Review - New OLight ION, Limited 10th Year Titanium/ Gorilla Glass Flashlight

Hey CPF's, back again with another 'casual read' review of the new OLight ION flashlight. As usual, can be consumed in both video or written format. The preference is yours!:twothumbs Also left some bonus photos at the end of the review.

Video Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEGUxaw7B_g

Written Review
The OLight ION isn't for the average consumer, it is for those who can appreciate quality and for those who strive for the best. Carved from a solid piece of titanium and clad in gorilla glass, its clear the ION is something special. The ION shows quality, innovation and simplicity making the ION a fitting flashlight to mark OLight's 10th​ year anniversary. With only 2017 limited edition units being released, you better get in quick if you want to secure own.

To say the ION is well constructed is an understatement. The titanium machining is what you would expect from a thousand dollar collectable pocket knife rather then a keychain flashlight. OLight has gone out of their way to produce a no-expense spared flashlight for their 10th​ year anniversary. What is most impressive is the attention of detail to even the most minor features. Such as the carefully knurled side button or how both the lens and gorilla glass are perfectly flush with the titanium body. Perhaps giving a new meaning to tight tolerance.

As you would expect from OLight, the ION is not without innovation. Behind the ION's gorilla glass is a pressure sensor which detects button presses on the surface. Not so much like a physical button or even like a touch screen, but rather a combination of the two. The nearest comparison I can find is Apple's force touch feature which can be found on their range of iPhone's and MacBook's. This certainly is a very unique interface never before seen in a flashlight. What will be interesting, is to see how OLight further develops this technology in the future.

The ION box is minimalist, with the typical printed specifications omitted from the design. Rather the box simply states the name ION, adding to the curiosity of what's inside. Once inside, you find the ION wrapped in a protective plastic with a pull tab, much the same way you would unwrap a premium phone. This show's how OLight has even paid attention to the unboxing experience.

Underneath the ION are the accessories which include a micro-usb cable, keychain, instruction manual, an aluminium thank you card and two tempered glass screen protectors. Perhaps the screen protectors are the most usual inclusion, though considering the price of the ION, protecting the screen is certainly a welcome addition.

The ION has two TIR optic lens which produce a wide and even beam. This would be ideal for general up-close and EDC tasks. Considering the size of the ION, the throw is impressive. Making the ION also suitable for more basic outdoor tasks. Though anything more, would require a larger flashlight.

At 58mm long and just 32 grams the ION is impressively small. Those who appreciate the ION's minimalist design and premium materials will benefit from the saved bulk and weight. Perhaps making the ION the ideal keychain flashlight, though only if your willing to risk carrying this limited edition on your keys.

The ION includes an in-built lithium rechargeable battery which will allow the flashlight to run for 90 hours on the lowest output or 27 minutes on the highest output. Hidden Behind the ION logo is a battery status indicator. This will glow either green for above 75%, yellow for between 15-75% or red when the battery is below 15%. With keychain flashlights often being on-hand, this is certainly a welcome feature to keep the ION topped up and ready to go.

Recharging the ION is simple. Once you insert a micro-usb cable into the side of the ION, the status indicator will glow red indicating that the flashlight is charging. Once charging has completed the status indicator will glow green. Fully charging the ION will take approximately 1.5 hours. Since the ION is USB rechargeable, a power-bank or solar charger could also be used to charge the battery.

The ION has two force touch buttons and one side switch. To switch on the flashlight slide the side switch towards the emitter, sliding the switch in the opposite direction will switch off the flashlight. To change mode force touch either the plus or the minus buttons. This will cycle between the four available modes. Pressing and holding either of the force touch buttons while the flashlight is on will infinitely ramp the output level.

The ION has four preset light modes including low at 2.5 lumens, medium at 10 lumens, medium-high at 40 lumens and high at 160 lumens. Further ramping the output using the force touch buttons allows you to access ultra-low at 1 lumen or turbo at 320 lumens. All modes including the ultra-low and turbo are memorised when you switch off the flashlight.

With an ultra limited supply of 2017 unit's, the ION isn't exactly designed for day-to-day abuse. The ION is rather a showcase of not only what OLight is capable of, but also what is installed for the future. With each unit maticulacely crafted and individually engraved with a serial number, this premium flashlight will certainly become my next shelf queen.

