Olight S1R Review (updated with new S1R version)

Thanks to Olight, received a unit of S1R about2 days ago for testing and review. The first thing that catches my eye is the new print design on the package. The purplish-blue goes well with the blue PVD coated switch ring and bezel.

The other 3 sides:

Let’s take a look at some unboxing pics.

Reminder to remove the insulating film before use.

Upon pulling out the card holding the light, a brown-coloured pouch is the first thing that grab my attention instead of the light. It’s a nice gesture… if it’s for the charging cable storage then it’s a little bulky, and for ladies, they would already have a nice LV, Hermes or Chanel handbag, for us guys, we would have our concealable-tactical-waterproof-indestructible-big.brother.proof.quantum.encryption.dna.locked black-ops case for the cable storage. well, it’s still a nice gesture.

Now some steps to remove the flashlight. Olight is not using the rubber o-ring to hold the flashlight in place for this new S1R release, instead, they make use of the clip. First, turn over to the back side of the cardboard, and push the Olight S1R downward, follow the arrow direction…

next, push the clip through the opening, follow the arrow direction…

then, gently pull the Olight S1R away from the cardboard, again, follow the arrow direction, remember, g-e-n-t-l-y pull it away as you don’t want to hurt the feeling of the cardboard for separating them apart.

Let’s see what’s included. A user manual, the brown pouch, a USB magnetic charging cable (MCC for short), a lanyard with threading pin (very thoughtful inclusion! and I promise this will be the last time I’m gonna praise Olight for this coz I think I’ve save enough threading pins to poke… I mean thread any flashlight pin hole for the rest of my flashaholic life!).

oh ya, almost missed it, the S1R Baton flashlight (see, I told you that brown pouch is a distraction!)

The user manual, as a record.

and a higher resolution picture (2048 x 1466) is available at the following link:
http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss200/rookiedaddy/Flashlights/Olight/S1R/S1RUserManualHiRes.jpg

The essential pieces that make up the Olight S1R flashlight

Close-up on the Olight S1R


yup, that’s my serial number. feel free to buy a lottery ticket with it if you feel kinda lucky today.

the “550mAh 5C RCR123A Battery”, remember that nipple/button of the battery is to face the butt-end of the flashlight.

the shiny ring surrounding the button top is the negative contact for tail-charging.

looking inside of the tail-cap

outside of the tail-cap

note that with the “customized 550mAh 5C RCR123A Battery”, you can check the battery voltage without taking the battery out.just touch your multimeter’s negative test lead to the round gold-plated button in the center and positive test lead to the silver outer ring and you’ll get a voltage reading. Note that this only works with the customized Olight battery ORB-163C05.

Peeking inside the S1R flashlight body, that’s the negative terminal spring contact.

According to the user manual, we should charge the S1R before first use… let have a look at the charging accessories now.

Connecting the MCC to a USB charger

Attached the MCC to S1R (actually, the MCC snap to the back of the S1R when you move them close enough).

it’s drawing ~750mA. indicator turns red while charging.

when finish charging, it draws 0 power from the charger. indicator turns green.

btw, you can use the flashlight while charging, all modes available.

Let’s compare the S1R to other S series.

Now, the modes on the S1R and ways to get to it. check out the UI flowchart below

What’s new (well, at least to me), is the lockout capability. and it can only be access from… Off… errr… obviously…

To lockout the light from accidental switched-on, you will need to switch off your light, press and hold the button and continue to hold after moon-mode comes on, it will turn off in approximately 1 second after moon-mode comes on. That’s when you know you have your light in lockout… or… you can try clicking it once and this will happen…

a dim red glow on the S1R button, it will stay on after click for ~4 seconds. To unlock, press and hold the button for ~2 seconds or until moon-mode comes on.

Update 2016.09.02: Mode Memory

High and Turbo will reset back to medium after 10 minutes.

For your information, the red glow is also used for another condition, more on that later.

