The Fenix PD36R is almost a perfect flashlight. I’ve been anxious to test out a new flashlight with the new 5000 mAh 21700 battery, and they did this one right.

Size and shape

Like all other Fenix flashlights, this flashlight is rugged and well-built. It just feels solid in your hand. The power button is located at the tailcap, exactly where it should be located. This is the most natural place for a power button. The brightness control is located on a rugged button near the head. The button is metallic, and displays green, yellow, or red when depressed to indicate the battery charge level.

This flashlight also comes with a two-way clip, so it can be fastened to a belt or a hat visor to point up or down. As a home inspector, I sometimes fasten the flashlight to my belt and point it upward to help illuminate attics while walking around.

Brightness

It puts out 1600 lumens, which is fantastic. According to the spec sheet, it’ll maintain that brightness for nearly 3 hours. For most of my work, I use the flashlight at the 350-lumen setting, and it’ll keep up that brightness for over 8 hours, which is enough to get me through a full week of inspecting without a single recharge.

Charging
This flashlight has a convenient USB-C charging port, making it so the battery never needs to be removed from the flashlight to recharge.
I love the fact that it’s a USB-C, because it means I never have to fumble with the orientation of the cord.

Battery Life
You can find all of the battery life statistics on the website, but what it all comes down to is that the battery life is fantastic. The 21700 battery is a big step up in capacity from the traditional 18650 battery, but it hardly feels any larger. The diameter of this flashlight doesn’t *seem* to be any larger than that of other flashlights.

Cons
My only complaint with this flashlight is the fact that it won’t stand on its own tailcap. For indoor rooms with no light source, it’s convenient to set a light down with the beam pointed up, but the PD36R won’t let you do that. It’s not a big deal, but it would have been nice to be able to do that.

Conclusion
This is an awesome flashlight, and is my new favorite single-battery flashlight.