We need to talk about Olight

I've been using Olights for a few years for work, starting with the Warrior X3, then the Seeker 3 Pro and finally the Marauder Mini. I have a load of EDC sized lights, the original Arkfeld, Baton 3 Pro Max, Baton3 and charging case and the Perun Mini.

Whilst there is nothing really wrong with the lights (from a casual user, not someone who was overly concerned with CRI numbers) the proprietary/sealed batteries were a concern. But recently thr biggest bug bear is the lack of development and marketing for collectors rather than developing products offering something new compared to the current range.

I had started looking back at Fenix and Nitecore for new toys, before researching and ordering 3 Convoy lights to try.
 
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One of my little American Flag AAA Olight i3t had a tailcap to go bad. Got corroded some how.

Took me about 3 months to get around to Olight Chat and ask for a replacement.

They said sure and sent me another tailcap for free. Nice!



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We had a couple Valkyrie weapon lights before our burglary happened. I was very happy with them in the nightstand gun roll. And the magnetic charger was nice in the idea that if you were charging and needed to grab it in a hurry, you weren't going to ruin the cable or charging port.
My wife has a 3 pack of aa, 123, and 18650 sizes only because they came in her favorite color of purple. She likes them fine for purse duty.
I personally don't care for any light that has a delay when turning on, and don't care for their UI. But I've been Nitecore all the way for a looong time. So any other UI seems strange.
Past that... Ehhh, I wouldn't throw one away if someone gave it to me. But I'm not rushing out to spend my cash on them.
 
With all the long term Olight users here, I'm curious - how many times has a charging cable become demagnetized? I have an old H2R Nova headlamp and an S2 Baton, which are now 5+ years old...I still haven't damaged a charging cable.

I did have to buy a new proprietary battery for the H2R last year, but the current model was readily available and delivered in a few days.

Backup for the two charging cables is a bench top lithium charger - just because they *say* not to charge it outside the light, doesn't mean it *can't* be charged outside the light.

Mind you, both lights have been very gently used over the years...I'm not a black-ops special forces nina operating behind the enemy lines or anything like that. Just a retired dud who really likes it when the light comes on every time when the button is pushed.
 
I'm neither a fanboy or hater of Olights, however, I think I’m done with the brand.

I’ve only ever had 4 Olights: An S2A, i3e EOS x2) and an I1R 2 Pro.

The S2A was a great light, until I accidentally put new batteries in the wrong way round. I believe it’s meant to have reverse polarity protection, but mine stopped working. (About 5 years of light to moderate use)

One of my i3e EOS just stopped working after about three years of light use on my keyring. (I lost the other one).

The I1R 2 Pro came with a really gritty thread (captive head, couldn’t be cleaned), and a badly centred emitter. I immediately returned it.

So, for me the issues with Olight hasn’t been about proprietary cells, or magnetic charging. Instead, I had issues with build quality, and reliability/longevity.

I know a lot of people love their Olights, and have loads of them, so our experiences are obviously different.

I think some of the ‘hate’ might come from the fact that Olight market their products quite aggressively, and many that are new to the world of ‘proper’ flashlights get drawn to them, and other excellent brands get completely overlooked.
 
Olight make some great lights and now offer lifetime guarantee. Spare batteries are easy to get hold of too.
 
I forgot about the I1R. I caught them on sale ($10 iirc), and gave them to a bunch of friends. I kept 2. One the battery died after a year or 2 of infrequent use. The other still works fine. It's on a micro Paracord necklace that I wear anytime I'm going to be somewhere wet and remote.
If I'm right, and I really did get them for $10, it's definitely not a purchase I regret. I just wonder which one was the anomaly, the one that died early, or the one that didn't....
 
what was different about their weapon lights? They look just like the hand helds

I think you forgot to toss in your quote, so I'm not sure if anyone knows exactly to what you're referring. Are you asking about what makes Olight WML different?
Okay, so I'll take a less than savory stab at this, because it gets into why I'm not a fan of Olight. It's kind a long, rambly story, and comes down to the gun community tends to hold grudges, and tends to prefer "known quantities" versus new "disruptors" (since the unproved new thing could legimately get you killed).

I'd argue there really isn't a lot differentiating their WML from their handhelds, which is why you'll probably find a lot of recommendations against their WML (with the quite correct adage, "Just get a Streamlight if you can't afford a Surefire").

They have a well deserved poor reputation in the gun community that originated with when they launched their company, and the ensuing poop storm that emerged with the quality of their lights, and their slimey tactics.

If we go way, way back to whenever they first launched their weapon lights (I'd never heard of them before that), they really pioneered the Shillosphere methodology. They paid everyone in GunTube to put up glowing reviews, and just SPAMMED forums with shills. Olight essentially saw that Streamlight was the only modestly priced weapon light (I think they were still assembled in the US back then), and decided they wanted a slice of that premium price market - with generic Chinese stuff.

