Olight S35 Baton review - A Layman's Perspective

AardvarkSagus

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Olight S35 Baton - Submitted for consideration for the review forum

With so many lights following the same basic formulae for success, its good to see someone look in a different direction. The S35 Baton is definitely not the status quo, but are these alternate concepts all for the better?


Olight S35 Baton

Meat and Potatoes

The Olight S35 Baton is something outside of the norm for lights in this general size range. Most of them I have been seeing lately are 18650 powered duty lights with a tailcap switch and a "tactical" cigar grip ring. This new Baton series changes that. In spite of sharing a very similar reflector diameter and length, it is powered by 3 of the more common AA cells instead. These cells live inside a quality battery magazine attached to the tailcap in a very similar manner to that found on the 4Sevens Maelstrom S18, though in miniature.


Olight S35 Baton

Occupying the business end of the S35 is Cree's current top dog LED, the XM-L. This torch combines the wonderful wide angle emission pattern of this large die with a larger diameter orange peel textured reflector very similar to that found in other recent Olights. As such, the beam is also quite familiar. There is a fairly focused center spot with a good transition to a still-bright spillbeam that results in a very usable multi-purpose beam that is balanced neither as flood or throw, but with elements of each.


Olight S35 Baton

This battery configuration allows it to maintain a virtually cylindrical body that is extremely comfortable to hold. It likely would not be as comfortable to use however with the standard tailcap switch, however Olight has given us a very nice soft-touch electronic side switch. The UI of such a switch is quite similar to that utilized in the Olight SR series with a L-M-H sequence accessed by pressing and holding the switch. The S35 is capable of producing a very impressive 380 lumens on high, down to a miserly 20 lumens on low. A quick double press will give you a strobe mode if you feel the need, but thankfully it is hidden away from general use quite adequately. Also nice to have, but out of the way is a hidden lockout mode. Pressing and holding the button for around 9 seconds will deactivate the switch until an intentional triple click is used. This helps to eliminate battery drain by accidental activation for times such as when the S35 baton is simply riding along packed in a bag.

Fit and finish are simply superb. From the crisp lettering surrounding the unique recessed tri-wing tail lug, to the astoundingly grippy fine lateral knurling (for lack of a better term) the S35 is an exercise in precision. Olight has even included a beautiful red accent oring beneath the stainless steel bezel that even glows in the dark to some degree after the lighthas been activated for a while. I find this "feature" to be of dubious real world use, but a very nice touch none the less. Even the heat sink fins are smoothed to remove any rough edges before a flawless thick appearing black anodizing was applied.


Olight S35 Baton

Constructive Criticism

For as comfortable of a size this light is to hold, it does make it a little uncomfortable to carry. I did not receive any accessories with this review sample so I can't comment on that at all, but i do know that it really needs to have a holster of some sort. It is definitely on the large side for any kind of pocket carry, but its output is a little low for your typical mega-light these days. Being such a strange intermediate size does cause some consternation as to its intended use, but that's really one of those areas where "your mileage may vary".

Conclusions

Quite honestly, there is very little I can suggest for improvement on this light. It is just a very nice finished product all the way around. You can tell that Olight took their time designing this one. It is a joy to use, if a slight burden to carry. And its finish is so nice, its almost a work of art at the same time.

Provided for review by the kind folks at 4Sevens.
 

Harry999

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AardvarkSagus,

Nice review! I have recently been tempted by the Olight Hiker Christmas Set which includes a S35 Baton with a neutral tint. This makes it harder to resist. The set includes a holster and a diffuser. With the low 20lumens running for 240hours I suspect it will be a good emergency light to have. The neutral tint should make it more 'comfortable' to use for extended periods.
 

AardvarkSagus

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Thanks! Yeah, this light is really quite a fun one. Wish I had a holster that would work with it, but at least its a little easier to carry than the S65 that I'm reviewing next. That is quite a lightsaber.

The S35 is really just plain well made though. I like it a lot.
 

Harry999

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Well I finally caved in and order the Hiker Set. Hopefully my S35 neutral will be here tomorrow.

AardvarkSagus - would a maxipedition holster fit the light. I used to carry a Thrunite Catapult in mine. That head was quite large.
 

bbrins

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I really like this light, the UI is simple, and the strobe is somewhat hidden so that you don't have to cycle through ten different strobe modes to find the brightness setting that you want. I really hate it when you have to cycle through a bunch of different strobes and beacons to find the brightness setting that you are looking for. All three brightness settings are actually usable.

Why don't they send the accessories with the review sample? Seems to me like they would want you to give it a thorough review. If you could find one, the factory holster is adequate as long as you won't be hanging upside down or running with the light holstered being as it doesn't have any kind of a top flap. The light does seem to stay in better if you holster it head down.
 

Pontiaker

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I think your going to see more lights this shape with the XML led.This LED seems to work better with the bigger reflector, at least for throw and spot. I have the Fenix that runs on 4 123's or 2 18650's. Its like this light but has a flat body which ir easier to pocket, has an awesome throw and better output than the above light. I like them and look forward to seeing more like these.
 

Rhaspun

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I've had my S35 for a while now. The beam is not bad. Definitely not a thrower but it throws far enough. I've brought this several times along for camping this past summer and it's been great around the camp site. The user UI is simple enough. 3 light levels and a strobe. I don't like having too many modes for a camping light. The levels of output are adequate for each mode. I pretty much stay in the middle mode about 90% of the time. The low works great for reading maps without affecting night vision.
 
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AardvarkSagus

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Why don't they send the accessories with the review sample? Seems to me like they would want you to give it a thorough review. If you could find one, the factory holster is adequate as long as you won't be hanging upside down or running with the light holstered being as it doesn't have any kind of a top flap. The light does seem to stay in better if you holster it head down.
I'm not really sure what the reasoning is here, but I'm still more than willing to oblige. If they want me to just review the light alone, then that's what I will do. I personally think the whole package is fairly important though.
 

John Spartan

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I finally caved in and ordered an S35 Baton from a Western Canadian dealer. It arrived yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised with the manufacturing quality - very, very good machining on it. LED is perfectly centred. Popped the included Duracell AAs in and proceeded to check the S35's performance. I took an instant "shine" to the 3 light modes - just right in my opinion. It remembers your last setting (Lo-Med-Hi) - another good feature.

Strobe is disconcerting - a good thing if confronted with an antagonist. No automatic SOS mode - I consider that not significant.

Soft lockout was easy to enact, took a bit of practice to find the right speed to do the disabling triple click.

The grip was pretty good, especially lengthwise back and forth in an underhand grip, however it was easier to feel the body rotate so one might lose switch control if the flashlight is not securely gripped.

Slip on diffuser works really nicely, however I do think that with time, it will become loose. Olight might consider a screw on diffuser in the next iteration of this light.

Holster is soft neoprene sewn on to a cordura nylon back. Fairly easy to attach the holster to one's belt or onto a PALS/Molle strip equipped knapsack. How durable the soft neoprene will be, remains to be seen. The flashlight is snug when in the holster, however, no retaining strap. One might want to consider a third party holster if one is engaged in vigorous activities and flashlight retention is important.

Split ring mounted easily and folded out of the way for easy candlesticking.

No lanyard included, although if one is an obligate flashaholic, you should have no shortage of these or can easily make one from scratch.

For the every day average user, this is a nice flashlight to have.

Good job, Olight!
 

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