"A Layman's Olight Comparison "

I recently received the new version of the Olight M20, the R5-S. I have used the older R2 Premium now for over a year and was hoping for a bit more brightness and a further reaching beam, etc. I wish now I had just gone ahead and bought the M30 Triton as I am dissappointed in the overall performance of the new model M20. First off I must say the beam of light is of a whiter shade which I do like. Secondly, the extra "supposed" 70 lumen output is really stretching believability by big margin as the two beams side by side are almost the same in brightness. The R5 beam is wider and the bright spot is not nearly as concentrated as the one from the older R2. It does light up a larger area but beam throw is not what the advertising states it is, at least not to me it isn't. I much prefer the beam from the older R2 Th R2 has an advertised beam throw of 250 meters, the R5 shows 280 meters which is approx. 100 feet further. NO WAY does it throw that added distance. I live in a very dark area and have used both lights simultaneously to compare the beams and if anything the older version throws further. Both are fine lights, I have no problems with either one. I am just not pleased with the "hype" that goes along with many of these lights. I gave it a try, I am disappointed and I will use this as a lesson the next time I purchase any light. I think Olight, as well as the many other mfgrs. are missleading the consumers in both the lumen output and beam reach of their lights and this purchase made that very apparent to me. I am not into all the techno specs and stuff that many of you are but I can see what I see and I don't see much improvement if any in this newer version. I'd be interested to read any comments anyone else has about these two lights as opinions do tend to differ..............

This is really no surprise. The use of different leds will change the beam profile and XP-G is known for a wider beam than XR-E leds.

The M30 is using a MC-E led, this has a even wider beam, it also sends out more lumens, but it is not really a better thrower than the old M20, it just lights a larger area.

I have a comparison between the old M20 and M30 on my website.

Yes, the R5's are a much different animal than the R2's.

As far as the M20 vs. M30, I had the T20C2 MkII(similar to the M20 R5) and the Olight M30 at the same time. The beam profile was similar, but the olight had a much wider spill. The olight was also much brighter. Probably twice as bright or very close to it. I ended up selling the M30 because I wanted something that would fit in my pocket. It was a tough choice though. If you don't mind the bigger size of the M30 and if the PWM doesn't bother you, you will be much happier with the M30.

THe more and more I use both these lights the more and more I prefer the original M20 and find myself wishing I hadn't popped for the newest version. I think the area I am most disappointed in is in the beam throw of the newer version. Olight's advertising is either missleading or totally incorrect. There is no way the R5 throws a beam of light 30 meters further down the road than the R2. I have tried numerous times in various areas to make that happen but all is see side by side is a wider, slightly whiter beam of light with a less pronounced hot spot at the end, next to a slightly yellower but narrower beam of light ending at almost exactly the same spot but with a more concentrated slightly smaller hot spot. What's up with Olight in this regard. I either fell for their advertising or need to start doing additional research before jumping in and buying more lights. And I want so bad to become a flashoholic like many of the rest of you out there...............!!!

PS: Sure glad I didn't purchase the M30 as it may be brighter but according to what I've heard and read, the beam produced by it even tho being brighter, doesn't throw as far as any of the M20s. Anyone know of a light that throws out around 700 to 800 lumens (OTF hopefully) in a nice narrow white beam and yet retains the small carry size of the M20? I am not a dyed in the wool Olight fan anymore so am open to other makes and models...............???

There really isn't anything hand sized capable of those outputs, and able to compete with the throw from an XR-E LED.

There are several problems...

First, the LED's themselves. To achieve the output numbers you're looking for, you have a few choices, namely single die or multi-die LED's. Single die, such as an SST 50 or SST 90, and multi die, such as a P7 or MC-E. These have a problem with surface brightness, which is key to achieving high lux numbers. None of the mentioned LED's is capable of achieving the surface brightness of an over-driven XR-E.

Secondly, there is heat-sinking. These high output LED's are not the most efficient on the market. They tend to produce lots of heat, especially at higher drive levels... As the LED's heat up, efficiency drops, and so output will decrease dramatically, while maintaining the same drive level. So, in order to have a high output light, to have adequate surface brightness, you need two things: A thermal mass and surface area.
-Thermal mass will act as a heat "bank," soaking up and spreading the heat from the LED. These are only effective until they heat up, however. Once fully "saturated" with thermal energy, their effectiveness is canceled out.
-Surface area is exactly what it sound like. Fins are key.

