As you probably know, Olight’s Baton bezels are press-fit into the flashlight bodies; however, with the right technique they are actually much easier to remove than you may think.
Disclaimer: I only have an original Baton 1 and the M1t Raider (both with Nichia 219 C 4k now). It looks like the newer Batons are constructed exactly the same way. Do this at your own risk to your flashlight and safety. I recommend heavy leather gloves and eye protection.
Tools needed:
- Two utility knife blades.
- A vise. I’m using an Irwin “drill press vise” and this style works great. I wouldn’t use a light duty hobbyist vise, but a benchtop vise should do fine. It needs to open to at least the length of your flashlight for the bezel to be pressed back on when you’re done.
- Large pliers. These are 12” Channelocks. The pliers need about a 3” jaw opening.
- A small screwdriver.
The trick to removing press-fit things is to pry as evenly as possible around the circumference.
Step 1: Create a uniform gap the width of an utility knife blade between the bezel and body. First clamp the knife blades in the vise so the flashlight just barely fits between them. Then carefully line up the blades right at the point where the bezel meets the body. Using the pliers, gently squeeze the blades together and in-between the bezel and body.
Here you can see the blades are in fact between the bezel and body. It’s pretty easy to do, actually.
Next, let off the pliers and rotate the flashlight a quarter turn. You may need to remove the knife blades and re-insert them to do this. Repeat until you have a uniform gap between the bezel and body. Don’t force the knife blades too much or you risk hurting yourself. They are just used to create the gap, not pry off the bezel.
Step 2: Use a small screwdriver in the gap you just created to pry off the bezel. Do this holding it in your hand. Instead of “prying” by moving the entire screwdriver, simply gently twist it. Again, the trick is to barely move it then reposition and repeat. You want to make as uniform progress as possible. Be patient. If you attempt to move it too much from one spot it won’t work as well. Make many small bits of progress all around the bezel.
Step 3: Put in a much nicer emitter! Sorry, no pictures of the bezel off.
If you swap out the entire MCPCB make sure it’s the same thickness as the stock one. If they’re different sizes then it won’t fit together properly. If you haven’t done one before, emitter reflows are probably easier than you think with a simple hardware store heat gun (but that’s a post for another time). Don’t forget the thermal paste.
Step 4: Replace the bezel (after confirming your emitter swap works). Use the vise to press the bezel back onto the body. I like to use a couple scraps of wood to keep the vise from marring the flashlight. Take care to line everything up correctly. Pressing it back on takes little force with the vise.
It really is a pretty quick and easy process if done like this. The biggest risk for cosmetically damaging your light is during the screwdriver prying. Twisting the screwdriver works great but it can scratch the body of the light (pretty minor if at all). If you really care about the look then maybe try prying with something like a plastic putty knife.