(note: all videos are taken under exposed for easier comparisons)

I’m curious about the 30-second Turbo step down, so I recorded a video of the step-down in relative to other flashlights. Comparing S1R Turbo Runtime with S1A and S2A. From left, Olight S2A, Olight S1A, Olight S1R

20 seconds (the S1R starts at 16th second), you may be able to pickup that Olight S1R gradually increase the brightness to Turbo…

47 seconds. this is where step-down was first detected…

1 minute 9 seconds

1 minute 28 seconds

2 minutes

With my ageing eyesights, I can’t really tell in actual usage if there is any difference between the S1A 600 lumens and the S1R 900 lumens, the recorded video feed my curiosity that the S1R is indeed brighter.

Although Olight says we should use their battery to get to the Turbo mode, I can’t help but wonder if there are other batteries that can support the high current draw… so I venture out… found some old AW IMR 16340 550mAh battery that I used for my Incan. here is one of them.

using this battery is like going on a roller coaster ride… here is a short video to show that sinking feeling…

Running S1R with aged AW IMR 16340

3 seconds??? what-the-beep so I tested other AW IMR cells and none can go above 9 seconds on Turbo. sigh!

oh, did you notice that red glow on the S1R button? I’m guessing it’s a warning/alert that the battery cannot support the required high drain. It’s could also be an indicator that the battery has aged and time to get a replacement (that is, for the included high-drain Olight ORB-163C05 battery).

not giving up, and since I can’t get new AW IMR cell easily now, I turn my search to protected cells…

From top, Olight ORB-163C05 (included with S1R), Olight ORB-163P06 (new), KeepPower P1634C ver. 2015 (new), Fenix ARB-L16-700 (new)

My first surprise, the Olight ORB-163P06 can’t deliver the required current draw to power Turbo mode. The light actually switch-off when switching to Turbo mode. And I can’t turn the flashlight on until I unscrew/loosen the tail-cap and tighten it back again. I’m guessing the protection circuit kicks in.

For my second surprise, the Fenix ARB-L16-700, although I was told the maximum current draw is 1050mA, it pulls through going to Turbo mode and stay until the 30 seconds mark admirably. Likewise for the KeepPower P1634C.

Here is another video to show the runtime in Turbo using Fenix ARB-L16-700 (remember that these are all recorded under-exposed)

some screen grabs…

10 seconds (S1R using Fenix ARB-L16-700 starts at 6th second in the video)

37 seconds

1 minute

1 minute 30 seconds

2 minutes

All the high drain batteries (Olight ORB-163C05, ARB-L16-700 and P1634C) that I tested, although I can keep going back to Turbo after the step down, the time it stays on Turbo mode is lesser and lesser every time, until I recharge the battery back to full. As such, I anticipate with the battery ageing, we may get lesser than 30 seconds Turbo mode as time passes.

now, how about using primary CR123A?

according to Olight, using CR123A, S1R can output 600 lumens, let’s see, shall we?

since I do not have an Integrating Sphere to accurately measure, I would say it’s almost as bright as the S1R Turbo.

Before we move on to beamshots, here is the measured current draw for Olight S1R…

2.8A! 2.8A on Turbo! That’s about 5C draw from the battery. O-M-G.

OK, beamshots time… this time round, I’ve taken the exposure down half a second, so the parameter is f/3.5, ISO-400 and exposure 0.5 second. All taken with Sony RX-100.

The contenders

In conclusion, this Olight S1R is bright, it’s 30-second bright! and due to its size and high lumens, it stand-in pretty nicely as a hand-warmer too. The overall built and finish is good, I especially like the MCC magnetic snap feature. It sometimes feels like the cable has a mind of its own and always seek-out its mating partner! LOL! No doubt about the wow factor for this little guy.

