Olight X9R Cell Flashlight Review

The Olight X9R Cell is a tiny X9R Marauder twin! Made as a keychain light but is probably more useful as just a collector item. Neat though!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the official product page.

Versions

Only one version is available.

Price

The OlightWorld.com site lists these at “$15.95” but in reality, I believe the only way to get one was to have it included with some other purchase.

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Short Review

If you like miniatures of other items you already have, then this Olight X9R Cell is going to be exceptionally appealing.  If you are buying this as a useful keychain light, then you will be disappointed – it’s not really all that useful.

Long Review

The Big Table

Olight X9R Cell Keychain Flashlight
Emitter:	Unstated
Price in USD at publication time:	$15.95
Cell:	1xCR425
Switch Type:	Twisty
On-Board Charging?	No
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	6lux @ 0.335m = 1cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	1.6
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 X9R Cell Keychain Flashlight
• O-ring (unrelated to the Olight X9R Cell Flashlight)
• Manual

Package and Manual

Build Quality and Disassembly

There’s the miniature.  Here’s the full size:

The resemblance is obvious.  Unfortunately, I don’t have one of those bigger (aka “real flashlight) versions of this light for testing.  And what you see here is really just a fun post about a light I’m not going to really test all that much – for example, no runtime test!

The head comes off completely.  I don’t believe the tail has any removable parts.

The head has a little spring and a couple of contact points.

 

Size and Comps

Weight (g / oz) 4.5g / 0.16oz
Length (mm / in) 35mm / 1.38in
Head Diameter (mm / in) 11mm / 0.43in
Body Diameter (mm / in) 8.9mm / 0.35in

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

A split ring is included and attached with the Olight X9R Cell.  It’s a very basic split ring.

Power and Runtime

The Olight X9R Cell runs on a single cell, and it’s an unusual one.  This is a CR425 cell, which Olight states as a “Customized 3.0V 28mAh CR425 Battery.”  These are called “pin-shaped” cells and are not really common at all.

However it’s a standard cell, so if you wish to replace it, you may.  Apparently, it’s even possible to find rechargeable versions!  Here’s a referral link to some on amazon.

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
On	2.5	30h		–

Pulse Width Modulation

The one mode does not have PWM.

For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor.  Also, here’s the light with the worst PWM I could find.  I’m adding multiple timescales, so it’ll be easier to compare to the test light.  Unfortunately, the PWM on this light is so bad that it doesn’t even work with my normal scale, which is 50 microseconds (50us). 10ms.  5ms.  2ms.  1ms.  0.5ms.  0.2ms.  In a display faster than 0.2ms or so, the on/off cycle is more than one screen, so it’d just (very incorrectly) look like a flat line.  I wrote more about this Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight and explained a little about PWM too.

User Interface and Operation

This is a twisty flashlight.  But not a standard twisty – this one is loosen for on!!

Here’s a UI table!

State	Action	Result
Off (tightened head)	Loosen head	On
On	Tighten head	Off

LED and Beam

Olight does not state what emitter is used in the X9R Cell.  Whatever it is, there’s just one and it’s coupled with a clear cover (which is not really a TIR type optic).

The beam is “floody” but that’s doesn’t quite the beam profile….

Floody, with a bunch of artifacts and weird beam shape – not really all that useful.

If I had to guess, I’d guess this was a Nichia E17a or E21a (can’t really measure the dimensions of it).  And while there are good (even “great”) E17a’s and E21a’s, this isn’t one of those at all.

LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)

Beamshots

These beamshots are always with the following settings:  f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.  Yes, it’s too dim to be seen on a ceiling, when shined from the floor (no real surprise).

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!

Conclusion

What I like

• Nice miniature design from the bigger X9R Marauder
• Loosen-for-on
• Great collector item

What I don’t like

• Exceptionally cool emitter (8000K)
• Extremely unusual cell (but fortunately not proprietary!)
• Not really even useful as a keychain light

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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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