Fenix E12, first impressions

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My Fenix E12 showed up in the mail today. It’s been out long enough for reviews and detailed opinions to be posted, so I’ll stick mostly to my impressions of the E12, particularly in comparison to the E11.

A couple of notes:

• Reverse clicky
• 3 modes: low (8 lumens/22 hours), medium (50/3.5 hours), high (130/1 hour)
• tailstands
• no mode memory

Pros

• Better mode spacing than the E11
• Tail design allows tail-standing without the “sore thumb” I tend to get from using recessed tail clickies
• Beam profile is more throw than spill, optimizing the lumen output

Cons

• No mode memory – this means you have to cycle to the desired mode every time you turn the light on by tapping the clicky

Opinion
The E12 is a good utility light – take it out, adjust as needed, and commence. What makes a good utility light is the direct opposite, in my opinion, of what makes a good pocket light. Which is the same mode, the first time, every time, that you selected before turning it off. A forward clicky is also nice, but not required.

That’s my “rustling in the bushes” standard – while I’m on a walk at night, if I reach for my light because of a rustling in the bushes, I don’t want to be fiddling with the light to pick the needed output in the face of a maybe danger. If the E12 started in medium, or high, then it wouldn’t be as much of a problem; but then it would also be less viable as a utility light because of the battery drain and too much initial light (try reading a page at night with a tactical light – you’ll see what I mean).

Mode selection via tail clicky also presents the risk of accidentally switching modes at a bad moment. As an interesting aside, you can turn the E12 on, then loosen the bezel to “turn it off” – making it, essentially, a twisty light. You can change modes the same way – by loosening and tightening the bezel quickly. But if you leave it “off” for too long, it defaults to low mode again.

Conclusion
The E12 isn’t an inherently bad light. But I think it’s trying to cram too many opposing concepts into one package. The novelty of a tail-click isn’t worth the uptick in price, to me, over a similar utility light design like the L10.

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