by Jon » Jul 8, 2011 11:46 am
Everybody calls the Apex a battery hog. I don't think so. You get what you pay for, and here we are talking light. If you put a Fenix against an Apex you will get better throw but not much usable spill at any distance. The Apex however fills in a room allowing you to see more better. The Fenix requires you to keep moving your head to get the little bright spot to where you want it. Now if you really want to fill in a room use a Sten with frosted optics, sure that Fenix pencil beam throws farther but not a lot. Now figure a route, the best route, out to that dot...
The only time I've seen problems with Apex's eating batteries is when someone just leaves the throw light on high. Start with fresh batteries, conserve power and I don't see a problem with the apex other than waterproofness, which has been discussed and solved elsewhere. Personally I keep my light to a minimum and only crank it when I need it, kind of concentrate on what you're doing, moving or looking. Apex is far more versatile and if you TRY and make the Fenix as versatile, you'd be complaining about having to carry a Mini Tag pack just for replacement diffusers. Now rather than running out and buying every latest little upgraded non rebuildable light, if you save, you might just get a Sten, which is on sale at one of the major suppliers for $330 ish for the whole setup. Now you can recharge your battery, use backup 9 volt or AA's, you can change the optics and if you like, with clear optics can blow away the Fenix throw and the Apex spill at the same time. Yes the Apex warranty is for life (not breakage) the Fenix one year. Bust one or two of the cheaper lights and well you do the math. When you think about it the Sten comes with years worth of batteries and a charger for it, so consider that into the Apex or Fenix savings. Now break a lense on those others....no light, on the Sten it's a $10 set of screws, O ring and replacement lense. Yes the up front cost is a bit but it may well be the last cave light you'll every need to buy
Oh for run times for the Sten with the smaller battery (double the times for the optional larger one)
Low 10 days
Medium 36 hours
High 8 hours
Turbo 2-4 hours depending on thermal limiting