At the recent SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Olight introduced a new tactical flashlight called the M1X Striker. The new flashlight is a “defensive adaptation” of the company’s M18 Maverick flashlight.

The new flashlight has a maximum output of 1,000 lumens – though it can only maintain that for five minutes before the programming automatically reduces it over three minutes to 550 lumens. Presumably, this is to improve battery life and to limit how hot the flashlight body gets. In my own testing of other flashlights, I have measured surface temperatures on some flashlights to exceed 140˚ F.

Even with the ramping down of output, a pair of CR123A batteries are rated to power this light for only 60 minutes total (5 minutes @1k lumens + 55 minutes @ 550 lumens.) This is less than the published numbers for similar flashlights from other companies. However, the real information can be seen in a graph of output over time – something than Olight and many other companies do not provide.

As I have mentioned in previous articles, lumens is the unit of measurement for total light output. It is important but does not tell the complete story. Olight lists the peak beam intensity as only 9,000 candela suggesting that this 1,000 lumen flashlight offers a fairly wide flood beam rather than a tight beam. This suggests it is better for searching a room than a field.

Olight claims the flashlight has an IPX8 rating – in this case, waterproof to 2 meters for 30 minutes – and a drop resistance of 1.5 meters. These ratings do not conform to the ANSI FL-1 specifications, nor does the company indicate how it tests the lights determine its specs.

This light has a striking bezel and dual switches. It also has five different output modes plus a strobe. The MSRP is $60.