Olight Seeker 4 Pro High Power Flashlight Review
The Olight Seeker 4 Pro is an updated version in the great Seeker series of high-power flashlight. It offers 4600 lumens as well as a new USB-C charging option!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Olight Seeker 4 Pro high-power flashlight product page.
Versions
Three versions are available: Midnight Blue, Matte Black, and Orange (seen here). Two emitter options are available, too – neutral white (4000-5000K) and cool white (5700-7000K, seen here). It looks like only Matte Black can be purchased in NW!
Price
The introductory price for the Olight Seeker 4 Pro high-power flashlight is $97.99, and it’s available now! I didn’t even bother linking just the Seeker 4 Pro though, because for $1 more, you can get a fantastic little bonus EDC flashlight. There are all sorts of other options, as well as around 20 new Olights on offer, too. Check all that stuff out through this referral link!
Short Review
One big advance here is the rotary switch. I think Olight calls it “stepless dimming.” It’s quite nice and nicely implemented. I do like that the five modes are still there and still accessible in the usual way. Updating to provide a way for charging via USB-C is great, too! I would love to try the neutral white output option, but I have to say that the whole package here is nice enough that it’d be worth considering modding the light to have some other (better?) emitters anyway. The light is fantastic!
Long Review
The Big Table
^ 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 Seeker 4 Pro flashlight
- Olight 5000mAh 21700 cell (customized, proprietary)
- Hard plastic holster with USB-C Charging connection
- USB to USB-C charging cable
- Wall-mount connector for holster
- Screws for wall mount
- Manual etc.
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
The Olight Seeker 4 Pro is a solid, well-built flashlight. This light falls in a long line of orange flashlights by Olight, and I have to say, they get the orange right. While the review isn’t a “this is orange, it’s great, review done,” I can say that I’m extremely pleased by this orange. This Seeker 4 Pro is very much like the Seeker 3 Pro which I’ve tested before.
Cooling finds on the head are minimal depth, but according to the test, they do the job just fine.
Along the sides of the Olight Seeker 4 Pro are softish grip areas. These do provide a nice bit of grip, that’s for sure. They also are dust magnets…
On the tailcap is reeding, which is shallow but provides enough grip. With the tailcap removed, you can see the square-cut, anodized threads. These threads are fairly short and exceptionally smooth.
Both head and tail have springs, but those too are customized.
Size and Comps
Weight: 7.23 oz (205 g) (battery included)
Length: 5.24 in (133 mm)
Head Diameter: 1.38 in (35 mm)
Body Diameter: 1.10 in (28 mm)
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll also show that (usually in 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 a new standard 18350 light! It’s not one I’ve reviewed yet but this is the CWF Arcadian Peanut in aluminum. This one is stonewashed and has the new Quantum Dragon driver – a whole new product! Stay tuned for a full review of this tiny powerhouse!
Retention and Carry
One of the biggest differences between this light and previous generations of the Seeker is this hard plastic holster. This is a big deal because I really love the nylon holster the previous Seeker 3 Pro comes with!
That said, between that old great soft nylon holster and this new holster that offers USB-C charging, I’m inclined toward this new one.
Olight includes an attachment that can be stuck or screwed to the wall or desk or whatever, for mounting the Olight Seeker 4 Pro flashlight in its holster.
When the holster is mounted like this (below) the belt loop has to be released just a little bit before the package will come out of the wall mount. That’s probably the best case, really, but do note that the holster intentionally doesn’t slip in and out freely.
The light is usable while in the holster, too.
Aside from the holster, the magnetic charging base can be used for retaining the Olight Seeker 4 Pro flashlight. I believe this magnet is notably stronger than previous generations.
I did not get a pocket clip, but I do think there’s one that will fit the Seeker 4 Pro.
Power and Runtime
The Olight Seeker 4 Pro is powered by a proprietary 21700 cell. It’s proprietary in that both positive and negative terminals are exposed on the positive end of the cell. It will not be charged in a bay-type charger. Also, traditional 21700 cells will not work in the light, and can’t be charged by the light.
I’m pleased to say that Olight has gotten with convention here, and (unlike the Seeker 3 Pro), this cell is installed in the “normal” way. The positive terminal goes toward the head!
Below are a few runtime tests. Output holds at around 4000 lumens for nearly 1.5 minutes, which is fantastic. Lower modes are also very flat, too, which is also fantastic.
The Olight Seeker 4 Pro flashlight does shut off with low voltage protection, and on the way down, the LED around the e-switch will give an indication of remaining power. The power indicators are to the right side of the switch and indicate as follows:
Four green: ≥75% power
Three green: 50-75% power
Two green: 25-50% power
One green: 10-25% power
One red: <10% power
Charging
As stated many times above, the Olight Seeker 4 Pro flashlight holster offers USB-C charging. However, the standard MCC charger by Olight may still be used.
An MCC charger is not included, because the preferred way to charge this light is in the holster (that’s why they include this USB to USB-C cable). Holster charging is also faster than MCC charging!
The holster has a USB-C charging port in the “right spot” so that when the light is mounted on a wall or whatever, the charging port is on the side. It seems silly to state this but Olight got it right (yet again). Note that (thankfully?!) there’s no power in the holster base without USB-C power connected. There is no battery here! I like that very much and in general, don’t care for the “wireless” charging bases (like Olight did in some of the small Baton series). It’s not bad, I just don’t prefer it.
