Let me get the required stuff out of the way…
This light was provided for review by The OlightStore.com the link is external and the light can be purchased at the aforementioned link.
Manufacturers Specs:
GENERAL DATA
Beam Distance (ft) 427
Beam Distance (m) 130
Max. Performance (lumens) 600
Charge type Micro-USB
Compatible Batteries 1 x CR123A/RCR123A
Light Intensity (candela) 4200
Light Form Wide/broad hotspot. Perfect for up close illumination.
Lens / Reflector Type TIR reflector (big, defined wide hotspot)
Series Series S (EDC, General Use)
Unique Characteristics
HCRI model color temperature: cool white 5500k, 90 CRI.
Regular model color temperature: cool white 6500k, 70 CRI.
Extremely compact. The new S1 MINI are the shortest CR123A & RCR123A battery compatible side-switch flashlights.
No charger is needed for charging the battery. The included battery is rechargeable through a built-in Micro-USB port, therefore it may share the same charging cable with a phone.
HCRI version built for perfect color reproduction with illuminating objects eliminating all unwanted extra tints.
Magnetic tailcap. The flashlight attaches securely to any ferrous metal surface for hands free use.
LIGHTING LEVELS
LEVEL 1 (lumens)
600 - S1 Mini
450 - S1 Mini HCRI
Run-time LEVEL 1
S1 Mini: 600 lumens (~300lm) - 55m (1m);
S1 Mini HCRI: 450 lumens (~250lm) - 55m (1m);
LEVEL 2 (lumens)
300 - S1 Mini
250 - S1 Mini HCRI
Run-time LEVEL 2
S1 Mini: 60m;
S1 Mini HCRI: 60m;
LEVEL 3 (lumens)
60 - S1 Mini
50 - S1 Mini HCRI
Run-time LEVEL 3
S1 Mini: 6h;
S1 Mini HCRI: 6h;
LEVEL 4 (lumens)
15 - S1 Mini
12 - S1 Mini HCRI
Run-time LEVEL 4
S1 Mini: 30h;
S1 Mini HCRI: 30h;
LEVEL 5 (lumens)
0,5 - S1 Mini
0,5 - S1 Mini HCRI
Run-time LEVEL 5
S1 Mini: 15days;
S1 Mini HCRI: 15days;
Strobe Yes
SOS / BEACON No
TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Waterproof IPX8
Weight (g / oz) 43 / 1.52
Length (mm / in) 54 / 2.13
Head Diameter (mm / in) 21 / 0.83
Body Diameter (mm / in) 21 / 0.83
Led Cree XM-L2
Packaging Plastic box
Use everyday carry , keychain, car, camping, fishing, edc, special gift
PACKAGE CONTENTS
650mAh RCR123A Rechargeble Battery with microUSB charging port
50cm charging cable USB-microUSB
Pocket clip
Lanyard
Instruction Manual
Let’s check it out… typical Olight box with lots of stats and efficient use of space.
Instructions found during initial opening… it can be opened and removed without package damage.
The light is a good looking light with the new knurl pattern and is very easy to hold on to. This is good because this guy is a crazy tiny light! I always am amazed at how much can be stuffed into a very small box.
I love the laser etching on the classic front blue bezel ring. Also notice the optic, it is a big change from the normal Olight TIR. The light is turned on in moonlight mode in this pic, it has a pretty good moonlight mode.
I told all of you it was small, just how small? Take a look at it compared to other Olight models… I do not own the original S1 Mini, it did not have lockout or a tail cap magnet. Both fixed in this version!!!
UI Notes:
This light is a very typical Olight with what I consider to be the good firmware. It includes electronic lockout and memorized moonlight.
From off: 1 press gets you the last used mode, including moonlight! To enable moonlight hold the switch for about 1.5 seconds.
Once on, hold the side button to cycle through L/M/H. Note: Only ML/L/M will be memorized indefinitely. High and turbo are only memorized for 10 minutes. The light will then revert to medium mode.
From either off or on a quick double press will enter Turbo mode. This mode only runs for 1 minute before step down. I find this to be ok with a light of this size, using a relatively small cell.
From either off or on one can enter strobe mode by quickly triple clicking the side switch to enter the strobe mode. To quit this mode, single click or press and hold the side switch.
Electronic lockout is enabled with the light turned off. Hold the side switch until moonlight mode comes on and goes back off. At this point if the side switch is pressed it will glow red in the center, indicating the light is locked out. To unlock the light, hold the side switch until moonlight mode comes on.
This light has a couple of timer modes as well, I am using the description from the manual as they explain this mode well.
The S1 MINI has a long (9 minutes) and short (3 minutes) timer when the light needs to be automatically turned off. When the flashlight is on, double click and hold the side switch under the current brightness level to access the timer settings. A single blink accesses the short timer while two blinks accesses the long timer. The flashlight will automatically turn off when the timer is up. After the timer is set, double click and hold the side switch to shift the timer settings. When the timer is up and the user is about to enter the timer again, the light will return to the last timer setting.
Battery and charging:
So, I totally forgot to get a good pic of the USB port on the cell. The cell is a 650mAh, direct USB charged cell. It has a micro USB port on the side and an LED behind the top insulation ring. While charging the LED glows red and when full it glows green. This is the first cell I have owned that charges this way. When the light turned green, I measured the voltage at 4.19Vdc. I then let it charge longer and the voltage did not increase while the green LED was on. So, after a couple of cycles it appears to terminate charge at a good voltage. I tested the cell through 2 normal test cycles on my Lii500 and got capacities of 699 and 691 mAh over the course of the tests. On my cell, the built in charging system drew around 270mA.
This little guy will also work fine with a standard 16340 cell or a CR123A cell. The output is regulated, so no benefit is gained by using a high discharge rate cell. I verified that the reverse battery protection works as it should. Note. with a CR123A the light will not have turbo mode and low voltage indication does not work. The side switch red LED indicates low voltage with a 16340 cell.
Beamshots:
I have not had the chance to take these yet and I will post them once they are taken. The light does suffer from tint shift from the center out and does slightly resemble a fried egg. But, it is not terrible and the HCRI aspect of the light is very welcome!
Turbo, only 1 minute of this before it drops to high!
High
Medium
Low
Moonlight did not register with the same camera settings…
My personal thoughts on the light:
I have carried it as my primary EDC light for about 1 week, this is my typical carry time for a light that will get an evaluation. I have to give this tiny light respect, it has the best Olight firmware IMHO. It has decent runtime and output for a tiny light. The beam is very good for the size of the light, I love the grip that the new knurl provides and it clips on well. This little guy has a tailcap magnet! The lack of the magnet kept me from picking up the previous Mini. This light is a great option when you do not have much pocket space or do not want lumps in your pocket. Electronic lockout is a must for me on this light, only one hand needed to turn the light on and the fixed clip does not allow for the button to be rotated forward in my left jeans pocket.
I would really recommend this light to someone that needs to EDC in dress pants or really wants something tiny with good output.
Thanks for taking time to read my opinions….
Matt