Olight Open Pro EDC Flashlight Pen Combo Review
The Olight Open Pro is the third edition of this device from Olight, and yet another refinement. The bolt action pen features a pocket clip emitter and an e-switch. Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a referral link to the official product page on olightstore.com.
Versions
Just two versions as far as I can tell. Blue and black (seen here). Blue is limited edition!
Price
The Olight Open Pro is selling now for the introductory sale price of $48.97 (for black) and $52.47 for blue. They’re both available at Olightstore.com.
As usual, here’s some Olight sale info you probably need to know!
Summer Sale Date: 8:00 PM 7/26 to 11:59 PM 7/30 EDT
During the Olight sale, A free X9R Cell (value $15.95) will be added to the shopping cart when customers log in to their accounts.
Open Pro
Open Pro Black, 30% OFF, $48.97 (MAP: $69.95);
Bundle i3T BK, 40% OFF, $53.94 (MAP: $89.90);
Bundle Open Pro Blue, 40% OFF, $86.94 (MAP: $144.90)
Open Pro Blue (limited edition), 30% OFF, $52.47 (MAP: $74.95);
Bundle Obulb Purple, 40% OFF, $56.94 (MAP: $94.90)
Short Review
Bolt action pens are still not my jam, but I appreciate the other improvements on the Olight Open Pro. The pocket clip emitter adds functionality (can be used while clipped!) and there’s now a laser! This is a better Open.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Olight O’Pen Pro | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Unstated, but “3000K” |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $48.97 |
| Cell: | Internal 110mAh LiPO |
| Turbo Runtime Graph | High Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph (see description below) | |
| Power off Charge Port | Yes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 120 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 111 (92.5% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 0.4 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 14 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 11lux @ 2.256m = 56cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 15.0 (107.1% of claim)^ |
| All my Olight reviews! | |
^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.
What’s Included
- Olight Open Pro Pen Flashlight Combo
- Ink refill (spare)
- Charge cable (USB to USB-C)
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
The build quality here is good, and fairly standard fare for Olight.
I took forever to figure out what that little thing on the “clicker” (it’s not a clicker) was. I thought it was a capacitive switch for the longest. Turns out it’s not, it’s just the green laser output area!
The flashlight part easily disconnects from the pen part. This is really two separate devices!
Size and Comps
| Weight | 1.23oz/35g (Including Battery and Refill) |
| Length | Length: 6.02in/153mm (Tip Retracted) |
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight 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 formats.
Retention and Carry
Really just the pocket clip here, and would you expect more? The big improvement with the Olight Open Pro is that the light output is on the pocket clip. So the light can be used while on a pocket!
Power and Runtime
I didn’t tear it down to the cell, but Olight says it’s a 110mAh LiPO. A couple of runtimes follow.
I didn’t observe the light shutting off, but you’ll notice that the output drops dramatically toward the end.
Charging
Charging for the Olight Open Pro is by USB-C. The port is beside the switch light switch.
An appropriate cable is included. It’s USB to USB-C.
This charge graph is a little different. The solid line is charging from USB to USB-C. The dashed line is charging from C to C. So yes, C to C works and is practically the same as with USB.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 120 | 23m | 111 | ? |
| Med | 60 | 45m | 54 | ? |
| Low | 20 | 120m | 20 | ? |
| Moon | 5 | 8h | 15 | ? |
Pulse Width Modulation
Unfortunately, every mode has PWM. And on the lower modes, it’s quite slow (aka “bad”) PWM, too.
Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor.
Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.
User Interface and Operation
A single e-switch operates the electronics of this light/pen combo. The switch is hidden away on the inside of the screwed-together part, and only accessible when the parts are separated.
Again, this is really a two-part device. Something that you’d use separately, most likely.
The e-switch has very low action but is a bit proud so not hard to find when accessible.
However! However, the bolt action of the pen can be pushed upward (toward the flashlight) and can operate the e-switch! It’s really a fantastic bit of design to incorporate the bolt action into the flashlight usage. The operation of sliding the bolt action into the e-switch is the same exactly as just using the e-switch, so I’ll just cover all that with one table.
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | Moon |
| On | Click | Off |
| On | Hold | Mode advance Lowest to highest |
| Any (except laser: on) | Double click | High |
| High | Double Click | Moon (if starting from off) or Mode memory (if starting from on) |
| Off | Hold Switch | Green Laser |
LED and Beam
Olight doesn’t specify the emitter here but does make the specific claim that it’s 3000K.
Again, the emitter on the Olight Open Pro is on the pocket clip, which I find both interesting and fascinating, and probably arguably much more usable than the other iterations of this device.
The laser is neat too and really useful if you’re the type to need a laser pointer.
These beamshots are always with 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.
Below are the four white modes, then two photos of the single green output. The first green laser photo demonstrates that a little bit of smudge or whatever over the laser output area can really diffuse the laser. (But there is just one laser output level.)
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.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Pen
The pen is a fairly common bolt action. I would only use this unattached to the light, and as such it makes a nice small-length pen (which I greatly appreciate.)
This is a standard refill size.
It ships wax capped.
And without the flashlight attached, fits nicely in hand!
Conclusion
What I like
- Pocket clip flashlight output
- USB-C charging
- Two separate devices that work fine separately
- Warm emitter output (claimed 3000K)
- Green laser is exceptionally useful!
- Bolt action of pen can operate e-switch!
What I don’t like
- Pocket clip flashlight output
- Bolt action pens (all of them)
- Output is almost certainly cooler than 3000K
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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