“REVIEW”: On The Road i3 (2018/2019) - 16340 - Zoomable - 620 Lumens [Pic Heavy] - [***MODDED XPL-HI***]

LED Flashlights – General Info CR123A Flashlights
2

As promised, I manage to take some night photos (sorry for the bad image quality sometimes :zipper_mouth_face: ) to provide you with some “nightshots” of the On the Road i3

Here they are, in different distances, sometimes due to the zooming function, to give a notion of what does it reach or not!

NIGHT SHOTS
5M >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 7M

5M >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 60M

16M

10M (further point) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 27M (river margin, behind the post)

20M >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 40M (building)

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CONSIDERATIONS

Having used the OTR i3 2018/2019 version for some days now, what do I think of it? The pros and cons!

What do I like?

1) Overall built and quality. Really, this is a very well made flashlight, since the machining, anodizing, lens, switch, internals, accessories!! Despite being a small flashlight, it is not a “cheappo” zoomie; on the contrary, it packs a lot of quality!

2) The LED tint. Well this was a personal request and a favour, but I like the 3C tint, a neutral white that suits most of the occasions and that even losing some throw when zoomed out (probably, if compared to XML2 U3-1A), it gains quality on close ranges !

3) The accessories. The pocket clip, the pouch, the lanyard, the battery, the diffuser, all nice accessories that deliver this flashlight and the overall package a more versatile and usable character in different situations. I really wanna thank OTR store/seller (ai :wink: ) for sending them!

4) Well…*the possibility to be easily moded* :innocent: C’mon, we all want to go further on a zoomable flashlight and putting a new driver and a new emitter are the things we normally do to make that flashlight “our light”! So, for those that may change/improve/mod the OTR i3, those things can be done easily due to the construction and due to the materials it is made of (brass pill as example :wink: )
And that’s it! The LED options are not bad but…we can always put some de-domed emitters to improve throw :smiling_imp:

5) The size! One of the main reasons I bought it was for size, and this is quite small and ergonomic, and can be easily operated due to that, namely zooming with one hand only! I couldn’t ask for more!!

What I would change?

1) The User Interface, in 2 aspects! And these would be my only changes to improve the “stock” quality of this flashlight, knowing that it is not a “flashaholic”-only flashlight, but it is made for general users. I would remove mode memory making it always start on the lowest mode (this is a very personal preference, of course), and I would replace the Strobe by Turbo with double click (and eventually put Strobe with triple click if it was really necessary :stuck_out_tongue: )!!!

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GLAMOUR
(along with the “sister” On the Road M3 PRO, soon to be reviewed :wink: )

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And that’s all for now! Any questions or comments, let’em come!! :slight_smile:

Best regards :+1:

3

if only you can measure lumen, the main problem with zoomies is they lost a lot of light when zooming out

4

Unfortunately, I cannot measure lumen on this! I have a luxmeter, but I guess it won’t help that much without a tube :zipper_mouth_face:
It surely loses some lumens when zooming out, of course, and that can be seen naked eye!

I normally don’t care much about numbers as well (unless to have a “relative” percpetion or the general output vs my needs), as I will use the light according to space it will light, close or distant!

If I manage to measure the lumens zoomed in and out I will post them here, though :wink:

Thanks for reading! :+1:

5

How good is the lens? Does it throw well? Has anyone put a white flat in their i3 already?

6

I mentinoned this on the review:

The lens is well made, it is glass not acrylic, so it has good quality! The flashlight allows 1 cm to zoom in.
I didn’t mod it yet, but it is on my plans to put a black flat or XPL-HI led on this, I am just waiting to get a nice driver as well, what will take a while (I’ll probably buy from MTN, 15cm driver with guppy3drv).

With an XML2 U3-3C, it throws at 45-50m, as shown in the images above (click on them to see a bigger picture)! I believe that with some more power and a different LED it will thrown more.

There will always be some “artifacts” on the beam due to the reflection on the reflector and bezel, but it surely is different than other cheappo zoomies with non glass lens :wink:

BTW, look at the links from djozz mods on post #1, he made some mods back then with an older version!

7

Has anyone seen an 16340 aspheric light with a magnet tail cap (side switch operated)?

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AliExpress has lots of those side switch zoomables to which we can add a magnet on the tail, but those are “crappy” lights!

A good light, zoomable with side switch and good UI…is missing!

The tail switch on this i3 somehow avoids a longer length that a side switch would require due to a bigger head (to have space to push-pull).

It would be nice if lights like the Klarus Mi1C or the Utorch S1 mini were zoomable as they already have the aespherical lenses…

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Yesterday I modded the OTR i3 with an XPL-HI U6-1A (bought from Convoy Store). I will mod it later with a OSRAM LED, but didn’t ordered it yet :smiley: Also, I will mod it with another 15mm driver but…I still need to order it as well! :person_facepalming:

So I kept the original driver, changed the LED and blackened the lens, the “reflector”, the gasket, the bezel and bit of the MCPCB plate with permanent marker!

Here are some photos of before and after.

BEFORE (XML2)

AFTER (XPL-HI)

BEAM PATTERN

The “blackening” surely helped to remove rings despite there is an “halo” when zoomed in! I wonder how it will work with the OSRAM :wink:

Only tonight I will be able to check the distance it covers and compare it with the previous LED configuration.
More beamshots will follow :wink:

10

Nice mod. But XML2 stock looks much better imho. Lets see what other guys think.

