[Review] Olight S1R Baton II

you could do a test with your S1R v1 battery to prove or disprove whether it has OverDischarge Protection

Put the S1R v1 battery into one of your UnProtected Olights, such as an Olight S Mini, and run it down until the light shuts off, or voltage goes below 2.5v…

IF the light shuts off, AND the S1R v1 battery reads 0 volts, then that IMR battery has built in OverDischarge Protection…

from what rookiedaddy posted of his test of the S1R v2 battery going down to 1.8volts, it clearly does not have OverDischarge Protection built into the battery. Otherwise the S1R v2 batteryt would have gone to 0volts when OverDischarge Protection kicked in at 2.5v, which is not what happened.

So, IF the S1R v1 battery goes below 2.5volts, then it is also UNProtected, the same as the S1R v2 battery.

I don’t think the cable determines the charging rate, it only supplies 5 V, right?

The S1R charger is not just a cable, there is a blue charging disc on the end, that has different electronics inside. Version 2 cable charges at a higher rate, and the Version 2 IMR battery has double the maximum Discharge Rate as well. Version 1 Battery says 5C, Version 2 battery says 10C on the label:
you will find these details mentioned in the first post:

I believe I would still be carrying my ugly beam S1R to this day if it was not for one (for me) fatal flaw. The battery, make that the proprietary battery, that makes it possible to charge inside the light with the MCC, does not do well with high loads at COOL, not even cold, temperatures. I experienced this a few times on evening walks with my wife, as noted in this thread. The final straw was on a camping trip this past May, when I had the light off in my pocket at night and tried to see something away from the campfire using the 600 lumen mode and it stepped down to medium or low after a few seconds.

I am wondering if you could do a cool temperature test with the new battery to see if it is at all improved. The Olight (and most 16340) cells do better at full charge, but at less than full the sag is bigger, and the voltage change required to cause the S1R to step down to lower levels is smaller.

Would be nice if olight could use a design that doesn’t require proprietary batteries, like nitecore does on many of their rechargeable lights.
It would require having the charging circuit in the head.
Maybe they could make it USB-C compatible too, even better.

Same here. It seemed my S1R “Turbo” Baton was always stepping down to ~300 lumens before I thought it should, while my S1, S Mini and S1 Mini Batons seem to be able to hold their 550-600 lumen high setting for a more usable length of time, so I still have and use them.

Although I still have several other tailcap charging Olights, that feature has lost a lot of its initial appeal. I’d rather have spare batteries ready to go when a light needs them, rather than having the light tied to a charger that won’t let me select current or tell me where the battery is in the charge cycle.

Even so, I’ll probably try one of the new S1R IIs since I got an email from Olight today saying they were extending this Fridays 2 hour flash sale by 24+ hours (running through Saturday), which is way too long for me to resist that kind of temptation.

Oh you’re right, I forgot about the proprietary battery having both contacts at one end. I was thinking about the Rofis magnetic chargers.


I believe you could try using a strong demagnetizer/degausser to remove the magnetism from the tailend. Do not use heat, because the heat may damage components at the tailend.


LOL! jon, I like the way you put it... bwahahaha... :D
The older model ORB-163C05 IMR battery does have protection, but they removes it from the new ORB-16C05-10C IMR battery due to the 10C discharge requirement.


Don't charge S1R batteries, ORB-163C05, ORB-16C05-10C using the Olight UC Magnetic charger, it may create a short. In fact, don't use Olight UC Magnetic charger on any of Olight's proprietary "dual-polarity" batteries.


I did a quick test, but I'm in the opinion that my test is inconclusive due to my method of simulating the cold environment. I put the fully charged S1R in the freezer compartment of my fridge for 10 minutes. Before starting the test, measured temp at 10°C, switch-on the S1R Baton II, Medium mode, double click to bring it to Turbo mode, Turbo can sustain for more than a minute.
I then close the freezer door with S1R Baton II inside, left it for another 11 minutes, ran the same test again, same results. I can still run Turbo normally.
It's a known issue with LiIon/Alkaline battery that in colder temperature, the battery will have higher IR until it's "warmed-up", and a common solution (that I learnt from frequent hiker) is to use our body heat to keep the light/battery warm enough to power up the device. As such, my S1R Baton II ability to run Turbo at "relatively" cold temperature does not discount your experience nor claim that Olight's newer light/battery is better at running in colder temperature. I still think testing in real environment is essential to confirm, but since I lives in an equatorial country where it's hot and humid throughout the year, I'll have to leave such test to other reviewers.


if cold temperature is not a factor, then the battery is due for a refresh. I had the same thing happened to me even when I'm sure the battery is fully charged. I refresh the ORB-163C05 by discharging it until protection kicks-in, and then I use XTAR SV2 with 0.25A charge rate to charge it back up, then I repeat the discharge-charge cycle again. And the battery is back to normal performance.
another possibility is the ORB-163C05 has aged and should be replace.


wholeheartedly agreed. frankly, I'm still waiting for their first 18350 light.

That kind of faff with battery power, sag and such is why I’m not a fan of the 16340 format. They’re small, adorable and easy to carry, but way too low capacity to really put out the power when you actually need it.

Now, question: if you don’t count the “wow lumens” factor, would it be better to get this or the previous S1R at a good sale discount?

In that case, I withdraw my objection to using the S1R v1 proprietary PROTECTED IMR in an unprotected Olight S Mini.

I based my objection on your previous statement to “treat ORB-163C05 as unprotected”.

I also found this, confirming the S1R v1 battery is a Protected IMR:
Olight ORB-163C05 IMR RCR123A / 16340 550mAh 3.7V Protected High-Drain 2.75A Lithium Ion (Li-ion) Button Top Battery

there is also a comment on the label “built in circuit board prevents OverDischarging”:

Thanks for giving it a go. I had the problem when the battery is closer to half discharged. I suspect a fully charged battery put in the freezer for 10 minutes would work fine, I may try that tonight.

