Olight M18 Striker review (800 lm, XM-L2, 18650/2xCR123A)

Greetings All.
This review obviously will be dedicated to a new flashlight from Olight, the Olight M18 Striker.






What is it all about?
I will try to explain as simple as possible. There is the classic S20 Baton EDC flashlight. The flashlight has more "strategic" version - the M10 Maverick. The M18 Striker is actually more aggressive version of the Maverick. The aggressiveness is expressed obviously in the very distinctive design, 2 modes + strobe setup always starting at max setting and off course the evil stainless steel bezel.
The flashlight is controlled by one button at the tail (tactical forward clickie) , and the button is not covered in any way - so no tailstanding here.

Here we go

The package looks very nice, with the refreshed colors and logo of Olight. You can get all the flashlight technical specs from the package, and see the flashlight in all it's glory. Please note that the 800 lumens is the maximum brightness, and after 5 minutes the flashlight steps down to 480 lumens - and stays at this level till the batteries eventually die.

The package includes the flashlight itself, 2 spare o-rings and button cover, lanyard, user manual and some Olight commercials.

The flashlight feels very light and compact. The lens is clean, no fingerprints or dust there. The LED is perfectly centered. The reflector is relatively deep, maybe two times deeper than on the S20 Baton. The finish is perfect - no anodizing flaws or rough spots.

The flashlight is equipped with battery magazine for using CR123A batteries. In the head it has spring that will assist in absorbing an impact if the flashlight is dropped, and allows the use of flat top batteries.

The threads are square cut, anodised. Tailcap is very light and screwed in in about two rotations.
The flashlight always turned on on max setting. Double half click sets the flashlight in minimum setting, triple turns on strobe mode.

Some size comparison with other popular EDC flashlights. Left to right we have Baton S20,Convoy S3, Olight M18 Striker, Thrunite TN12 2014.

This is the shape of the beamshot on white wall, courtesy of the distinctive aggressive striking bezel shape.

Some numbers (lux in hotspot in meter from the flashlight)

Flashlight/Mode	Low	Mid	Medium	High	Turbo
Thrunite TN 12 2014 (1050 lm)	2	145	2670	7500	10000
Nitecore P12 (950 lm)	8	480	-	1983	8950
Olight M18 Striker	1300	-	-	-	6200
Nitecore EC25 Cobra (860 lm)	653	1800	-	8240	11400

Nothing exceptional here. The flashlight is completely silent, no PWN in any mode.


Conclusion

If you are looking for compact self-defence you might take the Olight to consideration. I could not find any serious flaw in it.

The flashlight was provided by Olight for review.

418 views and not even one reply

I just noticed the thread for the first time.

I would make some suggestions, if that's OK?

yep shure

Thanks for the review. Good job and great pictures.

cool review, have you runtime tested this light at all ??
how hot does it run at the 450 lumens ?
thanks :thumbsup:

zs&tas said:

cool review, have you runtime tested this light at all ??
how hot does it run at the 450 lumens ?
thanks :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

Thanks,
I did not rest the runtime, but I can test it if you wish.
It gets hot, but not to the point where it hurts your hand really.

viperxp said:

Thanks,
I did not rest the runtime, but I can test it if you wish.
It gets hot, but not to the point where it hurts your hand really.

Click to expand...

i think runtime tests are very important in any review, for people to know exactly what to expect when they buy one. 2 lights can have the same output but one could have 50% more runtime.

for me i am thinking this light would be good as a helmet mount so when i switch on and hit the trails how long do i have ? do i need to carry a spare battery ? does the output taper off or just shut off when the batterys done ? will it run hot and risk damaging my helmet ?

thanks

Not to res a dead thread...but, olight m18 stri-...silver. the alum bezels from the older s10r fits. A MUCH classier looking light, minus the functionality of the strike bezel.

Very nice