Olight M21 first impression

[Tom_123]

The Olight M20 was one of my first premium lights and I still like it.
Therefore, I couldn’t resist getting the successor, the Olight M21 as well.

What do you get:

The Olight M21 comes in a plastic case instead of the usual carton box.
The case includes the following accessories:
Holster, Lanyard, magazine for CR123 batteries, GID spare boot, spare o-rings
and a flat ring as a replacement for the cigar grip ring.
So you get basically the same accessories that came with the M20.





The outside and the interface:
Besides the new head and emitter, there are not much differences between the M21 and
its predecessor .
The battery tube and tail cap are the same and will fit both lights.



From left to right: Olight M21, Olight M20, Wolf Eyes Sniper MC-E, ThruNite Catapult


In my hand:


No changes were made at the user interface.
The clicky turns the light on and off and offers momentary activation.
Twisting the head will change between the four mode, which are also the same in both light:
High, mid, low, strobe.
Sadly one difference is, that I couldn’t manage to disassemble the head of the M21.

Specifications:
( "*" = informations from Olight)

*Luminus SST 50 emitter
Output: *500 Lumen according to Olight,
about 300- 350 lumen OTF would be my first wild guess.

*Batteries: 2x CR123, 2x 16340, 1x 18650, 1x17670

Weight with 1x18650 battery: 169g (Olight M20 166g)
Current draw with AW 18650 (no-load voltage 4.2V): about 1,3A
Current draw with 2xCR123 (no-load voltage 6,47V): about 0,97 A

*IP68 water resistant

Beamshots:

The M21 has a colder tint, the beam is more on the floodier side.
As for the throw, in a first visual comperation I couldn’t see much difference.
But as visual comparisons are prone to misinterpretations, don’t quote me here.

Left: Olight M20, right Olight M21


Left: Wolf Eyes Sniper MC-E, right: Olight M21


Runtimes:

For now here is the first runtime chart with AW 18650 batteries.
The Olight M21 IMHO has a good regulation and in consideration of the higher output
also a good runtime.
I’ll post some runtime charts with CR 123 as well, as soon as I’ll have all the data together.

Edit***********************************
My WE Sniper died short after the runtime test, so I’m not sure if she was still
100% ok while I did the runtime.
So please take this chart with a grain of salt. Sorry for that.
**************************************



Runtime charts with CR123 Surefire Batteries and AW 16340 rechargeables:



Conclusion:

Given that the Olight M21 will proof to be as reliable as my M20,
I think this light is a winner.
It’s surely not a "power light" which could play in the same league with the Trunite Catapult
or the Solarforce L900m.
But being still compact enough for EDC and 50% cheaper than the Wolf-Eyes Sniper MC-E,
I think the Olight M21 would be a good choice for people who are looking for a well build
and bright multi purpose light for EDC, Camping, walking the dog and the like.


Final words:

The runtime charts where made with my home build integrated sphere
and a cheap Extech luxmeter.
A picture of my setup can be found here:

http://s671.photobucket.com/albums/v...rrent=UK_2.jpg

The lights where cooled by a fan during the runtime.

English isn’t my first language, so please excuse some typos and weird grammar.

regards
Thomas

[Bass]

Nice job. Excellent write up and first impressions of this interesting light. Great pictures and beam tint shots. This must of taken you some time to do.

Your english is excellent. If you had not of said, I would of presumed it was your first language!

[droeun]

Wow thanks for the great review!

So the M21 is actually regulated with 18650? I didn't know that. That's definitely an improvement over the M20 if it is.

[henry1960]

I like the Olight M21 but I`m glad i bought the Jett III M Instead

[ZRXBILL]

Very nice review. Thanks for posting it here.

The tint, not being an ugly green, and regulation are both much nicer than on the M20.

[DimeRazorback]

Great review!

Thank you for the charts and beamshots with comparisons, especially with the M20... lets just say that your review has sparked a little interest in the M21 for me know

I must stay strong

[EngrPaul]

It looks like there is something else in the picture. Is that a ring to replace the cigar grip?

Thanks for doing runtimes. I wonder how AW 2600mA*h high-current capabl cells will test vs. the 2200 mA*h you likely used (?). Higher output? Longer runtime? Both?

Thanks Thomas, good job!

Originally Posted by Tom_123

The case includes the following accessories:
Holster, Lanyard, magazine for CR123 batteries, GID spare boot, spare o-rings.

[Frank_Zuccarini]

Thank-you so much for preparing this most excellent review. I appreciate it.

Frank

[PhantomPhoton]

I also agree on the apparent regulation from the 18650 being a great thing. Must be due to the low VF/ low drive current of the SST50. I know that this isn't intended to be a super high output light so after seeing the runtime graphs I'm giving this light a second look now.

[Painful Chafe]

Originally Posted by EngrPaul

It looks like there is something else in the picture. Is that a ring to replace the cigar grip?

Thanks for doing runtimes. I wonder how AW 2600mA*h high-current capabl cells will test vs. the 2200 mA*h you likely used (?). Higher output? Longer runtime? Both?

Thanks Thomas, good job!