Modes and Currents
| Mode |
Mode Claimed Output (lm) |
Claimed Runtime |
Measured Lumens |
Tailcap Amps |
| Turbo |
4,600-26%-13% |
2.5m-122m-35m |
3946 (0s)
3876 (30s) |
11.28 |
| High |
1,200-50%-25% |
135m-35m-10m |
1014 |
1.73 |
| Medium |
300 |
11h |
251 |
0.38 |
| Low |
50 |
60h |
43 |
0.07 |
| Moonlight |
5 |
15d |
5 |
0.01 |
Pulse Width Modulation
None of the five main modes use PMW.
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
Another of the big changes in this Seeker 4 Pro is in the switch. While this one looks very similar to the previous generation, it does offer some new tricks. Mainly, it can be rotated to increase or decrease the output! We’ll call it “Stepless dimming” but in reality, there are 3o or so output levels (that’s close enough for me to call it stepless! – that’s more levels than HDS offers on their venerable EDC Rotary, for example!)
It’s still a clicky e-switch, though. So it can still function in mostly the same ways as before, too.
The indicators around the switch are updated, and to be frank they are absolutely fantastic. In the image below, the top green indicates a low output (one green bar) and the bottom three green bars (or the “right side” when the light is in use) indicate three green bars of power (50-75% power).
Here’s a user interface table! There’s a lot going on in the user interface with this new setup. I will try (as always!) to not miss anything but if I do, please let me know in the comments!
| State |
Action |
Result |
| Off >10s |
No action |
Lockout |
| Lockout |
Click |
Battery indicator (Bars indicate power as covered above) |
| Lockout |
Rotate switch >90 degrees either direction |
Unlock and battery indicator (but does not turn on) |
| Locked |
Hold switch >1s |
Unlock to Moonlight |
| Off |
Click |
On (Mode memory) |
| Off |
Hold |
Unlock to Moonlight |
| Unlocked (off or on) |
Double Click |
Turbo |
| Unlocked (off or on) |
Triple Click |
Strobe |
| On |
Hold |
Mode advance (Low, Medium, High only) |
| Off, unlocked |
Rotate Clockwise |
Still off but level increases (and set in memory for next turn on) |
| Off, unlocked |
Rotate counterclockwise |
Still off but level decreases (and set in memory for next turn on) |
| On |
Rotate Clockwise |
Level increases |
| On |
Rotate counterclockwise |
Level decreases |
| On |
Double press and hold |
3-minute timer for current mode (blinks once to indicate timer is active) |
| During 3-minute timer |
Double press and hold |
9-minute timer for current mode (blinks twice to indicate timer is active) |
| In holster |
Remove flashlight |
Unlocked |
| Outside of holster |
Place into holster |
Locked |
I think that about covers the user interface. Note that most of the differences really have to do with how the light is locked or unlocked. If you already had a Seeker (or really many of Olight’s recent offerings), this light will be extremely familiar to you, with the addition of being able to rotate the switch/dial for changing the output. Aside from that, once you figure out how you use the light (in the holster or not, or whatever) then unlocking the light will be second nature. The point is … don’t worry about it. You’ll like the new features.
LED and Beam
Olight doesn’t make an emitter claim here, but upon inspection, they appear to unsurprisingly be Osram P9. That fits well with Olight, so it seems like a safe call. There are four emitters, and this is generally the same setup as the previous Seeker 3 Pro. Note that we lost the proximity sensor. I consider that a huge win because generally, I wouldn’t say I like proximity sensors. I think the tradeoff is that the light locks out after 10 seconds of being off…
Olight does state the CCT of this emitter right here on the bezel – 5700K-7000K. There’s a neutral white version at 4000K-5000K, but it’s available only on the black body model (for now?).
I think Olight opted to send me the orange body version instead of the neutral white version, thinking I’d prefer the body color over neutral white. I’m not sure they’re wrong, because I do love these orange Olights. Emitters can be swapped (body color really can’t.)
A toothed bezel is used on the front, and that allows a little light to escape when headstanding. I tried a bit to unscrew the bezel and it didn’t come right out (unlike that of the Seeker 3 Pro). So make of that what you will.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
CCT approximately matches what Olight claims, while being a little cooler. CRI is low, too, at around 71.
Beamshots
These beamshots always have 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.
I’m also including all (or nearly all, anyway) of the “stepless” levels. There are at least 30, but maybe up to 32 (it gets hard to keep up with). But you can get a good idea of all the levels. Note that between Moonlight (leftmost, above) and Low (second photo, above), there are at least two modes on the dial. That’s very good.
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
- Stepless dimming is great (really this is my preferred manner of ramping, I think)
- The orange body is very nice!
- Output is great, and steady for nearly 1.5 minutes (even if I measure it below 4600 lumens, it’s reasonable enough)
- New switch LEDs are great (really just “neat” but I really like them!)
- Neutral white is available
- The proximity sensor is gone
- Complete package (includes cell)
- A great way to access USB-C charging!
- USB-C charging works great and is quick
What I don’t like
- Proprietary, customized 21700 cell
- Auto-lockout after 10 seconds of off
- Low CRI
Notes
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S4 is advertised as 4600 lm but achieved only 3876. S3 review done by you claimed 4200 lm and achieved 4132. That’s right, the old model achieved a higher output. Seems that is worthy of a mention!!
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