Review: Olight S1R Baton II - XM-L2 1k Lumens & magnetic charging.

mattlward · 2018-11-15T01:22:56.000Z

Hey All!!!

Let me get the business out of the way and then on to the fun… The Olight S1R Baton II that I will be looking at today was provided by Olightstore.com.

GENERAL DATA
Beam Distance (ft) 476
Beam Distance (m) 145
Max. Performance (lumens) 1000
Charge type Magnetic USB charge base
Compatible Batteries customised RCR123A IMR
Light Intensity (candela) 5250
Light Form Wide/broad hotspot. Perfect for up close illumination.
Lens / Reflector Type TIR reflector (big, defined wide hotspot)
Mode Operation Side Switch
Form/Size Factor Small size (Car key / Zippo Lighter)
Series Series S (EDC, General Use)

Unique Characteristics
1,000-lumen output: With the help of the all new customized 10C discharge current lithium-manganese battery, the S1R II delivers a huge output of 1,000 lumens in a small pocket light powered only by a single IMR16340.
Premium beam: Perfectly balanced hot spot for optimal clarity and a soft transition to maintain comfortable vision during use.
Three-color power level indication: Once the light is turned on, the power indicator located in the center of the side switch shows the power level in three colors (Green: Power>60, Yellow: Power is between 10 and 60; Red: Power<10).
Highly efficient MCC II charger: This round-edged magnetic USB charger is not only 13% thinner than the previous MCC but is also compatible with all existing rechargeable flashlights and headlamps using this charging method. The new MCC II provides another fast charging solution to future Olight products with high capacity batteries.

LIGHTING LEVELS
LEVEL 1 (lumens) 1000
Run-time LEVEL 1

1000 lumens (1.5 minutes) then drops to 300 lumens (37 minutes)
LEVEL 2 (lumens) 600
Run-time LEVEL 2

600 lumens (1.5 minutes) then drops to 300 lumens (45 minutes)
LEVEL 3 (lumens) 60
Run-time LEVEL 3

60 lumens (3 hours and 40 minutes)
LEVEL 4 (lumens) 12
Run-time LEVEL 4

12 lumens (20 hours)
LEVEL 5 (lumens) 0.5
Run-time LEVEL 5

0.5 lumen (8 days)
Strobe Yes
SOS / BEACON No

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Waterproof IPX8
Weight (g / oz) 51 / 1.8
Length (mm / in) 63 / 2.48
Head Diameter (mm / in) 21 / 0.82
Body Diameter (mm / in) 21 / 0.82
Led Cree XM-L2 CW
Packaging carton box
Use everyday carry , key-chain, car, camping, fishing, household, EDC, general use

Package Contents
Olight S1R II flashlight x 1
MCCII Magnetic Charging Cable x 1
550mAh IMR RCR123A Battery x 1
Lanyard x 1
Battery box x 1
Pouch x 1
User Manual x 1

We have all become used to the great packing of the Olight product line. Minimalist, yet gets the job done well. No exception here.

How about the light? The first thing you will notice is the new texture on the barrel. The next thing you will notice is when you open the light to remove the plastic isolation disk… the entire barrel screws off. This light no longer uses an end cap at all! This allows the light to be more compact that previous versions of the S1R. You will also notice the addition of an LED to the center of the power switch. This LED will light to indicate battery power. Green indicates >60% charge, yellow/orange indicates greater than 10% and less than 60% charge and red indicates below 10% charge.

For this light, Olight introduced another new 16340 cell. This cell has a raised ring that isolates positive from negative on the top of the cell. It is also now listed as a 10C cell! This raised ring has so far prevented me from charging the light in an external charger. This bugs me as it makes it imperative to keep track of an Olight magnetic charger. I have seen reports of some previous version of Olight 16340’s not charging in the light… So far I have been able to charge the ORB-163C06 and the ORB-163C05 cells in the light. I only tested briefly with the 1 amp charger as I did not want to hit the older cells with that much current, but this fully charged with a previous version of the magnetic charger. Also, the included cell would not work in my S10R Baton III or S1R Baton. It did fit, but would not turn on.

Note! Only the ORB-16C05-10C that came with the light was able to support the discharge rate of turbo without tripping the protection circuit!

Olight also include some nice kit with this light. I love the storage bag, as I often carry the light in the console of my truck and it is easier to find. It also holds the charger with room to spare.

