Olight SR51 XM-L U2 a Flashaholics observation

I have never done a review and this won't be one.
That said I was fortunate enough to be given the chance to use and play with a pre-production unit thanks to the folks at 4Sevens (it must be returned after 3 weeks....more on this later).
What follows are my purely subjective and unscientific observations.

The packaging is the same as the SR50.

They supplied the 18650 carrier for testing but all else in the photo is included(not the CR123's).





Size comparison, M40A, SR51, 2D Mag.

The business end.

This unit had a unique "feature" I noticed after turning it off in the dark there appears to be glow powder in the o-ring as seen in the photo, not sure if it is intended or not, needless to say IMHO it has no adverse effect.

I can't get good long distance beam shots so what you get are a video comparing it to a 3D Mag with an XM-L drop in rated/measured at 880 lumens, and my "Umbrella Bounce" shots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvINmyFAxpQ

The video shows the 3D mag/XM-L drop in first, then the SR51, then the SR51 above the Mag/XM-L drop in

M40A

3D Mag with XM-L Drop in rated at 880 lumens.

SR51


Thoughts:
I must be up front about my want for a medium sized side switching light, the SR51 fills that want/need very well.
The build quality is very good although I would like to see the body a tad thicker at the sides.
The battery carriers are very nice, the 18650 fits button and non button topped 2900 Mah fatties with ease.
The UI is straight forward and the new "lockout" feature a great addition.
The Diffuser works nicely.
Output, well it "punches" light out to 300 yards easily, the claim of 700 meters can neither be confirmed or denied by me.
Beam quality is excellent, and a warning to white wall hunters, this thing is crazy bright at close range.
Runtime/heat, I only ran it on 18650/2900 cells and got 103 minutes until complete shutdown so I never burnt 6 CR123 with results like that(because I saw no difference in ouput between 2/18650 and 6/CR123). It got quite warm but never too warm to handle.
Parasitic Drain, I have had it sitting for nearly a week and I see no evidence of high parasitic drain.

Bottom line:
I had one on pre order and I am glad I did ( it might be here tomorrow) in fact I have been begging the "Chairman" to let me purchase this unit(at full MSRP) but to no avail.
If my production version is as good I will be buying at least one more.
That being said I would gladly forgo the nice case for a ballistic holster and a heftier body but as it stands it is still worth every penny at this price point.

Beamhead - Thanks for the post and some initial first hand info on this new light from Olight. From what your post reads it looks like this new SR 51 does indeed come packed in a nice aluminum storage case, has a holster. and hopefully the 18650 battery carrier that Olight is saying it is including with the light. I was just told today that mine should be inhand by next Friday, possibly by Thursday if the postal service moves faster than it normally does, so that makes me a happy camper to know that after this long wait. Sure was neat to read your review and get your impressions, etc. I was doubtful about the 700 meter throw ability of this light and it appears that figure needs a bit of adjusting by Olight as 300 yards is not anywhere near 700 meters, not even close.............

Once again, thanks for the post, it was most welcomed by this olde boy.............Terry

I like reviews that come a couple of months into production by people who simply purchase a random model rather than a hand picked unit intended for review. This sounds like a great flashlight. I'll anxiously await further scrutiny as more are ordered.

recDNA said:

I like reviews that come a couple of months into production by people who simply purchase a random model rather than a hand picked unit intended for review. This sounds like a great flashlight. I'll anxiously await further scrutiny as more are ordered.

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Well I just received my pre-ordered production model and so far all aspects are identical.

Excellent!

thanks for your input, that SR looks very nice...

I'd love to see sphere measurement results. I hope Olight sends one out to someone who has one.

Beamhead,

Nice work here :thumbsup:

recDNA said:

I'd love to see sphere measurement results. I hope Olight sends one out to someone who has one.

Click to expand...

Working on it . Been busy lately. I'll send you a pm with link when I get the results.

Thanks ti-force, post the link here. If the Mag drop in was measured at 880 lumens my guess is the SR51 is at least that.

Well for someone that doesnt do "reviews" that was certainly a good job
My review should be done this weekend, damn fine light.
~John

Beamhead thanks for the info and picks I don't have many dedicated throwers and I'm sitting here trying to pick one out, how would you think the SR51 and Catapult V3 would compare? I've read Selfbuilts review on the Catapult V3 and he measured the lux to be ~40K, do you think the SR51 would best that? I really can't tell how deep the reflector is on SR51 so it's hard to tell what to expect with lux.

I also noticed the description on the SR51 says the 18650 battery tube is "optional" I don't know if this means sold separately or is included but use at your leisure.

edit: I just read all the info about getting the battery tube and placed my order, thanks for helping bring this light to my attention. With all the new light's out and 4 versions of the same light it's easier to over look something obvious than one would think.

