[Review] Olight M1T Raider (500 Lumen, Tactical EDC CR123A)

Today I have on my Review table the new Olight M1T Raider. This is a tactical style EDC light with 2 modes, a rear tail switch and upto 500 lumens out of a CR123 battery. In looks it is similar to the Olight I3T I reviewed last month. Thanks to Olight for sending this to me to take a look at.

Full Image Gallery: Olight - M1T Raider - Album on Imgur
YouTube Version of this Review:

Packaging
Packaging is the familiar white cardboard box that Olight has had on several of their recent releases. On the outside is a large picture of the light, and details are all on the back. The box has a pull tap on the top and you slide out the white tray that contains the light and accessories. In the package you get the light with the removable pocket clip preinstalled, a CR123A Olight branded battery (With plastic insulator that must be removed before use), a lanyard, and an instruction manual that in this case is only in english. I suspect that’s due to this light being released a bit earlier elsewhere in the world a little earlier this summer.





Construction
The M1T is made of aircraft grade aluminum and is hard anodized a semi gloss black. The design is pretty similar to the Olight i3T but with some changes. Starting with the tail switch the top is a grippy rubber with a dimpled pattern. The side walls of the button are plastic, this means you need to actuate it more straight up and down not roll onto it from the side. I like this and think it helps prevent accidental activation. The tail cap has very fine knurling on it that seems to attract dust and dirt easily. The there very back there is a place for the small diameter lanyard to fit. Inside the tail cap instead of a spring, it has a spring loaded brass button.



The body of the light has a helix style spiral like the i3T had but this time it has some straight knurling pressed in, I like the look of this and like the additional grip it provides.

The head is rather simple, no additional heat sink or knurling on the body. The front Olight blue bezel has returned and this time with a DNA catcher of sorts on it. It’s not smooth but not sharp enough to damage you pocket. All branding and marking are on the head. The lens is recessed and a TIR style optic. You can see a few of the wires underneath the TIR optic which is uncustomary.

The pocket clip is a scaled up version of what’s been on the M2T, and i3T to fit the size and proportions of the M1T. This is a good clip in my opinion. It sits reasonably deep, can fit onto a hat

Sizes, Weight, and Comparisons
Overall length 91mm, diameter 21mm. Weight is 65g with the included battery and clip. The light is IPX8 rated.


LED/Runtime
This light uses a Luminus STT40 LED in cool white. The tint isn’t super cool, and more on the neutral side of things. As mentioned previously a TIR style optic sits on top.

!https://i.imgur.com/IAAHwUn.jpg Beamshot!

Runtimes
For my runtime tests I used an Olight branded 650mAh 16340 battery. The light ships with a Olight branded CR123A. Total runtime on the 650mAh battery was 70 minutes. Turbo lasted about 5 minutes and what was notable is that there really was not much sag in light output during this stage. The stop down was sharp and put output at about 55% relative output for the remainder of the 65 minute runtime. Runtime at the end was an abrupt shut off.
!https://i.imgur.com/V5HsbwQ.jpg !

This light doesn’t have Low Voltage Protection which is disappointing. The manual specifically says to use protected batteries (RCR1234 or 16340) if using rechargeables which to me means that it doesn’t have LVP. This is disappointing to me for a light in this price range and from a premium brand. However with this family of lights it does seem to be what Olight is doing.

UI
The UI of this light is a simple 2 mode only. It’s similar to Streamlight’s protac tactical series lights. The switch on the rear of the light works in momentary with a half press then can lock on in either of the two modes with a full press. By default the light comes on in high mode. To get to low from off you need to do a very fast double click. I find it easiest to do this in momentary then lock on if needed. It takes a little bit of practice to get right but once you do it’s easy to repeat.

High modes is 500 lumens, and low is 5 lumens. Part of me wishes there was a medium mode of maybe 150 lumens which I find would be nice for EDC uses but it would complicate the UI a little for a tactical light.
!https://i.imgur.com/6vDXS5J.jpg !

Pro

  • For a CR123A light it’s pretty slim, but it could be shorter. Either way I find it carries well in the pocket.
  • The Olight blue bezel is back!
  • I like the new clip, it’s 2 way and carries well

Con

  • No LVP
  • Low mode takes practice to access
  • Cool White only

Conclusion
If you want a tactical (High mode first) EDC light this is a pretty nice option. In essence this is a scaled up version of the Olight i3T. They use the same LED, same style lens and rear button, have a similar clip and exterior design. To me the most disappointing thing to me is the lack of Low Voltage Protection on a light of this price and from a premium manufacturer. Lack of LVP only matters if you are using it with rechargeable batteries but that’s what I do for EDC because it’s a lower cost of operation.

As an EDC this carries nice, and is fairly deep in the pocket. It’s minimal diameter and it’s length isn’t too long. I like TIR style optics on EDC lights because I find the beam patterns to be useful. A good mix of flood and light throw. The UI on this light is good when you remember it’s tactical. While it starts on high it does have low but it takes a little practice to get to easily. Overall this is a nice tactical EDC option available from Olight.

