Received a new light from Olight a week ago, S1R Baton II, an upgraded S1R (Turbo S). The older S1R (Turbo S) made quite an impression to many flashlight enthusiasts world-wide when it came out. And for a while, it was the light to beat in terms of sheer output for its size: 900 lumens. Now, Olight not only up the output to 1000 lumens, it has also made some enhancement/improvement based on many of our feedback. First, let's take a look at the specifications:
and the box it comes in.
upon pulling out the inset from the box, a yellow "READ ME" note will grab your attention.
what's included in S1R Baton II package:
S1R Baton II flashlight, MCC II charger, User Manual, small pouch, wrist-yard, and a convenient storage box for the battery. Note that the battery is pre-installed in the S1R Baton II. Oh ya, and a thank you note too... LOL!
the User Manual
and a link to view the higher resolution of the User Manual
https://imgur.com/5yd17AB.jpg
a few pictures of the S1R Baton II...
It seems Olight has started to make this a standard feature of their blue bezel ring flashlight, the max output, in this case 1000 lumens, the colour temperature, CCT 6500K, and the CRI value, 70-CRI are laser edged on the bezel.
a top-down look at the bezel ring
now, a couple of things about UI on this S1R Baton II:
- The UI is very much the trial and proven S-series UI, no surprises here
- Single click to switch On or Off the S1R Baton II
- The main mode cycle is Low, Medium and High, mode are cycle through long press of the side switch
- Direct access to Turbo 1000 lumens by double-clicking in any mode (including from Off)
- Direct access to Strobe by triple-clicking in any mode (including from Off)
- From Off, long press (~2 seconds) to access Moon-mode, 0.5 lumens
- From Off, long press (~3 seconds) to activate Electronic Lockout. If you think counting to 3 seconds is not cool, then just remember to activate Electronic Lockout, continue to hold the side switch when the light turned-on in Moon-mode and let go when it turned-off.
- To deactivate Electronic Lockout, long press (~2 seconds) until you get Moon-mode. Or you could loosen the body half turn and Electronic Lockout will be disengaged.
There are 2 off-timer functions on this S1R Baton II:
- A single flash signal a short 3 minutes off-timer is in effect, while double flash signal a long 9 minutes off-timer is in effect.
- From On, double-click and hold the side switch to engaged one of the two off-timer.
- Repeat the double-click and hold to alternate between the 2 off-timer
let's continue with some pictures of the light... here is the same familiar tail end of Olight's rechargeable flashlight.
the force is strong with this one... (magnetic that is)
what is different though, is this new S1R Baton II unscrew at the body. The tail and body is a single piece.
yes, don't forget to remove the yellow insulating film before using.
here are the two piece construction of S1R Baton II
inside the body is the positive and negative terminal contact
together with the spring at the head, this 2 springs design should provide more cushioning against drop and bump compare to the older S1R (Turbo S).
The new MCC II charger
this new MCC II charger provides much faster charging compare to the older MCC as it charges in higher current.
when finish charging, current drops to zero.
they have also change the indicator and I think this is nicer
it turns Red when in-charging...
and green when charging completed.
time taken from 2.85V to 4.2V A couple of close-up picture of S1R Baton II
notice the small LED indicator at the switch? it is the new battery level indicator. btw, looks at that aggressive knurling... such a beauty!
Green means battery has >60% of juice.
Olight says this is Yellow, but it looks more like Orange to me... this colour indicate there are 10%-60% juice left in the battery.
No question here, a Red means absolute low juice level and you should charge up the battery as soon as possible.
This new LED indicator will stay On automatically whenever you switch-on the S1R Baton II in all modes EXCEPT the Moon mode. Not sure why Olight decides to left out the Moon mode but it is what it is.
Following picture 2 years worth of Olight S-seris flashlight releases (missing S10R III here as I have give-away the unit):
from left, S1 Baton, S1R Baton (Turbo S), S Mini Baton, S1 Mini Baton, and S1R Baton II
and a quick comparison with the older S1R (Turbo S)
as can be seen here, Olight has manage to shortened the length of S1R Baton II and the height of MCC II.
Difference in TIR
Comparing the battery of S1R Baton II and S1R (Turbo S)
top is S1R Baton II battery, ORB-16C05-10C
see the plastic disc surrounding the button top on the ORB-16C05-10C (on the right)? We will not be able to charge this new IMR battery in normal flat contact charger like those offering from XTAR. We will however still be able to charge this new battery in those charger with contact nipple (e.g. NiteCore chargers).
My measured output of S1R Baton II
The usual disclaimer: I do not claim the above measured lumens as authoritative nor an indication of over/under-stating the number given by manufacturer. It's calibrated against some known light output (e.g. SureFire, Elzetta, etc.) so take it with a grain of salt and just as a relative reading.
Small changes in Moon-mode output, left is older S1R (Turbo S), right is S1R Baton II
Notice that there are no ripple (PWM) on the newer S1R Baton II in Moon mode.
and now, some runtime test
let's zoomed-in to the first few minutes of the runtime test
well, I do get about a minute of Turbo 1000 (or 1100 lumens as measured) output and it gradually steps down to 300 lumens (or ~335 lumens) on it's way to 1.5 minutes. Note that these runtime test are not fan-cool. It runs in room temperature of ~26°C. and yes, upon stepping down from Turbo, you can immediately double-click and get another run at Turbo mode again. WARNING! watch out for the heat, it might burn your hand.
next, the runtime test in High mode
for High mode, I also did a runtime test using Olight's primary CR123A battery. The first minute or so of the runtime is similar to Turbo mode where it gradually drops to 300 lumens (~335 lumens) between 1 to 1.5 minutes. I'm quite impressed with the runtime on primary CR123A as it gives ~80 minutes of 300 lumens output and another ~45 minutes of very usable 80 lumens output (where just a decade ago, this 80 lumens is consider a tactical output).
In conclusion, I think Olight has another winner here besides the M1T Raider. Not only because it reaches 1000 lumens output, but the aggressive knurling, faster charging, improved(?) IMR battery and the battery level indicator all pointing to a manufacturer who are constantly listening to users' feedback and make improvements to their offering.
(pssst, but I do wish they would lower the retail price tho...)
(?) see 2018.09.22 update in post #13
2018.09.24 Small Discharge Testing Update:
- One significant runtime difference between S1R Baton (Turbo S) and S1R Baton II is S1R Baton (Turbo S) will switch off on ORB-163C05 Low Voltage (battery Over-discharge) Protection kicks-in, while the new S1R Baton II will turn itself off when ORB-16C05-10C is at ~2.4V (underload). In other words, this new S1R Baton II has battery Over-discharge Protection built-in.
- When S1R Baton II battery Over-discharge protection kicks-in, the protection can be reset by connecting S1R Baton II to the MCC II. At ~3.5V, it will be reset as you can start the light back on.
- The S1R Baton II battery Over-discharge Protection can be bypass (highly not recommended, unless you absolutely urgently need some lights) by loosening the body and tightening it back on, you should be able to get Low and possibly Medium Mode. However, note that the in-light Over-discharge Protection may not be activated as can be acknowledged via the non-functioning of the battery level indicator at the electronic side-switch.
- If you go the bypass route, do take note that your battery, in this case, ORB-16C05-10C will be discharge as low as possible. I stop my discharge test when it reaches 1.8V underload to not risk further damaging the battery.
btw, just in case you are wondering, Olight has taken away the "feature" to light FIRE using steel wool in this new S1R Baton II. The exposed contacts at tailend has limited current, measured at ~2.4mA on my meter.
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