Take a look at the SR90. It is a big, heavy, fin covered light. The size also allows it to have a large reflector to concentrate the light from the LED. Thus, it is able to maintain output, for awhile, anyway, and achieve a long-reaching beam.

The third problem is power. In a small, pocket sized light, you do not have room for a large supply of power cells. Even IMR Lithium ion chemistries would be unable to maintain voltage under an extreme current draw necessary to fully power an SST LED. Neither would they have the capacity to do so for more than a few minutes.

In conclusion, a pocket sized high output light will not be able to reach your throw needs, but instead would be more of a localized flood light.

John - Thanks for the response. Even as a layman I am able to mostly understand what you stated. I am however unsure of one thing and perhaps you can explain it to me further. Why can't a light such as say the M30, that was designed to throw a wide flood type of beam, have the reflector and/or head area redesigned to allow that same LED to be focused into a more concentrated long throw beam? How would the heat buildup be any different just because the light coming from the LED is being thrown off in a different pattern? I am most likely missing something here for sure and hopefully you, or someone else can set me "straighter" on this issue. I would buy the M30 if it was redesigned to be a thrower instead of a "wide spiller", as it is still within my own personal EDC limits as to size.........

Thanks again for helping me here............ Terry

Terry, it's a function of the output angle of the LED and the size of the reflector that would be required.

The MC-E LED's output at a wide angle, to focus them into a tight beam would require a surprising large reflector to capture and direct that light.

I still have a hard time understanding this need to have a beam travel soo far that you need a pair of field glasses to see what it is your are illuminating. Especially with the small spot you get from a P60 sized head.

My M21 throws light clear across the width of where I work, the shorter of the two distances, which is about 700 feet or so...maybe a little more. While I could easily see a person moving about at that distance with it I'm not sure I could identify anything other than what color shirt and pants they were wearing.

MattK said:

Terry, it's a function of the output angle of the LED and the size of the reflector that would be required.

The MC-E LED's output at a wide angle, to focus them into a tight beam would require a surprising large reflector to capture and direct that light.

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Thanks Matt for your further explanation to my questions. And thanks to the others who have responded thus far also. I am still much into a learning curve with these types of lights and have a ways to go before I have a complete handle on it all. Wish I hadn't gone ahead and bought that newer M20 R5 but lesson learned and I won't make that mistake again in the future. I will sit back and wait for technology in LEDs, emittters, and batteries to advance to where someone will introduce an M20 sized light producing between 700 to 900 lumen (OTF?), throw a beam of light maybe a quarter mile down the road and may even be focusable much as a Maglite is. Which leads to another question, why hadn't someone come out with an LED light that is focusable like the Maglite? Must be something to do with the LED itself perhaps? Now this all may be wishing for something that won't happen for quite some time to come but I am patient and will wait it out till it does happen. Again, thanks to everyone who did help me here.....

Terry

TOQ said:

Thanks Matt for your further explanation to my questions. And thanks to the others who have responded thus far also. I am still much into a learning curve with these types of lights and have a ways to go before I have a complete handle on it all. Wish I hadn't gone ahead and bought that newer M20 R5 but lesson learned and I won't make that mistake again in the future. I will sit back and wait for technology in LEDs, emittters, and batteries to advance to where someone will introduce an M20 sized light producing between 700 to 900 lumen (OTF?), throw a beam of light maybe a quarter mile down the road and may even be focusable much as a Maglite is. Which leads to another question, why hadn't someone come out with an LED light that is focusable like the Maglite? Must be something to do with the LED itself perhaps? Now this all may be wishing for something that won't happen for quite some time to come but I am patient and will wait it out till it does happen. Again, thanks to everyone who did help me here.....

Terry

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Hi if you want focusable light then led lenser is the best way to go. i can recomend p7, p14 and m1, all of them great light, p14 (and maybe p7) will outshine olight m20 easely, its my best thrower. and m1 is a real pocket rocket.