Yes. The ring is to use instead of the cigar hold ring.

Thanks for this review. I have the M21 and like it. I would love to see a throw comparison with other lights.

[berry580]

thank you for the overview, apparently its roughly 8k lux @ 1m, not a big thrower, but considering its spot's size, it should be quite useful.

[jirik_cz]

Nice review thanks

[Conan]

Nice review there Tom!

[tab665]

those are some pretty good beam shots from the M21. you just made this light seem even more appealing.

[Luminater]

Great review.

Thank you very much.

[Tom_123]

Thank you all for the nice words.

It looks like there is something else in the picture. Is that a ring to replace the cigar grip?

Exactly, sorry I have forgotten to mention it, I’ll correct this.

I wonder how AW 2600mA*h high-current capabl cells will test vs. the 2200 mA*h you likely used (?). Higher output? Longer runtime? Both?

Sorry again, I don’t have these 2600 mAh AWs, all the runtimes were made
with 2200 mAh AWs.
I recon a 2600 mAh battery will mainly improve the runtime.

Outdoor beamshots are a problem. I’m living in the middle of the city
It’s pretty cold outside and quite hard to find dark places nearby.
Will see what I can do, but no promise made.

Still working at the CR123/16340 runtimes, so stay tuned.

[NewTech]

TOM_123.
The M-21 comes with OP reflector.
Any possible with SMO reflector beam shots ?.

Thanks.

[Closet_Flashaholic]

Thanks for the review.

It's good to know that my M20 accessory mount and remote tail cap switches will work on the M21. This is definitely a consideration for me.

[jirik_cz]

Originally Posted by NewTech

TOM_123.
The M-21 comes with OP reflector.
Any possible with SMO reflector beam shots ?.

Thanks.

You can not change reflectors on M21.

[DimeRazorback]

Are you sure?

It looks like you just have to unscrew the bezel, just like the M20... only thing is, that Olight don't sell a smooth reflector for it

[Painful Chafe]

Originally Posted by DimeRazorback

Are you sure?

It looks like you just have to unscrew the bezel, just like the M20... only thing is, that Olight don't sell a smooth reflector for it

The bezel does come apart. The threads are glued, but mine came apart with just a little elbow grease. The reflector will come out.
I wonder what a smooth reflector would look like with a SST-50. I wouldn't mind a little more throw on these lights as long as the beam doesn't suffer too much.

BTW. This light is growing on me. I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it, but the more I use it the more I like it.

[berry580]

not sure about M21, but with M20 Ti, a SMO reflector doesn't improve throw by much compared to an OP.

IMO, SST-50s produces great beam profiles. Bright spill, and a relatively large hotspot. I believe it'll be most useful at intermediate range (<50m), it should prove to have adequate throw for many people.

[Burgess]

to Tom_123 --


Excellent Review !



_

[recDNA]

Seem like head to head the MC-E beats the SST-50 in many cases. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?

[MattK]

Great job Tom!

For your homemade sphere what did you use for the sphere itself? Looks like a big styrofoam sphere - wondering where that came from?

[toby_pra]

Nice review...

[Painful Chafe]

Originally Posted by recDNA

Seem like head to head the MC-E beats the SST-50 in many cases. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?

Effficiency seems to be the biggest benfit of the SSt-50. Vertually the same output as the Wolf Eyes MC-E but the M21 has about 30-35 minutes of run time versus the Wolf Eyes. And, the M21 just only gets warm with extended run time. Most MC-E's I have seen get very warm to hot after 10 minutes or so.

[jirik_cz]

Originally Posted by DimeRazorback

Are you sure?

It looks like you just have to unscrew the bezel, just like the M20... only thing is, that Olight don't sell a smooth reflector for it

The bezel on M21 is glued and it should stay that way

[Tom_123]

Thanks again for all the nice comments.

I have just added the CR123 and 16340 runtime chart and a remark
about the chart of the Wolf Eyes Sniper.

Any possible with SMO reflector beam shots ?

AFAIK, there’s no SMO reflector available (yet?).
Another problem is, that the head of the M21 is glued.

Seem like head to head the MC-E beats the SST-50 in many cases. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?

I recon, it depends on how hard the emitter is driven.
The M21 just draws 1A - 1.3A, that’s not very much.
On the other hand I think with such a compact light, you would run in a lot
of heat and runtime problems if you would try to go much further in regard to output.

For your homemade sphere what did you use for the sphere itself? Looks like a big styrofoam sphere - wondering where that came from?

Yep, it’s a 400 mm styrofoam sphere. I bought it in on of these shops for decoration supplies.
I wraped the outside in tin foil to prevent light pollution and coated the inside
with common wall paint.
Nothing very scientific, but it works sufficient for comparing flashlight.

regards
Thomas

[Frank_Zuccarini]

Hi.

In post #11, a lux reading of aproximately 8k is referenced, but I don't see that anyone actually measured this level.

Has anyone measured the 1 meter lux produced by the M21, and is this more or less than that produced by the M21 (which I measure at 9.1k @ 1.0 meter)?

Thanks............Frank