Let me get the required stuff out of the way…
This light was provided for review by The Olight Store. and can be purchased at the aforementioned link.
Purchases can also be made on Ebay!
I have a fair bit of history with Olight, I have purchased and EDC’ed several of their 18650, 16340 and AA lights in a variety of finishes. Most do not get any kind of special treatment and I have yet to break one of them! I like this track record and would assume the X7R will also be just as solid!
Folks, these are not my best photos. Most were taken by available light and we had fast moving clouds today. There are also pics from a second session.
Olight lists the following Key Features:
| Maximum output of 12,000 lumens, a 33.33% brightness increase over the original X7 Marauder. |
| USB Type-C charging port and cable included, providing 3 times faster charging than normal micro-USB cable, and it is also quickly becoming the mainstream technology. |
| Enhanced safety. Proximity sensor that drops the output automatically when the flashlight head approaches a nearby object. Active thermal management system that reduces the output when the temperature gets too hot to prevent any damage or overheating. |
| Innovative twist to open and close charging port cover design that still maintains waterproof ability. |
| Ergonomic and user-friendly design. Pop-out lanyard hole for thicker chord to support the weight of the light while still being discrete. Milled finger grooves for a natural and comfortable grip. |
| Multi-function indicator under the side switch. It can work as location indicator, flashlight status indicator, and low battery indicator. |
General Data
Beam Distance (ft) 1247
Beam Distance (m) 380
Max. Performance (lumens) 12000
Charge type TypeC
Compatible Batteries Customised Li-Ion Battery
Light Intensity (candela) 36100
Light Form Search & rescue, self-defense, car, camping, fishing, household, general use, climbing, cave exploration, outdoor activities
Lens / Reflector Type Smooth reflector (central area and flood area)
Mode Operation Side Switch
Form/Size Factor Large size (Deodorant Spray / Coke Can)
Series Series X (eXtreme performance)
LIGHTING LEVELS
LEVEL 1 (lumens) 12000
Run-time LEVEL 1
12000 lumens (~3000lm);
2h (3m).
LEVEL 2 (lumens) 7000
Run-time LEVEL 2
7000 lumens (~3000lm);
1h50m (12m).
LEVEL 3 (lumens) 3000
Run-time LEVEL 3
2h10m.
LEVEL 4 (lumens) 1000
Run-time LEVEL 4
6h.
LEVEL 5 (lumens) 500
Run-time LEVEL 5
14h.
LEVEL 6 (lumens) 10
Run-time LEVEL 6
30 days.
Strobe Yes
SOS / BEACON No
TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Waterproof IPX7
Weight (g / oz) 665 / 23.46
Length (mm / in) 129 / 5.08
Head Diameter (mm / in) 68 / 2.67
Body Diameter (mm / in) 52 / 2.04
Led 3 x Cree XHP70 CW
Packaging Carton gift box
Use search and rescue, hunting, military, special operations, marine, camping
Package Contents
Flashlight Olight X7R x 1
Holster x 1
Lanyard x 1
C5V 4A Type-C Wall Power Adapter x 1
0.8-meter USB / Type-C Cable x 1
Instruction manual x 1
Please note: the specs are in error. On modes with step downs, the runtimes are reversed!
Let’s have a look at the X7R!
Very solid box, standard with Olight products.
Let’s get a good look at the light!
Despite the size, larger and heavier than the Sky Ray King, this light has great hand feel. I think this is due to the extra grooves and channels cut into the body.
Threw this one in for a size comparison.
The light has a nice hidded lanyard attachment point and Olight includes a good lanyard and holster for the light.
The X7R has a very unique method of accessing the USB-C charging port! Olight has indicated that this port will maintain an IPX7 level of seal. The rear cap of the light is rotated a few degrees to expose the charging port. When connected a hidden LED on each side of the port will either glow red for charging or green for completed. The leds are not very bright, I was unable to get a good picture of them in operation. I do find this rotating operation to not be 100% smooth, but it does not seem fragile nor is it anything serious. I am not sure what the purpose of the 3 little holes under the USB symbol would be, and they are holes.
The Business End!!!