The performance of the light was pretty much spot on with published stats. I started the light in turbo and allowed it to step down as the internal timers and voltages required and I was able to get about 63 minutes of total runtime. It took basically an hour to reach full charge after that with the included charger. It did terminate charge at 4.21 volts, measured after a 5 minute rest. I do believe the 1000 lumen claim when comparing it to light that I have purchased and built, in fact it might be a tiny bit higher than 1000 lumens.

The UI is the standard Olight interface that has become time tested. It is nice to be able to pick up any Olight and expect to quick click to the turn on to the last used mode and to be able to hold the power button for a second to go directly to moonlight. I use that feature very often and appreciate it. Two quick clicks from off takes you to the awesome 1000 lumen mode. This mode is not memorized when the light is powered off. I have also grown to love the ability to quickly and easily lock out the Olight products. From off, hold the power switch until moonlight come on and goes off. To unlock the light hold the power button for about 1.5 seconds and light will power on. During lockout pressing the side button will cause the LED under the switch to glow red to indicate lockout.

Output? Yup, it has a bunch! I did mistakenly set my white balance to 5700K, should have been a little higher. All photos shot with the same shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings.

Moonlight

Low

Medium

High

Turbo!!!

Personal thoughts, I always have them. I try to carry any light that I review for between 1 week and 2 weeks as my exclusive EDC, if it is an EDC light, this allows me to find any quirks or things that I do not like. I did not find anything major that I did not like or did not expect. I really do like the pi-directional pocket clip as I do use it on a ball cap from time to time.

I would have liked it if the light had been slightly warmer, maybe in the 5000K range and if it had a better than 70 CRI rating. But, I can live with it as the output is not pushing blue and does not have strange coronas or other artifacts in the beam. The beam on this light is very clean! I do like the fact that Olight still uses the aging XM-L2 LED. This LED under a good quality TIR is just about perfect for a clean beam.

Dobtruckers · 2018-11-15T01:46:57.000Z

With your Olight experience, should we expect the same specs and results with the new Olight S1RII Cu Baton copper version?

chadvone · 2018-11-15T03:04:51.000Z

Hey Matt thanks for the review.

Am I understanding correctly that there is a jump from 60 to 600 lumens? And the only way to get 300 is to wait 1.5 minutes at 600 or 1000 lumens? If so what is your thoughts on that? How does it seam in practice?

I can get a lot done with 60 lumens, just thinking a 120-300 lumen level and drop the 600 lumen level would make it more useful.

I still have a S1 stuck on the fridge. Wife uses it more than I do.

EDIT- That last photos looks like your practicing fly fishing. You missed the bucket.

mattlward · 2018-11-15T15:51:51.000Z

chadvone:

Hey Matt thanks for the review.

Am I understanding correctly that there is a jump from 60 to 600 lumens? And the only way to get 300 is to wait 1.5 minutes at 600 or 1000 lumens? If so what is your thoughts on that? How does it seam in practice?

I can get a lot done with 60 lumens, just thinking a 120-300 lumen level and drop the 600 lumen level would make it more useful.

Yes, you understand that jump correctly. In practice, I find that I use the 60 lumen mode often and that the step from 60 to 600 is dramatic. I would have liked to see it go from 60 to say 400 lumens and then on to 1000 with a drop down to 600. I do still find the modes pretty useful… but if working close make sure you remember that jump.

mattlward · 2018-11-15T15:56:31.000Z

Dobtruckers:

With your Olight experience, should we expect the same specs and results with the new Olight S1RII Cu Baton copper version?

Olight tends to move in waves, they update the product line in what appears to either be based on cell size or driver size. I would expect similar performance numbers. I have several of the small coppers and brass lights, be aware if it is to be an EDC… it will be very heavy for it’s size. But, there is nothing like the patina and smell of a raw copper light!

For a good utility light, I really do like Olight. There was a model or 2 that I did not like, but overall they are good product. I do wish that they did not play the proprietary battery game so hard.

Dobtruckers · 2018-11-15T18:40:13.000Z

Thank you.

chadvone · 2018-12-07T04:06:50.000Z

Ordered one.

sbslider · 2018-12-07T05:35:05.000Z

I would be curious to hear you check back here in a few months regarding this light. I had a S1R that was my EDC for about 6 months. Then it got to be the cooler time of year here in SoCal, and I found that on turbo the light would only stay on for a few seconds, then step down. The 5C battery did not do very well at temperatures much below 20C.

I do miss the magnetic charging and the smaller form factor, but like so many other things about my D4 that I haven’t missed it enough yet to want to try out the new one.