Olight Handheld Flashlights Review
Olight is a massively popular light company that produces a massive amount of various lights. Their catalog is truly impressive. In fact, I would say it could be downright intimidating. Olight just produces so many different lights. From pocket-sized EDC lights to massive searchlights, the Olight brand graces near every type of light you could imagine. Today we are going to make shopping for an Olight a little simpler.
We gathered not just a ton of different lights, but we gathered what we think are the best of Olight. This focus is on the handheld variants of Flights. We'll have a separate article on their weapon lights down the road. What drove our picks are both the function of the lights, as well as how they complete the goal they are designed to accomplish. We are judging how these lights perform in their given roles.
The Mini Lights
OPen 2
The OPen 2 is one of the handiest little lights you can get your hands on. The OPen 2 is a penlight, but it's unlike any other penlight on the market. It's designed to be the most ergonomic and easy to use penlight out there. It's also one of the brightest, with a 120 lumens max power.
The bright white beam is a floodlight like design with four different power modes. The high mode packs 120 lumens for 20 minutes, the medium mode runs at 60 lumens for 50 minutes, then the low mode runs 20 lumens for 140 minutes, and finally, the super low mode runs 5 lumens for 10 hours. These various modes allow you to accomplish most EDC tasks.
The 120 lumens mode can even light up your average bedroom or office well. The various modes allow for saving power and battery life throughout the light's life. The lower lumens also make reading white paper and books easier with fewer reflections and eye strain. The battery is rechargeable and uses a USB C to pack in the power.
The OPen 2 also places the light on the side of the light instead of on one of the ends. This allows you to attach the light via the pocket clip to your shirt for a hands-free light experience. Better yet, the light can be separated from the pen portion, and each can be used independently. This allows you to easily write in the dark with the light portion pinned to your shirt.
The OPen 2 even works well as just a pen. It writes very smoothly and glides across the page in a way that delivers pleasant tactile feedback. The design is all aluminum with a bolt action lock and release for the pen tip. It's an all-around awesome design that is ultra-handy and easy to grab on the go.
The i5T EOS
Some people like pocket-sized flashlights and don't like rechargeable batteries. The i5T EOS might be the best option for those folks. This little handheld, pocket-sized flashlight is both short and skinny and powered by a single AA battery. The i5T EOS is a little powerhouse of a light, and it finds some way to squeeze out 300 lumens of white light power from the little fella. The i5T EOS shines 300 lumens of power for 2 minutes before stepping down to 150 lumens for 25 minutes, and finally 30 lumens for 122 minutes. That's a lot of juice and power for a tiny little light utilizing a single AA.
The light weighs a mere 2.12 ounces with a tail clip and battery. It fits in your pocket and takes up hardly any room, and you'll notice it weighing you down. The ergonomics are simple and are made up of a single button. Hit it and go.
You can use the light as a momentary option with a short press and release or constant on with a long click. It's simple, effective, and very easy to use. The only bad thing about the i5T EOS is typing i5T EOS over and over. If that's the only downside, I'll take it.
If you just want a light, and nothing fancy, nothing hard to use, and nothing big and heavy, then the i5T EOS might be the best option for you.
S1R Baton 2
The S1R Baton 2 is a mere 2.48 inches long and weighs a mere 1.8 ounces, and in that tiny but admittedly stubby package, is 1,000 lumens of light. 1,000 lumens is a lot of light from such a teeny tiny light. You don't see that kind of power in a light this small nearly ever. The S1R Baton 2's 1,000-lumen beam is quite clear and right with a focused design that gives you a balanced hotspot for both close-in use and far off use.
The S1R Baton 2 packs a total of five different modes. The high being the 1,000 lumens, but you also get settings for 600 lumens, 60 lumens, 12 lumens, and even .5 lumens. The 1,000 lumen and 600-lumen modes are that bright for 90 seconds before transitioning to 300 lumens. Battery life varies from a low of 37 minutes to a max of 8 days, depending on the setting.
The S1R Baton 2 is fueled by a rechargeable battery and uses the Olight's famed magnetic charging cord. The little fella has a battery indicator in the form of an LED in the push-button controls. Green means the battery is above 60%, yellow is 60 to 10%, and red is less than 10%. It's super handy and easy to use on the fly. This way, you never leave home without knowing your light's power level.
The S1R Baton 2 is made from aluminum, so it's ultra-tough and can take a serious beating. The design features a very aggressive grip texture, which is a must-have for a light this small. The short grip could be hard to hold onto, but that aggressive texture comes in handy. Plus, the little guys come in all sorts of colors and patterns.
The Just Right
The S2R Baton 2
We just talked about the little S1R Baton 2, and now we are looking at the bigger brother, the S2R Baton 2. The S2R Baton 2 is very similar in design to its little brother. It's a good bit bigger at 3.9 inches, and it weighs 3.47 ounces.
