The Fenix TK76-Conclusions:
When I first saw this light, I scratched my head. Then as I started to handle and work with it, I started to understand what the designers must have been thinking. Their intent was not to build a light for walking the dog. They wanted to make something that a team or working professional would use. It may be the first responders who grab their Crash Kit that contains the TK76: responding via helicopter or motorized transport to find avalanche victims, stranded climbers, or lost children. It may be sitting in the main tent at an expedition base camp at Everest, McMurdo, or Logan. Indeed if it were to be used by an individual, that person is probably going to be at work: as the engineer on a train, foreman, safety officer, or inspector on a construction site are just a few of many potential uses. It would also be of interest to police, security personnel, and military for use in the field.
What comes with the form factor of the TK76 is the convenience of addressing a number of imminent needs with the same tool. While you are illuminating distant objects with the main beam, you do not get tired prematurely by a poorly balanced tool. Then, when you arrive on scene, the switches don't drive you nuts while you try and tweak the setting to what you need because they are intuitive. You can set the TK76 down as-is, or mount it on a tripod base to better articulate the aim and stabilize the beam.
I have become accustomed to back-lighting on the keypad of my VHF radios. Backlighting on the 5 switches of the TK76 would also be desirable as I found the TK76's switches difficult to operate accurately in total darkness unless I pointed my headlamp directly at them. And although each switch is shaped differently so they might be operated by Braille, that will not happen when you are wearing gloves.
What I would like to see as this light matures, is the ability to choose from a greater range of emitters in all the heads. For example, if I were buying this light, I would probably want one with a T5 or T6 emitter in the main head, a T4 in the clear optic, and perhaps even a T3 in the 120 degree diffused flood, especially if it was snowing, foggy, or raining. Also I suspected the existing crenulated optic they are using in the floodiest side was not doing a good job of evenly distributing the light (it seemed concentrated within the 60 degree arc) and I initially thought that I'd be happier with the 60 degree clear optic on both sides with each one pointed out a bit more on an angle away from the X axis because that axis is well covered by the main head in any case. However, I must confess that the T6 with the pebbled optic really surprised me on the blood spatter test on snow (see slideshow). So I may have to reconsider that thought after using the light more, perhaps that 130 degree optic is best left alone after all. I'd also consider giving the two smaller heads the option to hot swap different emitter drop-ins using a spring loaded quick release button. Or perhaps just lenses (as they do with the Spark SD series of headlamps). For example while searching or operating in a base camp wide area, perhaps you may want some U2's flooding your work area. But when you find a patient, or are working at close quarters trying to deal with a plethora of assessment parameters, you may want T4 or T3 emitters. (Once we have fulfilled our obligation to Fenix regarding this light, we may be tempted to mod it ourselves to get the emitters we prefer for our main specialist activity which is Search and Rescue, and perhaps identify that rattling part at the same time. While we're at it, I'll also probably add a tritium vial to the recess in the tail cap to make it easier to find the light in the dark).
Although the build quality of the TK76 is excellent, our prototype had some detritus rattling around inside the main body. We did not receive this light in retail packaging. It was just swathed in bubble wrap, and that may have not helped during shipping, dislodging some non-critical part perhaps. It did not seem to affect the light's performance, and we could not find it even after looking under the PCB base in the north end of the battery compartment. Hopefully whatever it is, is non-conductive and will not short something on the driver at an inopportune time. There was also the issue of the corrosion on the carrier assembly screws, which was frankly quite bemusing, and which Fenix assures us will not be present when they start shipping production models to their dealers.
The batteries cannot be charged in the host. While that may be seen as a con by casual recreational users, I am not a fan of charging batteries in the body of the light when it is operating in support of professional activities. The presence of a charging point necessitates the creation of a of weak docking zone on the host that becomes a potential source for water ingress, damage, and corrosion. Cells that are charged in a host cannot cool as well when they are enclosed in such a tight space. If a host supports charging, they generally have to engineer it bigger to accommodate the charging circuit, and that circuit needs to be sophisticated enough to protect the batteries and charge them intelligently using a CCCV compliant charging algorithm. I'd rather not have to carry the weight and bulk of the additional electronics for that on my back. When charging 18650 cells I prefer to be able to see what is going on with them, and monitor their status with an intelligent charger that I know uses proper charging algorithms. When you are working in the field, you cannot be charging batteries while the light is in your pack or hands, that's where your spare set of batteries resides. The exhausted cells go back to rescue base and get placed into the charger so they can be redeployed back to the field ASAP. And speaking of that spare set of batteries. At work, where applicable, I carry another round of ammo in a spare magazine in my duty bag because reloading a magazine in the dark is frankly a drag. The same principle would apply here: for serious deployment of this flashlight for professional purposes as an effective field tool, the backup set of batteries should be pre loaded into an additional carrier.So it is my hope that Fenix will take this recommendation to heart and include a second carrier as standard with every TK76 purchased. But as most managers will want to purchase a turn key solution when they get this light, I'm also hoping that Fenix will offer the TK76 to include a complete package option that includes their new ARE-C2 4 channel charger and 8 of their new ARB-L2S 3400mAh batteries.
Final Recommendation:
At the moment it would seem the Fenix TK76 fills a niche in a way that no other competing light can. Whether the potential user base that lives in that niche will take enough interest in this tool to reward Fenix for their efforts to design, develop, and bring it to market is something we will have to wait and see as it unfolds. There are some subtle changes and options that we'd like to see added to this light, but as it stands now, it can be an effective tool for both teams and individual professionals with demanding jobs to do. To that end, it is another tool that we can recommend that they consider adding to their Quiver.