The most impressive aspect of the ION (on mine, noted after reflected light measurements); the max output (320 lumens) only drops down to 91% of initial output (within 7 minutes), then remains steady until it turns off from low battery (27 min). In other words, a very well regulated max output that only drops down 9% during its entire run-time, and only gets noticeably warm (not too hot to handle). This may be one of the brightest flashlights available (with well regulated output on max) for its size.

On the down-side; the touch interface is innovative, but has zero tactile feel and can be frustrating to master (where & how hard to press). I would not recommend any such interface for an EDC.

terryoregon said:

The most impressive aspect of the ION (on mine, noted after reflected light measurements); the max output (320 lumens) only drops down to 91% of initial output (within 7 minutes), then remains steady until it turns off from low battery (27 min). In other words, a very well regulated max output that only drops down 9% during its entire run-time, and only gets noticeably warm (not too hot to handle). This may be one of the brightest flashlights available (with well regulated output on max) for its size.

On the down-side; the touch interface is innovative, but has zero tactile feel and can be frustrating to master (where & how hard to press). I would not recommend any such interface for an EDC.

Click to expand...

Yeah, Black Diamond has a headlamp called the Ion and has a button with no feeling, just a flat surface that I absolutely hated. I don't return many lights, but bought 2 and both went back immediately.

terryoregon said:

The most impressive aspect of the ION (on mine, noted after reflected light measurements); the max output (320 lumens) only drops down to 91% of initial output (within 7 minutes), then remains steady until it turns off from low battery (27 min). In other words, a very well regulated max output that only drops down 9% during its entire run-time, and only gets noticeably warm (not too hot to handle). This may be one of the brightest flashlights available (with well regulated output on max) for its size.

On the down-side; the touch interface is innovative, but has zero tactile feel and can be frustrating to master (where & how hard to press). I would not recommend any such interface for an EDC.

Click to expand...

I found the same result during my runtime testing, the regulation is pretty incredible. I didn't have visually noticable drop in output until the battery indicated low. I've had lights 5 x time size that can't seem to handle that many lumens for that long:duh2:

The interface does take some getting use to, I love it though. Innovation really does it for me. Perhaps in the future OLight can integrate 'haptic' feedback the same way Apple has. I remember using my mac's trackpad for the first time, it blew my mind how you could adjust the depth feeling in the settings.

Thanks to all, for the review and the run time testing. The concept is very cool, but the performance sold me. Merry Christmas to me, ordered one last night.

OutdoorsIQ said:

I found the same result during my runtime testing, the regulation is pretty incredible. I didn't have visually noticable drop in output until the battery indicated low. I've had lights 5 x time size that can't seem to handle that many lumens for that long:duh2:

The interface does take some getting use to, I love it though. Innovation really does it for me. Perhaps in the future OLight can integrate 'haptic' feedback the same way Apple has. I remember using my mac's trackpad for the first time, it blew my mind how you could adjust the depth feeling in the settings.

Click to expand...

Your going to love it mobilerd, this thing's a beast for its size. By the way, Merry Christmas everyone, hope Santa brought you lots of lights:candle: I remember one year the missus gave me a handful of lights (about 5) after speaking to my local retailer - it was the best Christmas ever obviously!

I have two in the mail!

Bought a couple for my wife and daughter as presents. Now wishing I had gotten myself one too!

Thanks for the solid write up!!

Mine came yesterday and it is so cool. Fits in the watch pocket of my jeans.

I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around this one. Gorilla Glass breaks. My ludicrously expensive Gorilla Glass smart phone has a crack going across the bottom of the screen. I always wondered why "Gorilla Glass" instead of Trivex?

CelticCross74 said:

I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around this one. Gorilla Glass breaks. My ludicrously expensive Gorilla Glass smart phone has a crack going across the bottom of the screen. I always wondered why "Gorilla Glass" instead of Trivex?

