Olight S1 good 1st Pick

Looking to get into the flashlight realm. Looking at the Olight S1. Is this considered a good entry into the market?

:welcome:

The moderators may move this thread to the "Recommend me a flashlight" forum. You may get more responses there.

My opinion is that the Olight S1 is an excellent first choice. I run mine on a protected, button-top, Olight RCR123A rechargeable battery. Because the S1 does not have any low-voltage cutoff or warning, I like to use a protected battery.

The S1 is a good first choice because it is a "general purpose" flashlight. It has a beam that combines flood and throw, but leans towards the former. Its turbo mode, however, packs enough punch that you can get a little bit throw out of it, too. General purpose flashlights are the most useful. They are the ones you should buy first.

Next might be a compact thrower, such as the Astrolux S2, but that's another story.

It's by far my favourite light (not that I have a lot), and I think it's an excellent first choice. I also use RCR123 in mine, it lasts long enough for my purposes.

Agree, this is a really compact multi-purpose light. You may actually save a bit of money trying to look for other purpose flashlights because none are so compact

I love mine too. I haven't found anything else that has the power vs size/weight ratio that matches this in my opinion.

Yes, S1 is a perfect light. But you should know that it is best coupled with a rechargeable battery. So, if you don't have one, you should decide how deep will you dive into those murky waters -- do you need one or multiple cell charger. Personally for me an Opus charger makes even charging an interesting process

I would agree to the thread title and say a definite YES to your question. I have two of this light including the Ti polished and I love every details of it. Go ahead and make the purchase...

The Olight S1 Baton is a great light. I like to rotate the clip over the button so that it doesn't turn on in my pocket. I did just get 2 rechargeable 123 batteries so I may stop putting the clip over the button. That does make it harder to turn on in the dark.

Got the light and it is really awesome little light. Smaller than I was anticipating, but that's also a plus in my eyes for the purpose of the light

KeepingItLight said:

The UI description below was originally posted here.

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Olight S1 Baton – User Interface

From OFF


When ON


Note: The UI on early versions of the aluminum S1 had two differences.
1. Moonlight mode was stored in mode memory.
2. After power off, High mode was never erased from mode memory.

Linuxology said:

Looking to get into the flashlight realm. Looking at the Olight S1. Is this considered a good entry into the market?

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I would say no, for a couple of reasons.

1. it uses a CR123 battery, which is disposable. I prefer rechargeable batteries.
Some people use RCR123, which are rechargeable, but the LiIon technology is potentially dangerous, and the Olight S1 has no built in overheating protection. I do not consider Lithium Ion an entry level technology.

2. The S1 has a very low CRi of 65. This makes it poor at showing colors, especially reds.

3. The S1 uses a Cool White LED. This is a very blueish color, not very warm or relaxing.

For entry level with High CRI and Neutral color, I recommend an AAA or AA light with a Nichia 219 LED. Two examples are the Lumintop Copper Tool with N219, and the L3 Illumination L11c also with Nichia.

I do like rechargeable AAA and AA batteries. They are available in a brand called Eneloop, and the battery chemisty is not Lithium Ion, it is NiMh, which does not have the potential risks of fire and explosion that LiIon has.

These are just my personal opinions and preferences, others will differ, and Im not trying to judge others choices or make anyone wrong. I hope my post just adds to your education on some of the variables involved in choosing a light.

imo, the type of battery you choose to use, and its size, is dictated partly by how you plan to use the light, and how much ambient light there is when you use it. For example, a CR123 light like the S1 will work better at illuminating a car engine bay during the day, than either of the Nichia based lights I mention. otoh, the Nichia based lights will have a more pleasing, at least to me, color and color rendering, at night, in the dark, and in lower ambient light situations. So I carry an AAA light with Nichia, that I use in the evening, indoors. But I would not use that AAA Nichia light to work on a car during the day, and it wont do much to send a beam of light as far away as a CR123 light.

If I was wanting a flashlight to hunt for threats, animals, humans, at the far end of my back yard, the CR123 light would be brighter and throw farther, than an AAA light, and Lithium Ion batteries are higher voltage and make for much brighter light than other battery options.

decide on your needs, indoor or outdoor. Daytime or nightime. etc

welcome, and hang on to your wallet. There is no one right choice, and in fact most of us have more than one light, which we use in different scenarios. I personally have Zero CR123 lights and Zero Lithium Ion Batteries. I dont hunt, and I dont use lights for threat detection, nor for self defense. My lights are for close range use, mostly car camping, and around the house. I only own AAA and AA lights, and they all use Eneloops and they are all High CRI with NoPWM. I dont use any of my Cool White lights, that I first bought when I entered the flashlight arena, less than a year ago.

YMMV
enjoy whatever you decide to buy, and know your tastes and preferences may evolve and change over time.

jon_slider said:

welcome, and hang on to your wallet. There is no one right choice, and in fact most of us have more than one light, which we use in different scenarios.

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Lol..I though there is a right choice.. The choice to buy everything you're considering!

After I tried the group buy for the BLF 348, now I understand. Its so cheap that most people entering should consider one just to try. But be careful as other lights may not be used anymore!