Great review for a very nice EDC flashlight. I like mine very much. Plenty of light when you need it with a very simple UI.

I always enjoy your reviews, thanks for posting

I also enjoy the lower cost of operation of a rechargeable battery.

Lack of LVP would only be a concern, for me, if I wanted to use UNprotected LiIon batteries, but I do not.

The Olight battery I use has LVP built in, so it does not matter, to me, if LVP is not built into the light.

Kewl tailcap, kinda reminds me of Razzles. :smiley:

I like the knurled spiral design on the tube. The overall appearance isn’t my style. The UI sounds like it’s pretty weird. A forward clicky tail switch? :confounded: I do like the “blue” on the bezel, but not the “DNA catcher” design. TIR is great, actually. I like the beam profile I get from TIR lights. What about that clip? In the past, all of my Olight clips didn’t want to hold on the light when bumped. They held fine at the pocket, but would pop right off the tube if I bumped into something. Does this one hold the light well?

Thanks for the review!

Huh… so it wasn’t my imagination.

I thought it was the camera angle, lighting, etc, that made it look a bit skewed.

Pretty kewl, at least different.

Thanks for your review :wink:
I have an old version of this light. It was won in a X3 GAW, so it might be from a “first” batch. The bezel is not tactical (it’s flat as the S1R Baton) and the UI is Low-High (unlike the one reviewed here)!
I do find it pretty nice and I’ve been using it since it arrived last week. Tactical “forward” switch is quite useful, specially starting on Low :+1:

I didn’t notice that it doesn’t have LVP, but am I wrong to say that if using the “stock” 16430 battery (Olight RCR123A 2.4Wh 650mAh) will provably avoid damaging the battery?

BTW, a longer protected battery such as the Wuben 16340 ABC650 (650 mAh) doesn’t fit. Unprotected batteries (ex: On The Road ORB1607 16340 700 mAh) fit, but are probably not advisable, due to lack or protection…

correct, these are Protected Batteries:

Thanks jon_slider :wink:
BTW, I have the ORB-163P06, the one stated as “non recommended battery” on the picture. (on the context of that picture, on CPF, it was addressed to the S1R Baton, so it makes sense not being recommendable for that flashlight).

However, I also went to HKJ’s test of that battery and this is the conclusion he took:

SO, my questions are:
a) the M1T Raider is not High Drain device, is it?
b) it will always be better to use a protected battery (even if it is not for HDD) , right?
c) considering this, is it likely to have any problem to use the ORB-163P06 I have?

Thanks again and sorry for these silly questions! :person_facepalming: :beer:

Thanks!

Thanks! Ya I tend to use protected batteries as well when I can in most applications, I still think a light of this price range should have LVP built in.

The bezel isn’t too sharp I find. The clip holds on pretty well to the light and the pocket I thought.

this is my understanding, but I yield to those who have other info

The high drain S1R is rated for 900 lumen output, the M1T Raider is not, it is just rated for 500 lumen, hence, high drain is not needed.

The only downside to using a Protected battery is IF the protection circuit is triggered by a High Drain use of Turbo. If you use your ORB-163P06 in the M1T, and the protection is not triggered by using the high mode, then there is no problem.

How “better” it is to use a Protected Battery is all about avoiding overdischarge. People with the skills to use UnProtected cells can still do so. I prefer to use Protected Cells

fwiw, rookiedaddy claimed the ORB-163P06 would trip protection in the S1R, I cannot say, as I dont have that battery. However, he also thought the ORBC-163C06 would trip but he did not try it in his S1R, that was just a guess. I otoh, put my ORBC-163C06 in my S1R and it did NOT trip the protection, it just made 10% less lumens. So, No, there is no downside to using your ORB-163P06 in the M1T afaict…

So far we have been talking about ICR LiIons, and imo those are best used with protection circuits, and that is all Olight sells, their ICR LiIons are all Protected. otoh, the battery that comes in the S1R is IMR, not ICR. It is not clear whether the IMR is protected, I believe it is not, but, the S1R has LVP built into the light, unlike the M1T

Lights with Protection built into the light, can have a problem, IF the operator keeps using Turbo after the light’s built in Protection has tripped, and the operator unscrews and then retightens the tailcap thereby fooling the S1R into thinking a CR123 battery has been inserted, and that therefore the Protection Circuit in the Light, should not be activated. This all means that the unprotected IMR can then be overdischarged, by an untrained operator chasing Turbo repeatedly… soooo… dont do that. Dont chase Turbo… If Turbo stops working, charge the battery.

fwiw, overdischarging IMR is not quite as dangerous as overdischarging ICR…

I hope liquidretro does not mind me writing a book in his thread :slight_smile:

the main reason to use UNProtected batteries, is IF the Protected version is Too Long to fit the light. This is not a Problem with the Olight Protected ICR 16340… not even for the ones with built in USB charging. otoh, the Fenix version is too long. It wont work in the S1R… but the Olight Protected ICR fit and work fine in the S1R, and I have no doubt they will fit and work fine in the M1T.

