Thank you, the delightful Sandra of Olight. You are utterly charming for letting me have this torch for review:
I have a few 18650 lights in my collection. On my scales, this Olight S30R III is by a fair margin the lightest I have, weighing in at a mere 115g (4.1oz) including the cell and lanyard. In comparison, the Astrolux S41S, with 18650 extension tube, weighs in at 228G including a battery - double the weight of the feather-light Olight. The Olight, whilst a hairs breadth taller than the S41S, is narrower and also has an integrated magnetic charging circuit in the base which makes for a very compact and simple charging solution. Just drop the S30R onto the included Magnetic Charging base (which has suction pads on the bottom to enable it to be firmly mounted to a smooth surface) and it clicks in solidly and starts charging* when the base is connected to a suitable power source, either a wall wart microUSB charger or into another USB device such as a PC or a powerbank. There is a little light on the cable which glows red when charging, green when fully charged.
As an 18650 powered torch, the S30R is pretty pocketable, primarily due to it’s narrow dimensions and very light weight. It will sit snugly in your pocket with the deep carry, head-up clip, which is pretty easy to attach to a trouser or jacket pocket. In use, I found the S30R very easy to retrieve from my pocket to use and then easily return to the pocket. It is an excellent size to get a really good, solid, full-handed grip on it. Extra reassurance is provided in the form of a padded, adjustable lanyard which is pre-threaded with a tiny metal Cotter pin to allow the lanyard cord to be easily threaded into the lanyard hole on the base of the torch.
The S30R offers a good compromise between throw and flood and I found the tint to be fine. I love the fact that moonlight is easily and directly accessible by just pressing and holding the little soft rubber switch. In moonlight mode, on a freshly charged cell, the torch will run for an astonishing 100 days! It could well be an excellent emergency BOB type torch.
ONE HUNDRED DAYS!!!
From moonlight (0.5 lumens), the modes then ramp up to low (12 lumens, 130 hours on a fresh cell), medium (120 lumens for 15 hours) and high (500 lumens, about three and a half hours). A double click activates Turbo which is 1050 lumens though this will step back down to 500 lumens after a couple of minutes with thermal regulation to prevent things getting too hot. At top power, it will throw 188 metres. Triple click gives you a Strobe, should you need it. The torch also has a memory function as well as a two stage timer (three or nine minutes) if required. I own a few other Olight torches and the user interface is very similar across the whole of their range and is very easy to use with a little practice.
The torch itself is of a very high quality, with really neat knurling to give extra grip and some fins in the head to help heat dissipate from the LED when it is working hard. It has attractive blue accents around the head and the switch which are very classy. The switch looks like normal black rubber but it actually glows red if the battery is low or if you try to turn the torch on when you have electronically locked it (by pressing and holding the switch - moonlight will come on briefly and then go out a second or so later, the torch is then “locked” and it needs a long switch press of a few seconds to unlock it)
It is rated as IPX8, meaning it is effectively waterproof and also has very good impact resistance at 2m. It is a well manufactured torch which should stand the test of time. It also has a magnetic tailcap so you can fix the torch to a ferrous surface to give you hands-free lighting.
All in all, this is a really versatile torch. Strong enough to give amazing performance, powerful enough to last for literally months if needed, big enough so you know you’re holding onto it but small enough to pop in your pocket. Highly recommended.
- The 18650 3500mAh cell provided with this torch has been modified by Olight so that its magnetic charging base will charge it. A standard 18650 can be used in the torch but it cannot be charged. It would have to be charged by a separate charger. If you want to use other 18650 cells in this torch and need a charger I recommend either the Xtar VC4 which can be bought for around £20 from Amazon or the tiny Liitokala Lii-100 which is available from the likes of Gearbest and Banggood for a few quid or so.
This S30 retails for £67.95 from Amazon UK.
Thanks for reading.
ONE HUNDRED DAYS!!!
Paul