A LOT of people bought into Olight at the time. There was a huge wave of enthusiasm. NO ONE would shut up about them. And, to be fair, if you just stick the light on your pistol that lives in a nightstand, it's probably "just as good" as something like a Streamlight or Surefire. Fast forward a bit, though, and the CCW crowd that bought them started to have issues...lots of issues. Turns out they weren't very reliable, and would die.

Fast forward a bit more, and all the people with issues realize they'd been tricked (this was before "everyone knew" that YouTube was all paid reviews), and so they became very vocal opponents of Olight.

Overall, I think Olight makes an okay product. In the last few years, they do seem to have really focused on efficient drivers, and their finishes are pretty. Terrible emitters, though.

I've still yet to really be impressed with them, and I see them as essentially selling decent quality Chinese products at a premium price. I think Weltool makes a legitimately premium Chinese light (but still below the US made brands in terms of overall quality), but I see Olight more like Armytek; they're not bad, they're just bad value. Armytek lights are ridiculously overpriced and the QC is a mixed bag. Same with Olight. Get them for half price, though, and you could do a whole lot worse!

Olight swears up and down they've improved their WML, but frankly, I just don't trust them. They have a long history of building their brand entirely off aggressive marketing to mostly ignorant buyers. Yes, if you've only ever used a cheap, crappy light, an Olight is LEAPS AND BOUNDS better, but Acebeam, Manker, Skilhunt, etc. make "non-enthusiast" lights that are even better, and still cheaper.

Their bread and butter in the gun community has been the Palmetto State Armory "just as good" buyer. The person who wants the equipment, but doesn't really want to save up for a quality product (either our of inability or lack of desire - both of which, by the way, are perfectly valid reasons). BUT, instead of just saying, "yeah, I just wanted a light to try out the idea, and didn't really want to blow a year's fun budget on a light, so I got this Olight thing," they just constantly cope that it's "just as good" or secretly better than a Surefire or Streamlight.

On top of that, remember when I said a LOT of people had bought into the marketing? There was probably a good year or two when ANYWHERE you went in the gun community, you'd be innundated by these "just as good" Olight zealots. It kind of wore out EVERYONE'S patience...and when it all imploded on Olight, the Schadenfreude was palpable.

So, fundamentally, it's about the same quality as their handheld light. Sure, you can drop it, and it'll probably work, still...but why are you dropping your firearm? Get a holster or a sling. Good lord...you just...don't drop guns. That's irresponsible and dangerous. AND, they seem to not hold up well to recoil. That's the thing. WML don't need "drop resistance," they need to withstand recoil. It seems like Olight either didn't realize this (I know civilian gun ownership is not a thing in China), or didn't care, knowing their buyers likely shoot about once a year.

For a LONG TIME, the gun community said a WML was 100% necessary. I'm in the old school crowd of "a handheld is probably better to have" (you can light stuff up without pointing a weapon around). So, at the end of day, I think the WML argument is mostly for police and military (though, "get a Streamlight if you can't afford a Surefire" is still the way to go, haha). That means, so long as the UI is simple (single mode), I wouldn't say Olight is BAD for self-defense. I think, for what they charge, though, spend a bit more and get a Malkoff or...maybe one of the cheaper, plastic Surefire G2 things...or, get a Streamlight.


That's the end of my long story on why you probably see all sorts of mixed opinions on Olight in the gun community.

Personally, I just can't get past the marketing. O-this, O-that...short time window hype sales, random aggressive discounts...Just...not for me...and those ugly white beams, haha.
 
Dang bud that was a mouth full. Nope, I'm asking about pentagon lights, there was a comment about them earlier in the chat. Still haven't figured out how to reply to someone without quoting the Bible. The mobile access is a little janky.

Thanks for the info on olight, I never really considered them before and won't in the future.
 
Yeah, I wasn't sure exactly what you were asking, and guessed at the thumbs up, haha.

If you hit "reply," it tends to jump into the reply box WITH the quote, otherwise, the "+quote" adds it to the quote clipboard.

Also, you can try, in your browser menu, clicking the "view desktop version" or whatever it says, and it might display less badly.
 
Yeah, I wasn't sure exactly what you were asking, and guessed at the thumbs up, haha.

Eh I think works best on a desktop. Either way, I highly recommend the olight sphere. It’s really fun for mood lighting. But the app does require you to give your location for no good reason.
 
