Olight i5R EOS Flashlight Review
Olight has released a Plum color version of the i5R EOS flashlight. This light uses an included “14500” cell, but can run on AA too! Read on!
Note From The Editor
Somewhere along the way, after this post was initially published on 2/16/2022, it got totally deleted from the site. I’m not sure how or why that happened, but it happened multiple times over the course of a few years. I’ve rewritten it with some effort, but note that this isn’t really a new post, nor is there any new data herein. So if you see this post on the republish date, I hope you still enjoy it!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Olight i5R EOS Plum flashlight product page.
Versions
There are many versions, but since they’re so often limited, I’m not going to list them all here.
Price
The Olight i5R EOS Plum flashlight is going for $39.95 now. There are deals to be had during the sale, though, so check out the site for more info!
Short Review
The Olight i5R EOS Plum flashlight is a great little size for EDC. I appreciate that it is dual-chemistry and includes the cell required for lithium-ion output levels. I can’t quite see the reason to include this very specialized 2.4V lithium-ion cell, though, and not just go with a regular 14500 cell. Regardless of that, if you’re into the plum color, I can tell you that it’s absolutely great in person! Light performance is solid, too.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Olight i5R EOS Plum Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Osram P9 |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $39.95 |
| Cell: | 1x ”14500″ |
| High Runtime Graph | |
| LVP? | |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | – |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 350 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 366 (104.6% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 3.4 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 64 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 94lux @ 3.642m = 1247cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 70.6 (110.3% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 6000 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Olight |
| All my Olight reviews! | |
| Olight i5R EOS Plum Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Osram P9 |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $39.95 |
| Cell: | 1xAA |
| Turbo Runtime Graph | |
| LVP? | |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | – |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | – |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 204 |
| Candela per Lumen | 3.5 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | – |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 53lux @ 3.67m = 714cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 53.4 |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 6000 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Olight |
| 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 i5R EOS Plum flashlight
- “14500” cell that is a customized USB-C charging (only) 2.4V cell
- Charging cable
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
Just holding this light, I was sure I’d reviewed this model before. But I haven’t – I’ve only tested the Olight i5T EOS. And I’ve actually done that twice – here’s the brass i5T EOS and here’s an aluminum version of the i5T EOS.
Ultimately, the build quality (and most other aspects) of these lights (the i5R and i5T) aren’t really different. What is different is that the i5R includes a 2.4V lithium-ion cell.
All of that said, the i5R does come in a new color. It’s a color we don’t see much (any? ever?) in flashlights, and certainly not by the name “Plum.” But just like the Regal Blue Warrior Mini 2 from recently, this plum color is absolutely fantastic. I’m not saying buy it specifically for the body color. But I will say that you probably won’t be disappointed by the rest of the light. So if you like the color, grab one!
Only the tailcap is removable on the Olight i5R EOS Plum flashlight. The threads are bare copper. More on the body material below.
One thing that irks me just a little bit is this spring. It’s a great spring for cell contact, but the spring is cut cleanly off. That means when screwing the cap down, the spring edge can grind into the cell. This spring cut should be angled so that it doesn’t snag the cell when screwing the tailcap in or out. I filed this down just a bit, and it’s fine now.
I’ll add that the tailcap threads are very smooth, and the reeding makes removal a breeze.
On the positive terminal is only a brass button – no spring.
The spirals reveal a body color under the plum. This is an appealing combo and matches nicely. Also, the pocket clip matches the underlying body color too.
Size and Comps
The Olight i5R EOS Plum flashlight is 95.4mm long and 17.8mm in diameter. The weight is 60g.
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
The included way to carry this light is the two-way friction-fit clip. This one’s a gold 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 the bulk of these two-way clips is one big complaint of mine).
There’s a lanyard hole on the shoulder. (No lanyard is included.)
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 Olight i5R EOS Plum flashlight runs on the included cell, which I’ve already talked about at length. This is a lithium-ion cell, but not a 14500. Or I’ll call it a 14500 as Olight does, but I’m going to put it in quotes – “14500.” It’s not really a 14500 cell, and saying it is implies that normal (4.2V) 14500 cells will work in the i5R. They might work, but they aren’t recommended or supported (ie they might fry your electronic,s or they might be fine – do you want to risk it is the question.)
One benefit to having this specialized cell is that the capacity is much higher. The highest 14500 cell capacity I can see with a quick search is 1100mAh. This 1420mAh 2.4V cell is much greater capacity.
There’s one more thing to dislike about this cell, though. The 2.4V nature of it means it can not be charged in bay-style chargers. You’ll have to use USB-C to charge it. Now, just about any USB-C cable and power source should work, and yes, we probably all have some USB-C cables and power sources around, but locking us in this way is not ideal. This is a special kind of proprietary.
Fortunately, it’s a standard format cell, so there’s no proprietary connectivity happening here. That does mean that 1.5V cells work too – cells like the NiMH Eneloops and primary alkalines, too (though those are officially “not recommended.”)
Here you can see the direction to install the cell – the positive (button) goes into the light toward the head. Also, here you can note an interesting tidbit about the body of the light. This looks like aluminum to me – probably rose-coated aluminum, with the plum color over that. That’s fine – aluminum is a great material for flashlights. But Olight does say “Body Material: Copper” on the website. I suppose they mean only the tailcap, but still – you won’t be getting a full copper light here.
Here are the runtimes for the high output level on both the included cell and an AA.
Charging
While the Olight i5R EOS Plum flashlight itself does not have charging, the included cell does. There’s a USB-C port on the positive terminal.
An appropriate cable is included – USB to USB-C. C to C charging does not work.
Here’s a charge graph for the cell.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps @2.4V |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 350-150 | 10m-170m | 366 | 1.14 |
| Low | 15 | 37h | 15 | 0.03 |
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps @1.5V |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | – | – | 204 | 1.34 |
| Low | – | – | 15 | 0.06 |
Pulse Width Modulation
There’s something on Low with the 14500, 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. 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, with 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
There’s a single switch on the Olight i5R EOS Plum flashlight. 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 makes it easy to grip. The action is very good. It’s smooth and direct and also very clicky.
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 an Osram P9 emitter. The light uses a TIR and has a beam with mostly spot and a little spill.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
If Olight states the CRI and CCT of this emitter, I can’t see it. But here are tests for both modes with both cell types. “14500” first because that seems to be the more preferred cell, with 1.5V cells coming in second. The CCT is around 5900K – that’s very good in Olight terms – not too cool white. The CRI is low at around 69, though.
Beamshots
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)
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 build quality
- Fun Plum color
- Very simple UI
- Switch cover is surprisingly great
- Reeding on the tailcap makes for an easy grip
- Complete package with a cell included
- Cell charges by USB-C
What I don’t like
- Cell charges only by USB-C (bay-style chargers are not going to support this cell!)
- The proprietary cell format of a 14500 is unusual to the point of being cumbersome
- Osram P9 – There’s probably a better choice for this light than the P9.
- An extra mode wouldn’t hurt my feelings
- The materials say the body is copper, but only the tailcap is copper (the body is aluminum)
Notes
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