Received the new I3T EOS from Olight, a small, single AAA battery, 180 lumens output, forward clicky and 2 modes pocketable EDC light... Geeezzzz... reading that make this review almost 80% done...? LOL! Not too long ago... I EDC the following...
thinking that I was the "brightest" person to be around... and because it uses two very expensive, very rare batteries (CR123A), I was sold believing that this is something very special, and carrying it, one should feels special too... I even started hoarding boxes upon boxes of the red little devil cells... that, is a very tactical 65 lumens 100-CRI almost indestructible illumination tool. fast forward to year 2018, and we have this...
small enough to sit within your palm as well as small enough to disappear inside your palm...
Let's take a quick look at the Olight I3T EOS specifications
180 lumens on a AAA? not the brightest AAA on the market right now, SureFire Titan Plus can easily do 300 lumens back in like 3 years ago. Even Olight's own I3S-Cu EOS can do higher at 200+ lumens (although marketed as a 180 lumens light) since 2 years ago. So what gives? Front and back of I3T EOS package
I3T EOS in the package
The Read Me
I3T EOS User Manual
note the warning about using "rechargeable lithium batteries", do not use 10440 Li-Ion. that yellow colour film is the insulating film the Read Me was talking about...
once you removed the insulating film, insert a compatible battery and tighten back the tailcap, I3T EOS is ready for action. Already inform the manufacturer that it's really a bad idea to pre-installed an alkaline battery inside the flashlight like that. Alkaline battery leaks, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when! Not sure if they will change the packaging or not... I sure hope they do... like includes a primary lithium AAA instead of alkaline.
positive contact point at the head
with battery inserted
I3T EOS TIR lens. If you have seen the prototype of this I3T EOS elsewhere (e.g. youtube), you will notice they have do away with the signature blue bezel.
I3T EOS unique helix body knurling
I3T two-way pocket clip. Pretty sturdy. Been pocket carry (clipped) bezel down for a week, light never fall out even once.
close up of I3T EOS attachment point. like the M1T Raider clip, it's not easy to remove.
again, that helix knurling, sweet!
boot button is nicely textured
I3T uses a forward clicky, that means you have a momentary push button function. The UI is a very simple Low-High cycle with 2 seconds reset. If you want to access the High mode, half-press to go to low mode, release and full press within 2 seconds to go full on to High mode. really liking this tailcap knurling, it gives that extra grip when needing to change batteries.
another picture of that helix knurling
Comparing to M1T raider. notice the blue bezel is not available at I3T EOS.
Comparing to other lights to give you an idea of the size...
tailcap is square-thread cut, it's copper. Unlike M1T Raider, I3T EOS CANNOT be lockout by loosening the tailcap.
My measured lumens of I3T EOS.
Note that the I do not claim the above measured lumens as authoritative nor an indication of over/under-stating the number given manufacturer. It's calibrated against some known light output (e.g. Fenix, SureFire) so take it with a grain of salt and just as a relative reading. Beam profile comparison with some AAA lights
and now, the runtime chart... First, tested with an Olight Lithium AAA
and notice a strange pattern emerging...
then, I continue to perform testing with the following batteries...
and plotted the following...
I can't detect any PWM with low nor high output, but when doing the runtime test, upon stepped-down, the PWM effect kicks-in. Strangely, the PWM effect is less detectable using Alkaline than NiMH and Primary Lithium. Have a view at the following video to see the PWM effect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcNgUUM6jVI I've also done a plot against Olight I3S-cu EOS (mine is brass version)
and a runtime test of repeatedly going back to high mode, using white labelled 750mAh Eneloop AAA cells
yup, 21 minutes of 180 lumens is achievable. oh, that PWM effect is gone every time I switch back to high mode.
In conclusion, I'm very impressed with how efficient it is for I3T EOS. I do not know of many pocketable flashlight that's capable of sustaining 180 lumens on a single Alkaline AAA, let alone one that is capable of pushing the high lumens for a few minutes (3-5 minutes) and ~10 minutes when using NiMH and Primary Lithium.
Thanks for reading...
