Olight advice

LED Flashlights – General Info
1

G’day, first post newbie here, from Australia. After putting it off for sometime (years!) I’ve finally got around to researching brands and models.

I’m leaning towards Olights due to their onboard charging & included battery. We travel full-time in a compact RV so space is at a premium and don’t really want separate chargers and batteries floating around. The common magnetic USB charging on just about all their models bar the MR7 is attractive.

Not interested in starting a big collection but that might change if we put down roots again. Although, have decided to jump in head first and buy a torch to cover every need for our travels. Would appreciate some help narrowing down any possible double ups from this list….or just get the lot. :wink:

X7R Maurader 12000 lumen
R50 Pro Seeker 3200 lumen
HSR Nova 2300 lumen headlamp
M2R Warrior 1500 lumen
SR1 Baton 900 lumen x2
I3E EOS 90 lumen x2

Open to other brands, maybe some ‘must have’ standout lights that clearly trump any of the above, keeping in mind space restrictions, charging etc. Cheers.

2

First, Welcome! :smiley:

In my very honest opinion, Olight is indeed a very well know brand but I think it’s a bit overpriced in my view. I was in your spot when I first started and research for brands and Olight caught my attention and want one very badly. But after hanging around with BLF for sometime I found there are many others out there could outperform Olight despite being less famous… If your budget is good enough for Olight then I can assure you members here on BLF can find you other lights that is less pricey but reliable.

Give us your total budget or budget for one light.
You like throw or flood?
Tint? cool white, Neutral white or warm white.
Do you care about CRI? (how well colors show up with your light)

3

Cheers, that’s got me thinking outside of the Olight box.

Budget total is under AU$1000 (US$750)
More flood than throw. Do need one to light up the bush like a football field if required.
Neutral white and true colours is preferred.
The security aspect of a flashlight is in my thinking.
Being compact is a priority, i.e no big form factor lights.

4

Another reason I focused on Olight was the 20% off if I bought a few lights, free delivery is standard.

5

I would look at the BLF A6 instead of the M2R, then a short tube for another BLF A6 could replace you S1R. Unfortunately neither are rechargeable. Sofirn C8F would replace the R50 nicely. Jetbeam-1MK would replace that I3E. Not very knowledgeable on headlamps. There are a bunch of guys on here that are though. I hear the Skillhunt name thrown around that seems pretty popular. Maybe a Acebeam X80 for the same price as the M7R and twice the lumens. Just my picks. Wish I had experience with all the different lights.

You got a great budget. I am sure the guys and gals on here with much more experience than I can point you to some great options as well.

Take care and enjoy lighting up the night.

6

Cheers. I get the feeling I could save a few dollars here. Although, I don’t mind spending more if I have to to get durability & quality.

7

For reference, this is what each Olight would cost delivered, in US$.

X7R Maurader - $203
R50 Pro Seeker - $130
HSR Nova Headlamp - $83
M2R Warrior - $89
SR1 Baton - $59
I3E EOS - $10

8

my recommendations by battery type, with a bias to high CRI

Olight does not offer High CRI in an AAA light
I would skip the i3e and prefer the i3s, but they dont have High CRI

The Lumintop Tool is one of the only single AAA lights with a Nichia,
I consider it a Must Buy, IF you are going to maintain Eneloop batteries with a charger.
Can be worn as a headlamp on a baseball hat.

you could skip over the AAA lights otherwise and go to this:

16340,
S1 Mini High CRI, comes with a USB rechargeable battery. Can be worn as a headlamp on a baseball cap. No charger required. Has a low battery indicator on the switch. Very practical feature set.

18650 (now also available with a built in USB charging port)
dont know the Olight options
some people like Zebralight SC600 series for their big light… theres several models to research, there is a High CRI option.

9

Yes that Lumintop looks like a winner.

USB C or Micro USB is no issue as the phones use these. Prefer not to remove a battery to charge though, but onboard the light would be ok.

I do use AA & AAA Eneloops in stuff like a weather station & remotes etc.

10

You might find some nice prices here at this ‘closing out’ store:

Check out some of the rechargeable Eagletacs on sale…. it’s a very good, reliable brand, I’m a long time user. Haven’t seen any ET ever offered in a group buy.

11

One of the lights I would recommend getting would be the H2R Nova. That one will be hard to find a better one I think.
I dont have much else to go on for headlamps besides my Imalent HR20, which I also like a lot, but the H2R is superior in about every way.

12

I’m sure you can find a better or better value alternative to any of the torches on your list, but for simplicity I think an all-Olight magnetic charging setup would be hard to beat.

I don’t own any of the models you have listed, but I have an S10R and an S30R. I love the Baton UI and the docks are great for both EDC and backup lights. I keep mine on my bedside table so they’re ready to grab on my way out in the morning or in in the middle of the night.