Update 2016.09.07:

About: when will Red LED glow on the switch button

About: how to deep discharge your battery (don’t do this unless you think shorten your battery’s life is fun)
If you have a unit of S1R and repeatedly use the impressive 900 lumens, you know that it doesn’t stay 30 seconds for long, each time you use that 900 lumens, you have diminishing 30 seconds of usage, and you’ll realize very quickly you can no longer mode switch to Turbo, even high mode (or that 300 lumens) doesn’t stay on long, and the Red LED will glow (it feels like the Ultraman warning beacon, just without the blinkies and sound), if you are in this situation, there is only one thing you can do if you want to squeeze that last lumen out of the battery (well, short of finding a power source to recharge, that is):

  1. Switch off and switch on your light.

  2. Mode switch to high mode (that’s 300-ish lumens) to drain the battery further.

  3. If you have a handy multimeter, you can check if the battery Voltage has drop below 3.5V.

  4. Now, with the Voltage drop below 3.5V, quickly switch Off and switch On the flashlight.

  5. Voila, your S1R now thinks that you just put in a fresh primary CR123A battery and run it at full 500-600 lumens for a couple of more minutes

Olight says that at <= 3.4V the S1R will run as if primary battery was use. But my unscientific test shows anytime when the Voltage is below 3.5V, it will treat it as primary battery and I’ll have the normal S1 mode: moon - low - med - high (500-ish lumens) to play with… errr… I mean to use.

About: having fun with the tailcap
hey, since we can measure the Voltage from the tailcap (only with the included Olight ORB-163C05), why not have some fun…

what do you think will happen if we do this…

well, this happened:

an undocumented feature? well, I know I’ll be carrying some spare 5mm Red, Green and Blue LED with me (put in the free pouch, remember the brown color pouch?), and… cover the tailcap with something… LOL!

Update 2016.10.05:

About: the new and updated S1R
Just received the new S1R, the updated S1R where you have Turbo and Turbo S modes… and here is the new UI…



Olight tuned down the Turbo mode to 600 lumens and renamed the 900 lumens as Turbo S where the only way to access to this 900 lumens is:

  • double-click to access Turbo (600 lumens) mode, then double-click again to access Turbo S (900 lumens)

The old double-click-and-hold to ramp-up to Turbo (when light is on) is now replaced as the way to activate the timer mode, while the old double-click to turn on timer is now taken over by the Turbo and Turbo S modes.
No more memory for Turbo and Turbo S mode.
Olight has also extended the runtime of Turbo (600 lumens) and Turbo S (900 lumens) before the step-down, we can now expect 1.5 minutes of either Turbo or Turbo S before S1R step down the brightness depending on the following condition… (following notes are a direct copy from the new User Manual):
“Turbo S mode of 900 lumens and Turbo mode of 600 lumens are tested when the battery is full. The maximum output varies as the battery voltage changes. When the battery voltage runs below 3.6V, the Turbo S cannot reach 900 lumens then, and when the voltage goes down to 3.1V, the Turbo S almost performs the same as Turbo mode. When the voltage drops below 3.1V, the maximum output is 300 lumens only.”


* Few words of cautious from yours truly: please do not leave S1R in Turbo S mode unattended as the light gets pretty hot (yes, skin-burning hot). The heat is unbearable on bare hands after 1+ minutes running on Turbo S mode. This light is not suitable for small children nor individual whose skin are too sensitive to heat.


some face-lift at the packaging side…

Left is old, Right is new.

and there is now a small sheet of instruction on how to take S1R out of the holding card.


The physical look of old S1R and new S1R are identical in every way, as such, to tell if you are getting the new version is to:

  1. depends on the serial number. According to Olight, the old serial number runs from G08220001 ‐ G08228500, while the new S1R has serial number from G09140001 and onwards.

  2. test the UI.

Thank you very much for this sweet detailed review !
Do you, by chance, have an S30RII or S30R javelot to test the S1R on the dock ?
I think it would be compatible because the batteries are made similarly (both poles one the same side)

sorry X3, I do not have the "micro-dok" to test the compatibility.

Hello X3, just communicated with Olight, they confirm that the micro-dok of S30RII and S30R javelot can be used to charge the new S1R. Hope this helps.

