Olight Seeker 3 Pro Testing and Review

[zeroair]

Olight Seeker 3 Pro Flashlight Review

Here we have the Olight Seeker 3 Pro flashlight, upgraded to 4200 lumens. This one has the limited edition orange finish, too! Read on!

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Versions
There are a bunch of versions of the Seeker in general. But of the Olight Seeker 3 Pro specifically, there are at least four. Black, orange (seen here), Brown, and Blue are all available.

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Short Review
Well, first off this light is orange, so it's clearly superior. If you need to see past that thing layer of anodizing to know more, you can know that this light has an astounding level of output. There's also the rotary interface, allowing a much finer tuning of the output to your needs. I personally don't use that as much as I just use the clicky, and that clicky works very well too. The nylon pouch is even an outstanding part of this item, too. The battery is proprietary, as is the charging. Emitter swaps (from the cool white Osram P9) should be fairly straightforward.

The Big Table

Olight Seeker 3 Pro
Emitter:	Osram P9 (4) (6000-7000K)
Price in USD at publication time:	$90.97 for the black, but $97.47 for the orange.
Cell:	1×21700 (customized, proprietary)
Turbo Runtime Graph	High Runtime Graph
LVP?	Yes
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA):	?
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Charge Port Type:	Proprietary Magnetic
Power off Charge Port	with cell: all modes without cell: no modes
Claimed Lumens (lm)	4200
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	4132 (98.4% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	3.8
Claimed Throw (m)	250
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	908lux @ 4.564m = 18914cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	275.1 (110% of claim)^
All my Olight reviews!

^ Measurement disclaimer: I am an amateur flashlight reviewer. I don't have $10,000 or even $1,000 worth of testing equipment. I test output and such in PVC tubes!! Please consider claims within 10% of what I measure to be perfectly reasonable (accurate, even).

For much more detailed and thorough data, please click any of the links below to be taken to my website!

• Olight Seeker 3 Pro Flashlight Review
  • Official Specs and Features
  • Versions
  • Price
  • Short Review
  • Long Review
    • The Big Table
    • What's Included
    • Package and Manual
    • Build Quality and Disassembly
    • Size and Comps
    • Retention and Carry
    • Power and Runtime
    • Charging
    • Modes and Currents
    • Pulse Width Modulation
    • User Interface and Operation
    • LED and Beam
    • LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
    • Beamshots
    • Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version)
  • Conclusion
    • What I like
    • What I don't like
  • Notes

 

[Olumin]

This is nothing against zeroair, but olight in general. I dont want to be negative but im really getting sick of Olights proprietary battery game. At first the charging just diddnt work (fine whatever), but now their models wont even run on regular cells it seems. This goes against everything a high quality flashlight stands for, and this is only going to inspire other makers to do the same. These lights are not built to last, they are built to provide their consumers with an endorphin rush just long enough for the next model to be announced. If they wanna be the Apple of flashlights (which it seems like to me) thats fine, but at least think about what youre buying here.

This is a flashlight enthusiasts forum, no one here should be buying such a product. I personally will never, under any circumstance, purchase a light over 20$ or so with non-replaceable or propriety batteries. Any such flashlight is not worth your time and money. Be reasonable. Sorry for the rant, I know this is nothing new to anyone here but I just feel it has to be said again.

 

[3_gun]

Impressive run times at 1k/L and above. Only question is "run time cooled" means what/how? An ice bath, an AC room at 65F or a fan at X/cfpm?

I hate proprietary batteries & charging but with a rotary + shortcuts UI & those lumen levels & run time I may be swayed

 

[zeroair]

This is nothing against zeroair, but olight in general. I dont want to be negative but im really getting sick of Olights proprietary battery game. At first the charging just diddnt work (fine whatever), but now their models wont even run on regular cells it seems. This goes against everything a high quality flashlight stands for, and this is only going to inspire other makers to do the same. These lights are not built to last, they are built to provide their consumers with an endorphin rush just long enough for the next model to be announced. If they wanna be the Apple of flashlights (which it seems like to me) thats fine, but at least think about what youre buying here.

This is a flashlight enthusiasts forum, no one here should be buying such a product. I personally will never, under any circumstance, purchase a light over 20$ or so with non-replaceable or propriety batteries. Any such flashlight is not worth your time and money. Be reasonable. Sorry for the rant, I know this is nothing new to anyone here but I just feel it has to be said again.

I don't disagree with any of that, and it's well stated. (And I *really, really* appreciate you separating the review from the product, and stating it without hate. ) I just test! (That said, I did buy a new Olight today with the sale....)

Impressive run times at 1k/L and above. Only question is "run time cooled" means what/how? An ice bath, an AC room at 65F or a fan at X/cfpm?

I hate proprietary batteries & charging but with a rotary + shortcuts UI & those lumen levels & run time I may be swayed

I just blow a little one-mode fan over the light (though I have never measured the cfpm). It's mostly for my safety on lights that get grossly too hot, but I also do it on all lights just for the sake of consistency. (Except on some tests, where I've already tested the higher modes - like this Olight Seeker 3 Pro, I'll probably circle back and test the "Medium" mode, but uncooled.)