Thanks Jtice, I am looking forward to your actual review.

jhc37013, there are so many new lights out there I have no clue which out throws which. I have M@g lites with the rebel that can throw a tight spot almost as far as the SR51 but with far less "punch" and spill.

One thing I forgot to mention is when in strobe there is an audible click heard, it doesn't bother me.

The main reason I like this light is the "old school flashlight" feel it has, plus the immense output.

Got my review finished finally... yes I will be taking beamshots eventually. lol
Love this light.

Got mine today and wow I'm impressed, the light is larger than my TK35 but at the same time it is much more comfortable to hold and change modes. I took it out tonight and compared it to my TK35 which is not entirely fair because the TK35 is has such a smaller head but I did it anyway.

The first thing that struck me was I was anticipating a major loss in bright spill but I really could not tell much difference in the size of the spill or the brightness of the spill compared to my TK35. The hotspot is tight and I took it out to an area with a distance of 400 meters, the SR51 did not have much trouble at this distance but I have my doubts about 700 meters, I will add as many of you noticed their is a full moon tonight and the ambient light was modest.

I wanted to take the beam out to my favorite 600 meter spot but their was campers and I did not want to "Intimidate" them, sorry could not help it but Intimidation did cross my mind when I very briefly flashed the light towards the campers, for that brief moment I could see the tree line at 600 meters but did not hold it there long enough to see if I could see detail at that distance.

My first impressions is the Olight SR51 is a real winner and a great light to have out camping or searching for, well whatever you want to search for.

Right now I'm only running 6xcr123 because a 18650 battery holder was not in stock, GG did mention on the phone they would send one out soon as possible and I look forward to that.

I do have one tiny thing I don't like and this is not solely Olight's problem I've seen it with other light's, the issue is with the extra long lanyard I could use as boot laces (left and right side). I can understand it for small light's you may choose to use the lanyard around your neck, but that is obviously not the case with the SR51. If there is suppose to be some trick to it like wrapping it around my forearm a few times I'm all ears, again I hate to bring that up in such a nice light's thread but it had been eating at me for awhile, yes I have other lanyards that is not a problem but it would be nice to use the lanyard that came with the light. I got so use to these long lanyards in the past with 4sevens I went to lighthound and ordered my own lanyard accessories to cut them up and make my own. Lanyard rant off

The TK35 is another light I have had my eye on. Think you could take a couple beamshots comparing the two?
Sounds like if you could only have one you would go with the OLight?
~John

jtice said:

The TK35 is another light I have had my eye on. Think you could take a couple beamshots comparing the two?
Sounds like if you could only have one you would go with the OLight?
~John

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I'm not camera savvy enough to take any beamshots worth you guys viewing sorry, if I could only have one it would be the SR51 hands down. Even though the SR51 is larger the TK35 is not something you can put in your front pocket and I need certain accommodations to carry it around, like the large supplied holster. Simply put the TK35 is not small enough to make much difference I can't put either in my front pocket, the things I like about the SR51 over the TK35 is for one the switch is much easier to toggle, with the TK35 I need to change hand positions and it still feels award trying to click one of the two switches on the end of the TK35.

The SR51 switch is located in a classic position and easily manipulated just like good old maglites. Like I mentioned you would think the TK35 would have brighter spill with the shallower head but I really could not see much difference, but at the same time the SR51 throws a great deal further.

I've only spent a brief time with the SR51 but I hope that info may be helpful.

No problem, I hope to have my beamshots done soon.
Great explanation though of why you like the SR51 over the TK35!

Oh, and I added this size comparison to my review.

Hi All - I posted my own short review thread so don't want to be redundant here but did want to confirm that I also really do like this new light from Olight. I will state one more time for the record tho that like many of you I too feel that Olight is being a tad optimistic about their claims of a 700 meter throw for the SR 51. My guess is more like maybe up to around 400 yards, maybe a tad more under ideal conditions. I agree with everything else that's been said and feel Olight has another winner here. Quality, build, ease of operation, a very bright beam of light with a good hotspot and just the right amount of spill, and of course the PRICE for all this, all go to making it a light that will surely give the competition something to think about.............

Light me up Scotty..........Terry

it can handle 6x CR123, so why not 3x 18650? :thinking:

why not make a battery holder that can accomodate cr123, and 18650? other companies have done it.

skyfire said:

it can handle 6x CR123, so why not 3x 18650? :thinking:

why not make a battery holder that can accomodate cr123, and 18650? other companies have done it.

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Good point raised here it would increase runtime and one would only need one battery holder instead of two, the answer is obviously not max voltage.