Update 2016.09.02: First post now updated with mode memory information… copy here for your convenient.

first post updated with more info… copied here for your reading convenient…

Update 2016.09.07:

About: when will Red LED glow on the switch button

About: how to deep discharge your battery (don’t do this unless you think shorten your battery’s life is fun)
If you have a unit of S1R and repeatedly use the impressive 900 lumens, you know that it doesn’t stay 30 seconds for long, each time you use that 900 lumens, you have diminishing 30 seconds of usage, and you’ll realize very quickly you can no longer mode switch to Turbo, even high mode (or that 300 lumens) doesn’t stay on long, and the Red LED will glow (it feels like the Ultraman warning beacon, just without the blinkies and sound), if you are in this situation, there is only one thing you can do if you want to squeeze that last lumen out of the battery (well, short of finding a power source to recharge, that is):

  1. Switch off and switch on your light.

  2. Mode switch to high mode (that’s 300-ish lumens) to drain the battery further.

  3. If you have a handy multimeter, you can check if the battery Voltage has drop below 3.5V.

  4. Now, with the Voltage drop below 3.5V, quickly switch Off and switch On the flashlight.

  5. Voila, your S1R now thinks that you just put in a fresh primary CR123A battery and run it at full 500-600 lumens for a couple of more minutes

Olight says that at <= 3.4V the S1R will run as if primary battery was use. But my unscientific test shows anytime when the Voltage is below 3.5V, it will treat it as primary battery and I’ll have the normal S1 mode: moon - low - med - high (500-ish lumens) to play with… errr… I mean to use.

About: having fun with the tailcap
hey, since we can measure the Voltage from the tailcap (only with the included Olight ORB-163C05), why not have some fun…

what do you think will happen if we do this…

well, this happened:

an undocumented feature? well, I know I’ll be carrying some spare 5mm Red, Green and Blue LED with me (put in the free pouch, remember the brown color pouch?), and… cover the tailcap with something… LOL!

will continue to update as and when I have anything new…

oh, almost forgotten about it… following are some pictures for the upcoming Micro-dok…

It’s mid-autumn festival here, have a bit of time on hand, dug out an old can of plasti-dip to cover the butt-end of the light…

ugly yellow cover, and once again, proving that I have no molding skill…

First post now updated with new S1R information, copied here for your reading convenient.

Update 2016.10.05:

About: the new and updated S1R
Just received the new S1R, the updated S1R where you have Turbo and Turbo S modes… and here is the new UI…



Olight tuned down the Turbo mode to 600 lumens and renamed the 900 lumens as Turbo S where the only way to access to this 900 lumens is:

  • double-click to access Turbo (600 lumens) mode, then double-click again to access Turbo S (900 lumens)

The old double-click-and-hold to ramp-up to Turbo (when light is on) is now replaced as the way to activate the timer mode, while the old double-click to turn on timer is now taken over by the Turbo and Turbo S modes.
No more memory for Turbo and Turbo S mode.
Olight has also extended the runtime of Turbo (600 lumens) and Turbo S (900 lumens) before the step-down, we can now expect 1.5 minutes of either Turbo or Turbo S before S1R step down the brightness depending on the following condition… (following notes are a direct copy from the new User Manual):
“Turbo S mode of 900 lumens and Turbo mode of 600 lumens are tested when the battery is full. The maximum output varies as the battery voltage changes. When the battery voltage runs below 3.6V, the Turbo S cannot reach 900 lumens then, and when the voltage goes down to 3.1V, the Turbo S almost performs the same as Turbo mode. When the voltage drops below 3.1V, the maximum output is 300 lumens only.”


* Few words of cautious from yours truly: please do not leave S1R in Turbo S mode unattended as the light gets pretty hot (yes, skin-burning hot). The heat is unbearable on bare hands after 1+ minutes running on Turbo S mode. This light is not suitable for small children nor individual whose skin are too sensitive to heat.


some face-lift at the packaging side…

Left is old, Right is new.

and there is now a small sheet of instruction on how to take S1R out of the holding card.


