
Today I have another Olight i5T EOS – this AA flashlight is made of brass! it’s really similar to the previous iterations, but the shiny brass really sets it apart. Read on for thoughts and testing!
Official Specs and Features of the Olight i5T EOS Brass AA Flashlight
Here’s a link to the official product page. (affiliate link!)
Versions
Price
$31.96 with early access! Get yours here. I believe the sale starts today!
Flash sale date: 8:00 PM January 25th -11:59 PM January 26th EST. VIP customers have early access to sale starting from January 21th.
Products on sale are as below (affiliate links):
1. Open 2 Blue (Limited Edition), 25% off, $44.96;
2. i5T EOS Brass(Limited Edition), 20% off, $31.96;
3. ALL Bundles are 35% OFF :
- Open 2 Blue bundle i5T EOS Brass, 35% off, $64.94
- S1R II bundle Baton Pro, 35% off, $100.69
- S1R II bundle S2R II, 35% off, $87.69
- i5T OD Green bundle i5T Purple , 35% off, $42.84
- Warrior X Pro Black bundle I5T Purple, 35% off, $99.39
- M1T Plus Desert Tan bundle i5T Purple, 35% off, $60.39
- PL-MINI 2 Black bundle i5T Purple, 35% off, $79.89
- PL-MINI 2 OD Green bundle i3T Ti, 35% off, $82.49
- PL-MINI 2 OD Green bundle Open 2 Blue, 35% off, $97.44
4. Free Tiers:
1) Over $129 get a FREE i3T Black (MAP: $19.95)
2) Over $199 get a FREE M1T Plus Desert Tan (MAP: $59.95)
3) Over $299 get a FREE Seeker 2 (MAP: $89.95)
Short Review
This is a nice little simple light. I like the operation being just two modes and nothing else cluttering up the UI. I don’t love the emitter – it’s a bit cool. The switch is great.
Olight i5T EOS Brass AA Flashlight Long Review
The Big Table
Olight i5T EOS Brass AA Flashlight | |
---|---|
Emitter: | Osram P9 (Cool White) |
Price in USD at publication time: | $31.96 early release price at OlighStore.com |
Cell: | 1xAA (primary cell included) |
High Runtime Graph | Low Runtime Graph |
LVP? | |
Switch Type: | Mechanical |
On-Board Charging? | No |
Claimed Lumens (lm) | 300 |
Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 310 (103.3% of claim)* |
Candela per Lumen | 3.4 |
Claimed Throw (m) | 60 |
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 84lux @ 3.459m = 1005cd |
Throw (Calculated) (m) | 63.4 (105.7% of claim)* |
All my Olight reviews! |
- Measurement disclaimer: I am an amateur flashlight reviewer. I don’t have $10,000 or even $1,000 worth of testing equipment. I test output and such in PVC tubes!! Please consider claims within 10% of what I measure to be perfectly reasonable (accurate, even).
What’s Included
- Olight i5T EOS Brass Flashlight
- Primary AA cell
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
The build quality is very good. The brass both looks good (very very goldish) and also has a nice heft. The spirals on the body – I’m just indifferent about these. They certainly don’t provide exceptional grip but they don’t hinder and the light is perfectly fine for holding anyway.
Many (really “most”) of the features except for the brass material are the same as my previous i5T EOS (in anodized aluminum). So much of that text will be seen here as well. I don’t think the light has seen changes except in body material.
One thing I do like is the reeding on the tailcap. Very helpful for unscrewing for cell swaps.
I am really unsure if this brass is coated. It does smell like brass if you get right on it, but it doesn’t leave brass residual smell on my hands. So I’m hard pressed to say one way or the other. Due to the shiny nature, I’d say it’s coated. Due to how it smells, I’d say it’s not coated. Due to it being awesome, I’d say I don’t care either way.
What looks like a seam right here in the head really is not. Oh if it were though. Then emitter changes could be easy, and we could put in something warm, since brass lights should always have warm emitters.
I was am happy to note that the tailcap internals of this light, which have previously been copper, are brass here.
The threads are very nice, too. Square cut and unanodized, and not too long.