This light houses not 1 but 3 XHP70 leds! The little window in the reflector is part of a safety system. This light generates some serious heat out the front and has a built in sensor that determines something is close to the business end and dims the light to a level that it will not set stuff on fire! My unit seems to dim between 4 and 5 inches consistently. Will also help prevent the user from getting the full reflection from a short distance, did I mention it is really bright! For what it is, it has a good Nightlight mode, around 10 lumens. I am a little surprised that it can actually go down to a reliable 3.33 lumens per led.
UI
The UI is fairly typical Olight and works as follows:
On/Off - 1 click at any time, except when in lockout.
Lockout - From off, hold the side switch until Nightlight comes on and goes off. Now a side button press of less than 2 seconds will only give light during the time the switch is held and only at the Nightlight mode. If held for more than 2 seconds the light will be unlocked and enter Nightlight mode.
Direct access to Turbo and Turbo S modes - From on or off a quick double click will enter Turbo (7000 lumen) mode and another quick double click will take you to Turbo S (12000 lumen) mode. Each set of double clicks will toggle these modes back and forth.
Direct access to Nightlight mode - From off, press and hold the side button for about 1 second. This mode is memorized when the light is turned off.
Direct access to Strobe - From off or on, 3 or more quick clicks will activate Strobe. A single click will deactivate Strobe and Strobe is not a memorized mode.
Changing modes - Turn the light on by short press, once on hold the side switch to cycle through the modes in the order of N/L/M/H/L/M/H… Nightligh, Turbo, Turbo S and Strobe are not in the normal rotation of mode selections.
Motion sensor - This is something that most of us do not look for in a light. When the light is off and not in lockout, pick it up, shake it or just move it and the side switch will start to breathe. This will help locate the light and also indicates the state of the battery. It breathes green for a good charge level and red for low charge. This will continue for a couple of minutes and the stop until moved again.
Mode memory - The light uses “last used mode” memory, with some exceptions. Nightlight, Low and Medium are always memorized. High, Turbo and Turbo S are memorized for 10 minutes, after that they revert to Medium.
Other - When on the side switch will light either green or red to indicate battery charge level.
The OpEd section, what do I really think!
As a pure flood light, this thing is a beast! I actually really like the tint, it is on the cooler side of what I will tolerate. I am a huge fan of neutral white lights, that being said this is a very nice tint of cool white. It is not blue or loaded with green! This light gets really warm and does so quickly. I would not recommend tail standing it and walking away on the upper 3 modes… at least the upper 2 modes. It does step down, but if not held during operation, by the time it steps down the head is extremely hot. But what would one expect from 7000 and 12000 lumens! :):)
The charging system works quite well. I have not ran it dead to guage the recharge time. I am working very long days right now at the start of school at the University where I work. The charger is rated at 4.0 amps, so given the fact that the light uses 4x18650 3000mAh cells the charge time should be reasonable.
The beam is very even and smooth when in use. The reflector is very good at reducing any artifacts. When white wall hunting, you cannot tell that the unit uses XHP70’s! The mode selection seems ok to me, have not had a lot of real world use time with it yet.
I like the lanyard and holster, both are well thought out. If the belt look is not large enough for your belt, there is a blue thread that can be removed to expand the loop size.
Beamshots
I live in a small town with houses on each side. I cannot run this beast in town, but I will make some beamshots and compare to other lights such as an SRK and hard driven S70. The light arrived this week and I will be at my shop in the country this weekend and will get these done! But, from what I can tell for very brief runs outside, this thing is a pure white wall of light. The brightest I have ever had the chance to use!
I asked my Olight contact about battery replacement, should one fail. The light is a sealed unit, and frankly I am not going to try and take it apart. I was assured that the 5 year warranty would take care of batteries and that it could easily be repaired after that time. Now, will 18650’s still be a standard in 5 years?
Ratings
Pros:
Compact
Good UI
Very well built
Great reflector
Good tint
USB-C charging
Cons:
Heat on higher modes, but what would one expect!
USB-C charging, only device I own that uses this cable or adapter
Sealed unit, not battery, led or driver access
If you need sheer output, you can’t go wrong with the X7R!!!
Thanks Matt