11

Looks like you can’t focus it on the die properly…

12

Hum, can you explain a little better why you think that? Does it have to do with the beam, colour?

Or is it related to what Agro said?

If so…that was my flaw :person_facepalming:
My cellphone has some issues focusing sometimes, and I guess I missed that good focusing manually :zipper_mouth_face:
Sorry. In reality, you can see the LED details, all of them with a good definition!
Heres a zoomed in photo of the zoomed in beam :wink:

I will tell what I feel about the new LED and the overall mod!

a) The beam while zoomed out is rounder, ’cause as you can see, with the XML2 sometimes it looked squarish due to the LED+gasket combination.

b) The tint is obviously cooler, but I wanted to try the U6-1A because the U6-3A (Neutral White) gave me some tint shifts on the Odepro KL52, so I wanted a cooler tint to avoid that. So far, so good (allied to the other mods, namely the blackening).

c) The zoom in is very good but some “yellow dots” of the LED can be seen against a white wall/surface, at a certain distance, as seen on the 1st photo (more or less :D) !

d) Outdoor, I feel like the zoom in functions better with the XPL-HI, while the zoom out worked better with the XML2 due to the tint and eventually the “floodier” beam. I guess that domed LEDs will work better on the Zoom Out situation!

And here are some night beamshots! I guess the distance covered is a little bit more, but I can’t measure it correctly (specially because it’s raining and there’s a foggy night coming, eventually)! I will check this again when I get the new LED and driver on this…despite it will take a while :weary:

The house (right photo) is at 70m!

Feel free to make comments, please!! I wanna improve my skills and mods! :blush:

And thanks for your comments so far :wink:

13

The problem with using XP-L HIs in aspherics is that the flat layer of silicone on top of the die is lit up by the die and shows up in the projected image.
So you have the square hotspot, and then a bigger square which is the whole LED die.
If you want a sharp and super-clean hotspot I highly recommend using a dedomed LED or one of the osram LEDs which have nothing on top of the phosphor :slight_smile:
Great job though!

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Oh well, that’s what make that “frame” around the die (in the reflection)!!
I will do that mod, with OSRAM Led, to see if it improves the distance range and eventually the overall shape of the zoomed in beam! I tried to minimize all the other things that contribute to the reflection (inside and outside) but I guess that only a better led will make the beam more neat :wink:

Thanks for your words, explanation and suggestion too :+1:
I’ll post my “results” when done :wink:

15

Last week I put a FET + 7135 Driver - 15mm - MTN-15DDm , with Crescendo firmware, in my On The Road i3!

This was like a “second chance” not only for the flashlight, but also for that driver and firmware :wink:

If, on the one hand, the previous UI was less attractive, on the other hand this driver and Crescendo gives this light a better usability and also makes it have better luminous levels, namely a moonlight mode and a higher max output.

I am still using the XPL-HI U6-1A (CW) and the OTR batteries (non-high drain)

Here are some photos in comparison with the Odepro KL52 (XPL-HI U6-3A + Astrolux X5/X6 Driver) !
Lowest level & Highest Levels

OTR i3 >>> Odepro KL52 (the Odepro produces lower and higher levels, but the OTR i3 has improved significantly with this mod!)

@ 100m

OTR i3 (measured through Google Maps!)
70m >>>>> 185m >>>>> 210m

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Nice. :slight_smile:

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Thanks Agro!
I know you like zoomies too, so I’ll tell you this is a nice light for it’s size.
I had to rework in the lens a little bit (using black marker in the base to avoid some artifacts) and also painted in back the edges of the XPL-HI Led to avoid the white box around the center. It is working good, specially with the new firmware , and being this small it is useful on the one side and “playful” on the other :smiley:
I can’t avoid the constant push-pull on it :partying_face:

In terms of illumination, I guess the photos speak for themselves :wink:

18

Yeah…
I’ve had a very similar build in my head. Just with high-CRI XP-L HI. Didn’t think about Crescendo but it would likely be a good choice for me.

But it’s really a bit large to carry on my neck. I wear Foursevens Mini Turbo sometimes and it’s too large already but I love the punch that it offers. i3 has the same diameter but is somewhat longer…So I’m not really into getting one but it stays there at the back of my head. And if I had one it would surely have its use.

19

Hum, a High-CRI in this would be nice, specially when zoomed out :heart_eyes:
I opted for the CW, as I was trying to get more light out of it. I should have used a Neutral White, specially for indoor use. But…I still have in mind to change it and eventually use a Luxeon V or V2 on it :wink:

Yup, to neck carrying it is quite bulky, the head is large in this light! Larger than the 4Sevens, I’m sure! It can be a light to carry in the pocket or jacket, maybe, and that’s the way I’m using it after this mod.
As for neck light, I’m carrying the RovyVon Aurora A8 :wink:

BTW, if you even decide to buy it and change the driver, please be aware that 15mm drivers fit, but only without springs or 7135 chips in the back. There is small space for the switch spring and the battery itself!

:+1:

20

Thanks for the note. :slight_smile:
BTW 47 Mini Turbo has one inch diameter. So actually slightly larger than this.
Too large to be usable on a short string but if it goes down to my belly - it’s actually OK. Surely not something I would call practical though. :wink:

21

Ooops, I confused the flashlight, thought it was the thinner :stuck_out_tongue:
Ahah, only issue I see with these big neck lights is we have them in the chest some friend slaps you there and we scream an “Ouch!!!” :smiley: