411 on small AA hotness: S1A vs Mi7

The release of these two lights has me thinking that I want ... no, need a relatively smaller bright AA light. I've seen reviews on both, does anyone have both and can compare together?

Here are some of the stats:
Both are small: S1A is 21mm x 79.5mm, Mi7 is 19mm x 87mm (Mi7 is 6 mm longer but 2mm smaller at the head)
Both are bright: S1A is 600 lumen (1 minute to 50% stepdown) on turbo, Mi7 is 700 lumen (placeholder for stepdown) on turbo

UI high points:
S1A has instant access to moonlight and turbo
Mi7: trying to find a better UI description to confirm it has the same instant access to moonlight and turbo

I have the Mi7 but not the S1A (although I'dlove to have an S1A too).

The Mi7 does have instant access to moonlight and to high. From off, long press to moonlight. From off, single click to high.

You can't go from moonlight to low (or high). Once in moonlight mode the only option is to turn off the flashlight (long press for moonlight, quick click to turn off). I guess there's no memory because I can't find a way to have the light come on in low mode, it always starts on high. To get from moonlight to low: When in moonlight, click to turn off, click again for high, click again for low. :shrug:

PS: There are no "turbo" or "medium" modes.
There are three output levels: moonlight, low & high (as per Klarus site).

It will take me a while to get used to this UI. :thinking:

Joe Talmadge said:

Mi7: trying to find a better UI description to confirm it has the same instant access to moonlight and turbo

Click to expand...

see #19
S1A 37 grams, includes pocket clip, modes are 0.5/5/50/220 lumens, w 600 lumen Turbo on LiIon
Mi7 26 grams, no pocket clip offered, modes are 5/90/330, w 700 lumen Turbo on LiIon

Mi7 calls the 5 lumen mode "moonlight"

Thanks to both of you. I think perhaps the 5 lumen "moonlight" on the Mi7 might lean me towards the S1A.

One more question: what do feel about the buttons themselves? If I have any complaint about the S1, which I think is amazing, it's that it's not hard to turn the S1 on by accident, and I imagine the S1A has the exact same swithc. How does the Mi7's switch compare?

the Mi7 sounds like a headache. Freaking love my new S1A with Keeppower 840mah 14500 in it.

Joe Talmadge said:

Thanks to both of you. I think perhaps the 5 lumen "moonlight" on the Mi7 might lean me towards the S1A.

One more question: what do feel about the buttons themselves? If I have any complaint about the S1, which I think is amazing, it's that it's not hard to turn the S1 on by accident, and I imagine the S1A has the exact same swithc. How does the Mi7's switch compare?

Click to expand...

There's only one button (side switch) on the Mi7. It's silent (doesn't "click"). It doesn't take much pressure to turn the light on, so it could be turned on by accident in a pocket or something. It has a lockout feature though (with the light on, long press for 5 seconds). I keep mine locked out.

Actually, this is my one complaint with this light. When locking or unlocking the light, it flashes on high mode to let you know the light has been locked/unlocked. It's so bright! If wanting to use moonlight, unlocking the light is almost blinding (the flashes). I have to be sure to cover the light with my hand before unlocking it (and re-locking it).

CelticCross74 said:

the Mi7 sounds like a headache. Freaking love my new S1A with Keeppower 840mah 14500 in it.

Click to expand...

The long protected Keeppower 14500, or a shorter unprotected one? I have the long protected Orbtronic (same battery inside, same length) and I was wondering if they would fit the S1A. I just read that the protected Keeppower doesn't fit the Nitecore MT10A, which I wanted to buy until I read that . Hopefully they fit the S1A.

Does Olight ever do group buys? I don't think I've seen one before (but I'm still new here). I can't find this light on Amazon.ca (Canada) yet.

Wendee it is indeed the 55mm long protected 840mah Sanyo based Keeppower 14500 which is really darn long for a 14500 but it works and nothing in the tube is damaged. Capacity is great output is awesome. Love the light its only as long as my thumb.

CelticCross74 said:

Wendee it is indeed the 55mm long protected 840mah Sanyo based Keeppower 14500 which is really darn long for a 14500 but it works and nothing in the tube is damaged. Capacity is great output is awesome. Love the light its only as long as my thumb.

Click to expand...

Perfect! Then my Orbtronic batteries will fit too. :thumbsup:

I read that the S1A has a nice big hot spot. I assume the S1A would be great for indoor use (and outdoor at close range). The Mi7 is probably better for throw outdoors (XP-L HI) . The Mi7 is really small too (and very light). It's also very pretty. The CPF group buy price is really good (I think it's still active). At that price, it's a lot less expensive than the S1A. I'm glad to have the Mi7 but I think I need an S1A too because it sounds awesome. So much for cutting down on buying flashlights. :shakehead

CelticCross74 said:

Wendee it is indeed the 55mm long protected 840mah Sanyo based Keeppower 14500 which is really darn long for a 14500 but it works and nothing in the tube is damaged. Capacity is great output is awesome. Love the light its only as long as my thumb.

Click to expand...

Wait, I'm confused now. I just saw your post in another S1A thread that said your protected Keeppower didn't fit. Was that before you tried to put one in?

it did not fit at first for some reason that was the day I got it. Since then the spring in the tail has developed enough give that it now today fits. I am rotating between 4 of these cells and all 4 now fit. The Orbtronics may be a touch shorter I have noticed that with their smaller cells before. I just checked the Orbtronic site they list their 840 cell at 52.9mm long so there you go I should have gotten those. Thanks for reminding me of that post gonna update it now. Those 55mm Keeppowers are the absolute most it can take and that is after the spring develops some give.-measured all 4 Keeppowers out on digital calipers to exactly 55mm each-

Oh, perfect! Thanks!

I had read somewhere that Keeppower and Orbtronic were the same size. Maybe the person who posted that assumed that since they have the same Sanyo UR14500P inside. The protection element(s) on the Keeppower must be bigger? I'm glad I ordered the Orbtronic then, they'll fit into more flashlights. Hey! Maybe they'll fit in the Nitecore MT10A too! Thanks for the info. This is great! Well, not so great for my wallet, lol.

Oh oh. I had assumed the person who posted that was correct so I may have posted that they're the same size somewhere too. I should have checked for myself. I'll have to search to see if I've ever posted that and edit it (if I have). I'll try to find the original post I read so that I can add this new info to that thread (it was some thread about batteries).

Thanks again CelticCross. This is great news! :twothumbs

you are more than welcome. Orbtronic does indeed use different protection circuits on their smaller cells. For instance their 16340's are nearly 2mm shorter than the same core cell Keeppower 16340. But yes Orbtronic site says 52.9mm.

Joe Talmadge said:

Thanks to both of you. I think perhaps the 5 lumen "moonlight" on the Mi7 might lean me towards the S1A.

Click to expand...

I agree.
The Olight 0.5 lumen moonlight is awesome

unless you want a light that starts on high, has no pocket clip, has a narrow hotspot, needs to be locked out and flashes to turn on with a 5 second delay.. I would not consider the Mi7. The only thing going for it is 10 grams less weight..

I hope you enjoy whatever you get, and update the thread with your impressions.

The UI on the Mi7 just sounds awful.
The S1A looks like it uses the UI Olight placed on the S1 and has extended to other formats (like the S2). It's a great UI in my opinion, and this difference alone would make me far more likely to buy a S1A over the Mi7.

jon_slider said:

I agree.
The Olight 0.5 lumen moonlight is awesome

unless you want a light that starts on high, has no pocket clip, has a narrow hotspot, needs to be locked out and flashes to turn on with a 5 second delay.. I would not consider the Mi7. The only thing going for it is 10 grams less weight..

I hope you enjoy whatever you get, and update the thread with your impressions.

Click to expand...

+1. Also I'm reading above as if the MI7 actually has 700 lumens. It may appear brighter due to the tight hotspot, but in other reviews the output at the LED is 500-600 in real life. Would love to see a beam shot comparison!

Wendee said:

Does Olight ever do group buys? I don't think I've seen one before (but I'm still new here). I can't find this light on Amazon.ca (Canada) yet.

Click to expand...

I know this is 8 months late, but Dazed1 often has group buy deals and they sometimes include Olight lights. He may even have some that aren't posted in his list. Just PM him to find out. He is very nice. I got the S1 Baton and the S10Rii thru his group buy at the time and they were very good prices for relatively new lights.

Did you ever get the S1A? Do you like it?

MI7 is a nice high quality light. But.......the UI leaves a little to be desired. If you plan to EDC it you would be served well learning how to operate the Lock Out feature throughly. This is especially important when enjoying 3.7 volt fun. Disclaimer: most all side switch lights have this issue, so I wa to say it isn't really all UI to blame. Well it is the UI, but I knew what I was getting into with it. Ha!

I had the Mi7, got it on the group buy for $20. Sold it for $15. I still have my olights, and even prefer the old S15R flashlights I have more than the Mi7.

Old thread! Just to let you know my thinking... I tend to have very low tolerance for awkward UIs (as I perceive them), or UIs you "get used to" (which is another way of saying, they're a pain but you learn to tolerate it). I just can't get past the Mi7's UI description, so it's become a hard pass for me. I like the Olight S series UIs, and since the initial post, I have a bunch of them.