The TK47 is a top performer in its class. It’s very purpose driven as a full sized light, with an incredibly long range spot beam. It stands out from other lights in it’s class by having a tight long range beam that throws light out to 2296 feet (.43 miles) with minimal spread.
The spot is a useful feature that many lights don’t have. Many flashlights in different Fenix categories utilize a tactical style beam with an equally lit outer ring and center portion. While these are fantastic for general use they don’t provide the user the ability to see long ranges.
This spot light feature becomes a useful tool to people such as Police and Security, giving them the ability to throw light at remarkable distances and identify a threat or an issue without having to get right on top of it, putting themselves into danger. It also gives them a very concentrated beam that will, without a doubt, disrupt someones vision. The TK47 serves as a fantastic light for other tasks such as Caving and Search and Rescue. Range is an issue for these groups, because such situations require the ability to light up the other end of a cavern or subsequently shine down into a valley to identify a person or object. There are plenty of other uses where this fits as a medium to long range spotting flashlight, and the TK47 delivers as Fenix’s longest range thrower beating out the TK20R for distance.
The TK47 also features a tail cap lantern that includes natural white, red and red SOS flash. The white lantern is fantastic at lighting up a small room, with enough light to navigate, read or write by. This would be good for instances where it was necessary to write a report in the dark, eliminating the inconvenience of trying to hold the light with your armpit or mouth. The white or red is bright enough to make yourself visible while walking at night, or could also be used for directing traffic in a pinch. The red tail cap does a fantastic job at letting you see without ruining your night eyes or being too bright to be a nuisance to others around you. It features a separate tail cap push button to operate it’s modes, leaving you free to also use the main beam of the flashlight. There is a lot of value in the case of walking a dog, where you are using the main beam to see where you are going, but having the lantern feature on as well so you can also be visible from behind on a road or sidewalk.
The TK47 is a fantastic full size light with great ergonomics, great feature set, filling the need for a long distance light on the market in the right applications. As a weapon light you would be much better served with a model like the TK20R, as this would be too large to reasonably fit on a weapon. This would however be a fantastic light to have readily available for a house or even a vehicle. It’s size and weight doesn’t lend itself to being a hiking or traveling light, or for every day carry; but it’s a great choice when you need a dedicated light in a situation where distance is key for a long period of time. For EDC a PD35, UC35, or even a PD25 would make a much better choice. Overall the TK47 is a top performer, from a top company and I highly recommend it!