[rookiedaddy]

This is a quick comparison review of 4Sevens’ Preon II Ti Black and Fenix’s LD05. Two very similar looking pocket lights, both powered by 2 x AAA batteries.

Let’s take a look at some manufacturer specifications:


Note that the weight is what I weighted using my own scale excluding batteries, so YMMV.

The packaging

Fenix has recently changed some of their newer flashlight packaging to these blister packs, it’s a PITA to open. 4Sevens on the other hand, put the Preon II Ti Black in a gift box.

The size different
from left, Fenix LD05, 4Sevens’ Preon II Ti Black, iTP A3 EOS SS Upgraded, LiteFlux LF2XT R2, Energizer L92 AAA Lithium battery.


A close-up of both lights

As advertised, Preon II Ti Black does have a rubbery feel on the body, compare to the cold metal feel on the LD05. Both flashlights experience battery rattles, with LD05 rattles the most between the two.

Tail-cap

The edged 47 logo at the tail-cap is a nice aesthetic touch. Both flashlights are using reverse clicky switch with slight press on the tail-cap for mode changing while flashlight is on. However, the clicky switch on LD05 operates much smoother than the Preon. I’ve had a few stuck switch while trying to turn off the Preon.
Fenix initially advertised the clicky to be a push button with “momentary” feature. After further inquiry, was inform that there was a “translation” mistake and they promptly corrected it.

Emitter and reflector

LD05 has a better throw with its more focus hotspot, but Preon has the brightness advantage. See beam shots later.

Head

The threading on LD05 is smoother than on Preon. Even after some heavy lubing, the Preon Ti head still feels gritty putting on to the Al body.


There is a slight gap between body and head on the Preon. I believe this is common as I have the same gap on my other Preon Kit too.
Running both on High/Max mode, Preon’s head gets pretty hot pretty fast compare to LD05. On the Preon, the heat also doesn’t travel to the body as much as LD05.

Clip

Fenix LD05 clip is tight! Was a little disappointed because what advertised on Fenix website is a polished stainless steel clip; there wasn’t any mention of Ti coating on LD05 until further inquiry about it.

Now on to some beam shots. All shots were taken with Canon S5 IS digital camera in manual mode using f/2.7, Exposure 1/10 sec, ISO 100.
EDIT: Preon on left, LD05 on right
Low mode


Medium mode


High mode


Preon II Ti Black on High


Fenix LD05 on High


LD05 (from left), Preon II Ti Black, iTP A3 EOS SS Upgraded Edition

The back of the driver board looks the same between Preon and A3 EOS, and what’s more interesting is the threading on both Preon and iTP A3 EOS is the same. That means you can play lego with Preon and iTP A3 EOS. Tested iTP A3 EOS on Preon body and Preon head on iTP body, all works!

EDIT: Added new Preon on iTP and iTP on Preon photo.


Since both lights are meant for pocket carry, weight will undoubtedly be one of the key deciding factors. In this case, Fenix LD05 is really too heavy for my shirt pocket carry due to the stainless steel material used in the head and tail, couple with thick Al body, while the weight of Preon II is just nice for this purpose.

There are noticeable PWM on the Fenix LD05, though better than iTP, it’s still noticeable. Preon on the other hand has no noticeable PWM, even when I try to look for it. It’s operating at a much higher frequency than LD05.

Whining can be heard from Preon in Med mode, though I have to put the light close to my ear. No whining on LD05.