Product Review, Olight S1R Baton and Odin Mini

In case you all haven’t figured it out, I’m not a rich person. The only reason I have nice stuff is that I’m old and have slowly accumulated this stuff/junk.

A few years ago, I purchased a replacement EDC light. Prior to this, I was using a Mini MagLite. The type that took two AA batteries. I had upgraded to the good bulbs.

The problem I had with these lights is that they were always dead when I went to use them. They would turn on in their holster or in my pocket. By the time I noticed, they were dead. While they had a spare bulb in the battery cap, I don’t like mucking around changing bulbs in the dark.

All of my MagLites were dead. The big ones, the mini’s. All of them. I had been using the cheap LED lights but decided to take a step-up. I purchased a $70 flashlight.

Given that I was used to spending $20 to $30 for a Mini MagLite, this was a big price difference.

What a difference. I use that little Olight every single day. Not an exaggeration.

First, it is tiny. Barely 3 inches long and about the size of a nickle. It comes with a reversible clip. When in the default orientation, the emitter is pointing out of your pocket when clipped to your pocket. This means that you can clip it to the bill of a cap and have an excellent light source.

It has a single control, a side push button.

So what makes this thing so damn amazing? The amount of light it throws along with its run time.

The mode I use most often is the “moon” mode. This is a 0.5 Lumen mode. This is the mode I use at night, moving around the house when the lights are out. It makes more than enough light to see 10 to 15 feet in the dark, but it doesn’t blow out your night vision.

A single click turns it off or on.

If it is on, you can press and hold, and it will cycle to the next brightness mode. 12, 60, 300 Lumens. 300 Lumens will nicely light the world. At 300 Lumens it has a 60-minute run time, at 60 Lumens it has a 4.5 hour run time. At 12 Lumens, 33 hours. If you are only using the 0.5 Lumen mode, it has a 15-day run time.

That is a heck of a long time.

In addition to the normal modes, there is a 600 Lumen mode and a 900Lumin mode. When I’m going after trash pandas, I will sometimes use the 600 Lumen mode. I had forgotten how to get into the 900 Lumen mode.

There is also a 13hz strobe mode.

One of the reasons I chose this light was that it was rechargeable. It has a magnet attach charging connector. Put the tail near the charger pad and they jump together. The charge indicator goes red. When it turns green, the battery is fully charged.

But wait! There’s more! Rechargeable is all well and fine, but what if you can’t recharge your battery? That is another outstanding feature of this particular light. It takes a regular 123 cell. This is not rechargeable, and non-olight rechargeable batteries don’t recharge in the light. This means that if you need light, you’ve got it. My package came with both the Olight rechargeable battery and a regular 123 cell as backup.

One of the side benefits of that magnetic charging system is that you can attach this light to any steel item. The other day, I was replacing the igniter in my oven. I had the light in 12 Lumen mode and just stuck to the roof of the oven. This gave me more than enough light to work with. Because it is so small, it goes into places where I could not get a big work light.

The S1R Baton is no longer made. They have follow on versions that have nearly the same features. I would not hesitate to buy any of them.

Which takes us to the Odin Mini. Because the Baton is side activated, many of the tactical light grips don’t work. It is also so small that sometimes it is hard to orient. This has become an issue when dealing with trash bandits.

I picked up the Odin Mini because it was a weapon mount light that had a quick detach. It can easily be used in your hand as well as when mounted on the provided M-Loc mount point. The package came with a charger that works with my Baton, the mounting hardware. The pressure switch for weapon mounting is also included.

It all just works.

The control is in the tail cap. There are two brightness modes, 300 and 1250. Yeah, the low power is at the “normal max” for the Baton. The 1250 Lumen mode will really light up the dark.

Again, there is only a single control. To activate the bright mode, press hard. To activate the low mode, press softer. A quick click and stays on. Click and hold to have the light go off when you release pressure.

The pressure switch uses the same quick or long, but only activates high mode.

As an off weapon light, it works well. On the weapon it works well.

For me, the big thing was learning that there is a huge difference between what I need for a weapons light and what I need for every day. This thing is too bright for most everyday uses. As a weapons light, in my environment, it is damn near perfect. The only thing that would improve it is if I could select the low mode from the pressure switch.

If you want more, they have a version with a built-in green light laser. You can mount the light and then zero the laser to the point of impact. The GL is visible in both low light situations and most bright situations. The laser can be run with the white light, by itself, or just the white light.

