Today I am going to take a look at the Olight S1A! But first let me get some business out of the way.
This sample is provided by Olight US office. It is available at Olight Direct: http://www.olightstore.com/led-flashlights/all-flashlights/olight-s1r-baton (link is external).
Any of the photos can be clicked for a full size image.
A few specs:
Five output modes: 900 Lumens ~ .5 Minutes, 300 Lumens ~ 60 Minutes, 60 Lumens ~ 4.5 Hours, 12 Lumens ~ 33 Hours, .5 Lumens ~ 15 Days
The standby current is below 30uA (Olight spec,), I measured 26uA with my older Fluke meter.
This light features a soft start, very nice if going straight into turbo. This gives your eyes a small amount of time to adjust to the high brightness. No eye or camera detectable PWM in any mode!
Reversed battery protection. I verified this with multiple batteries.
Supports CR123A cells. Verified, but could not hit turbo with a Tenergy CR123A.
I tested the run time by turning the light on in turbo and allowing it to fall through the modes until the light quit on its own. At 51 minutes the light had a very large drop off in output and by 59 minutes the red switch low battery indicator turned on and at 1:01 the light turned off. I measured the cell at shutdown… the low voltage protection on the cell had tripped and I had to reset it. The included charging cap resets it and it measured 3.02 volts after reset. The light does not have low voltage protection. I used an unprotected Efest 16340 and performed the same test twice. Both times the light shut off at 2.6 volts, this is to low for regular use. I would therefore suggest using only protected cells in this light. The onboard charger appeared to terminate charge at 4.23 volts, this was tested 2 times with the included battery after a complete discharge.
UI notes
This light supports lockout, and it really is needed. The switch on mine is fairly light and after a week of carry, I have had it activate 2 times. To enable lockout from off hold the switch until moon light activates and deactivates. Now if your press the side switch it should glow red. To disable lockout, hold the button until moon light activates. The light does have last mode memory. To turn the light on… click the side switch and it will activate in the last mode you used except turbo. To change modes, while the light is on hold the side switch. Moon light is only available from off and is activated by holding the power button for about 1/2 second. Moon light mode is available as a memory mode. Turbo is accessed from off by a double click of the power switch and is not in the normal mode selection order. Strobe mode is activated by 3 quick clicks when the light is on or off. There is also a timer option, 2 clicks when on will result in a blink, this blink indicates a 3 minute on timer has been set. A second set of 2 clicks will enable a 9 minute timer and is indicated by 2 quick blinks.
My sample arrived in a typical clear plastic box adorned with the Olight name and a clear window so you can see the light. Inside of the box is the Olight S1R Baton, a decent looking lanyard, charging cable and a pouch for the light. Notice the included pin to install the lanyard? I like this feature, more companies should do this.
The included battery is an Olight branded 550mAh 5C RCR123A Battery. This cell is specifically designed for this light and the charging system. Due to the charging system… the battery is installed backwards, with the + pole towards the tailcap. The last photo in the set shows the battery inserted in the proper orientation.
Properly installed battery!
Reverse protection in incorporated in the tail cap.
Charging tail cap.
Charging cable. The boot next to the magnetic attachment glows red while charging and green when completed.
Head comparisons. S1A, S1R, On the Road M3, Convoy S2+ 18350.
Olight is famous for it’s TIR optics in their smaller lights. This helps to keep the overall lenght at a minimum. The overall length is 2.6in / 64mm.
L-R Convoy S2+ 18650, Convoy S2+ 18350, Olight R50 Seeker, Olight S1R, OTR M3, Olight S1A
Output mode spacing is very good on this light. Modes ML-Turbo
I am not impressed by cool or very low end of neutral white lights. I do wish Olight would make a few warmer tint lights. This light also has a very slight green cast on lower modes. Here are a couple of comparison shots with a known XM-L2 4C and XM-L2 5C.
XM-L2 4C
XM-L2 5C
Thanks for taking a look, comments are always welcome.
Matt