Olight S1A Baton Flashlight Review
The Olight S1A Baton flashlight uses a Cree XM-L2 emitter and runs on a single AA cell. Read on for more testing and thoughts.
Olight S1A Baton Official Specs
Here’s a link to the Olight S1A Baton Flashlight product page.
KEY FEATURES:
- Cree XM-L2 LED
- Powered by one AA battery. Conventional output: 0.5 lumens, 5 lumens, 50 lumens, 220 lumens, strobe mode at 10Hz.
- Special output: turbo mode at 600 lumens (only available when a 14500 rechargeable lithium battery is used)
- High light transmission rate TIR lens resulting in a balanced and useful beam
- Eco-friendly AL6061-T6 aluminum alloy body with anti-scratch Milspec type-III hard anodized finish and a blue PVD stainless steel ring on the switch and bezel
- Controlled by a thermal protection program, the turbo mode is limited to 1 minute, and then the brightness gradually steps down to 50% of the initial brightness (only available when a 14500 rechargeable lithium battery is used)
- Built-in timer: Short timer (3 minutes) or Long timer (9 minutes)
This product has the following specifications (ANSI/NEMA FL1-2009 Standards):
| Thing | Rating |
|---|---|
| Max Output (lumens) | 600 |
| Low (lumens) | 0.5 |
| Max Run Time (hours) | 25 days |
| Beam Distance | 118 m / 387 ft. |
| Peak Beam Intensity (candela units) | 3,480 cd |
| Water Resistance | IPX8 (up to 2 meters) |
| Impact Resistance | 1.5 m / 4.9 ft. |
| Head Diameter | 0.83 in. / 21 mm |
| Length | 3.13 in. / 79.5 mm |
| Battery Type | 14500 |
| Weight (oz) | 1.2900 |
| pocketclip | No |
| User Manual | N/A |
The above section contains the manufacturer’s descriptions and claims, not my impressions or results.
Short Review
Spectacular AA light, with potential for even greater output using a 14500 cell.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Olight S1A Baton | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Cree XM-L2 |
| Price in USD at publication time: | – |
| Cell: | 1×14500 |
| Turbo Runtime | |
| LVP? | ? |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 600 |
| All my Olight reviews! | |
What’s Included
- Olight S1A Baton Flashlight
- Lanyard
- User Manual
- 1.5V Lithium Iron Disulfide Battery
- Spare o-ring
- Pocket clip
Quality, Build, and Disassembly
Being an Olight, you can trust that the build quality of the S1A is excellent. This light is no exception. Build quality is on par with my Olight S1 (brushed titanium). The threads are nicely lubricated, and though few and small, do appear to be square-cut. The body metal is thin, and occasionally one may have to be careful threading the tailcap on, but the square-cut threads do help here.
The S1A appears to have a physical means of reverse polarity protection. The head end of the battery tube has a rubber donut that should keep a reverse-input cell from making contact. The positive terminal is a little brass (?) ball – first time I’ve seen anything like it. Contact is good, of course.
The blue anodized bezel is press-fit in. While that can be removed, I chose not to (as it’s quite difficult, and often also destructive).
The clip comes off easily, but as far as disassembly, there’s not much more to do.
I always like spotting the leads through the TIR optic. (One can see the red wire, through it there.)
Package and Manual
The package is a display-type package. There’s a little hang tag on top, a QR code on the side, and the whole package is clear plastic, so one can view the goodies. The light is held in place by an o-ring. Note that this is your spare o-ring, so don’t cut it to get the light out! Some people complain about this, and some people don’t mention it… I think it’s clever, and I appreciate one less thing to throw in the trash. I do wish the package itself were recyclable; I kind of prefer a cardboard package. I’m sure the visibility does help sell, though: this is a nice-looking light.
The English part of the manual is a total of 4 pages, and there are a whole host of other languages included. The manual is fair and explains things nicely. The UI and specs are on one side, and the warranty, etc, is on the other.
Power and Runtime
The S1A runs on a single cell: AA or 14500. It ships with a 1.5V Lithium Olight-branded primary (non-rechargeable) cell. Also runs on alkaline and Eneloops.
I will not fault Olight here, but it would have been awesome of Olight, since they’re providing a cell – to include a 14500. Olight even has Olight-branded 3.7V 14500 cells, and a 2-pack is only $9.95. Since this light will only achieve turbo when using a 14500, the light thus performs best with a 14500, and Olight would have been nice to provide one. However, that would oblige them to provide a charger, so I do understand the logic.
Three types of runtime.
The hard cutoffs suggest (as /u/Zak said) that the stepdowns are voltage-based. One could argue that the stepdown from turbo is designed to skirt FL1 standards – I would not make that argument. The light stays on turbo for almost a minute, and FL1 standards require 30 seconds.
Otherwise, the stepdowns are fine, and a sort of “user-oriented” stepdown. The fact that the stepdowns are voltage-based does lend credence to the possibility that the light does have low voltage protection, but that LVP kicks in at a lower threshold than my tolerance to test it. Anyway, you can judge that for yourself:
14500 Turbo Cooled, Stopped, and the cell was 2.88V.
14500 High Uncooled, Stopped at 2.77V.
Eneloop AA High Cooled, Stopped at 1.12V.