The S1R was the first light I tried that stuck in my pocket for months and got used all the time. So many things I liked, including the MCC, the UI, the size, the moonlight mode, the mode spacing, being able to measure the battery voltage with out taking the battery out, the size.
Then after the cold battery issue started to bug me, I found the Emisar D4. That with the 18350 tube is my EDC now. Better UI, better tint, more fun modes that are useful to me.

But I may check out the new S1RII anyway, we will see how I feel when the sale comes along on Friday.

Yeah 18350 would be nice, can get like 15-25% more Wh/kg and Wh/cm^3

Agreed.

Actually, a more accurate comparison would be Armytek. They have managed to implement a magnetic charging system similar to Olight, but it doesn’t require proprietary batteries. Oh, and there’s been no reports of it being a fire hazard, unlike some of Olight’s models. Klarus also has a magnetic charging system on some of their XT lights, although theirs is on the side of the light, not the tailcap.

LOL! To clarify, I treat all LiIon (IMR, INR, ICR, IFR, etc.) batteries the same, regardless of whether they are protected or not, that is, I handle them all as UNprotected LiIon battery, and that is, with respect. I learned a great deal from many CPF and BLF members’ experience and other battery experts (including batteryuniversity.com and the book [Batteries In A Portable World]) that the best protection is between our ears. I do not rely on battery protection circuit in my day-to-day charging and discharging activities to provide protection for the LiIon battery, and to certain extend, this carries on to NiMH chemistry too.
I have in many occasions shared that the protection circuit in battery is to protect the battery, not us — the users. As a father of two, I’ve also put in certain unwritten rules about battery handling in my household and trained my kids (and wifey, she needs reminder once in a while) to treat all batteries with respect, especially LiIon battery-powered devices. :heart_eyes:

Thanks for clarification mate :wink: I will not forget this when I get that charger :wink:

agreed
and thank you for laughing at my sense of humor, Im glad you “get” it when Im joking.

seriously now:
My main reason for wanting built in protection is because my CR123 lights have no built in protection, so I like Protected LiIon cells, in case I fall asleep with the light on. Or in case I lend a light to someone that has not been to Battery University, and They leave the light on til it dies.

Specific to the S1r v1, I gave mine to one of my adult kids. She has no other LiIon, and no other CR123 lighs. So the proprietary cell is not going to need an Intelligent Operator. I also like that you have taught me that the S1R v1 batter IS Protected. Thank you for taking the time to educate me on the finer details of Olight models.

Regarding the S1R v2… I have completely lost interest in that model, due to the UNProtected battery… I would not want to have to manage its unique needs… I prefer Protected 16340 batteries that work in all my lights… :wink:

with great respect and gratitude for your reviews and comments

I can confirm with test data that the S1R1 battery, ORB-163C05, is protected. I ran it in my S1R at high until the light extinguished. It stepped down to medium, then low, then the light went out. I measured the lowest voltage while in low mode at 2.6V. I was at work and not monitoring it constantly. When the light went out, I measured the voltage at the battery terminals at 0V. My charger would not recognize it. I needed to take my D4 battery and shock the ORB-163C05 with a 10 ohm resistor to get it to come up from 0V. After the shock, it read 2.9V. Its charging now.

I did this in part to show it is protected, and in part to see if it would improve the cold temperature performance. I sort of doubt the latter, but who knows.

Sorry for the thread drift . . . :blush:

Hum, funny you mention this. Last night I was making something alike.
I had my S1R running with low battery. At about +/- 3.08V it stopped turning ON (after the High Mode and Turbo, and sometimes Medium mode, didn’t work below 3.3V).
As the battery was reading NULL on the Opus BT-C3100, at 3.08V I touched the bottom of the S1R with the magnetic charger. It worked for a while and then shut OFF. Then I repeated the same process 2 or 3 times, when it shut OFF.
Later I decided to put it on a Convoy S2+ triple (FET driver), just to check if it went below 2.8V. Last time I tried it it was at 2.7V, but still with juice to run the flashlight for some more time on the lowest mode.

I ended the test there and put the battery to charge into the flashlight. This morning I measured it and it was 4.21V freshly charged. Don’t know if this is important or not, but is is another “record” about the ORB-163C05 . :arrow_right:

Awesome!
Thank you :slight_smile:
Protected it is then.

I hope the cold weather performance improves. Im grateful for your contributions, including your personal carry report, and how useful your S1R v1 was to you, until things cooled down after the Honeymoon.

I hope you can rekindle the affair… and get to use that second S1R v1 battery :wink:

I like this kind of detail, thanks for taking the time

sounds like your S1R has some sort of low voltage shutoff near 3.0v, and the battery did not read 0 volts, so its internal protection had not triggered, not even at 2.7v in the convoy on lowest mode (possibly set to trigger at 2.5v under load, probably would have triggered battery protection if you tried to use high mode)

and it sounds like your v1 charger was consistently turning the green charge indicator OFF while still charging, since it still worked to charge overnight correctly

Yes, I think I will be using my S1R v1 again. I am interested in seeing what factors are contributing to the voltage drop at turbo mode(s). I just did a quick test after fully charging my battery, and the light dropped out of turbo mode after a few seconds at room temp, ~22C. So I cleaned the interfaces to the battery, and the tailcap a bit, and I see the light will stay in turbo mode easily now. The voltage drops about 0.8V in turbo from off, so the battery can’t be much below full charge to work correctly.

I actually have 2 new batteries at home, so I want to compare the performance of old vs new, and also clean up the interfaces as best I can to see how much things improve then.