And yeah on the 1k lumens - I was actually surprised how stable it was at >1k lumens, and how low the temperature remained. I can just skip turbo altogether and roll with High.

 

[Badbeams3]

I don't disagree with any of that, and it's well stated. (And I *really, really* appreciate you separating the review from the product, and stating it without hate. ) I just test! (That said, I did buy a new Olight today with the sale....)


I just blow a little one-mode fan over the light (though I have never measured the cfpm). It's mostly for my safety on lights that get grossly too hot, but I also do it on all lights just for the sake of consistency. (Except on some tests, where I've already tested the higher modes - like this Olight Seeker 3 Pro, I'll probably circle back and test the "Medium" mode, but uncooled.)

And yeah on the 1k lumens - I was actually surprised how stable it was at >1k lumens, and how low the temperature remained. I can just skip turbo altogether and roll with High.

Thanks for the great review Zeroair. I have one of these updated 3 models on order. One question if I may, does the rotary dial work in moon mode?

 

[zeroair]

does the rotary dial work in moon mode?

Great question and the answer is yes, the rotary will go work from moonlight. It will not ramp all the way back DOWN to moonlight though.

 

[tatteredmidnight]

Excellent review, thank you for the time and effort! I'm very disappointed in the direction Olight is going with their proprietary cells. I am generally a fan of their lights, I have an s2r ii in white en route right now, but I'm very glad I didn't succumb to my impulses and purchase this light at launch. Bring tied to their cells is a total deal breaker. I have several models of theirs that are nearly 10 years old now, I have no confidence that in another 10 years they will still be making compatible cells. I've already done emitter swaps on my older Olights, so besides a battery carrier breaking, I see no reason that they won't last as long as I care to have them around. Unfortunately I don't believe the same can be said for this light, and it's a real shame.

 

[zeroair]

Excellent review, thank you for the time and effort! I'm very disappointed in the direction Olight is going with their proprietary cells. I am generally a fan of their lights, I have an s2r ii in white en route right now, but I'm very glad I didn't succumb to my impulses and purchase this light at launch. Bring tied to their cells is a total deal breaker. I have several models of theirs that are nearly 10 years old now, I have no confidence that in another 10 years they will still be making compatible cells. I've already done emitter swaps on my older Olights, so besides a battery carrier breaking, I see no reason that they won't last as long as I care to have them around. Unfortunately I don't believe the same can be said for this light, and it's a real shame.

I agree with your points, but even flashlights that were modded to "the best" emitters at the time are probably not lights I'd want compared to what's available today. Not saying you're wrong, just saying that this aspect of the light doesn't bother me quite as much as it could, or maybe should. Even the base cell being used, the 21700, wasn't being sold 10 years ago.

Anyway, I don't disagree with you. I'd much rather this be a standard flat top 21700 cell. But it's an argument of convenience, not longevity.

 

[tatteredmidnight]

I agree with your points, but even flashlights that were modded to "the best" emitters at the time are probably not lights I'd want compared to what's available today. Not saying you're wrong, just saying that this aspect of the light doesn't bother me quite as much as it could, or maybe should. Even the base cell being used, the 21700, wasn't being sold 10 years ago.

Anyway, I don't disagree with you. I'd much rather this be a standard flat top 21700 cell. But it's an argument of convenience, not longevity.

While I understand your point, we are well past the point if lights being "bright enough". 1000 lumens out of a light is still very useable for a multitude of tasks. This is also a matter of morals/ethics for me. We are enthusiasts in a world of artificially restricted products. Computers, cars, even tractors are being made to be unrepairable and unserviceable by third parties for no justifiable reason besides greed. I don't want to take away from your excellent review so I will leave it at that. Keep up the excellent work, you are a great resource for the community!

 

[zeroair]

Thank you for reading!

 

[3_gun]

"This is also a matter of morals/ethics for me. We are enthusiasts in a world of artificially restricted products. Computers, cars, even tractors are being made to be unrepairable and unserviceable by third parties for no justifiable reason besides greed."

This is close to being true. Some of it is being able to tell between a covered failure & someone trying to pass off their mess under warranty. Some of it is cheapness. 10 bolts cost the same as 100 rivets & take MUCH longer to install; so you get rivets. The vast majority of the population have seen most if not all products as short term buys; being easily swayed by a new color or trivial update into buying a new product. No wonder the builders of these item exploit the trend to make things cheaper & less serviceable.

Like it or not; WE ARE A HUGE MINORITY in the market place

I'm not sure why Olight does what it does. Maybe it's a size issue. Maybe it's a build issue, maybe it's a tech issue or it could be a cost issue. Either way I have an issue with it. It is a MAJOR NEGATIVE in my buying decision. One that they may have over come with this light.

The jury is still out & it's all Zeroairs' fine review & post to blame. Otherwise I'd most likely never seen or heard of this light

 

[Cree XHP 70 LED]

I'm sending my Seeker 3 Pro back. The switch has serious problems. My seeker 2 Pro is superior to the Seeker 3 Pro, if you want a seeker, the 2 Pro is the only one worth it. Also, it has more visible throw than the Seeker 3 Pro. The Seeker 3 Pro isn't even an upgrade even if the switch worked.