Preface
The Olight Baton Pro is the flagship model of the Baton series. The closest flashlight in the Baton series would be the Olight S2R Baton II, that is a 1 x 18650-sized flashlight as well.
Let’s check out the merits and demerits of this new generation Olight Baton Pro model.
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.
- The blue clip comes pre-installed from factory.
- Clip is not reversible. However, the dual-direction clip enables decent pocket carry (no deep pocket carry option) with bezel up carry.
- 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.
- The provided lanyard provided comes with a very useful thin metal to help thread into the lanyard hole.
- The lanyard is able to support the full weight of the light and should hold up to the test of time.
- No holster is provided but a nice pouch to hold the light and Magnetic Charging Cable is included.
- Battery compartment is able to take a KeepPower 18650 3400mAh battery with some room to take a slightly thicker battery width. Fatter protected 18650 3500mAh batteries should be able to fit without issue as well.
- The provided 18650 battery (Olight ORB-186C35) will work in other flashlights but Olight advises that it should only be recharged inside this flashlight (do not use other external chargers to recharge).
- Scanning the QR code with your phone/tablet on the box’s side would bring up the Olight Baton Pro’s product page.
Note:
- Before using the flashlight for the first time, remove the Insulation Film from the battery tube.
- Battery is inserted into the battery tube with the Positive end (+) in first.
Front:
Back:
Sides:
Top:
Bottom:
Box Contents:
Removing Insulating Film:
Quick Overview (Manufacturer Specifications)
- Body Material: Aluminium
- Body Color Option:
- Black
- Blue (Limited run edition)
- Clip Material: Stainless Steel
- LED: Cree XHP50.2 CW (Cool White)
- Battery Format: 1 x 18650 or 2 x CR123A ONLY
- Output & Runtime (with included Olight 18650 3.6V/3500mAh battery):
- “Moonlight” (5 lumens / 9days)
- Low (30 lumens / 2days 7h)
- Mid (120 lumens / 13h 30min)
- High (600 lumens / 3h) → (120 lumens / 30min)
- Turbo (2000 lumens / 1min) → (600 lumens / 2h 40min)
- Max Beam Distance: 132m
- Beam intensity: 4,350cd
- Waterproofness: IPX-8 Standard
- Impact Resistance: 1.5m
- Dimension: 108mm (length) x 25mm (diameter)
- Weight: 107g (including batteries)
- Battery reverse polarity protection
- Accessories Included:
- 1*Olight 18650 3.6V/3500mAh battery (Olight ORB-186C35)
- 1*Magnetic Charging Cable
- 1*Pocket Clip
- 1*Lanyard
- 1*Pouch
- MSRP: ~$90
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 & STROBE are memorized only) is activated.
- 2 Click – Direct access to TURBO; 1 Click to switch OFF or HOLD down to switch modes.
- 3 (or more) Click – 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 Click – Direct access to TURBO; 1 Click to switch OFF or HOLD down to switch modes.
- 3 (or more) Click – 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).
Note:
- TURBO mode is memorized as HIGH mode.
- If memorized mode is HIGH mode, after 2 Clicks to enter TURBO mode – an additional 2 Clicks will return light to MID mode instead of previous mode (HIGH).
- 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
There is only 1 type of Power Indicator for this flashlight.
From ON (in all Modes except “MOONLIGHT”), the Side Switch LED will glow one of the following colors:
- GREEN – Power is >70%.
- YELLOW – Power is between 15% – 70%.
- RED – Power is <15%, do recharge or replace the batteries.
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 feels well balanced and in a medium sized hand (not head/tail-heavy). Switching between overhand and underhand holding method is easy with its form factor and weight.
The raised knurling makes the light extremely “grippy” (same as on the Olight S1R Baton II & Olight S2R Baton II), even with wet hands/gloves but not overly aggressive (i.e. still fabric and pockets-friendly).
The new designed 8 circles “dimples” design helps provide better grip on the head area which is especially useful during unscrewing the head for battery changes or mechanical lockout.
Even with the lanyard attached, it is able to tail-stand perfectly without the slightest wobble.
Charging Process
With the provided Magnetic Charging Cable, the battery was charging at ~0.85A.
The light is capable of operating on all modes when charging (at the expense of a slower charging rate). However, it is recommended to use “MOONLIGHT” or “LOW” only, to ensure that the battery does get charged.
Solid RED indicator on the TAIL part of the MCC Charger depicts charging in progress.
Solid GREEN indicator on the TAIL part of the MCC Charger depicts charging has completed.
Note: Charging will not disable the Electronic Lockout mode.
Beam Style/Beamshots
For this light, the spill, corona and hotspot is somewhat predictable due to the TIR (Total Internal Reflection) optic used. The LED is fully covered under the Clear TIR optic (with slight frosting in the middle). 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 wide circular hotspot with some slight corona and wide spill (most 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”: 2sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, LOW: 0.6sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, MID: 1/4sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, HIGH: 1/6sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB and TURBO: 1/15sec, 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” (5 lumens):
LOW (30 lumens):
MID (120 lumens):
HIGH (600 lumens):
TURBO (2000 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 were rather surprised that Olight did away with a true MOONLIGHT mode of under 1 lumen in the flagship Baton Pro model. The “MOONLIGHT” mode of 5 lumens is too bright for bedtime night snack runs or with night-adjusted eyes but is suited for other up-close tasks in day-to-day usage.
On a side note, the HIGH mode (600 lumens) could use a slightly lower output of say 400-500 lumens to ensure a longer runtime – as the difference in output is almost imperceptible to most human eyes.
Tint & CRI
Olight did not disclose the tint (color temperature) and/or the CRI (Color Rendering Index) for the LEDs used in their light. For this light, a guesstimate would be in the 6500K and 70CRI ballpark.
However, there are tint shifts throughout the beam profile. The hotspot is a cool white tint whilst the corona possess a slight yellowish green tint; and the spill having a slight purple tint.
This is still slightly noticeable in real life usage.
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.
No signs of water intrusion in the head, switch or body was seen.
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 Olight S2R II Baton
| Description | Olight Baton Pro | Olight S2R Baton II |
|---|---|---|
| LED Used | Cree XHP50.2 | Luminus SST-40 |
| TURBO Mode Output | 2000 Lumens | 1150 Lumens |
| Beam Distance | 132 meters | 135 meters |
| Beam Intensity | 4,350cd | 4,600cd |
| Weight (including Battery) | 107 grams | 98.5 grams |
| Length of Flashlight | 108 mm | 100 mm |
| Width of Flashlight | 25 mm | 23 mm |
| Battery Included | Yes, 3500mAh | Yes, 3200mAh |
| No. of Clip Provided | 1 (Blue) - Longer than S2R Baton II's Clips | 2 (Black and Blue) |
| TIR Optic Used | Flat on the outside | "Concave" style on the outside |
| Side Switch Size (Diameter) | ~8.5 mm | ~8 mm |
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 lack of a true Moonlight mode is not an issue for your usage.
The straightforward UI with Direct Access to “MOONLIGHT”, TURBO & STROBE from OFF, highest output (2000 lumens) in the Baton series, strong magnet in the tailcap, 8 circles “dimples” design on the head and Magnetic Charging Cable capability are all plus points for this flashlight.
That said, we do hope that a true moonlight mode will be retained for future Olight models, especially in the Baton series.
Here is a bonus size comparison with some of the other similar sized flashlights we reviewed previously.
From Left to Right: Olight S2R II Baton, Olight Baton Pro, Nitecore P18, Olight Seeker 2, Olight Seeker 2 Pro, Olight Warrior X and Nitecore MH25GTS.
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 Pro
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