Olight S Mini TI Rainbow

So, today a review to a well known flashlight, the Olight S Mini, this time in Titan Rainbow. The small S Mini TI was kindly made available to me by Olight for this review, I also own the same Olight in Raw Copper, bought it myself :slight_smile:




And now also directly to the differences between the different models, there are the S Mini namely in 3 TI versions

- Rainbow PVD

- Titanium polished

- Titan Bead blasted

and these three all have a NW CREE XM-L2 LED.

Then there are the copper CU versions

- Raw copper

- Rose Gold

- ThunderGrey

These 3 models all have a cold white LED, but the Olight homepage says that the ThunderGrey version is made of stainless steel. Elsewhere it is said again that it is made of copper, maybe someone can say something about it who has one?!
The used TIR optics is the same for all models, so no reflector as usual, this TIR optics produces very large spots, so it is very well suited to illuminate everything in the closer area well.

To the Rainbow Ti I would like to comment also still briefly, Olight says that this version is PVD coated, that is not so completely correct. This color gradient is produced by “simple” heating, keyword Titanium Heat Coloring, but since in the area of PVD coating in a coating process the parts to be coated always have to be heated, it may well be that the company working for Olight as a coater do this heat coloring in a coating equipment. Olight then turns it namely into a PVD coating.

However, the RoseGold and ThunderGrey models have a real PVD coating, the RoseGold version is a TIN (titanium nitride) coating Tin - Wikipedia.
At the ThunderGrey they use a DLC (Diamond-like Carbon) coating Diamond-like carbon - Wikipedia.
I think it’s a pity that Olight only talks about PVD coating and does not emphasize the layers that were used, PVD describes only the process type but not the layer itself.
Physical vapor deposition - Wikipedia.
And especially DLC coating is well known by some knife lovers, so Olight would certainly appeal to a few collectors, this layer is much more scratch resistant and less sensitive than any good anodizing due to its hardness. Unfortunately Olight doesn’t seem to know what they have to offer at all, otherwise they would probably emphasize this aspect more :slight_smile:

Here are my 3 small ones, on the left the S1Baton in RoseGold, the S Mini Rainbow TI and the S Mini Raw Copper.



But enough for now, here are the technical data of the small Olight.

Manufacturer data:

High with 550 Lumen for 1,5min

Mid with 60 Lumen for 8,5h

Low with 12 lumens for 64h

Moon with 0,5 Lumen for 30t

3,000cd [110 meters]

Cree XM-L2 LED

Dimensions: 54mm length / 21mm diameter

Operation with 16340 Li-Ion battery or CR123A battery

IPX 8 Water protected

Strobe frequency 10Hz

The weight of the Titan version is 31 grams without battery, with my CU without battery 55 grams already. The differences are also not only in the weight, while the tailcap of the CU version can be turned very smoothly on and off, because the TI version grinds very clearly due to the titanium, even though it was lubricated slightly ex works.

In addition to the attractive packaging and a CR123 battery, the Olight also came with a manual and the serial number winning card, nothing won:( No lanyard as usual from Olight but there is a reason for that, the S Mini has no lanyard loop. But with such a small flashlight this is in my opinion also not necessary, who wants to fasten a lanyard nevertheless, the clip has a hole for it.

Exactly, the S Mini also has a clip that is already attached and fits very tightly, clips at Olight…… that is also such a topic. Especially with the limited editions, in my opinion the clip should only be enclosed and not attached, every buyer should be able to decide for himself whether to scratch the new and not exactly cheap flashlight with the clip or not. For me these are collector flashlights which I use however also, in addition a clip at such a mini flashlight does not make so much sense and I would rather do without it however then I must live myself the scratches. However, the S Mini has one thing ahead of its other Olight colleagues, the clip sits firmly in one place, with other Olight models it moves with pleasure completely around the flashlight and then scratches it properly……plus point for the S Mini! Nevertheless, where are only the beautiful screwed on clips left :+1:


In the tailcap of the S Mini there is no magnet like in the S1 Baton or in other flashlights of this size, so it could be kept shorter, but I would have liked to have a magnet. But if you have an S1 Baton you can help yourself, the S1 Baton tailcap with magnet fits also on the S Mini and vice versa. And yes, of course a tail stand of the small Olight is possible, if you still have a diffusor from the S1 Baton, it also fits on the S Mini and makes a nice night light out of it.

