Olight M22 (XM-L2, 1x18650, 2xCR123A/RCR) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO + more!

[Outdoorsman5]

Is the M22 still among the leaders in the terms of throw and output in the 1 x 18650 class of lights? I have been out of the loop for quite a while, and now have a need to upgrade my aging M21x XML for my early morning runs. Thank You!

 

[Overclocker]

Is the M22 still among the leaders in the terms of throw and output in the 1 x 18650 class of lights? I have been out of the loop for quite a while, and now have a need to upgrade my aging M21x XML for my early morning runs. Thank You!

well this is the end of the line for single-XML2 on a single-18650. even at just 900+ lumens the regulation is EXTREMELY poor already. so yes the M22 is still "up to date"

 

[Outdoorsman5]

well this is the end of the line for single-XML2 on a single-18650. even at just 900+ lumens the regulation is EXTREMELY poor already. so yes the M22 is still "up to date"

By your response it sounds like there is nothing on the horizon that will displace the XML2. Is that correct?

 

[selfbuilt]

By your response it sounds like there is nothing on the horizon that will displace the XML2. Is that correct?

Hard to say what might be coming, but the M22 is still quite current for the class. Here are some updated summary tables, from one of my more recent reviews:

 

[Outdoorsman5]

Selfbuilt, you have always been the man, and will always be the man!! I want/need/want a new light with better throw for my early morning runs, and no where else can I find information this rich and this in depth. Thank You for the work you do!!

 

[selfbuilt]

Selfbuilt, you have always been the man, and will always be the man!! I want/need/want a new light with better throw for my early morning runs, and no where else can I find information this rich and this in depth. Thank You for the work you do!!

My pleasure.

If you are looking for more throw, you are going find that hard to meet in the stock XM-L/XM-L2 category (i.e., the M22 is still very competitive). Something you might want to consider is one of Vinh Nhuyen's mods in this 1x18650 form factor. For example, here is the table from my S200C2vn review:

Note that I wouldn't actually recommend the S200C2 XP-G2 dedome tested there for morning runs (i.e., it would be way too much "follow the bouncing ball" of the hotspot). But the XM-L2 dedome version of the S200C2 that Vinh sells may meet your needs (or maybe the TX25C2vn dedome, etc.).

Otherwise, I think you would need to move up to the 2x18650 class of lights with bigger heads and more output.

 

[Outdoorsman5]

This is such great information. Regarding "following the bouncing ball"....I get it. My primary light is a Zebralight H600w MkII which is a very floody light. I carry a throwy light with me to spot things ahead. I am trail running mostly in the North Georgia mountains, and we have black bear, dogs, the occasional mountain lion, etc to be wary of, so I need a throwy light. I also carry a gun but that's for a different thread.

Just found him over at the marketplace - http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?371949-V54-Light-List

122,500 & 137,000 lux...in a light this size GOOD GRIEF...that's just awesome!!
BIG THANK YOU selfbuilt!!

 

[selfbuilt]

122,500 & 137,000 lux...in a light this size GOOD GRIEF...that's just awesome!!

Yes, a dedome XP-G2 can be very a impressive thrower - but I suspect a dedome XM-L2 (in either the S200C2vn or TX25C2 build) would have a more generally useful beam. They would still far exceed the throw of any stock light. Typically, in my testing, raw peak beam intensity more than doubles with any of Vinh's dedome mods.

 

[dJippe]

Does this light have a greenish tint around the hotspot like some other olights?

 

[selfbuilt]

Does this light have a greenish tint around the hotspot like some other olights?

My sample did, but it was from awhile ago. Note that this is common on a lot of lights (i.e., LED tint shifts across hotspot/corona/spill seems to have to do mainly with how the reflector is designed and positioned around the emitter). But some of the Olight lights from a few years seemed to have an anti-glare coating on the lens that accentuated the tint shift toward green. All the models I've tested in the last year or two have been better in this regard (i.e., no worse that any other maker).

