Preface
The Olight Baton 3 (or Olight S1R III) is the third generation of the rather popular Olight S1R Baton model and an upgrade over the second generation Olight S1R II Baton model.
Some of the upgrades include usage of new LED (Luminus SST-40) and portable “wireless” charging.
Notes:
- This review is based on the Olight Baton 3 Premium Edition that comes with the portable “wireless” charging case.
- The flashlight shown in this review is a Limited Edition color – Orange.
Packaging & First Impressions
This is what the light will come with as shown below.
- The threads and o-rings were lightly lubricated. Threads were smooth and clean (no gritty feeling).
- The side electronic switch requires a firm and deliberate press to activate and helps in preventing any unwanted activation of the light.
- Clip is not reversible. However, the dual-direction clip enables fairly deep pocket carry for bezel up/down carries & allows for attachment of the light to a cap for hands-free usage.
- Magnetic tail cap is able to bear the light’s weight when attached horizontally and vertically (upside down) to a flat ferrous metallic surface.
- Anodizing of the light is uniform without any missing specs, as expected from Olight.
- No holster or pouch to hold the light is included but a portable wireless charging case is included (for Premium Edition only).
- The portable wireless charging case will fit & charge the first & second generation Olight S1R II Baton model (for Premium Edition only).
- Battery compartment holds a AW 16340 battery with sufficient room for a slightly thicker battery width.
- The provided proprietary IMR battery (Olight ORB-16C05-10C) will not work in other flashlights due to the black insulation disc surrounding the positive terminal. Other CR123A/16340 batteries will work in this battery tube though.
- Scanning the QR code with your phone/tablet on the box’s back would bring up the Olight Baton 3’s product page.
Note:
- Before using the flashlight for the first time, remove the Insulation Film from the portable wireless charging case (for Premium Edition only) & battery tube.
Front:
Back:
Sides:
Top:
Bottom:
Box Contents:
Removing Insulating Film – Portable Wireless Charging Case (for Premium Edition only):
Removing Insulating Film – Battery Tube:
Quick Overview (Manufacturer Specifications)
- Body Material: HAIII Aluminum
- Color Options:
- Black
- Red
- Blue (Limited Edition)
- Orange (Limited Edition)
- LED: Luminus SST-40
- LED Specification: 6000K to 7000K
- Battery Format: 1 x 16340/RCR123A or 1 x CR123a ONLY
- Output & Runtime (with included Olight IMR 16340 3.7V/550mAh battery):
- Moonlight (0.5 lumens / 20days)
- Low (12 lumens / 1day 9h)
- Mid (60 lumens / 7h 30min)
- High (300 lumens / 1h 35min)
- Turbo (1200 lumens / 1min 30sec) → (300 lumens / 1h 15min)
- Max Beam Distance: 166m
- Beam intensity: 6,889cd
- Waterproofness: IPX-8 Standard (2m)
- Impact Resistance: 1.5m
- Dimension: 63mm (length) x 21mm (diameter)
- Weight: 53g (including battery)
- Battery reverse polarity protection
- Portable Wireless Charger Case Specifications:
- Dimension: 83.5mm (length) x 62mm (width) x 30mm (height)
- Battery Format: Built-in 3.6V/3500mAh 18650 battery
- Weight: 114g (including battery)
- Input: 5V, 2A
- Output: 4.2V, 1A
- Charge: Can charge Baton 3 – up to 3.7 times
- Accessories Included:
- 1*Olight Proprietary IMR 16340 3.7V/550mAh battery (Olight ORB-16C05-10C)
- 1*Magnetic Charging Cable
- 1*Lanyard
- 1*Pouch
- Accessories Included (for Premium Edition only):
- 1*Olight Proprietary IMR 16340 3.7V/550mAh battery (Olight ORB-16C05-10C)
- 1*Portable Wireless Charger Case (built-in 3.6V/3500mAh 18650 battery)
- 1*USB-C Charging Cable
- 1*Microfiber Cleaning Cloth
- MSRP (for Premium Edition only): ~ $100 / SGD 151 / MYR 484
UI (User Interface)
UI for this light is good for Every Day Carry (EDC) as it is rather straightforward to use.
Switching ON and OFF is done by the side electronic switch on the light, so no momentary activation is possible.
Normal Operation
From OFF:
- 1 Click – Last brightness level (all modes except TURBO are memorized only) is activated.
- 2 Clicks – Direct access to TURBO; 1 Click to switch OFF or HOLD down to switch modes.
- 3 (or more) Clicks – Direct access to STROBE; 1 Click to switch OFF or HOLD down to switch modes.
- HOLD (~1 sec) – Direct access to MOONLIGHT.
From ON:
- 1 Click – Light will switch OFF.
- 2 Clicks – Direct access to TURBO; 1 Click to switch OFF or hold down to switch modes.
- 3 (or more) Clicks – Direct access to STROBE; 1 Click to switch OFF or hold down to switch modes.
- HOLD – Mode change (light cycles through LOW, MID & HIGH only; MOONLIGHT & TURBO is not part of the sequence).
There is 1 blinky mode for this light (STROBE only) and no SOS modes.
Timer Configuration
There are 2 types of Timers – Short (3 min) and Long (9 min). Light will switch OFF once the timer ends.
From ON:
- 2 Click & HOLD – 1 Blink indicates Short (3 min) timer is activated. Repeat 2 Click & HOLD to activate Long (9 min) timer – 2 Blinks.
Power Indicator (Baton 3)
There is only 1 type of Power Indicator for this flashlight.
From ON, the Switch LED will glow one of the following colors:
- GREEN – Power is >60%.
- ORANGE – Power is between 10% – 60%.
- RED – Power is between 5% – 10%.
- BLINKING RED – Power is <5%, do recharge or replace the battery.
Note: For MOONLIGHT mode, the above Power Indicator will activate when battery is <5% only.
Power Indicator (Wireless Charger Case) – for Premium Edition only
When the case is opened, the side LED will glow one of the following colors:
- GREEN – Power is >60%.
- ORANGE – Power is between 20% – 60%.
- RED – Power is between 10% – 20%.
- BLINKING RED – Power is <10%, do recharge immediately.
Charging the Baton 3 or the earlier generation Baton models will cause the Charge Indicator LED (inside the case) to glow one of the following colors:
- RED – Charging in Progress
- GREEN – Charging Completed
- Notes:
- If the Baton Mechanical Lockout is activated, the Charging will be disabled (GREEN or FLASHING RED color).
- For Baton 3 only – if the light is left ON and placed inside the closed Wireless Charger Case, the Baton 3 will automatically switch OFF.
Electronic Lockout
From OFF:
- HOLD (till MOONLIGHT is activated & deactivated) – LOCKOUT mode is enabled; HOLD (till MOONLIGHT is activated) – LOCKOUT is disabled.
When Electronic LOCKOUT mode is activated, any button presses will cause the RED LED on the switch button to activate for about 3 sec.
Form Factor
For flashlights that are intended to use on a daily basis (EDC) and for possibly a long period of time, form factor is extremely important.
This light fits in a clenched small sized hand easily. Switching between overhand and underhand holding method is easy with its small form factor and (lack thereof) weight.
The newly re-designed raised knurling (similar as the Olight Warrior Mini model) makes the light extremely “grippy”, even with wet hands/gloves but not overly aggressive (i.e. still fabric and pockets-friendly).
The light can tail-stand perfectly without the slightest wobble.
Clip has an added/revised ridge to allow better clip retention to material but is still fabric-friendly.
However, the Wireless Charger Case (for Premium Edition only) size is considerably larger than the Baton 3 and in most cases, will require a separate pocket and/or bag to be carried.
Charging Process
With the provided USB-C Charging Cable, the Wireless Charger Case battery was charging at ~1.95A (for Premium Edition only).
Solid RED indicator on the side of the Wireless Charger Case depicts charging in progress.
Solid GREEN indicator on the side of the Wireless Charger Case depicts charging has completed.
Beam Style/Beamshots
For this light, the spill, corona and hotspot is somewhat predictable due to the TIR (Total Internal Reflection) optics used. The LED is fully covered under the Clear TIR optic. Hence, the beam has both “throw” and soft flood for recognizing items in the up-close to near range distance.
