I will tell you right up front – I’m a huge fan of Olight, the company. A bit of back story – some of you are surely familiar with Going Gear retail operations in Georgia, and GoingGear.com. This cool retailer of knives, flashlights and camping gear was founded by Marshall Hoots. You may be aware that Marshall passed away in September of this year leaving a wife and two daughters.

For 1 day, Olightstore.com donated 100% of the revenue from the sale of their flashlights to Marshall’s family. Not the profit – 100% of the revenue. I believe they raised over $60,000 in that one day for Marshall’s family. That was a classy thing to do, and while I already respect and enjoy Olights (my first “good” light in 2009 was an Olight), this cemented my appreciation for the company.

My collection numbers well over 50 flashlights – some ‘high dollar’ exotics…some small key ring lights. Still, the light I carry the most is a titanium Olight S1 Mini Baton with a neutral tint. The light I am reviewing here is a brand new aluminum version of that light, albeit a cool white tinted emitter.

This light arrives in the usual green and black packaging:

Included with this light was a lanyard, documentation, micro-usb cord and rechargeable battery.

The battery charging is via a female USB port on the side of the actual battery. For those who travel and don’t want to carry a dedicated charger or extra batteries, this is a nice touch. Yes, it would be nice to be able to plug into the body of the light, but this little light is SO small that it might be tough to squeeze that ability into the light.

Decent little 650 mAh battery

Comparing the battery to the light gives you an idea of just how small this little light is!

The light comes with a friction fitted pocket clip. If you prefer to carry a light (like me) without the clip, the clip is removable but it takes a strong pull. That’s a good thing – you don’t want the clip popping off inadvertently and I can’t see that happening considering how tightly the clip holds.

Operation is simple and almost intuitive – at worst, easily learned. The small button is easy to find in the dark or without looking. Quick press powers up the light at the last used level. Quick press again to turn it off. With the light on, press and hold and it will cycle through 3 levels. From off, press and hold and the light comes on in the moonlight mode. Triple press from off or on activates the strobe. It’s easy and quick.

This light utilizes an XM-L2 emitter behind an optic, with a color temperature of 6500k and a CRI of 70. Against a white wall I noticed just a bit of artifact in the beam, but in real use you’d never see it.

I also purchased the “high CRI” version of this light. It’s rated slightly lower output (450 lumen) but has a 5500k tint versus this light’s 6500k. It’s a matter of personal preference. I prefer the lower color temp. This titanium version has about the same tint as the high CRI one.

These are great little carry lights for about $50.  They can be purchased online at many places including the Olight Store.