LEDs used in flashlights
Fenix uses the most modern powerful light emitting diodes (LED) from American manufacturers Cree and Luminus. Both manufacturers offer the best efficiency on the market, which reaches up to 200 lm/W. It emits up to 20× more light with the same consumption, they do not crack and have a lifespan of up to 50,000 hours.
In flashlights, we can meet light-emitting diodes with maximum power most often in the range of 1 - 40 W. In older models, we could meet with Cree XR-E diodes, which were later replaced by newer Cree XP-E and Cree XP-G types. Which were further upgraded to the Cree XP-E2, Cree XP-G2 and Cree XP-G3 types. The most powerful flashlights use one or more diodes with a power consumption of 10W. Previously, these were Cree MC-E types, which were later replaced by Cree XM-L diodes, which were further upgraded to Cree XM-L2, Cree XP-L, Cree XP-L High Intensity. In some flashlights, we can also find diodes with an even higher power consumption, most often these are the Cree MT-G2, Cree XHP35, Cree XHP50 and/or Cree XHP70 types. The latest models are now dominated by LEDs from the Luminus manufacturer, specifically the Luminus SST-20, Luminus SST-40 and Luminus SST-70 models.
Attention, it is generally inappropriate to compare LEDs and other light sources only according to their power consumption, more important is their light efficiency stated in lumens per Watt (lm / W). Newer diodes are more efficient than older ones, and for example, a modern diode can shine at 3 W as well as an older diode at 5 W.
Basic parameters of the most commonly used Cree and Luminus LEDs
| power supply 350 mA (approx. 1 W) | power supply 1000 mA (approx. 3 W) | power supply 1500 mA (approx. 5 W) | power supply 3000 mA (approx. 10 W) | power supply 2x 3000 mA (approx. 20 W) | ||||||
| LED | luminous flux [lumens] | efficiency [lm / W] | luminous flux [lumens] | efficiency [lm / W] | luminous flux [lumens] | efficiency [lm / W] | luminous flux [lumens] | efficiency [lm / W] | luminous flux [lumens] | efficiency [lm / W] |
| Cree XHP70** | - | - | 1572 | 178 | 2818 | 150 | ||||
| Cree XHP50 J4** | - | - | 514 | 186 | 738 | 170 | 1362 | 150 | 2376 | 124 |
| Cree XHP35 HI D4** | - | - | 460 | 160 | 660 | 149 | 1160 | 124 | - | - |
| Cree MT-G2 P0** | - | - | 442 | 156 | 649 | 149 | 1206 | 133 | 2127 | 110 |
| Luminus SST-40 P2 | - | - | 570 | 207 | 760 | 180 | 1339 | 148 | 2170 | 108 |
| Luminus SST-20 L5 | 200 | 197 | 520 | 173 | 713 | 158 | 1150 | 114 | - | - |
| Cree XP-L V6 | 198 | 197 | 521 | 170 | 736 | 155 | 1251 | 120 | - | - |
| Cree XP-L HI V3 | 173 | 174 | 456 | 150 | 645 | 135 | 1095 | 105 | ||
| Cree XM-L2 U2 | 179 | 180 | 469 | 155 | 660 | 140 | 1123 | 109 | - | - |
| Cree XM-L U2 | 154 | 160 | 415 | 139 | 590 | 125 | 975 | 98 | - | - |
| Cree MC-E M | 121 | 128 | 319 | 107 | 456 | 97 | 750 | 79 | - | - |
| Cree XP-G3 S5 | 191 | 197 | 475 | 160 | 653 | 143 | - | - | - | - |
| Cree XP-G2 R5 | 157 | 155 | 383 | 123 | 520 | 107 | - | - | - | - |
| Cree XP-G R5 | 139 | 137 | 345 | 110 | 463 | 95 | - | - | - | - |
| Cree XP-E2 R4 | 151 | 143 | 331 | 101 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Cree XP-E R4 | 130 | 122 | 307 | 90 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Cree XR-E Q5 | 107 | 93 | 235 | 64 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
* All values given apply to a chip temperature of 25°C, for a chip temperature of 85°C they will be about 10 - 15% lower.
** Cree XHP35, XHP50, XHP70, MT-G2 and Luminus SST-70 diodes are multi-chip designed, therefore the 1000 mA supply values are actually 2x 500 mA or 4x 250 mA according to the internal number of chips.
*** Maximum supply current for Cree MC-E is 2800mA, for Cree XHP35 HI is 4x 1000mA, for Cree XHP50 is 2x 3000mA, for Cree XHP70 is 2x 4000mA