Here you can see that the Fenix cell is taller than the Olight version. I like and recommend the Olight batteries, I do not recommend the Fenix version.

Very nice review liquidretro. Thank you.

Yours is not really an old version, it's just not the "US" version. FWIW, Olight decided to make changes to M1T after getting some feedback from US "clients" that they want a more "tactical" version, so Olight comply and so all US reviewer receive the review unit ~2 months later due to this change. The "Tactical" version comes with crenelated blue bezel and High-Mode-First configurations. I'm guessing the feedback are likely comes from LE users who wants a light similar to SureFire's offering.

But I think other country can still order the "Tactical" version as long as the distributor/reseller can meet the MOQ. In my review thread in CPF, there are members who prefer the "Tactical" UI while others prefer the "Civilian" UI, yours truly is one of them. LOL!

I can't recall about the ORBC-163C06 tripping, so I tested it, again, and nope, it doesn't work in S1R Turbo S. But it doesn't trip the protection in S1R nor the battery's, it steps down... much like my aged AW IMR, it runs Turbo S for 5 to 15 seconds. The main reason ORB-163P06 is not recommended is due to its durability and the "overly protective" configuration in the circuit. I did complaint a few times to the manufacturer hoping they would raise the discharge rate in the circuit but not sure if they would made change to it.

both ORB-163C06 and ORBC-163C06 are better than ORB-163P06 as they made changes to support the H1R 600 lumens, but both still won't work in S1R due to the high drain requirement to run it in Turbo S mode.

Fenix non-micro-usb rechargeable works in S1R, but it too when repeatedly stress tested in Turbo S mode, will experience early aging symptom. Likewise for KeepPower's cell. Micro-usb rechargeable from Fenix and NiteCore doesn't fit in S1R due to the length, so don't force these cell down onto S1R as it may damage the charging circuit in the cell.

Thank you jon_slider and rookiedaddy for your explanations :wink: I quite understood it all and feel more comfortable knowing that:

despite

Knowing that the M1T doesn’t have LVP, this protection circuit will probably help a bit!
I still have soem unprotected batteries in case I wanna risk it all :smiling_imp:

Thank you both for explanations! And for letting me know that I am probably a “tactical civillian” :smiley:
:beer: :sunglasses:

I respect your opinion and experience.
I only tried the ORBC-16C06 for a few seconds, It did not trip protection. I did not test long enough to confirm your comment that it steps down, and I cant now, as I gave the light to one of my adult kids, with only the special S1R battery.

I did screw the Fenix w Micro-usb all the way down into the S1R, and it did not allow the tailcap to make contact with the body, so the light did not turn on… No damage, but I dont recommend the Fenix cell, too long. Im a big fan of the OIight USB rechargeable cell.

Nice, the UI was one of the main complaints about this flashlight and it is an easy fix, good to see it changed.
Here’s the old/non-us version: [review] Olight I1R EOS and M1T Raider flashlights with the normal bezel.
The new bezel probably adds like 1mm to the length :stuck_out_tongue:

hey, I like the ORBC-163C06 too… :beer:
and speaking of ORBC-163C06, I recently found an issue with my review sample of S1 Mini HCRI that was commission to long term testing (at 6th month now) and found that the standby current has somehow increase to ~6.3mA instead of the normal 25µA, it drains the cell within 3-4 days. I now loosen the tailcap until I have time to send it back to the engineer. My other unit of HCRI and CW is normal. So if anyone is experiencing the same issue (i.e. battery drains too fast even when not use frequently), do check your unit’s standby current draw.

Note that Olight M1T do not have standby current as it uses mechanical switch.

thanks for sharing info, I hope you figure out the solution to the unusually high drain

forgive my newbie question, How do I check standby drain on my S1 Mini HCRI?

Im glad you pointed out that the topic of this thread, the Olight M1T, does not have standby drain due to the switch being mechanical, unlike the S1 Mini

you can use your meter to touch the contacts on the battery and light's body, the above picture was send to Olight engineer to confirm the issue, however, since I do not have the skill to investigate, I'll have to send the S1 Mini back to the engineer for findings.

thanks for the coaching
you helped me figure out I need a new fuse for my meter

I hope your light gets fixed, and that mine is not like yours :slight_smile:

Sorry to come back to this thread! I’ve been using the M1T Raider with the Olight ORB-163P06 battery!
Some minutes ago I was arriving home after a walk, to which I took the M1T, and arriving home I switched it ON on High mode, and a few seconds later, puft, it went OFF and didn’t went ON again.

I had happened once, some weeks ago, so I knew the battery was “drained”. What I didn’t know is that it went OFF on 3.36V . The battery protection kicked in at that voltage.

I took it out and put it in the S1R, just to check if the “problem” was from the battery, and yes, after switching it ON, after 2 seconds it went OFF.

So, going back to the discussion on this flashlight and on that battery, I guess using a battery in which the protection kicks in a little further (2.8-2.9V) would be better. Also, there is nothing in the flashlight that warns us about how low the battery may be, what bugs me a bit… :expressionless:

It was good if Olight fixed this on next lights/batches!