Preface
The Olight M1T Raider is the latest in the Olight M Series – with the prior one being the Olight M2T Warrior.
The Olight M Series are reserved for their tactical flashlights and in this case, the M1T seems like a great tactical backup flashlight or is it?
Packaging & First Impressions
This is what the light will come with as shown below.
- The threads and o-rings were mildly lubricated. Threads were rather smooth and clean (no gritty feeling).
- The tail switch can be easily accessed to activate the light and require a slightly firm force to activate.
- Clip is not reversible. However, the dual-direction clip enables for bezel up/down carries & allows for attachment of the light to a cap for hands-free usage.
- The pocket clip has sufficient tension to ensure that the light will stay clipped to any material to prevent the light from falling out.
- Anodizing of the light is uniform without any missing specs, as expected from Olight.
- The provided lanyard is able to support the full weight of the light and should hold up to the test of time.
- No holster is provided.
- Battery compartment holds a AW 16340 battery with sufficient room for a slightly thicker battery width.
- Scanning the QR code with your phone/tablet on the box’s side would bring up the Olight M1T Raider’s product page.
Note: Before using the flashlight for first time, remove the yellow insulating film from the battery’s terminal first (unscrew tailcap first).
Front:
Back:
Sides:
Top:
Bottom:
Box Contents:
Quick Overview (Manufacturer Specifications)
- Body Material: Black Aluminium
- LED: Luminus SST40
- Battery Format: 1 x 16340/RCR123A or 1 x CR123a ONLY
- Output & Runtime (with Olight CR123A 1600mAh battery):
- Low (5 lumens / 100h)
- High (500 lumens / 5min) -> (300 lumens / 2h)
- Output & Runtime (with RCR123A battery):
- Low (5 lumens / 50h)
- High (500 lumens / 5min) -> (300 lumens / 1h 5min)
- Max Beam Distance: 97m
- Beam intensity: 2,350cd
- Waterproofness: IPX-8 Standard
- Impact Resistance: 1.5m
- Dimension: 91mm (length) x 21mm (diameter)
- Weight: 65g (including battery)
- Accessories Included:
- 1*Olight CR123A 1600mAh battery
- 1*Lanyard
- 1* Dual-direction (2 Way) Clip
- MSRP: ~$41
UI (User Interface)
UI for this light is perfect for Every Day Carry (EDC) as it is extremely simple and straightforward to use.
Switching ON and OFF is done by the main switch at the TAIL of the light. It is a forward clicky switch which also enables half press for momentary activation where necessary.
From OFF:
- 1/2 Press – Direct access to MOMENTARY LOW; depress switch entirely (1 Click) to get LOW.
- 2 * 1/2 Press – Direct access to MOMENTARY HIGH; depress switch entirely (1 Click) to get HIGH.
- 1 Click – Direct access to LOW.
From ON:
- 1 Click – Light will switch OFF.
- 2 Click (<~2 sec between the 2 Clicks) – Light will switch to the other MODE.
There is no mode memory for this flashlight, it will always switch on in LOW then HIGH.
There is also no blinky modes (STROBE and/or SOS) available.
Form Factor
For flashlights that are intended to use on a daily basis (EDC)/tactical EDC and for possibly a long period of time, form factor is extremely important.
This light feels well balanced in a medium sized hand (not head/tail-heavy). Switching between overhand and underhand holding method is easy with its form factor.
Like the Olight S1 Mini Baton, Olight has designed a special new knurling naming it “dense double helix” for the new M1T Raider. Aesthetically, the knurling is less aggressive and helps give the light a rather unique appearance to differentiate it from most “black tactical” flashlights. This knurling on the light enables the light to be sufficiently “grippy”, even with wet hands/gloves.
It has a protruding tail switch, which unfortunately takes away the ability to tail-stand, but helps in being able to thumb-activate the light from any angle effortlessly. This easy-to-activate tail switch is definitely in-line with the requirements of a true tactical-orientated light.
With the included clip, a portion of the M1T Raider would be protruding out from one’s pocket or holster and thus enabling the user to “quick deploy/draw” from said pocket/holster.
Beam Style/Beamshots
For this light, the spill, corona and hotspot is somewhat predictable due to the TIR (Total Internal Reflection) optics. The LED is fully covered under the TIR optics. With the LED used, the beam is still sufficiently “throwy” 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 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 ([For both CR123A and RCR123A battery] LOW: 2 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB and HIGH: 1/5 sec, 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.
CR123A BATTERY
Control shot:
LOW (5 lumens):
HIGH (500 lumens):
RCR123A BATTERY
Control shot:
LOW (5 lumens):
HIGH (500 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).
For most tactical-orientated lights, users tend to prefer a simple HIGH/LOW interface, especially under duress. That said, with the UI starting with LOW of 5 lumens for up-close tasks and HIGH for other usage – it makes this flashlight one of the better tactical backup flashlights that is currently available.
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 6000K and 70CRI ballpark.
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 High.
No signs of water intrusion in the head, switch or body was seen.
Lockout Capability
No electronic lockout but mechanical lockout is possible when needed, like during transportation in a bag.
A quarter turn (anti-clockwise) of the left side portion (battery cap) of the light will enable mechanical lockout.
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; especially if you are looking for a tactical backup EDC.
The straightforward 2 modes UI, great for up-close usage beam profile provided by the TIR optics and dual-direction (2 Way) clip are all plus points for the M1T Raider.
However, the lack of the ability to tail-stand due to its protruding tactical-orientated tail switch might be seen as a disadvantage for some. For others, this flashlight could be the perfect tactical backup EDC or even placed in a Bug-Out Bag (BOB) when installed with a primary CR123A battery – since those batteries have a 10 year shelf life.
Here is a bonus size comparison with some of the other tactical-orientated flashlights that we recommend as well.
From Left to Right: Included Olight CR123A, Oveready BOSS 35, Elzetta Alpha, Olight M1T Raider, Olight M2T Warrior.
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.
Where to Buy Links
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Olight M1T Raider
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Available Discount Coupon Codes
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Through a contest on the official Olight Facebook page I am the one who named it the Raider and was told once it hits the USA I will be receiving one. It seems they cannot telle when that will be and to just be patient. As the Raider is available to purchase on amazon I was hoping you might know when it could be here in the states?
Wow, that’s interesting! Must have missed the naming contest on their FB page and congrats on winning one!
Our understanding is that it should be available for purchase from Olight USA, within these 2 weeks (we do not have an exact date either).
email Shirley@olightworld.com for the updated information with your prize .