Olight i1R review (130 lm, Philips Luxeon TX,10180 built in)

Greetings,

This review will be dedicated to a keychain flashlight from Olight, the i1R EOS.

Link to the flashlight page on Olight website

Tech.Specs (from the website)

Beam Distance (ft) 177
Beam Distance (m) 54
Max. Performance (lumens) 130
Charge type Micro-USB
Compatible Batteries Customised Li-ion Battery
Light Intensity (candela) 730
Light Form Wide/broad hotspot. Perfect for up close illumination.
Lens / Reflector Type TIR reflector (big, defined wide hotspot)
Mode Operation No Switch
Form/Size Factor Small size (Car key / Zippo Lighter)
Series Series I (Keychain)
Unique Characteristics

Lightweight and Tiny. The entire light is slimmer than a pinky finger with the length shorter than a AAA battery and weight at only 0.42 oz/12g.
Features a high-performance Philips LUXEON TX LED paired with a TIR optic lens producing a soft and balanced beam.
Rechargeable through a built-in Micro-USB charging port. Fully charged within 1 hour and 15 minutes.
ON/OFF and output changes are controlled through twisting the flashlight head. Twist it slightly to turn it on at 5 lumens and a bit further for 130 lumens.

I must say … wow. A really tiny light from one of A-grade manufacturer, and for less than 20$. And 130 lm from a light that is hardly there is also not something very common.

So … Let’s start?



The light comes in a tiny carton box, similar in styling to all the recent Olight models. You can estimate the size compared to my watch …




The light comes with a user manual, and micro USB charging cable. User manual is available here
Operating the light is really easy - twisting one way will turn it off, the other way will turn on a low brightness mode, twist a bit more - a max brightness mode will be enabled.
When charging - red light says charging in process, green says it’s finished…. trivial.




The light … well, as you already know is really tiny. There are some interesting not trivial details that I really like about it.
The light feels very sturdy and well built. The threads, when you twist the head in order to switch modes move with a nice feel, not too light, in fact there is a nice spacing between modes.




I really like this light. In fact it managed to greatly assist me already. Because it’s tiny, you take it with you without even thinking about it. So … We went to a hotel one day, and shattered a wine glass After the hotel guys sent someone to clean, I checked with the light and showed that lady that not all small particles are taken from the floor. She was shocked, and did a better cleaning job (using the light). It saved my kids from unpleasant cuts, and us from a ruined vacation.

Some pics of it in action



The low mode is completely usable, while the maximum surely has a wow factor, people just don’t expect such brightness from such a small light.

Conclusion, final words

Well, I really like the light. It does it’s job just perfect - it’s tiny, and works well when you need it. Of course, it’s not perfect but I think when considering the price it’s very close.

Why is this so many lower lumens the nitecore TIP?

I lost my keys so I’m in the market for a new light to replace my tip.

Mainly because of size and runtimes… I hve one of these and is indeed a fantastic little flashlight… used it in a few situations I never would have expected to and has never let me down… For me Build quality is excellent but the olight for you… Got lumens with ood runtimes just a great little light… worth every penny.

Do you know if anyone has pics comparing the size difference?

It’s already on my wife and my keychain.

They are SMALL. About a third the size of a keyfob. For what they are, they are amazing.

It’s TINY.

I have some commercial properties and because of my insurance, they must be visually inspected every 48 hours. If I choose, which is actually silly because I always have other flashlight in the car, I can walk into the building in complete darkness and do an inspection with it.

Here is a picture next to a key fob.


multiple image hosting

Wow. It does look small. Maybe I’ll order one and give it a try.

Here it is besides one of those small garage door or padlock keys.

Also besides my Ferrari. (My wife and I have made love in that Ferrari. Yes, she’s very flexible.)


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That’s a good size. I just ordered one

I like to be able to turn a light on with one hand. My i3E EOS is long enough to do that, to grip the base with my ring and middle fingers and palm and turn the business end with forefinger and thumb. Is this one long enough to do that? Thanks.

Yes, as long as you keep the O-ring lubed it moves nice. Been carrying since it first came out.

Thanks. Now to choose between this and the Lumentop EDC Pico.

I suspect the Pico is a quality light. With the Olight you get a little more throw and a lower low for a longer run time. There are a few others all with basically the same size shape and operation. I think Olights implementation is the best of the ones I’ve seen for sale.

Thanks for the input. I was just comparing reviews of the two.

I just received my Olight i1R. To my own question about using it with one hand, I have the same experience as Oli. It’s easy to operate with one hand. The only down side I see to it so far is the length of battery life at 130 lumens. For my needs, it could be 1/4”–3/8” longer if that would give enough space for a larger battery. But I don’t know how battery sizes work. At its diameter, maybe there isn’t a bigger battery. Anyway, I think it’s going to serve me well.

I was going to add a photo of the i1R on my suspension keyring with a little Victorinox knife to show the relative size, but the site requires a URL rather than just uploading a photo. What photo repository do people use here?

I use https://postimages.org

Postimage, it is. Let’s see if I can insert a photo: https://i.postimg.cc/MTzGqgGh/2019-09-24-19-33-57-crop.jpg

When writing or editing your post, in the toolbar, use the tool with an image, between the bullets and the movie.

or write something like:

!Photo link! (I put the 3 parts separate using _ so that it can appear here)
:+1: