AardvarkSagus
Flashlight Enthusiast
Olight M1X Striker
The Olight mantra of iterative improvement strikes again, this time in the form of another aggressively bezeled wonder. Is the M1X a worthy successor, or has this design simply grown long in the tooth?
Olight M1X-Striker
Meat and Potatoes
The Olight M1X Striker is a light with an interesting dichotomy of purpose. It appears to be an extension of their EDC line of Baton lights, but yet the aggressive toothy bezel and protruding, solid action forward click switch indicate a more tactical intent.
Forward Clicky
The M1X definitely shows it's genetic heritage to the previous M18 Striker. It shares the same aesthetics, though in ever so slightly larger dimensions. It also adds to the mix the same mode selector button as found in all of the latest Batons. This heritage follows through the user interface as well. The instant shortcut to high is still hidden behind a double click of the tailcap, as before. Also, a moon mode is available by holding the mode select button while powering on. This mode button is just as difficult to find by feel as in recent baton models, but that is far less of an issue since it doesn't double as the activation button at the same time.
Mode selection switch
Sitting at the base of the narrow, smooth reflector is a Cree XM-L2 LED capable of over a thousand lumens in Turbo mode Thanks to the power of either 2 CR123A cells or a single 18650. The M1X has been gifted with one more constant output mode for a total of 4 (5 including moon mode). These cool-white lumens are arrayed in a wide flood pattern that illuminates a huge swath of space in front of you. The beam is beautifully artifact free, though it still doesn't make use of current warm white diodes.
Constructive Criticism
This section feels a little weird to me, because the only parts of this torch I'm not overly fond of are either pretty minor, broken record gripes, or critiquing the very purpose. That being said, I still find them somewhat frustrating. The former concern is once again a resurgence of my chronic complaint about tension attached pocket clips. If you strictly view it as an assist in keeping the torch upright while inside your pocket, it functions quite well. If you would rather (like me) clip it on the outside of your belt for easy, out of the way access, then your light will likely end up walking away on you, leaving the clip orphaned on your belt.
Tension Clip
Other than that, my only complaint is about those teeth that define the very purpose of the light. They are the single most aggressive set that I have ever seen on a light. I know they are designed as a pain compliance device, and for this they would perform admirably. They also have a secondary, unintended set of consequences as a pocket shredder. I now have cargo pockets where I cannot store anything at all of value. The M1X has ripped a hole in the bottom of it that is nearly large enough for the light itself to fall out. Like I said, this criticism somewhat attacks the very core of the Striker mentality, but I would still prefer the option to have a somewhat smoother (though still subtly crenelated) bezel option.
Saber-toothed bezel
Conclusions
Olight once again knocks out a solid light option. The Olight M1X Striker is powerful, versatile, and relatively compact. If you want a light with this particular feature set (namely the toothy grin), then you won't go wrong here. If you're looking for something a little more subtle, then it'd be best to look elsewhere.
Provided for review by the kind folks at GoingGear.
The Olight mantra of iterative improvement strikes again, this time in the form of another aggressively bezeled wonder. Is the M1X a worthy successor, or has this design simply grown long in the tooth?
Olight M1X-Striker
Meat and Potatoes
The Olight M1X Striker is a light with an interesting dichotomy of purpose. It appears to be an extension of their EDC line of Baton lights, but yet the aggressive toothy bezel and protruding, solid action forward click switch indicate a more tactical intent.
Forward Clicky
The M1X definitely shows it's genetic heritage to the previous M18 Striker. It shares the same aesthetics, though in ever so slightly larger dimensions. It also adds to the mix the same mode selector button as found in all of the latest Batons. This heritage follows through the user interface as well. The instant shortcut to high is still hidden behind a double click of the tailcap, as before. Also, a moon mode is available by holding the mode select button while powering on. This mode button is just as difficult to find by feel as in recent baton models, but that is far less of an issue since it doesn't double as the activation button at the same time.
Mode selection switch
Sitting at the base of the narrow, smooth reflector is a Cree XM-L2 LED capable of over a thousand lumens in Turbo mode Thanks to the power of either 2 CR123A cells or a single 18650. The M1X has been gifted with one more constant output mode for a total of 4 (5 including moon mode). These cool-white lumens are arrayed in a wide flood pattern that illuminates a huge swath of space in front of you. The beam is beautifully artifact free, though it still doesn't make use of current warm white diodes.
Constructive Criticism
This section feels a little weird to me, because the only parts of this torch I'm not overly fond of are either pretty minor, broken record gripes, or critiquing the very purpose. That being said, I still find them somewhat frustrating. The former concern is once again a resurgence of my chronic complaint about tension attached pocket clips. If you strictly view it as an assist in keeping the torch upright while inside your pocket, it functions quite well. If you would rather (like me) clip it on the outside of your belt for easy, out of the way access, then your light will likely end up walking away on you, leaving the clip orphaned on your belt.
Tension Clip
Other than that, my only complaint is about those teeth that define the very purpose of the light. They are the single most aggressive set that I have ever seen on a light. I know they are designed as a pain compliance device, and for this they would perform admirably. They also have a secondary, unintended set of consequences as a pocket shredder. I now have cargo pockets where I cannot store anything at all of value. The M1X has ripped a hole in the bottom of it that is nearly large enough for the light itself to fall out. Like I said, this criticism somewhat attacks the very core of the Striker mentality, but I would still prefer the option to have a somewhat smoother (though still subtly crenelated) bezel option.
Saber-toothed bezel
Conclusions
Olight once again knocks out a solid light option. The Olight M1X Striker is powerful, versatile, and relatively compact. If you want a light with this particular feature set (namely the toothy grin), then you won't go wrong here. If you're looking for something a little more subtle, then it'd be best to look elsewhere.
Provided for review by the kind folks at GoingGear.
