Flash Reviews No. 6

I like the links to the manufacturers sites. But the buy me links are lame. BPL has done the whole 180 now from the glorious days of old with no ads to now ads wherever you can fit them in. A quick search easily reveals where one can purchase. But then you don't make anything off that sale. Guess the ads here aren't working out so well. Or they work better than expected. Sad to see. My virtual two cents.

Really wondering what the new site will be like.

My take, who is My in these reviews?

How does the Fenix HL23 compare with the Zebralight H52W in terms of power efficiency, low-medium light performance and light color tone?

Can the Fenix HL23 take lithium batteries without problems?

What's the weight of the Fenix HL23 without the alkaline battery? A lithium battery will save some of that weight.

Thanks for sharing more reviews.

I've used carbon fiber Komperdell telescoping poles for years in Switzerland and Nepal so with great excitement bought Black Diamonds last year — the first pair that fold down enough to fit in a carry on backpack or luggage. Last fall I took them to the Grand Canyon without using them first. Big mistake.

Within an hour, one of the straps had ripped off so I had to jury rig or abandon it. By the end of the second day I had developed excruciating pain through both of my forearms to the extent that turning over at night would immediately wake me from sleep, This happened at least 10 – 15 times each night. It took a while to figure out what was happening but my theory is the design of the grip which has almost no angle because the way the design saves space with a sliding grip in the travel mode, also causes the grip to pinch nerves in my wrists during long descents — like into the Grand Canyon.

It took a couple of weeks for the pain to finally go away. I have never been so glad to return something to REI yet so sad to get rid of something I wanted so much to work.