OLIGHT S10/20 XM-L2 BATON REVIEW
I chose to do a combined review since the two lights are very similar in size and user interface.The two lights are using the new XM-L2 led and the predecessors of the lights had used a first generation XM-L.They both are basic design flashlights with no tacticool designs or fancy heatsinks.As shown in the picture above,the accessories that they come with are 2 replacement o-rings,a decent branded lanyard,a split ring for lanyard attachment and a rubber cap to fill the magnet hole.Both the s10 and s20 have magnets in the tailcap,which I will cover later.
construction: These are well made and have a 1.7mm thickness at the thinnest point of the battery tube.The s10 is 70.7mm long and 23mm at the bezel.The s20 is 106.4mm long and 23mm at the bezel.The bezels are stainless steel and under them is an AR coated lens which is a very light coating that is almost undetectable.Both reflectors are medium orange peel which give them a nice floody beam pattern.The s10 and s20 come with deep carry pocket clips which are really stiff to the point of they have potential to tear up the pocket you put them in.This was the only design flaw or complaint I had about either light.The unique feature both lights have is the magnet in the tailcap,which really comes in handy if you use them to work on a car or stick them to any ferrous surface in a work area.The magnets are strong and are shown here stuck to my dryer door.
Close up of the bezel and faint AR coating of the lens
The next point I want to touch on is the knurling,it seems aggressive and deep but I would only rate it 5/10 on the "grippiness scale."In real world use,if the light gets wet or greasy you can lose grip easily.I took both lights to work and used the for the week in place of my usual EDC and had dropped both several times.Both survived the falls and continue to work flawlessly.Here's a closer look at the knurling which is more of a checkering design element in my opinion.
USER INTERFACE:Both the s10 and s20 share a similar UI,both utilize a side switch that is more of a plastic feel than the rubber common to other lights like the Sunwayman c20c.The s20 is the exception,because it has a low battery indicator light that illuminates red when the battery is low.The s10 has a blue color side switch that does not light up at all.Modes are low,medium,high,moonlight and strobe.The moonlight mode is my favorite feature of the UI and can be accessed by holding the switch down from off for >1 second.The strobe mode which is hidden(thank the flashlight gods)can be accessed by a quick double click,if needed.Olight also built in a lock-out for the side switch which engages when the switch is pressed for >2 seconds.That being said,it is very easy to lock out accidentally because it happened to me quite a few times.
POWER OPTIONS:The s10 can use CR123 or RCR123 for power.In my simple test,I used a titanium innovations 1400 mah cell which gave me a run time on high of 1 hour and 5 minutes until the cell died.The s10 has a gradual step down and when it does(after about a minute and a half)it is not abrupt like some other lights of it's class.The s20 can support 1X18650or 2X CR123,there is no mention of using 2X RCR123,so I did not use them as a precaution.The s20 comes with a battery magazine for the CR123's to prevent battery rattle and does a great job of it.My test on high mode with 2CR123's ended up at 2 hours and 11 minutes and with a IO 3100 mah 18650 ended at 2 hours and 32 minutes.Neither light got too hot to hold during the test,so I will assume it is a fully regulated driver with a step down based on the power input.My non-scientific PWM test(pointing the lights at a ceiling fan)showed no signs of PWM in any mode.The two lights did not show any higher or lower output when primaries or rechargeables were used,to the eye they were the same.The s20 will happily accept any 18650 I gave it,so using a keeppower 3400 or AW 2900 flat top had no problem fitting.
SIZE COMPARISON/BEAMSHOTS: The s20 is the tallest of the group(106.4 mm)and not too much larger than the Sunwayman c20c(105mm).To give an idea of size,I have lined up the smallest to the largest from left to right.The order is Olight s10,Sunwayman v10r ti,Sipik clone,Sunwayman c20c and Olight s20.
Beamshots are done on a tan colored wall(yeah,I know not ideal)to show beam pattern more than anything.The order is from left to right,s10,s20,c20c and v10r.
It's not. easy to tell,but the c20c is the brightest of the bunch followed by the s20.I think Olight's claims are a bit on the conservative side with the s20 at 550 lumens and the s10 at 400 lumens,but I don't have a lux meter to verify that numerically.
FINAL THOUGHTS AND CONCLUSION:
I feel that Olight has knocked it out of the park with these 2 baton series lights.They are true sleepers and what is most impressive is the s10 at such a diminutive size pounding out 400 lumens.I am also impressed that Olight's warranty on the lights is 5 years,not very typical of a flashlight manufacturer.I took a different approach to reviewing the s10 and s20,by carrying them for a week at work as to give them more of a practical use review rather than a desktop review.I work in a machine shop and the lights were subjected to being dropped,being exposed to cutting oil and knocked around a bit by co-workers wanting to borrow a flashlight.On a side note,the lights tail stand well and if the magnet in the tailcap is not desired,it can be taken out and replaced with the plug shown in the top picture.My overall rating would be a 4.5 out of 5,only due to the clip stiffness and it's barely functional knurling.Retail prices are as follows s10 $49.95 and the s20 $54.95.Thanks for looking at my first "real" review (be gentle!)and if there are any points I haven't covered,feel free to ask.
disclaimer:review samples provided by Battery Junction.com