Flashlights have improved greatly throughout my lifetime. We no longer have to carry around large lights with D-batteries in them. I like field testing new flashlights due to hunting in the backcountry, going to my treestand before dawn, coming back from the hunt in the evening, or going after critters in the backyard late at night. The main things I look for are look and feel, reliability, weight, usability, brightness, reduced brightness and battery life. A few months ago, I was asked to field test and review the FENIX TK16 V2.0 flashlight from Fenix Store. This one had some challenges, so read on if you’d like to know more.
First, let’s talk look and feel. Out of the box, the TK16 V2.0 flashlight looks like it’s going to be tough. Due to the solid construction, it’s one of the heaviest flashlights I have tested so far. It’s also a bit bulky and uncomfortable to handle for those of us with small to medium size hands. I was able to use it better with gloves on. If this is strictly being used for a tactical situation (it’s main purpose) or rescue and recovery, it will be alright, but for hunting it was a bit annoying to lug around a bulky flashlight.
UPDATE: The holster must have fallen out the back when I opened the box and took everything out. The flashlight did indeed come with a holster. The contents of the box were interesting. The flashlight is supposed to come with a holster, but one was not included in the package I received. It did come with a lanyard, USB Type-C charging cable, a 21700 5000U battery, two spare o-rings, and the instruction sheet and warranty card. Notice I said it came with a charging cable, but not the adapter to plug it into. The manufacturer is assuming you already have one you can use.
The buttons for ON/OFF and the strobe are very easy to find. In fact, I liked having the strobe button right next to the larger ON/OFF button. Other flashlights make you go through a series of steps or button clicks to activate the strobe, but not the TK16. You simply press the strobe button and you get a strobe, but you must keep pressing the button. If you want a strobe where you do not need to constantly depress a button for it to work, you must turn on the light (circular button) and then hit the strobe button. Both worked very well and it was impressive how easy it was to get the features to function.
Battery life, as compared to what is on the box, is fairly accurate. As with many high-powered lights, if you have it set to the brightest setting and leave it on, it will get very hot. Hot enough to melt gear, so use caution! I found that the medium brightness setting was bright enough for many things, such as searching around within 100 yards. If you need to reach out and find something, the high power setting will allow that. I recommend using it in short bursts though. Leaving it on will simply waste precious battery life and heat the bulb too much.
Charging the 5000mAh battery was a challenge. A USB type C cable is provided for charging the battery. It is a direct USB cable-to-battery charging cable. My issue is two fold; one being me and the other being the battery. First off, the charging cable has a specific size connector. If you misplace the cable, as I did, you cannot charge the battery. It took me a few days to see that I had organized my charging cables and had misplaced it, which I am fully responsible for. Now, for the charging issue I had. I was able to charge the battery two full times with no issues whatsoever. A little red light appears on top of the + end of the battery letting you know it is charging. After some time, the light goes off, which I would assume means it’s fully charged. That is not necessarily the case. On my third charge I had issues. I charged the battery for four hours and it barely held a charge to turn on the ECO setting. I left it plugged into the charger for 12 more hours and figured it would be fully charged. It only charged enough to allow me to use ECO, Low and Medium settings. I had to disconnect the charger three times and reinsert the USB cable into the battery to get the red light to turn on. Another 8+ hours and it was fully charged. It took roughly 24 hours to get it to full charge. I’m not sure if it’s the battery or the charger, but it didn’t function well.
As previously mentioned, the TK16 has five brightness settings and a strobe setting. The brightness levels were impressive. Fair warning, do not turn on the High or Turbo (3100 Lumens) in your house or at a white surface close by. You will blind yourself for a few seconds, depending on how long you look toward it. I accidentally tested that out for you guys already. If you test it indoors, do it with sunglasses on, seriously. Those settings are meant for the outdoors or very dark places and work well for their intended function. If you need a range of brightness settings for your line of work (first responders, search and rescue, tactical operations) and have access to power to charge the unit up, this will work well. For hunters and hikers, not so much.
From time to time I can be clumsy. I must have knocked the TK16 off my table 2-3 times and also dropped it on concrete from about four feet. The light turned right on, worked well and didn’t show much damage to the body. A few small dings and scratches, but I didn’t care about that. I don’t use a flashlight for how cool it looks.
Overall, the TK16 V2.0 is a decent flashlight from Fenix-Store, but it’s not something I would recommend for hunters or outdoors men and women. This would be a good backup light, but there isn’t any protection from keeping it from turning on in your pack. It’s also a bit heavy and for $99.95 at Fenix-Store, I am sure I can find a better flashlight suited for my needs as a hunter.
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