The above beam profile is a rough interpretation of what is seen when white wall hunting. The beam has a somewhat circular hotspot with some slight corona and very little spill (almost all of the beam produced is focused into the hotspot). There are some beam artifacts in the beam when whitewall hunting but not visible in real world usage.
All of the beamshots taken below are done so with the following camera settings (MOONLIGHT: 3.2sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, LOW: 1.3sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, MID: 0.5sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, HIGH: 1/5sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB and TURBO: 1/13sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB).
Some pictures have been adjusted slightly to depict as close as to what is seen in real life. The distance of the light from the door is 4.6m.
Control shot:
MOONLIGHT (0.5 lumens):
LOW (12 lumens):
MID (60 lumens):
HIGH (300 lumens):
TURBO (1200 lumens):
Mode (Output) Spacing
Mode spacing appears to be progressively brighter to the eye and the modes are well spaced enough to be able to know which mode one is currently in. With that in mind, TLR tend to view mode spacing as battery life indicators (amount of runtime left) rather than the specific output (lumens).
We are very happy to report that the MOONLIGHT mode is perfect for those bedtime night snack runs or with night-adjusted eyes, especially since there is a Direct Access option from OFF.
On side note, the HIGH mode on the Baton 3 has been improved to a more manageable 300 lumens (vs 600 lumens on the Olight S1R II Baton model) for a cooler and longer runtime.
Tint & CRI
The tint is said to be between 6000K to 7000K, with a guesstimate 70CRI (Color Rendering Index) Rating for the LED used in the light.
However, there are tint shifts throughout the beam profile. The hotspot is cool white whilst the corona possess a slight yellow-green tint; and the spill having a slight purple tint.
This is however, not as noticeable in real life.
Waterproofness
The light was subjected to warm water submersion, followed by cold water submersion and left under room temperature running water tap whilst running on TURBO. (Note: TURBO mode only last 1min 30secs before it drops to 300 lumens.)
No signs of water intrusion in the head, switch or body was seen.
Note: The Wireless Charging Case is not waterproof.
Lockout Capability
Electronic lockout and mechanical lockout are possible when needed, like during transportation in a bag.
A quarter turn (anti-clockwise) of the tail portion of the light will enable mechanical lockout.
For Electronic lockout, see above “Electronic Lockout”, on how to activate and deactivate LOCKOUT.
Quick Comparison to Previous Generation
| Description | Olight Baton 3 | Olight S1R II Baton |
|---|---|---|
| LED | Luminus SST-40 | Cree XM-L2 |
| TURBO Mode Output | 1200 Lumens | 1000 Lumens |
| Beam Distance | 166 meters | 145 meters |
| Beam Intensity | 6,889cd | 5,250cd |
| Weight (including Battery) | 53g | 51g |
| Charging Option | MCC or Wireless Charger Case (Premium Edition only) | MCC |
| Wireless Charger Case | Yes, with Premium Edition Option only | No Option |
| Microfiber Cleaning Cloth | Yes, with Premium Edition Option only | No Option |
Scale Comparison (Ruler)
Summary
To sum up, we believe that the most important part of any review is if given the chance to purchase the same light for our own EDC or to gift to our loved ones out from one’s pocket (wallet), would we still do it?
For this light, it is a definite YES, if the tint shift is not an issue for your usage.
The standard option of Black or Red color (besides the Blue and Orange Limited Edition), straightforward UI with Direct Access to MOONLIGHT, TURBO & STROBE from OFF, strong magnet in the tailcap, dual-directional pocket clip, surprising inclusion of the Microfiber Cleaning Cloth and Wireless Charger Case (capable of charging the Baton 3 up to 3.7 times & is backward compatible with first & second generation Baton models) are all plus points for this flashlight.
That said, it would be nice if Olight gave the option of Neutral White or even High CRI LED option.
Here is a bonus size comparison with some of the other EDC-friendly flashlights we reviewed previously.
From Left to Right: Foursevens Mini Mk III, Olight Perun Mini, Olight S1R II Baton, Olight Baton 3, Oveready BOSS 35 and Olight M1T Raider.
As with all gears, two is one and one is none.
Stay safe,
The Lite Review
Disclaimer: Light was provided for by Olight (manufacturer) for this review. No other compensation was provided.
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Olight Baton 3
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