I hadn’t given the Olantern series much though before I got this sample. It seemed like a cheap gimmick that could never live up to the greatness of the BLF LT1. Boy, was I wrong.
Olantern Stretch is phenomenal. The UI is intuitive with no multiple-click nonsense. It looks fantastic. The “beam shape” is excellent thanks to the downward-facing LEDs and shade. The color properties are perfect. The charging/powerbank solution is ideal. Runtime is superb. Brightness is great. My only complaint is the non-user-serviceable batteries. It’s just so pleasant to use around the house and day-to-day, especially compared to a BLF LT1, which sometimes feels a little clunky.
This light is perfect for my own lantern needs. I like it so much that I sold my BLF LT1 before I even finished this review. If you’re in the market for a rechargeable lantern for casual camping and around-the-house duty, look no further!
Maybe we should establish a new rule.
If a certain light has a simple mode, it should come out of the box with that simple mode.
Today we (eh, me … being a simple person) have to wander through all possible outcomes of the expert-modes before we finally reach the simple mode.
People who love complicated modes will be thrilled when they are forced to find these themselves.
Thanks for the review! I concur…this is THE best Olantern to date and probably one of the most useful consumer lanterns available right now. How nobody else thought of an extendable head is beyond me.
Output needs a bump though.
I reviewed it also, so if you want throw/candela messurements and Lumen output go check out 1Lumen for those.
Here’s the thing: you won’t find something similar or even remotely similar with a user swappable battery. They don’t exist. Period. That is meant to keep the light sealed up and protect the user and the light. Olight and all mainstream brands do this. The only ones with swappable batteries are cheap, low powered lanterns or smaller ones running off a single cell or multiple cells like the LT1. I actually prefer it this way anyways
Olight makes a good product and if something goes bad with it, they will fix it.
I avoid built-in batteries (and proprietary batteries) for almost all flashlights.
The only exceptions I make are for keychain flashlights and flashlights that are dirt cheap.