So, I can not say for certain whether this light has low voltage protection or not. It is not mentioned in the manual (usually it would be), and most other commentary about the light does not indicate that it has LVP. These runtime tests would indicate the same. Normally, a light would terminate output above 2.77V (as with the 14500), but I actually shut the test off at that point myself, and there was still light being produced. Take that for what you will. Many people will prefer LVP, and I know some do not. If you’re sensible about it, this shouldn’t really matter.
Sidenote on the Eneloop AA test – there was a testing error at the ~40-minute mark. My guess is that the “high” setting should be basically flat all the way to about 70 minutes, at which point the light drops to low, or nearly low.
User Interface and Operation
There is one silicone-capped side button on the S1a. The user interface is complex but not complicated, and the same as other current-generation, smaller Olights.
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Press | Last mode (Memory) |
| Off | Hold | Moonlight |
| Off | Double Click | High (Turbo with 14500) |
| On | Press | Off |
| On | Hold | L>M>H |
| On | Double click | Timer of current mode |
| Any | Triple Click | 10Hz Strobe |
Notes:
- Timer works in moonlight (also).
- Timer seems to remember the last timer used, and double-clicking to turn on timer selects the next timer (ie if you used 3m last time, 9m is next.
There are a bunch of lights now requiring a user to hold the button to turn the light off. The Olight S1A is thankfully not like that – just a quick click and it’s off.
There is no electronic lockout for this light.
The user interface is friendly – it’s unlikely to accidentally get strobe, and if you do accidentally get a wrong mode, it’s not likely to be a mode worse for your need than that you expected (ie, you probably won’t carelessly get turbo if looking for moonlight.) That’s one thing I have liked about all the Olight’s I’ve owned: the user interface is trustworthy.
LED and Beam
The emitter is an XM-L2, behind a TIR optic. I happen to be a huge fan of TIR optics, and this one works just like you’d expect. There’s a nice, even spot, with little spill, and not even much corona. For a light like this, typically as an EDC light, this is a great beam shape.
There is no mention of which XM-L2 version this is, but it’s certainly the Cool White (CW) version of the XM-L2 – approximately 5000-8300K. There are also WW and NW versions of the LED, but they are not available in this light. Even though it’s well on the cool side, I wouldn’t call the tint blue. It’s more of a greenish tint to me, but even at that, it’s not a bad tint in any way whatsoever.
Beamshots
These beamshots always have the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level, and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.
14500:
AA:
Retention
Even though the manufacturer specs say it comes with no clip, it does come with a pocket clip installed. There’s also a lanyard. The lanyard has a nice little pin, so threading through the hole in the tailcap will be easy. And a tailcap magnet! If you’ve read my reviews long enough, you’ll know that I love tailcap magnets, and these Olight ones are great. The clip is reversible, though if you reverse it from how it ships, the clip tip will extend slightly past the output end of the light. As it ships, it’s an “emitter up” configuration. And the light will tailstand. (Headstand too, but with a flush bezel, that’s not any way to use a light.)
There’s a tab on the inside of the clip, designed to hold the light in place more securely. I found it difficult to get the clip over my pants past that tab. Others have used a Dremel to remove that tab, and I think this light would be good without that tab, too.
Without the pocket clip, the light does roll relatively freely.
Size
The S1A is a great AA-sized light. I was recently corrected when I said that the Klarus Mi7 seemed a little long for what it is – the 87mm Mi7 is actually shorter than the median AA-sized light. Well, the S1A answers my specious claim, as it’s quite a bit shorter even than the Mi7, at 79.5mm. The diameter is also perfect for clipping to a pocket (that’s where I always carry my EDC light!)
Everyone knows how big Chapstick is, right? The S1A carries much like a Chapstick.
Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)
I keep the test flashlight on the left and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.
Random Comparisons….
This S1A is an update to the S15, an XM-L emitter light. The XM-L2 of the S1A gives over double the output (and for a longer rated time), has a much higher peak beam intensity (3480 vs 1750 rated), and is both shorter and narrower. Versus the S15, the S1A seems like a clear upgrade.
It’s also hard not to compare this to the recent Olight S1. I have the brushed titanium version, and I love it. Notably, it’s a neutral white light, an option not available on the S1A. Size-wise, the S1A feels much better in-pocket, and also never tips out, something my S1 has done from time to time. The user interface is the same, and the tint between the two isn’t that different. If you’re married to AA’s, then the S1A is a definite win here.
S1A vs S1 size:
Tail.
Head.
Height.
Clip.
Button.
Bezel
Vs many other lights.
Vs a few other similarly sized lights.
Conclusion
What I like
- Small
- Accepts 14500 cell
- Nice runtime, and the stepdowns are fine
- Build quality is great (and it looks great, too!)
- No accidental activation issues.
- Magnet!!
What I don’t like
- Ships with 1.5V lithium primary, not a 14500.
- Really, not anything else. It’s a quality package.
Final Thoughts
This is a great little light and a very solid upgrade from the Olight S15. I’m happy to have it alongside my brushed titanium S1 and would love to see this model come in some titanium options. I recommend the light and expect you’ll love it!
Parting Shot
What a great little pocket light!
Notes
- This light was provided for review by Olight, facilitated by Calvin at Illumn. Thanks to both!!
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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