On the spare cables, yes i have several OLights and several boxes that i leave the charging cable in them. Should never need to buy a spare.
I recently purchased a Baton 3 i think the pro that had the option for NW which was the reason i bought it. All my other Batons (S1R Baton II and a Baton 4 are the CW very white light) i am ok with the NW but seriously fell in love with 2700-3000k emitters and Orange emitters. And green as well.
There is a S2R Baton II that has the NW option if you like the black with blue clip lights. I do but do i need another OLight?
 
could you explain the significance
Flicker Index goes up or down based on the two inputs, Modulation depth and Frequency

normally slow frequency is easier to see and this is undesirable. It can also have undesirable effects in the workplace. Some people get migraines from flickering ambient lighting.

so it stood out to me that the frequency of 7, was very low (we cant see flicker when it goes above 1000), and I "liked" that it unexpectedly became much faster after the LED swap.. dont know why that changed.. not sure I trust the data.. still learning

in this case the Flicker Index did not change when the frequency changed, apparently because the modulation depth is very shallow, which means the LED is being powered more constantly, and this is desirable, because the light flickers less. In fact it looks like the driver is barely flickering at all, it looks to be delivering very constant power to the LED. all good things

I dont know too much more about it, its just a new area of interest for me.. my understanding is that a flicker index below 0.0500 is desireable...

The little Olight i3e has an extremely low and favorable Flicker Index of 0.0029

the right side of the chart, with the almost straight, slightly wavy line, helps me visualize the consistency of the lux output of the LED.. a low flicker index tends to look more like a straight line on the raw data side of the chart

in this case the LEDs are being powered virtually constantly, the modulation is so shallow as to be virtually zero.. for reference, full PWM is by definition, a modulation depth of 100%, full On Off cycles.. That tends to be visible, when the frequency gets below 200...

Since I learned about Flicker Index, I have started to want lights that show constant power to the LED, and that have shallow modulation depth and Low Flicker Index numbers..

AA Zebralights also have low Flicker Index scores, it was one of my excuses to justify getting another one ;-)

but I digress..
 
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Ok, I had 2 olights die on me, and they won't warranty them.
Fine, I won't spend money on them anymore.

But years later, they started getting big, and it's the fan boys that are annoying as hell. I was in their FB group before they got big, and noticed the toxic poop throwing behavior, and then suddenly you can't even mention non olight lights or you will be bad mouthed, images removed, and eventually banned.
They took a hit when all the fire issues came out, burning weapons and whatever.

Olight gets bashed for a reason, its not unfounded.
 
I’ve had an S15 light for ten or more years, it’s brilliant, it can take 1AA or one 14500, screw on an extension tube, and it takes 2AA with excellent performance, very efficient. It has three nicely spaced levels. Build quality is excellent, albeit the design is functional rather than tech-bling. I rate it more highly then the current equivalent, in part because it has three modes not two. I’ve also had a couple of small lights, A1 and A2, marketed under the ITP brand but owned by Olight. Those were well made and functional, though I hate the twisty head design.

When I look at current Olight products, they seem nicely made, but expensive and with modest performance. I could have bought an Olight on heavy discount recently thanks to their new customer promotion, but the proprietary battery turned me off. There’s no reason to hate, they make nice products, but others appeal more.

I keep seeing Olight adverts on YouTube. That explains why they cost so much, marketing costs money.
 
Flicker Index goes up or down based on the two inputs, Modulation depth and Frequency

normally slow frequency is easier to see and this is undesirable. It can also have undesirable effects in the workplace. Some people get migraines from flickering ambient lighting.

so it stood out to me that the frequency of 7, was very low (we cant see flicker when it goes above 1000), and I "liked" that it unexpectedly became much faster after the LED swap.. dont know why that changed.. not sure I trust the data.. still learning

in this case the Flicker Index did not change when the frequency changed, apparently because the modulation depth is very shallow, which means the LED is being powered more constantly, and this is desirable, because the light flickers less. In fact it looks like the driver is barely flickering at all, it looks to be delivering very constant power to the LED. all good things

I dont know too much more about it, its just a new area of interest for me.. my understanding is that a flicker index below 0.0500 is desireable...

The little Olight i3e has an extremely low and favorable Flicker Index of 0.0029

the right side of the chart, with the almost straight, slightly wavy line, helps me visualize the consistency of the lux output of the LED.. a low flicker index tends to look more like a straight line on the raw data side of the chart

in this case the LEDs are being powered virtually constantly, the modulation is so shallow as to be virtually zero.. for reference, full PWM is by definition, a modulation depth of 100%, full On Off cycles.. That tends to be visible, when the frequency gets below 200...

Since I learned about Flicker Index, I have started to want lights that show constant power to the LED, and that have shallow modulation depth and Low Flicker Index numbers..

AA Zebralights also have low Flicker Index scores, it was one of my excuses to justify getting another one ;-)

but I digress..
Ah, okay, to it's the PWM? Or, that's what it sounds like. I get what you mean, though. Flicker kind of drives me nuts, haha.
 
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