Olight S15 baton
Specifications
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The Olight S15 Baton is the latest in the S-Baton line from Olight, that offers an XM-L2, and takes 1/2/3AA cells, as well as a Lithium Ion 14500 cell.
I`ve been drawn more towards AA type flashlights lately, and the Olight S15 seem to be a nice addition to the AA family with its 250 lumens, and qualifies for a good EDC.
First impressions:
The light comes in a rather cheap looking plastic case. Not as fancy as with my Sunwayman V11R Mirage
It contains:
- S15 baton flashlight with clip and magnet.
- Manual
- Lanyard
- Spare o-rings
- A rubber "coin" to replace the magnet inside the tail-cap
- An extra gift.. an AA extender!! (This let the S15 work on 2 AA batteries for extra run-time)More on that later.
I left the manual out of this picture.
The S15 looks well made and has a slightly larger diameter head than the body.
It came with a fairly strong clip, which is tight fit.
One of the first things that drew my attention was the blue switch-button, which feels great.
The engraving is nice thick and sharp!
There is no grip on the head, and not near the switch, so it feels a bit slippery.
The XM-L2 is very well centered.(see pic below)
Square threads and strong clip.
Clear letters!
Size and handling:
I had an Eagletec D25A (87x17mm, 25gram) for a while, and one of the things I didnt like about it, is that it was soo tiny, light and thin. After acquiring the Xeno E03 (97x21mm 48gram), I liked that one much more size-wise than the Eagletec.
Now with holding the Olight S15 baton, it`s again a step back from the Xeno E03, but not so bad as the D25A. And on top of that the head is wider than the body.
So with the clip on the opposite side of the switch, its really easy to handle and hold.
The tailcap contains a fairly strong magnet, which can be taken out!
The light has a few short-cuts to different modes... Read on.
Compared to a few of my 1xAA and AAA lights;
1. Itp A3 2. Ultrafire M5 3. Olight S15 baton 4.SWM V11R 5.SWM M10A 6.Fenix LD12
1. Olight S15 2.Nitecore EA2 3.Klarus P2A 4.Fenix E21
Length of 2xAA lights:
1. Olight S15.........138mm
2. Nitecore EA2......134mm
3. Klarus P2A.........155mm
4. Fenix E21..........162mm
Dimensions and weight:
| Olight S15 baton | Eagletec D25A |
Sunwayman V11R | Fenix LD12 | |
| Length 1xAA | 87mm | 87mm | 100mm | 105mm |
| Length 2xAA | 138mm | |||
| Width tail | 19.5mm | 18mm | 23mm | 21.5mm |
| Width head | 23mm | 18mm | 23mm | 21.5mm |
| Weight: | ||||
| 1xAA | 46gram | 24gram | 60gram | 54gram |
| 2xAA | 60gram |
Magnet:
The magnet used in the tailcap is really strong.
It easily holds the light in different directions even with the extender attached and 2 batteries inside.
The magnet is replaceable with a circular coin like rubber, so it won`t damage any electronic device/card when using it as an EDC in your pocket.
Here some "proof" that its a really strong magnet:
UI and modes:
My first negative impression on this well made light was the UI.
After using it for a few days now I got a little more used to it, but still have some reservations.
It has mode memory, so any mode will be memorized once its turned off. As far as I could see, there is no lag.. so, turn off and quickly on (not double click) will come back to the last used mode.
From OFF, you have 3 short-cuts to 3 different modes.
- 1 Click: Last memorized mode
- Hold 1 sec: Moonlight mode
- 2 Fast clicks: High mode
From Moonlight mode:
- press and hold the switch to cycle through Low, Medium, High, Low, Medium, High, etc...
Low Medium and High are the 3 Main modes.
You can`t cycle back to moonlight mode.
For moonlight you have to turn off the light, and Press and Hold the switch for 1 seconds.
- Strobe:
It has a Strobe mode, but its hidden, which is a big PLUS.
In any mode, Moon/Low/Med/Hi you can go to Strobe mode by 2 fast clicks.
To get out of the strobe mode, just simply press and hold the switch for 2 seconds, which brings it back to the main 3 modes. H/M/L
- Lock out;
From OFF; press and hold the switch for 2 seconds, it turns to Moon-mode and directly off... THEN release the switch.
Now its locked.. If you click on the switch, nothing will happen. - Except: 2 seconds press and hold, for Moonlight.
If you want a manual lock out, you just untwist the tailcap, which breaks the circuit and will have a full lock-out.
Safer and simpler. No parasitic drain this way.
According to Olight, it has extremely low standby current: 0.5uA while using 1.5V battery; 1.2uA while using a 4.2V battery
- One more thing that I noticed with this light, is that when you click the switch too short, it turns back on again.
I would prefer to have this setting removed from the S15 successor.
PWM:
I was unable to detect any sort of PWM.
Output and Runtime;
According to the specs of Olight using a 14500 battery
- High (280lumens : 45min),
- Med. (70lumens : 4h),
- Low (7lumens : 32h),
- Moonlight (0.5lumens : 15days)
Current draw: (in Amps.)
| 1xAA | 2xAA | 14500 | |
| Moon | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Low | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| Medium | 0.50 | 0.22 | 0.25 |
| High | 2.10 | 1.02 | 0.92 |
My run-time check:
1xAA battery:
Runtime on High is; around 50min. After that it drops to Low, where it stays for a while.
There is no Low Voltage indicator.
But at this point the battery is depleted,but you still have a while, before the lights turns off.
Compared to:
MOON:
1.Itp a3 2.Olight S15 baton 3.SWM V11R 4.Fenix LD12
MOON:
1.SWM V11R 2.Olight S15 baton
MOON:
1.Olight S15 baton 2.Fenix LD12
MOON:
1. SWM V11R 2.Olight S15 baton
HIGH:
1.SWM V11R 2.Olight S15 baton
Conclusion:
Pros:
- Pocketable EDC.
- AA and 14500 compatible.
- Able to run it off 2 or even 3 AA batteries using special extender(s).
- Sturdy clip.
- Square threads.
- Side switch made of good quality, not flimsy.
- Long runtime in Moonlight mode.
- short cuts to 3 different modes, Moon,High andStrobe.
- No PWM.
- No strobe in the main output group, but hidden.
- Lock out(Electronic) and (Manual)
Cons:
- Run-time on High is only 50minutes. (I would prefer a slightly lower output but with a longer run-time)
- It leaves marks on the anodizing when you remove the clip.
- not easy to mod, even the bezel was impossible to remove by hand.
- Switching between modes requires a full Press And Hold for 1 sec, which is too long. A simple click would be easier.
- Forgetting to lock out, the light turns on by itself in your pocket or bag, and drains the battery.
- It takes some practice to get the light in its electronic lock out state.