The head has a brass button.
The bezel is flat, so headstanding (the only kind of standing this light can do) doesn’t allow light to escape.
Size and Comps
The i5T is 95mm long and 17.8mm in diameter. The weight is 101.5g.
If a light will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If a light will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually the fourth photo).
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple. A very nice 18650 light.
And here’s the light beside my custom engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 format.
When grabbing lights for the photoshoot, I accidentally grabbed my i3T, which is titanium, thinking I was grabbing my other i5T. Turns out I never could find my aluminum i5T. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Retention and Carry
The included way to carry this light is the two-way friction fit clip. This one’s is a brass color that matches the body fairly well. I don’t typically love two-way clips, but this is by no means the worst iteration I’ve seen. It’s fairly slim (noteworthy because bulk of these two-ways is one big complaint of mine).
There’s a lanyard hole on the shoulder. (No lanyard is included).
Here’s the pocket clip hug. This is a friction fit clip.
The clip is two way but not reversible, but due to this it’s usable as a hatlight. The weight might make it balance poorly there though.
Power and Runtime
The i5T EOS Brass runs on a single AA cell. Lithium ion is not supported, but all 1.5V types are. I tested exclusively with an IKEA LADDA.
Low voltage protection is not seen, but the output does drop down very low, which will be noticeable. There’s a timed stepdown after 3 minutes, to “50%” which should be 150 lumens.
Unlike my previous test of the i5T, I did test Low with the brass. Low is extremely well regulated, and with this 2000mAh (or so) LADDA AA, the duration before stepdown is over 27 hours.
And let me tell you, my old computer and old version of Excel did not like processing that data! Fortunately the line is extremely flat, which actually helps quite a lot.
Modes and Currents
Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
---|---|---|---|---|
High | 300 | 310 | 1.61 | |
Low | 20 | 14 | 0.07 |
Pulse Width Modulation
There’s something on Low, but not PWM. Just sawtooth, and I didn’t find it to be noticeable. It’s very fast.
For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor. And here’s the worst PWM light I have ever owned. Also one of the very first lights I ordered directly from China!
User Interface and Operation
There’s a single switch on the i5T EOS Brass. It’s a proud rubber cover mechanical clicky on the tail. It has an extremely good feel.
It seems a bit unusual in that it seems to have hard sides with an internal soft stippled contact point. The hard sides make the action very smooth, and the stippled center bit make it easy to grip.
Here’s a UI table!
State | Action | Result |
---|---|---|
Off | Click | Low |
Off | Tap | Momentary Low |
On (more than 2s) | Click | Off |
Off | Double click | High |
On (less than 2s) | Click | High |
LED and Beam
I can’t find it in the literature but based on searches on the web this is a Osram P9 emitter. The light uses a TIR and has a beam with mostly spot, and a little spill.
These beamshots are always with the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.
Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)
Test light is on the left!
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348, because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Nice build quality
- Very simple UI
- Switch cover is surprisingly great
- Reeding on the tailcap makes for easy grip
- It’s brass. Who can’t love that.
What I don’t like
- Osram P9 – there’s probably a better choice for this light than the P9.
- An extra mode wouldn’t hurt my feelings
Notes
- This light was provided by Olight for review. I was not paid to write this review.
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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Olight should have learned by now that not everyone wants cool emitters especially on special editions. I wonder how much business they lose due to this inflexible policy of theirs. As for me I stopped buying their lights for this reason because there are so many better options for warm emitters that don’t need custom mods.
The honest truth is that Olight almost certainly knows what masses buy, and that’s why they sell what they sell. You and I may not be too excited about cool white, but probably the vast majority really don’t care. All the reports that I’ve seen is that when Olight does make something with a great color temperature, it doesn’t even sell well anyway.
For example the Warrior X Pro had a warm (or “neutral”, maybe). https://zeroair.org/2020/10/20/olight-warrior-x-pro-flashlight-review-the-best-cree-xhp35-2-hi-flashlight/ One way to support Olight putting these emitters in more lights would be to buy the lights they do offer, like this one!