That extra length and weight mean you get a bigger battery, and a bigger battery means MORE POWER! More power results in a 1,150-lumen turbo mode that casts a brighter beam backed by 4,600 candela for long-range performance. The little beam goes beyond what most EDC lights can do without being bigger than most EDC lights.
The turbo mode settles down to 400 lumens after 2 minutes. Beyond the turbo mode, you have a high setting of 400 lumens, a medium setting of 120 lumens, a low setting of 5 lumens, and a 'moon' setting of 0.5 lumens. The various powers change how long the battery lasts, and the S2R Baton 2 can last for 4 hours on high to 60 days on the moon.
The battery is, of course, rechargeable. The aluminum body is plenty tough, and the light can be submerged in water with its IPX8 setting as well as a 1.5-meter impact resistance rating. Like the little Baton, the big Baton is textured for a sure grip, and a button battery indicator is also present.
This is the option that's just a step above the little Baton and provides you both a longer battery life and more power! You can't beat it if you don't mind the larger size overall.
The Big Boys
The Warrior X Turbo
The Olight Warrior X Turbo is a monster of a light that puts the powerhouse into perspective. The Warrior X Turbo is a massive light packing massive power that casts a powerful 1,100-lumen beam backed by 250,000 candela. This level of candela and lumens allow the Warrior X Turbo to shine a beam 1,000 meters. This light was designed to throw fire, and throw fire it does.
The Warrior X Turbo is a truly impressive beam that casts a bright white light far enough that the only way to make use of its powerful beam is with a magnified optic. The X Turbo's long throw allows you to spot deer across a field, search far and wide with a set of binos, and truly own the night.
The Warrior X Turbo isn't a small light at 6.18 inches, and it weighs a hefty 10.37 ounces. The X Turbo packs a huge bezel that's 2.28 inches wide, and this is where the magic is made. The huge head casts a massive light that cuts through the darkness and makes it easy to overcome photonic barriers.
The X Turbo is a mighty, mighty light with some substantial power behind it. The Warrior X Turbo is a specialized light that most certainly provides specialized performance. The Warrior X Turbo is a big boy and gives a big boy performance.
The Freyr
The Olight Freyr is a big light but is smaller than the Warrior X. The Freyr still packs a ton of power with a max lumen output of 1,750 lumens and a 360-meter throw. The Freyr is also chock full of settings. This includes a high, medium, and low mode, on top of a green, red and blue beam.
The multicolor beams open up the light's versatility. The various color beams have various effects when working in dark environments.
The red beams help preserve natural night vision and make it comfortable to read maps in the dark with minimal reflection.
Most animals are not capable of seeing a green beam, which is an awesome option for hunters navigating in the early morning.
The blue beam makes blood glow and allows you to track wounded game and treat injuries without firing up white light.
The white light is incredibly powerful, and the 1,750 lumens high mode will run for 2 minutes on high before stepping down to 850 lumens for 2.5 hours, and then at the end of the battery's life, it ends at 300 lumens for 28 minutes.
When running on a higher brightness level, the light will even detect obstructions and automatically step down to preserve your vision and reduce reflections. This is insanely handy when going from outdoors to indoors. You don't even have to think about it.
You can manually swap to 300 lumens for a stunning 9.5 hours or even 5 lumens of white light for a wonderful 15 days of battery life. The Olight Freyr is a light that gives you options, lots and lots of options.
The Freyr even comes with a rechargeable battery, a charger, belt pouch, and a silicone attachment for traffic direction. The Freyr can be used around the house by hunters, police and would be insanely handy to keep in a vehicle. The Freyr might be my favorite light just for its versatility.
The Just Plain Fun
The Obulb
This last one is just for fun. The Obulb is a neat little light that is circular in design and made to provide soft white light that's largely unfocused and fills a small space with soft light. It's perfect for a tent and campsite. It packs 55 lumens on high and 3.5 lumens on low, with an optional 7 lumen red light and a 7 lumen flashing light.
The Obulb is a space light that's simple to use and perfect for a wide variety of purposes. I keep mine in my gun safe to make it easy to spot and find my guns when needed. The Obulb is a potent little light that's genuinely just neat and fun.
The World of Olight Handhelds
Olight handheld is a term that endears diversity. They make so many lights, and when I went to pick and choose the lights for this list, I never imagined it being 8 lights long. I was aiming for a top 5, but here we are. Olight has enough handhelds to offer anyone an option. The Olight Handhelds are all backed with a 5-year warranty and come with all the goods needed to fire them up and get light where you need it immediately. If you can't find an Olight for you, then I assume you need a light that summons Batman because that's the only thing Olight seemingly doesn't produce.
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