Olight Javelot Mini Flashlight Review
Olight has released the Javelot Mini, a flashlight using a very new emitter. This light produces great throw and has a wonderful beam shape.
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a referral link to the Olight Javelot Mini flashlight product page.
Versions
There are just a couple of versions, differing only in body color. Black is available, as well as the green seen in this review.
Price
The opening day sale price is $74.99. Here’s my ShareASale link for the Olight Javelot Mini flashlight. As Olight usually does, there’s a bundle deal. Here’s a ShareASale link for the bundle, which is just $1 more, and includes a matching iXV keychain flashlight.
Short Review
I love the flashlighty nature of this flashlight. It’s also actually great as a flashlight, which is a huge win. At an introductory price of around $75, it might be a bit on the costly side, but it does pack a great punch. All in all, I love it!
Long Review
The Big Table
| Olight Javelot Mini Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Unstated (new) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $74.99 |
| Cell: | 1×18500 |
| High Runtime Graph | Low Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | Proprietary Magnetic |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | – |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 1000 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 902 (90.2% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 97.6 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 600 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 2850lux @ 5.557m = 88009cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 593.3 (98.9% of claim)^ |
| 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 Javelot Mini flashlight
- Olight 2040mAh customized proprietary 18500 cell
- Charging cable (USB to proprietary magnetic)
- Belt sheath
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
You can probably guess that and why I love this flashlight. It’s exceptionally flashlighty! It has the flashlight shape that I love in a flashlight. It’s unambiguously directional. The hand grip is the perfect size. It headstands very securely. It’s just great!
The build quality is great. I don’t know what else to say. The build quality is really great.
Only the tailcap comes off (though I didn’t try to remove the bezel). No part of the head comes off. The tailcap threads are very long, which I found a bit annoying. But they’re very secure, I suppose!
Inside, you can see that the positive contacts have all the connections for the customized and proprietary cell Olight uses. The tailcap button is also springy.
Size and Comps
Weight: 5.43 oz (154 g)
Length: 4.53 in (115 mm)
Head Diameter: 1.57 in (40 mm)
Body Diameter: 1.26 in (32 mm)
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.
Also above is 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 only thing Olight includes for carry of the Olight Javelot Mini flashlight is this plastic sheath. It’s very nice as far as sheaths go, but I don’t have a ton of experience with these.
The belt loop is fixed – it doesn’t rotate or anything. So there’s no chance to carry the Olight Javelot Mini flashlight along the length of your belt, for example.
One nice feature here si that the charging port is fairly accessible while the light is in the holster. More importantly, probably, is that the switch can be used while holstered.
There’s no pocket clip.
And what I said above about the sheath being “the only thing” for holding the light is wrong: the magnet that’s used for charging is perfectly adequate for holding the light in place!
Power and Runtime
What we have here is a customized proprietary cell from Olight. There’s nothing unusual about this cell – it’s very standard as far as customized and proprietary Olight cells go, except that it’s an 18500 size.
Now, the light ships with a cell, so you don’t have to go find your own. So no real problem there, unless you just want to get hot about the fact that it’s customized and proprietary. I agree – I’d prefer a standard cell. Even a standard 18500 would be fine (me and that one other guy who have 18500 cells would be all set…)
The cell is installed in the usual way – positive end toward the head. You can get a sense below that the body of this light is maybe disproportionately thicker than many “18” sized lights – 18650, 18500, 18350, whatever – it’s much thicker than those.
Another interesting design aspect of this Javelot Mini is that when the cell voltage gets low, the light buzzes! This feature works quite well, particularly when the switch is being actuated. If the light is off and you click to either mode, the whole Javelot Mini will buzz. The buzzes seem to indicate how low the cell voltage is – more buzzing means a lower cell.
Charging
Like many other Olights, the Olight Javelot Mini flashlight uses Olight’s very common proprietary magnetic charging connector.
This one does technically seem to be a little different though because it specifies only 1A charging. The other MCC chargers sometimes state 0.5A, 1A, and 2A. Maxing at 1A seems reasonable since this is a 2040mAh cell. Charging at 2A would mean 1C charging, which could be seen as “a little fast.”
The charging base is red when charging, and green when not being used or the cell is “completely charged.” I noted in charge testing that the indicator on the charger would turn green before the trickle CV phase had stopped putting power into the cell.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 1000\500\200 | 6.5m\78m\19m | 902 | ? |
| Low | 200 | 297m | 185 | ? |
Pulse Width Modulation
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
Just one switch is used for controlling the Olight Javelot Mini flashlight, and it’s a metal tail switch. The switch has two stages of activation, and also is used in charging.
There’s a bit less reveal on this switch than on many similar switches, I think.
The actuation, though, is entirely standard for this type of switch by Olight. I am a huge fan of this switch, for what it’s worth.
Here’s a UI table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Shallow click | Low |
| Off | Deep click | High |
| Off | Shallow hold | Momentary Low |
| Off | Deep hold | Momentary High |
| On | Click | Off |
LED and Beam
This emitter is something new (or at least “newish”). I don’t know the brand, but it’s one I’ve seen in a Nextorch model before – the P82. Nextorch claims to have developed this (maybe “in conjunction with” some other brands) but either way, Olight’s using it here in the Javelot Mini!
That emitter is coupled with a nice smooth and fairly large reflector.
The sawtooth bezel allows light out when headstanding.
The beam profile is very tight! One great thing about this emitter is that the emitting surface is a circle, and that translates into beam profile too – square emitters don’t really “look square” but this circular emitter certainly has a more circular beam profile! It’s very good.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
I’ll get these readings in a bit, but I wouldn’t expect them to be much (if any) different than what we see on the Nextorch P82. As stated there:
This unknown and new emitter has a profile that you might expect from a new emitter. Fairly cool (which is typically the first version of any emitter that’s released, it seems) at around 6200-6450K and low CRI at around 65.
Here’s the CRI and CCT report for the two modes of the Javelot Mini:
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
- Complete package
- Great beam profile
- Very simple user interface
- These two-stage switches by Olight are fantastic
- Charging works great
- Don’t sleep on the flashlighty nature of this light!!
- Buzzing feature for low voltage indication
What I don’t like
- Proprietary charging
- Customized and proprietary 18500 cell
- No pocket clip
Notes
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
- For flashlight-related patches, stickers, and gear, head over to PhotonPhreaks.com!
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