Fenix TK30

Fire Rescue Ambassador Andrew H.

I’ve been in the fire service for just over 24 years now, but have been a flashlight fanatic since I was a kid. Over time, I’ve used dozens upon dozens of flashlights, but I’ve never used one quite like the Fenix TK30. I’ve been struggling with how to describe this light, but the one word that keeps coming to mind is amazing.

Many of us are familiar with regular flashlights that use either an incandescent/halogen/xenon bulb, or an LED as their light source. The Fenix TK30 changes things up using a blue laser emitter as its light source. With the use of several filters, the TK30 produces 500 lumens of the whitest light I’ve ever seen from a flashlight. The benefit of using a laser is that you get usable light for an incredible distance (almost 4000 feet!), but the downside is that you need to be careful not to look at the beam as there’s a possibility of eye injuries. The TK30 is classified as a Class 3B laser.

What I like most about this light is its concentrated beam of light. The TK30 produces a tight, focused beam of light with essentially no flood/spread around the main beam. Right after I got this light, I got dispatched to a report of a transformer explosion. Because of the power of this light, I was able to easily follow the wires, connections, fuses, etc along the utility poles to find the problem. Every run I go on after dark, I use the TK30 in some fashion, and every time I do, I catch myself saying “man this thing is incredible!” It’s especially useful when looking for house numbers when responding to calls after dark. I work in a seaside community, and I also discovered that the Fenix TK30 can easily penetrate water allowing you to see the bottom of a small stream or pond (I could easily see the bottom of a creek about 3 feet deep.)

Overall, I absolutely love the Fenix TK30. I still keep my Fenix PD35 Tac on my belt while on duty, but I keep my TK30 in my turnout gear pocket. I wouldn’t say the TK30 is useful as an EDC because of it’s potential for causing eye injuries, but as a specialty light when you need usable light far away, the TK30 is absolutely perfect.