Fenix HP11 Review

Name: Fenix HP11
Brand: Fenix

Fenix HP11 Review (Fenix HP 11) — Fenix HP 11
Credit: Fenix

Price: $65 List

Manufacturer: Fenix

By RJ Spurrier and Chris McNamara ⋅ May 10, 2015

OVERALL
SCORE

Trail Finding - 20% 10.0
Close Proximity - 20% 4.0
Battery Life - 20% 3.0
Brightness - 15% 10.0
Weight - 10% 2.0
Ease of Use - 10% 8.0
Gloved Use - 5% 6.0

View at Fenix

Our Verdict

The Fenix HP11 has been discontinued.

REASONS TO BUY

Brightest headlamp tested

Easy to use

REASONS TO AVOID

Low close proximity score

Short battery life

Heavy

Boasting an impressive 277 lumens, the Fenix HP11 is one of the brightest headlamps available. In our tests, it had the highest lux measurement and cast a beam the furthest out of over 36 competitors. All of this and it has a street price of only $50-65. While it is like putting a high beam on your head, it also didn't score that well for close proximity and had a short battery life. Unless you just want the brightest headlamp out there, most people will prefer the Coast HL7, our Editors' Choice winner which is half the weight, $20 less expensive and has a much better beam-pattern at close distance.

Our Analysis and Test Results

Performance Comparison

fenix hp11 - spot mode light — Spot mode light
Credit: Shellay Glatz

Trail Finding

Few headlamps topped the Fenix for trail finding and those that also scored a 10 od 10 were typically 3-8 times more expensive. The Petzl Ultra may be a little better, but it also costs $430.

fenix hp11 - beam distance photo — Beam distance photo
Credit: Outdoor Gear Lab Staff

Close Proximity

Here the Fenix stumbles and gets a 4 of 10. Top scorers in this category cast even light across you entire field of vision. The Fenix keeps the light focused in the middle which makes it difficult to see items in the periphery. Below you can see the Coast (10 of 10 score) cast a nearly perfectly even beam while the Fenix has a glaring hot spot in the middle.

fenix hp11 - spot mode — Spot mode
Credit: Shellay Glatz

Battery Life

In bright mode, the Fenix does not last that long. In this battery life vs beam distance graph against the Black Diamond Icon, see how the Fenix beam distance drops precipitously after 1.5 hours and is dead after 5. The Icon slowly loses power over 11.5 hours.

The Fenix lasted 2.6 hours in our measured mind mode runtime test using the ANSI standard (learn more about ANSI at our headlamp review. By comparison, the Spot lasted 5.2 hours, the Icon 8.2 hours and the Coast 3.3 hours.

We did not measure the low mode runtime. Fenix claims HP11 will run for 206 hours compared to the Icon (175 hours) and Spot (200 hours).

fenix hp11 - uses 4 aa batteries — Uses 4 AA batteries
Credit: Shellay Glatz

Brightness

With a measured max beam distance of 173 m, this is by far the brightest headlamp we tested. The Coast beam went 128 meters and the icon 80 meters.

Weight

At 263 grams (9.3 ounces), this is one of the heaviest headlamps tested. You get a lot of power: but you have to be ready to carry it. The Icon weighs in at 230 grams and the Coast is 124 grams.

Best Applications

Because of its weight, this is not the ideal trail running or backpacking headlamp. Its more for nighttime hiking with difficult route finding.

Value

With a street price as low as $50, you get a lot of lumens for your dollar.

Conclusion

If you primary use of a headlamp is trail-finding in short bursts, this headlamp is looking good. If you want to brag about lumens to your friends, look no further. However, it faces some stout competition. The Coast HL7 is $20-30 less expensive, less than half the weight, and casts a much more even beam at close proximity. If you need a bright beam for a long outing, we recommend the Black Diamon Icon which lasts much longer and is better at close proximity.

— RJ Spurrier and Chris McNamara