The physical look of old S1R and new S1R are identical in every way, as such, to tell if you are getting the new version is to:

  1. depends on the serial number. According to Olight, the old serial number runs from G08220001 ‐ G08228500, while the new S1R has serial number from G09140001 and onwards.

  2. test the UI.

Update 2016.10.05:

About: the new and updated S1R
Just received the new S1R, the updated S1R where you have Turbo and Turbo S modes… and here is the new UI…



Olight tuned down the Turbo mode to 600 lumens and renamed the 900 lumens as Turbo S where the only way to access to this 900 lumens is:

  • double-click to access Turbo (600 lumens) mode, then double-click again to access Turbo S (900 lumens)

The old double-click-and-hold to ramp-up to Turbo (when light is on) is now replaced as the way to activate the timer mode, while the old double-click to turn on timer is now taken over by the Turbo and Turbo S modes.
No more memory for Turbo and Turbo S mode.
Olight has also extended the runtime of Turbo (600 lumens) and Turbo S (900 lumens) before the step-down, we can now expect 1.5 minutes of either Turbo or Turbo S before S1R step down the brightness depending on the following condition… (following notes are a direct copy from the new User Manual):
“Turbo S mode of 900 lumens and Turbo mode of 600 lumens are tested when the battery is full. The maximum output varies as the battery voltage changes. When the battery voltage runs below 3.6V, the Turbo S cannot reach 900 lumens then, and when the voltage goes down to 3.1V, the Turbo S almost performs the same as Turbo mode. When the voltage drops below 3.1V, the maximum output is 300 lumens only.”


* Few words of cautious from yours truly: please do not leave S1R in Turbo S mode unattended as the light gets pretty hot (yes, skin-burning hot). The heat is unbearable on bare hands after 1+ minutes running on Turbo S mode. This light is not suitable for small children nor individual whose skin are too sensitive to heat.


some face-lift at the packaging side…

Left is old, Right is new.

and there is now a small sheet of instruction on how to take S1R out of the holding card.


The physical look of old S1R and new S1R are identical in every way, as such, to tell if you are getting the new version is to:

  1. depends on the serial number. According to Olight, the old serial number runs from G08220001 ‐ G08228500, while the new S1R has serial number from G09140001 and onwards.

  2. test the UI.

This or an astrolux s1 18350 short version? I have the astrolux and just ordered the olight tonight !

I like Olight’s unique design on their lights, sets them apart from most other manufacturers.

I receive my light yesterday and I let it sit on the charger overnight and as an outside worker (its get pretty cold here) I needed the light and immediately feel disappointed of the brightness! Its seem that this battery is very sensitive to cold and have lost half of its voltage. It seem to bacane brighter after few minutes inside the house but not very bright !

Just received this teaser pic from Olight...

they said there are changes/improvements from knurling to battery system... can't wait to test this one...

Got mine yesterday :sunglasses:
I was said to not post any pics until 21st but here are my first impressions :
I like the Red/Green battery indicator under the side switch.
I like the Olight UI (which is the same as on, say, an S-mini.
I like the lock-out function (long press ’till it blinks)
I like the new knurling.
I like the new clip (same as the M2T/M2R/M1T)
I like the magnetic charging system, already used on S1R/S2R/S30RII/S30RIII/S10RIII
I like the 1000 lumens Turbo mode
I don’t like the cold white tint (there’s some blue hue in the beam)

I can’t wait to open it :-p

wow that looks interesting… u teaser

Teasers :smiling_imp:

Got mine today… will be posting a review on 21.09.2018 US time… :smiley:

Are all the baton models using TIR lenses? I need spill lighting.

not all, S10R III Baton and S30R III Baton are two models that uses reflector instead of TIR optics. These reflector-based model besides generous side spills, it also throw further than the TIR.

Thanks

wow another teaser haha :smiley: nice i look forward it.