You mentioned a preference for neutral white and high CRI, and I think that’s an excellent idea. My S30R gets very little use these days simply because it’s cool white. If it wasn’t cool white the S10R would be my favourite torch.

If you get an R50, consider the LE kit for the dock.

It’s probably worth considering alternatives to the X7R and I3E - without the magnetic charging there’s not much tying you to Olight.

In the AAA class the Lumintop Tool Nichia is great. I also really like JETBeam JET-μ (AAA) and JET-1 MK (AA) for for their size and UI even though they’re cool white with a greenish tint. These are all fairly inexpensive so it doesn’t hurt to experiment a bit.

13

there are pros and cons
If you charge outside the light, you can simply put a fully charged battery into the light and keep using it. Otherwise you have no light to use, while it acts as a charger.

Im not educated as to whether it is OK to leave an Olight sitting on its magnetic charger all the time. I worry a lot about LiIon safety, so I only charge when I am there to supervise the charging, and I do not leave on a charger unattended, and definitely not overnight.

The question is partly whether the charger goes to full zero, or keeps trickling. I have no personal experience with the Olights that use charging bases.

another consideration with the special rechargeable olights with the two exposed contacts on the base, is that the charger does not work on normal batteries. Im also fearful of the possibility of the two exposed contacts on the base of the light shorting out. There are videos showing people starting steel wool on fire.

features I prioritize when using LiIon are
I want the light to indicate when the battery needs recharging, so I dont have to open it to check
I want the light or otherwise the battery, to have a built in overdischarge shutoff (not just a low battery warning)

for me, High CRI is a Must Have. Neutral White is not good enough, for me. So none of the lights that people are suggesting that are not High CRI, qualify for my standards.

but then, if I needed to spot a bear with a strong torch, I probably would not care what color it is. So, as far as big lights with thousands of lumens, Im not really a good source of advice, since I dont use them.

I do respect your strategy of buying Olights with rechargeable batteries, IF it is OK to keep them on the charger for long periods unattended. More research needed. What I dont like is that several of your lights use different and unusual batteries, so there is no interchangeability. When the light runs out of power, it is disabled until its special battery is recharged, using the special charger.

Im sure whatever you buy, will be great for some applications, and for other applications its good to have choices.

when considering a light, I always search for reviews by maukka. He has very high standards, and if he likes a light, I take his opinion more seriously than most others. I also sometimes buy lights he does not like, for example the S1 Mini High CRI. It is true that it has green tint, but it has other things that make it worth having, for me.

enjoy the search for lights that meet your use goals

14

It’s versatile that’s for sure, 2 in 1 light. The magnet on the headlamp strap is a winner.

15

Just noticed the magnetic USB charger on the R50 Pro is a different size to the other lights. Still, the magnetic system is nice.

16

That magnetic headband is awesome.
I have been mostly using mine as my bedside light lately as I haven’t really needed headlamp since buying it. I really like the 1 lumen momentary when it’s in lockout. Button is big and easy to find, and 1 lumen is about perfect in middle of the night to look around the room.
I think of the magnetic charger as kind of a bonus, but not really one of the main reasons I bought it.

17

Thanks, all good points there. I would have to treat the charging process as I do my phone. I’ve never liked leaving lithium batteries of any chemistry on trickle charge. Even the laptop gets disconnected once charged and I try to only charge lithium powered gear to about 90-95. The RV has a LiFe battery pack and only charge the cells to 3.45V, which is around 95-98, not worth the risk chasing the extra few percent, especially when they cost a bomb to replace.

Had a look at a review of the R50 Pro by maukka and noticed the charger trickles once full which is not good. I’m very much hands on and it’s easy to keep an eye on this stuff living out of an RV on the road but there will be times I forget so would have to be careful if I buy this light. Not a good look for Olight.

Buying a broad range of torches should cover me if a battery in one goes flat. e.g. the X7R would substitute for the R50 Pro, the H2R for the M2R and 2x S1Rs as contigency.

18

sounds like you have some clear ideas of what you need to do, and what works for you
I look forward to your success and feedback, across the range of lights you are considering

19

Apart from the X7R all of the torches listed in the original post can run on standard cells so it is possible to swap and go, if you keep spare cells an external charger.

The M2R can charge standard 18650 cells, so you’re not restricted to Olight’s cells.

The S1R, H2R, and R50 Pro all need Olight’s special cells to use the magnetic charger. You’ll certainly pay a premium when you replace them, but how often will that be?

This. If you want simple reliable illumination the Olights are great, but I don’t think thats what many (most?) of us are here for. It’s much more fun to keep searching, experimenting, and modifying.

20

My S10R has been sitting on charge for most of the past 10 months, and my S30R for around six months - I’ll do a discharge test and see how the cells are holding up. Unfortunately I only have a Lii-500 so I can’t check the internal resistance.