Tactical Flashlight Review 2018 | Fenix TK20R
The Fenix TK20R is one of the most popular tactical flashlights available, and it's been on the Fenix bestseller list ever since it came out. It seems to be in the top three every month, and I can see why. This Fenix flashlight is absolutely above par, and it exceeds more than any other flashlight. It has 1000 lumens, and yet it is very compact. It has an incredible 310 meter beam distance throw, so this is a perfect for military, policemen, emergency responders, search and rescue, anyone in that kind of field, or just a simple everyday carry person. This Fenix flashlight is absolutely perfect for all aspects.
Fenix TK20R Flashlight Features
The Fenix TK20R is a micro USB rechargeable flashlight, and it is designed specifically for tactical applications. And you can see why. It does deliver a max beam distance of 310 meters, and it uses a Cree XPLHIV3 LED. With a max output of 1000 lumens, it is powered by either a single 18650 lithium ion battery that is included whenever you purchase one. I purchased it off of Fenix-Store.com, and it came with a battery. But also it can be used with two non-rechargeable CR123A batteries. It does feature a dual layer body and or waterproofing treatment and attachable tail switch with a side switch that allows for easy access for the different output levels and for strobe. And with the side switch there's also a battery status indicator like almost built in behind/around it. It's very nice, I like the look of it.
It is a very compact but hardy flashlight that is ideal for tactical applications, industrial tasks, and even hunting if you wish. So, going right into it, the Fenix TK20R is micro USB rechargeable, the actual micro USB port is located on the tail, right next to the tail switch. And even without the rubber port cover it still has the inner waterproofing treatments. So it's a commonly used micro USB charging cable that is included and that has inner waterproofing treatment for the charging port itself. So the whole flashlight is IP68 rated for dustproof and waterproof, so it can be submersible up to two meters for 30 minutes.
Also, like I mentioned earlier, there is a battery status indicator, You can see this when charging or whenever you first turn the light on. There's a gap in between the side switch and the outer ring around it, and that is where the status indicator will light up. It'll either be red or green, whenever you're charging, if it's not fully charged it'll show red. Once it gets to fully charged, it'll show green. And then, whenever you first turn the light on, the first three seconds it will display a light, and it's a green constant on, you have sufficient power, which is probably around 70 to 100%. If the red light is constant, that means you have pretty poor battery and then if the red light is flashing, that means you need to charge or replace the battery as soon as possible.
So with the 310 meter beam distance that is also the same as 1,017 feet so definitely a very powerful thrower for the size. And moving right along, it does have the reliable dual layer body. So this Fenix TK20R is made of durable aircraft grade aluminum, it does have a dual layer body to ensure circuit stability and efficiency, as well as to improve the ruggedness of the light spotting.
Fenix TK20R Tactical Flashlight Body & Output
It does have a very aggressive striking bezel so it's perfect for military use and policemen use, or any other kind of tactical situation. And it does have the tactical tail switch with the functional side switch making operating it simple. So you'll turn the light on with the actual tail switch and then the rest of the functions will come from the side switch. You'll simply press it once to cycle it the or you can press and hold for roughly for a half a second to a second and that will activate strobe mode.
There are 4 different brightness levels in addition to the strobe mode. You have the 1000 lumens turbo mode, an hour and 40 minutes of run time, and then you also have the high mode of 350 lumens that runs for about 4 hours and 20 minutes. Then you have the medium mode of 150 lumens, that can run for 11 hours. Then you have ultra low mode of 10 lumens that can run for 160 hours. Now theses measurements are used by testing with the Fenix battery, the ARB-L18-3500 18650 lithium ion rechargeable battery. This is Fenix's best battery, definitely the best bang for your buck. They do have a two-pack or, a four-pack if you want some extras, or you have a bigger light that requires 18650 rechargeable batteries.
So, then moving right along once again we have other tactical features of this Fenix TK20R. Like other Fenix flashlights, it is made out of a premium type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish and also made of the durable aircraft-grade aluminum. It does have anti-slip and anti-roll grip ring that can be taken off.And so the whole light itself measures under 6 inches, 5.96 inches. So, for 1000 lumens, with over a 1000 foot throw, and less than 6 inches long, you're definitely looking at a perfect everyday carry for tactical situations and much more. This is one of many Fenix flashlights that fits the bill for this. The actual width is .98 inches, so it can easily fit into the majority of gun mounts. They have it in red, blue and green. So that's good if you need any other sort of colored filter to put on your Fenix TK20R.
Now a little but more about the actual circuitry. The TK20R is digitally regulated output, maintains constant brightness, so that's one thing that some military and policemen will definitely look for when purchasing a tactical flashlight is that if it is going to be digitally regulated. So that is going to maintain the constant brightness. Then you also have intelligent memory circuits, so that's going to memorized the most previously used mode. So, for instance, if you turn the light off in 1000 lumens, assuming the battery has enough power, whenever you go to turn the light back on, it will go back on right at 1000 lumens. That's very useful, especially whenever you have the TK20R mounted on a gun.
It does have reverse polarity protection, this is going to protect against improper battery insertion. Just in case you accidentally put the battery in wrong, it will not damage the battery of flashlight. This also has overheat protection to avoid high surface temperature. There are also many accessories that can go on this TK20R, one of which is a bike mount. So, if you want to be policeman by day and then biker by night, you can also just add this ALB-10 to hook it on to your rail on the bike and use this as a light going down the road.
It is compatible with 18650 batteries, a ARBL18 series and the L2 series. There's a diffuser to act as a candle. The TK20R cannot tail stand, but you can make adjustments to have this stand up whenever it's wedged in between a couple of things and used the AODM as a candle light. It also has a traffic wand, the AOTN and the pressure switch would be the AER-03. That would be the one that fits this TK20R for tactical situations. There are also 2 different gun mounts on Fenix store, the ALG-00 and the ALG-01. Either one of those will fit the TK20R. I personally recommend the ALG-00, cause it's easier to adjust and it has a quick release on the picatinny rail. So, I highly recommend that one. That's been my personal favorite on my gun.
I'll go over is what was included in my package when I bought it from fenix-store.com. It comes with, of course, the Fenix TK20R flashlight. It also comes with a Fenix 18650 rechargeable battery. It is a 2900 milliamp battery. It comes with the USB charging cable, a nylon Fenix TK20R holster and lanyard. It comes with a spare O-ring, a user manual and then a warranty card. And so that's all that came with it when I purchased it off fenix-store.com. And so that is the Fenix TK20R.
Now this is the first rechargeable tactical flashlight, the TK series that Fenix has introduced quite a ways back, this is the first rechargeable one. I can assume this is going to be the first of many as it has been such a huge and continuously huge hit. It does make a perfect tactical flashlight. And so, from Fenix, they just continued to bring out all of their Fenix flashlights and they all seem to improve year after year and impress year after year. So I highly recommend taking a look at Fenix flashlights. You probably will not find anything better out there and I promise you you will not regret it.
So I will continue to receive their newsletter emails about all those new products, especially with the cerakoted special editions coming out. They just keep racking those out as well. So, be sure to sign up for their newsletter as I already have and hopefully I don't spend too much money here. That does it for the Fenix TK20R review. Hope that I was able to inform you on some stuff and hope you guys enjoyed. Thank you and have a great day.