Let’s get to the handling and operation of the small S Mini, whereby small is absolutely true here. It disappears completely in the closed hand which makes it the ideal “always with you” flashlight. I also have a Klarus MI1C in copper that has the same dimensions as the S Mini but the Olight has the perfect UI for me.

Switching on and off with one click, because it has ModeMemory, it always starts in the last selected mode. This also includes Moonlight and High mode, but not Strobe mode. If you keep the button pressed after switching on, it switches through the 3 modes in a 0.5 second cycle, but Moonlight is not there when switching through. But you can keep it pressed for 2 seconds in the switched off mode and switch it on.

If it is switched off, you can also go directly to High mode by double-clicking and to Strobe with a triple click.

It also has a lockout that is very practical when you carry the Olight in your trouser pocket. You hold the button down for 4 seconds when the device is switched off, back it goes the same way by holding it down for 4 seconds.

The Olight also has a switch-off timer, in the switched on mode press twice fast and then hold for a short time, this acknowledges it with two flashes and means 3 minutes timer, the same again and you have activated the 9 minutes timer. After the set time the Olight switches off automatically.

To mention, if it is switched on, no matter in which mode you can get directly to High by a double click and directly to Strobe by a triple click. A small gimmick still, if you switch it off in High mode, it dims the brightness down to zero within one second, is nice to look at and nicer than a direct switch off.

Here a comparison of the light colors, I like the Nichia 219b and therefore I have it on the far left as a reference in the picture. So from left to right, Maratac AAA Nichia, Olight TI and Olight CU.

You can clearly see the difference between the two Olight models, but for my taste Olight could also offer something like the far left as an alternative.

My conclusion:

I like the small Olight S Minis very much and I also have one with me relatively often because they are simply very small and yet so bright. The look of the Rainbow TI is absolutely ingenious, but I also like my constantly changing copper version. The other versions also interest me very much, but they are almost no longer available, too bad.

Plus:

- Light output

- Light color of Ti versions

- Size

- UI, perfect driver!

  • Collector’s value

Negative:

- clip

  • No different LEDs to choose from

Thanks for reading



I think the rainbow is also done by PVD, specifically titanium oxynitride. If you look at the TiN page there’s a knife that looks the same:

Titanium colored by heat looks dull.

It is difficult to say if and which coating this is as long as Olight doesn’t give more details. You could, if you have the equipment, make a calotte cut, then you could determine the layer structure and the layer thickness and have hints. However, such a calotte grinding or metallurgical examination of a flashlight is not possible without destruction.
But of course you might be right with your assumption about TIN, but I referred the Heat Coloring to a process in a coating machine, by heat coloring I didn’t mean such DIY with gas burner :slight_smile:
A PVD process runs in a high vacuum and the parts are heated with the addition of electricity and various gases to 150 to 350 degrees Celsius. To cool down after the coating you normally use helium to prevent such a rainbow formation that could be created by oxygen, maybe one or more gases or just oxygen is used to create this rainbow layer after a TIN process.
By the way, with PVD coatings it is so that the layer always only shows the existing surface. This means that if you coat items that have a matt surface, then the coating is also matt. If you have a polished surface then the parts are also glossy after the coating.

Why do they make torches so Square and ugly nowadays??.
If they were to round the ends off a little they’d look so much sleeker.

Thank you for the wonderfully detailed review and beautiful photos!

I don’t know why either. I commented that the MR70 was sleek/svelte/slinky and was greeted by an “ugly” comment.
Can’t account for taste, just offer 31 flavors, I guess.

MR70 is an awesome light. I own two … one of my favorite daily users.