 

[dJippe]

Thanks, my reason for question is that i have to decide between eagletac g25c2 mk2 and m22. They seems to be very similar in performance and i like more pure cold white than neutral (green/yellow) tones. I sold my s20 baton and replacesed former edc zebralight sc52 with eagtac d25c ti because of that green/yellow tint witch coloring white surfaces.

 

[zs&tas]

My xml2 olights have a green tinge to them on a wall. Outside they just seem more neutral than a cool whitewash and bring out colours more. I have found this on otherlights too.

 

[dJippe]

For me neutral white led's are more wasting lumens and battery life. Its only shown green colors better than cool white led's, if good color imagining is needed there is high cri models. Its easy to compare at home with cool, neutral and high cri lights.

 

[D6859]

My friend sent me link to a store that was selling M22 for 39.90 euros (around $45) today. It was so good an offer I had to order it. Of course, I did that only after I had checked selfbuilt's review. Thank you again for these reviews!

Now I'm waiting for the delivery and hoping the light arrives before our skiing trip to northern Finland

 

[selfbuilt]

Hope it arrives in time for you - it is still a very relevant light. :wave:

 

[kj2]

40 euros!? Wauw, hope it's a genuine Olight product and you get full warranty. A 24-hour sale-website here had Olight products too, sometime ago. They bought those straight from Olight, and didn't follow Olight MAP rules. Also the Olight importer here, didn't cover warranty, since the lights weren't bought via him.

 

[Jaegerbomb]

That's a fantastic price for a fantastic light... if they are still available and you have a link would you PM me please?
Thanks,
JB

I have a M22 Warrior and cannot recommend highly enough, for that price I would definitely pick up a couple as gifts...

 

[D6859]

Hope it arrives in time for you - it is still a very relevant light. :wave:

My friend is propably getting his tomorrow. I'm still waiting for mine. It was sent only one day later so it might get here in time.

40 euros!? Wauw, hope it's a genuine Olight product and you get full warranty. A 24-hour sale-website here had Olight products too, sometime ago. They bought those straight from Olight, and didn't follow Olight MAP rules. Also the Olight importer here, didn't cover warranty, since the lights weren't bought via him.

I was, too, wondering if it was genuine but the company is selling other Olight products also and my friend deduced that such a big Nordic company wouldn't sell fakes. I'm quite convinced that I'l get what I ordered. I'm not sure if their netstore is located in Norway or Sweden, but I can return the light into any of their stores if I'm not satisfied (they have stores in Finland too). Anyway, if it's genuine I shouldn't have any need to use the warranty - you all have seen the torture test video, haven't you?

That's a fantastic price for a fantastic light... if they are still available and you have a link would you PM me please?
Thanks,
JB

I have a M22 Warrior and cannot recommend highly enough, for that price I would definitely pick up a couple as gifts...

Sorry Jaegerbomb, the offer was only for Sunday it seems, and when I wrote "today" the day actually had already changed. The price is now back to 79,90e now :/ But I'll PM you another site where you can get it for 65e.

 

[D6859]

I got it just before we were leaving. It is so much smaller than I thought Feels sturdy though. I had T25 but I didn't like the twisty ui and having strobe in main sequence. M22 has these problems fixed. Having max under douple click is nice addition.

 

[D6859]

Finally we came to our destination. Skiing in the darkness last 5 hours (of an 8 hour skiing trip). Thanks to Armytek's headlamps that wasn't actually darkness. The path we came (lit by by M22):

Most of the time it was snowing so hard I couldn't play with M22 without blinding myself. I heard it snowed 30cm last night. I bet it'll snow as much tonight. This is a pic from our hotel room's terrace last night (again illuminated by M22):

At the moment I'm sitting next to a fireplace in a room that is lit by my Thrunite TN12 using the roof to spread the light (wooden roof gives it a nice tint btw). I'm so glad to be a CPF'er now. This evening might have been catasthropic without good headlamps/flashlights.