There is a big brother version, the Odin (vs. Odin Mini). I considered it, but I didn’t need the extra Lumens, nor did I need the laser option.

I’m currently looking at their Warrior series as a second, slightly larger, EDC light. One of the requirements is that the light must have a tail switch.


Comments

9 responses to “Product Review, Olight S1R Baton and Odin Mini”

  1. curby Avatar

    Sounds like a nice light. I had a surefire that took the cr123 batteries. Problem with those is they didn’t last long and the price of them skyrocketed. For the serious low budget guys check out Tractor Supply, they have a 600 lumen light that comes with a rechargeable battery a remote switch and a 45 degree rail mount-$30. I have 2, one I carry for work and use it every day. The charge lasts 2 weeks at least. And it can take 2 cr123s if needed.

  2. it's just Boris Avatar
    it’s just Boris

    Thanks!

    I’m a fan of rechargeable lights … but especially those that can take regular batteries as well.
    .
    Re magnetic attachment chargers they are incredibly convenient, but you need to be careful neither side picks up metal shavings. So I would hesitate to recommend them to someone who does any amount of metal working, or works in an environment that can generate chips etc, for instance in a car repair shop or gunsmith. Also just ordinary lint can sometimes keep them from making good contact.

    1. I’m a home machinist. I do understand what you are talking about. The older Olights, with the MCC charger, sometimes collect metal parts, but I found it easy to wipe clean with a cloth. The new ones are even easier to clean.
      .
      I have had no issues using this in an auto shop environment, I’ve even used the magnetic base to fetch things to me. I don’t use it in my metal shop because I have other lights that are purpose built. Including flashlights.

  3. Slow Joe Crow Avatar
    Slow Joe Crow

    I’ve seen multiple opinions on Olight, some swear by them, some swear at them. The primary objections I see are excessive heat and build quality issues. I’m inclined to either spend a little more on Streamlight or save lot and use Coast lights. My everyday pocket light is a Coast G19 that uses a AAA battery, throws a very tight 60 lumen pen beam and costs $10. It’s a little dim for walking to the mailbox but great for poking around computers and wiring racks

    1. ragnar_d Avatar
      ragnar_d

      I’ve got one of those G19 pen lights as well, it recently gave up the ghost but it was as handy as a pocket on a shirt and can be replaced for cheap. I just recently got a Cloud Defensive “Chicro” when they were running a big 30% off sale and it’s replaced my other admin lights. The little bugger is smaller than my G19 but puts out 350 lumens in a nice flood pattern. Add in it being a rechargeable light that I can top off with a USB-C and I’m looking to add more when they run another flash sale like that.

  4. ragnar_d Avatar
    ragnar_d

    I’m no fan of O-Light due to some of the reasons mentioned above (heat and batteries going exothermic among them), but I’m curious to see how they work out for you long term.
    .
    I’m going to stick with my Coast, Streamlight, old Surefires, and Cloud Defensive for now. Albeit, the latter was a big splurge . . . and I don’t regret it at all.

    1. There is an XKCD entry that shows numerous reviews for a “storm warning” phone application. The application had a 4.8 star rating. All the 5 star ratings ranted about how great the UI was and how pretty the app was. The one 1 start review reported that the app failed to work at warning about a storm.
      .
      I’ve read the reviews on Olights. The two samples I have show excellent build quality. The original instructions for the S1R Baton were written in poor Engrish.
      .
      I ordered my S1R Baton in May 2018. I’ve been using it daily since it arrived. The only failures I’ve had were cured by removing the end cap and screwing the end cap back on. It has been reliable for me. At the high output levels, it has gotten warm before ticking down to the next lower setting.
      .
      Having said all of this, I think the Olight offerings fit the same quality/price point as Vortex optics. Not as good as the best, not nearly as bad as the worst, and better than expected for the price.

      1. ragnar_d Avatar
        ragnar_d

        Sounds like an entirely reasonable rationale and use case. I know that it can be a lot like other brands, they can improve over time and try to shed the issues of the past but things linger on.
        .
        If they keep doing work, I’m open to them becoming a workable proposition.

  5. Bad Dancer Avatar
    Bad Dancer

    Olight was a dirty word for a while and has since really turned their QA and design apartment around. Those magnetic chargers are darned handy for an every day carry light and I am fully convinced dual fuel flashlights are the future from a conveniance and prepping standpoint.

    I carry a small Fenix flashlight that is similar to this, is yours light enough to wear it on the brim of a hat for an emergency headlamp?