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Gorilla glass is a much more premium material with far superior scratch resistance and hardness. It also has much better optical clarity and touch sensitivity(important when used as a touchscreen). Trivex is used mainly due to its light weight and low cost(both material cost and cost to mold/machine). Trivex does have the added benefit of great impact resistance but, even with expensive scratch coatings it falls short of even basic optical glass(which is considerably less scratch resistant then Gorilla Glass). There is a reason why cell phone makers chose glass over Trivex and other polycarbonates.

Okay I am honestly at a loss here. Trivex is what the canopy windows in Apache Gunships are made of. Did they change it over to something else? Properly heat and chemically treated Crown glass is ..well..like optical grade rocks. I thought the whole point of Gorilla glass was it could bend the farthest without breaking? My Gorilla Glass phone screen broke in half from an accidental 5 foot drop....

Something is amiss here...

CelticCross74 said:

Okay I am honestly at a loss here. Trivex is what the canopy windows in Apache Gunships are made of. Did they change it over to something else? Properly heat and chemically treated Crown glass is ..well..like optical grade rocks. I thought the whole point of Gorilla glass was it could bend the farthest without breaking? My Gorilla Glass phone screen broke in half from an accidental 5 foot drop....

Something is amiss here...

Click to expand...

I thought I explained it pretty well but...

Yes, Trivex is more impact resistant then Gorilla Glass so it would be able to take a harder drop but, it is considerably less scratch resistant, has less optical clarity, and does not have good touch sensitivity when used as a touchscreen. All of these qualities are very important in a phone screen or, in this case, a touch activated flashlight. That is why it is not used in these applications.

Trivex is mainly used in the eyeglass industry because it is considerably lighter then glass, much lower cost, and doesn't shatter into sharp shards that are dangerous to the user. These are likely the same reasons it is used as a windshield material in certain aviation applications. It is nothing special really and basically just high grade polycarbonate plastic.

Gorilla Glass is designed to have a good balance of flexibility, shatter resistance, and scratch resistance. It is constantly evolving and getting better. There are 5 versions of Gorilla Glass today with GG 5 being the newest. It is 4 times more shatter resistant then the original Gorilla Glass which was already much stronger then standard Crown glass. GG5 will withstand a 1.6 meter drop on its face on concrete 80% of the time. That is pretty amazing for glass.

If you want your phone to be less prone to damage then use a drop rated case and a screen protector. Gorilla Glass is super durable but, it is still glass. Any scratches or imperfections in its surface will weaken it and make it more prone to shattering. It will also only bend so far and cases add extra rigidity to modern phones relatively weak frames(a product of trying to constantly make them smaller and lighter).

Honestly I don't use this little flash light as much as I thought I would I'm just so scared of dropping it. The little glass protectors that came with it started cracking around the edges and we're completely useless within 3 days. That the gorilla glass is held up incredibly well I don't have one scratch on it yet then again it's sitting in my cargo pocket with nothing else and basically stays there LOL it's a backup Backup backup light. I still have the other one in the Box.

Not really for me but looks cool.

Years back I purchased an aluminum ReVO but couldn't bare to have it rubbing up against my keys. Just couldn't do it. So there's no way in the world I could have the Olight ION getting all beat to hell on my keyring. I gave one to my mom for Christmas. She loves it. It's on her keyring.

"Hi, my name's Chance, and I'm a flashaholic."

~ CG

Mine is in the post for tomorrow. But I will defintely EDC it, with the glass protectors installed. A torch is ment to be used, just like my classic car. I do hope that the screen protectors are available to order; I replace the one on my iPhone 6 every month. I can order these in China by the dozen for cheap and that allows me to use the fine designed thing for what it's made for. Now let's hope I can order more for the ION too. That would only leave the exposed USB slot as a potential risk for EDC ... Next one should have remote charging built in

BazzH said:

... That would only leave the exposed USB slot as a potential risk for EDC ... Next one should have remote charging built in

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Suggestion on exposed USB here.

Remote charging would be awesome. I have a cellphone with Qi charging, I simply place the phone on top of the Qi pad at night and good to go in the morning. The USB port on that particular phone stays covered 100% of the time.

I am a recent convert to the OLight brand and have been quite impressed with their products. I purchased an Ion when it was on sale but have really not looked at it very closely nor have I read the manual. I think I will be watching the youtube video to learn more about this light.