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Product name	Tesco Cree v Fenix L2
Manufacturer	Tesco / Fenix
Price range	£10.00 to £37.95
Rated

Full Review

Much has been debated about the Cree lamps that Tesco are now selling, available in AA, C or D cell versions. The AA lamp in particular has gathered a lot of attention and is seen as a very keenly-priced rival to the likes of the Fenix L2 and offerings from the sub-premium suppliers like Trustfire. For sure, a £10 torch can't be overlooked and even if it were only close to the performance of the comparable Fenix, the L2, the judgement would surely be that it may not be as good, but for the money it must be worth it?

Vital statistics



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Tesco Cree (£10) - Cree emitter; runs on 2x AA cells; output unknown
Fenix L2 (£37.95) - Cree Q5 emitter; runs on 2x AA cells; output 180 lumens

Model / Weight* / Weight* / Length / Diameter (max)
Tesco / 101g / 150g / 154mm / 29mm
Fenix L2 / 57g / 106g / 147mm / 21.5mm

* without batteries
* with batteries

The weight of the Tesco Cree jumps out of this: it's virtually twice the weight of the Fenix L2, its closest competitor. Although a thicker body might be considered to be the main cause, the comparative weights of the sections compared to the L2 cast some light:

Torch - Tesco / Fenix
Head - 33g / 21g
Body - 52g / 28g
Tail - 16g / 8g
Overall - 101g / 57g

The extra weight is spread pretty evenly around the torch and it's pretty inexcusable. In fact, it's quite possible to pick up the Tesco lamp and switch it on to discover it's not working before you twig that it's not got batteries in it!


What do you get?

The Tesco lamp comes in a plastic clamshell package with a spare o-ring, a leash and a couple of Tesco 'Everyday' AA batteries. The Fenix is supplied in a box, with spare o-rings, a spare tail cap, a leash and a fabric belt holster but no batteries.


Design & Quality

Tesco Cree



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It would be difficult to describe the Tesco light without using the word "Maglite" - it bears a strong resemblance including the diamond-pattern grip and the smooth head and tail. The light is built in the standard three parts and these are sealed by o-rings. The head can be disassembled into front and back sections with the emitter unit sandwiched in between. The emitter sits in a white plastic cone with a transparent plastic fitting inside this - there is no metal reflector as such.

The head unit provides some quality concerns as the emitter unit is slightly loose and rattles if you shake the head - however, once the torch is assembled, the rattle goes away. The other concern is that my reflector unit on my torch appears to have a spec of dirt in it and although this won't affect the light output, it should have been picked by Quality Control in the factory (see below).



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The other noticeable thing about the Tesco lamp is the quality of the tail clicker switch - it's a cheap solid moulding and has a budget feel to it, especially when compared to the Fenix. Similarly, it's not recessed, so it can be switched on by accident quite easily: not necessarily a massive concern, but if this is going to be a back-up kept in a pocket or a rucksack, this might be a concern.

The torch has but the two operating modes: on and off. No output figure is quoted.

Fenix L2



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The L2 is a similarly-sized torch, but is slimmer and without the enlarged head that the Tesco light has. I'm not a huge fan of the stepped body and the grip isn't as grippy, but it's neatly done. It's built in three parts, but the head is a sealed unit that can not be disassembled. The example tested has an orange-peel reflector, albeit smooth ones are also available.

One thing that's noticable is that the seals on the Fenix seem much better than the Tesco - once they engage, two or three turns are needed to fully tighten the sections together as the o-rings are located about 1.5mm short of the end-stop, ensuring a better seal than merely using the o-ring as an end-stop.

The clicker switch on the back of the Fenix is encased in a rubber boot, a spare for which is supplied. Whilst this is a better solution, the possibility that the boot will perish and allow water in has to be considered, although in reality that would put you in the same position as the un-booted switch.

The L2 has four levels of standard output, a strobe and an SOS setting, six in total. The four standard settings are: 12 lumens (55hrs run time, 53 lumens (10.5hrs), 107 lumens (4hrs), 180 lumens (2.4hrs).


Tested

The test was carried out in a slate mine, in a long passageway with a doorframe in the distance to provide a focus. This was done using a Nikon Coolpix 8400 digital camera with the same settings for each torch, which was used to illuminate the passage for the duration of the 4 second exposure. This was the result:



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Two things are obviously apparent: firstly, the Tesco light is significantly less bright than the Fenix, much more so than might be imagined having compared them in daylight. Secondly, the light from the Tesco is more focused than the Fenix - whilst this may seem to be a good thing in some quarters, one imagines that it may have been done to compensate for a significantly lower-power emitter. Similarly, the lack of a reflector can not help the cause: cost cut for sure, but the lack of reflector is a pretty major failing.

The distinct cone of light thrown by the Fenix surprised me slightly: although I knew that the larger TK10 has a very distinct throw, I'd not imagined the L2 would have a similar effect. This is proof of the good-quality reflector and ensures a wide, yet focused beam with a good spread of light.

A similar test but for 8 seconds also confirmed my suspicion that the light cast by the Tesco torch has a much bluer tint compared to the much whiter light from the Fenix - whilst this isn't particularly relevant for general use, for lighting underground photographs, I suspect the Tesco Cree would cause a lot more use of Photoshop to get the colour balance right. This is possibly due to Fenix specifying the light colour they require from their emitters, whereas the emitters used in the Tesco unit are probably from the 'unspecified' bins.

One point I would add is that the earlier (and less bright) Luxeon Rebel 100 emitters used by Fenix are of a slightly brighter white than the Cree Q5 currently used. However, they are both way ahead of that used in the Tesco lamp.

Since returning from underground, the Tesco torch has been dropped about a dozen times onto a concrete floor covered in carpet tiles: this has caused the emitter assembly to detatch from the heat sink and cracked part of the plastic casing around the emitter, leading to a deterioration of the light quality (photo below). A similar test with the L2 caused no ill-effects and there have also been reports of Fenixes going through washing machines and being dropped over 120' without ill-effects.



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Both torches have also been immersed in water at a depth of 20cm for half an hour, with no water ingress or other ill-effects.

In terms of run-time, Fenix's claim of 2.4 hours on full power seems to be in the right ball-park. The Tesco Cree achieves a greater time than this, by perhaps 30 minutes - not surprising given the considerably lower light output. What is interesting, though, is that the Tesco suffers noticeably hot batteries compared to the Fenix when left on for a decent duration and this is, perhaps, a cause for some concern.


The Verdict

Before the test, I'd reckoned that the verdict would be that the Tesco Cree wasn't as good as the Fenix, but on balance and comparing the prices it would be worth a punt. Surprisingly, I don't think that's the case: the L2 comprehensively beats the Tesco torch to such an extent that it does justifiy the significantly higher price.

The Tesco Cree is not a bad bit of kit, but it's simply nowhere near the pace of the current crop of LED torches: the lack of a reflector is a huge flaw. Significantly, it also lacks the various modes that the Fenix enjoys and although you may get over three hours out of it, the ability of the Fenix to give 55 hours on its low setting must make it by far the favourite if you're looking for a backup. In blunt terms, the lack of power-saving modes on the Tesco torch means you'd be spending a long time in darkness waiting for help rather than walking out yourself!

The difference in maximum light output is massive - the Tesco Cree is not much better than something like a (big) Maglite and whilst this may have been impressive three or four years ago, it simply doesn't cut the mustard any longer. Added to that is the slight blue tint that the Tesco light has, which limits its usefulness for photography.

Added to these significant failings, there is also the weight issue that the Tesco Cree inexplicably suffers from, not to mention the slightly suspect build quality: the Fenix L2 is a clear winner.