, it's fast to swap batteries.

Other differences: The Dinotte will run about three hours instead of the two hours for a Fenix. It takes up less space on the handlebars, is very fast to mount on the bars, and is easy to aim. The custom lens on the Dinotte is very well designed to fade the light out from the hotspot. There's no rings or sharp cutoff of light.

Two Fenixes on the bar would spread out their hotspots, which would help a lot. and they do put out a lot of lumens.

The Fenix is a well done bicycle light. There is no doubt. But for those of us who just turn on our lights and go and are tight with a buck, you can't beat the Fenixes. I have plenty of room on my bars for a couple of small flashlights.

I am not certain where you are getting your runtimes. A single Dinotte running on a 4-AA battery pack on high, which is 200 lumens, has a quoted runtime of 2 hours. 2 Fenix flashlights running on 2 AA batteries per flashlight for a total of 4 batteries, running on high, 100 lumens per flashlight for a total of 200 lumens, has a quoted runtime of 4 hours.

Are you or do you know users that are getting 3-hr runtimes on high using a 4-AA battery pack? If you do, I will gladly accept that as an actual runtime. I have not tried it, but are Fenix users getting 4-hr runtimes on high?

Plus with two fenixes, you would have the option of going to turbo if needed and generating 360 lumens.

[rm -rf]

The Fenix is a well done bicycle light. There is no doubt. But for those of us who just turn on our lights and go and are tight with a buck, you can't beat the Fenixes. I have plenty of room on my bars for a couple of small flashlights.

I am not certain where you are getting your runtimes. A single Dinotte running on a 4-AA battery pack on high, which is 200 lumens, has a quoted runtime of 2 hours. 2 Fenix flashlights running on 2 AA batteries per flashlight for a total of 4 batteries, running on high, 100 lumens per flashlight for a total of 200 lumens, has a quoted runtime of 4 hours.

Are you or do you know users that are getting 3-hr runtimes on high using a 4-AA battery pack? If you do, I will gladly accept that as an actual runtime. I have not tried it, but are Fenix users getting 4-hr runtimes on high?

Plus with two fenixes, you would have the option of going to turbo if needed and generating 360 lumens.

I did do some timing tests. I forgot that my original Fenix test was with old batteries, sorry. The Dinotte 200L on high got 3:08 to the blink warning, 3:12 to the drop to lower power mode. The Fenix on turbo got 2:35. Both were tested with the same Duracell 2650 AAs.

You have a good point about running the Fenixes on high instead of turbo if you need more run time.

If some of you are on a budget:
There's an 8% Fenix store discount code available at candlepowerforums.com, too. And I tried the innertube mount shown in this youtube how-to video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrfZhEzjWwg&feature=related), and it was easy and stable. Basically, a rubber strip with a slot and two holes wraps all the way around the bar and holds the flashlight. This is the world's slowest how-to, go to the 4:30 mark to see the finished product.

[operator]

A single Dinotte running on a 4-AA battery pack on high, which is 200 lumens, has a quoted runtime of 2 hours.


This satement is false and true at the same time because they don't say with what cells and what capacity. You can get longer runtimes with higher capacity batteries (obviously).

[dekindy]

I did do some timing tests. I forgot that my original Fenix test was with old batteries, sorry. The Dinotte 200L on high got 3:08 to the blink warning, 3:12 to the drop to lower power mode. The Fenix on turbo got 2:35. Both were tested with the same Duracell 2650 AAs.

You have a good point about running the Fenixes on high instead of turbo if you need more run time.

If some of you are on a budget:
There's an 8% Fenix store discount code available at candlepowerforums.com, too. And I tried the innertube mount shown in this youtube how-to video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrfZhEzjWwg&feature=related), and it was easy and stable. Basically, a rubber strip with a slot and two holes wraps all the way around the bar and holds the flashlight. This is the world's slowest how-to, go to the 4:30 mark to see the finished product.

Does that mean you can go 5 hours on high?

I have the same Duracell batteries. I am guessing you tested in 40-50 degrees temperatures or did you get those runtimes this winter? How many cycles had your batteries went through or brand new?

If I remember correctly 2 hours and five or 10 minutes max on turbo in 30 degree temperatures. That was after only a handful of cycles of new batteries.

I made the innertube mount out of a 700x18-25 tube, which it does not look like what was intended from the video. It looked like a much bigger innertube. I put mine on the bike and it appeared to work well. It has been so icey that I have not been out since early January so I have not been able to do a road test yet.

[acroy]

thanks for the info all
Pretty much confirmed what I'd been thinking - thought I would still like to see a P3d vs 200L beamshot. ah well, mayeb I'll just have to buy one of each... ;)

Cheers

[MR99SI]

Here are some good comparison shots of different lights:

http://ledmania.ceskyblog.cz/souhrn-recenzi/fotky-venku/

[acroy]

Nice, Thanks