I received the S1 Mini from Olight.com for the review.
The S1 Mini is the new EDC sized CR123 powered light from Olight. That I recall, this is the first light from Olight that comes available in a Cool White version and a Neutral White HICRI one. The first one has a XM-L2 and the second a XP-G3 emitter. Each light comes with a RCR123 battery rechargeable via micro USB thanks to the micro USB port present on the battery. I got both CW and NW versions.
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For this review, the unboxing is showed in this video.
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My 2 S1 Mini, the CW and NW one. You can tell them apart by the different TIR optic, the HICRI marking on the tailcap, and on each bezel is engraved the version specs.
The construction is typical for an Olight EDC Light: compact design (54x21x21mm, 43 grams), Clip that can’t rotate (and now hosts a lanyard hole), electronic switch at the head, magnet in the tailcap and physical protection against polarity inversion. In the S1 Mini the battery has to be inserted with the plus pole toward the tailcap.
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Beamshots
Let’s start with the usual, 1 m wall hunting.
On my sample the tint of the HICRI one has a green dominant.
There is a significant difference in the beam of the two lights.
Despite sharing the same design and alimentation, the 2 S1 Mini differ both for emitter and optics: the CW has the usual TIR beam (big bright spot with wide but overall less luminous spill), while the HICRI one has a much flooder beam.
This is also evident in the Outdoor beamshot.
How about some HICRI vs LowCRI shots?
For these shots I put the camera with white balance at 5900K, the lights in the same angle and same position, but I used turbo mode for the HICRI version and High mode for the CW one, and then paired a couple of shots with comparable brightness.
As you can see, there is a big difference in terms of color rendering, and the green tint looks like its present on the CW one.
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Output and runtime
Tested both with the provided battery
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My thoughts
The light is well built and finished.
The UI is the classical Olight UI, with direct access to lowest, highest and last used mode.
Regulation is flat as expected on all the expected levels.
I like that the S1 Mini doesn’t work on proprietary battery, or proprietary charging system/cable.
I like the two way clip that doesn’t rotate, but in order to avoid scratching on the tailcap you need to either pay some attention during the untwisting operations, or add some heatshrinking wrap around the clip.
I enjoy this S1 Mini as the first HICRI flashlight from Olight, and I hope that they keep this trend in the future.
Overall, The S1 Mini is a compact EDC that packs a punch (in both versions), now with the availability of a Neutral coloration.
I would like the NW tint to be warmer (not 5500K but around 4000K), and the light coming with a pouch.
Thanks to: AntoLed for the camera, the beamshot help, the thermal equipment, and the luxmeter.
