Olight Baton Ultra OAL Flashlight Review
The Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight features Olight’s own EIP 1 emitter and is the first Baton to use USB-C charging and have a tail switch. Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a referral link to the Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight product page.
Versions
The Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight is available in only this olive green version. If you want a different color, go for the Baton 4 Pro!
Price
The Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight is available now for $99.99. You can buy the Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight at olight.com and Amazon.com, too!
What’s Included
- Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight
- Cell (customized 18650)
- Charge cable
- Pocket clip
- L-bracket (with spare sticky pad) for mounting
- Manual and papers
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
The build quality and design of the Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight are fantastic. I don’t need the features of Olight’s OAL material, but it does feel nice. And feels noticeably “different” from non-OAL aluminum (such as is on the Baton 4 Pro.)
Inside, the Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight is like those of recent generations. The head has a bunch of contacts so that it can run the proprietary customized 18650. 
The tail has a spring.
Size and Comps
Baton Ultra: 113mm x 23mm
Baton Ultra: 4.06 oz / 115 g (Battery Included)
Here’s the light in hand:
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. The version below is a custom laser-engraved Convoy S2+ host by GadgetConnections.com. I did a full post on an engraved orange host right here! Or go straight to GadgetConnections.com to buy your Convoy S2+ now!
Also in the photo above, my Standard Reference Material (SRM) flashlight is the Hanko Machine Works Trident, an 18350 light. While I have not reviewed or tested the Gunner Grip version seen here, I have tested a Hanko Machine Works Trident Total Tesseract in brass. I love the Trident, and it’s a striking contrast to the inexpensive Convoy S2+, another great SRM.
Here’s the Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight, along with the other new Baton – the Baton 4 Pro. Review on that one is upcoming!
Retention and Carry
The Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight features a two-way clip, which I don’t often love, but this is a reasonable implementation – being two-way doesn’t cause too much extra size.
Next is the magnet in the tailcap. This is also used to firmly connect the light to the proprietary charge base, but it’s strong enough to hold the light in place, too.
Above, you may note a new holder for my magnetic-tailcap items. That’s the Exceed Designs Hyzer Titanium Mini Hatchet D2 axe. The handle (as the name suggests) is titanium. But the blade is D2 steel and perfect for retaining magnetic tailcap flashlights! The Hyzer is available in a bunch of cerakote body colors as well as different thickness D2 heads.
Power and Runtime
The Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight is powered by a single lithium-ion cell. It’s a customized 18650 (included), with both positive and negative terminals on the positive end. A “normal” (or “non-customized”) 18650 will not work in this light.
The cell does go into the light in the usual way, though – positive terminal toward the head.
Here are a few runtime tests. The output is very consistent once a stable state has been reached. Really, only Turbo has a stepdown, and that’s after over one minute at near-initial output.
The temperature lines in these charts are included as general context, not precise measurements. The values represent the range (min to max) during testing, but should not be taken as exact readings. A temperature sensor is not always attached to the bezel (or even the hottest spot, assuming that could be defined). Even with ideal placement, too many variables affect temperature to definitively state a specific max value.
Charging
A massive update to the Baton line is that this Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight features USB-C charging! To access the charging port, unscrew the tailcap. The USB-C port is revealed, as below.
The tailcap also has some indicators to show how to access this port. They’re more than printed, too, which is great!
When accessing the USB-C charging port, the tail switch is very shrouded, but still accessible (and active).
This Olight does still offer Olight’s proprietary charging, too.
I tested only USB-C charging (specifically, only USB-C to USB-C), and it’s fine. I did not observe it, but I have a feeling that around the 165-180 minute mark, the light was marked as “charging complete” by the indicators surrounding the switch.) So by no means would this take 380 minutes to “complete.”
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 1800-600 | 1.5m+198m | 1585 (0s) 1517 (30s) |
4.71 |
| High | 600-120 | 200m+20m | 513 (0s) 510 (30s) |
0.91 |
| Medium | 120 | 18h30m | 103 | 0.15 |
| Low | 15 | 155h | 12.8 | 0.01 |
| Moonlight | <1 | 100d | 0.03 | [low] |
Pulse Width Modulation
There’s some sawtooth going on in a couple of the modes, but I’m hesitant to call this PWM directly. It’s not observable, anyway.
Click here to 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
The Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight has an e-switch on the head end of the side of the body. The switch cover is hard (maybe not metal) and is extraordinarily comfortable to use.
The switch area has a couple of indicators, too. These indicators aren’t technically on the switch, but in the surrounding bit of black plastic. Above, the top indicates the output level. The bottom indicates the battery level.
This switch is a bit more flush than the slight dome of previous (non-metal) switches. I like it! If you place the light “switch-down” (clip-up, ayy), the switch can not be pressed by mashing the light against a table. (I.e., it doesn’t protrude that much or that way.)
There’s also a tail switch! This is similar to the Warrior line of Olights. It still offers charging (so it’s a metal switch surrounded by a metal ring). It’s a nice bonus and addition to the Baton line!
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click side switch | On |
| On | Click side switch | Off |
| Off | Hold side switch | Moonlight |
| On | Hold side switch | Change brightness (LMH only) |
| Any | Double click side switch | Turbo |
| Any | Triple click side switch | Strobe |
| Off | Hold side switch (past moonlight) | Lockout |
| Lockout | Click side or tail switch | Lockout icon above side switch |
| Lockout | Hold side switch >2s | Unlock to Moonlight |
| Any | Hold tail switch | Momentary High |
| Any (except High) | Click tail switch | High |
| High | Click tail switch | Off |
| Any | Double click tail switch | Turbo |
LED and Beam
The emitter used in this Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight is Olight’s own E1P 1 LED. This is probably a specific bin or type of existing emitter, but that’s all fine.
The emitter has a TIR, which provides my favorite beam profile – an even, defined hotspot and little spill.
Below, you can see the Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight alongside the Baton 4 Pro.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
The CCT ranges from cool white to very cool white, and the CRI remains low throughout.
CCT (Correlated Color Temperature) refers to the measurement of the color appearance of light, expressed in Kelvins (K), which indicates whether the light is warm (yellowish) or cool (bluish). A lower CCT (below 3000K) is considered warm light, while a higher CCT (above 5000K) gives cooler, bluish light.
CRI (Color Rendering Index) is a measure of how accurately a light source renders colors in comparison to natural sunlight. Scored on a scale from 0 to 100, higher CRI values indicate that colors appear more true to life and vibrant, similar to how they would look under the sun.
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.
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. These photos are taken around 18 inches from the door.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Summary and Conclusion
The Olight Baton Ultra OAL flashlight is a big winner for me because of the addition of USB-C charging. It pleases me greatly! I am also pleased that Olight has stated what emitter is being used here, even if it’s cool white and low CRI. Even with the addition of a tail switch (which is a nice bonus), I find the user interface to be uncomplicated and friendly.
The Big Table
| Olight Baton Ultra | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | EIP 1 LED (Olight’s emitter) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $99.99 |
| Cell: | 1×18650 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Dual e-switch |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C and proprietary magnetic (options) |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 1800 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 1517 (84.3% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 16.3 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 300 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 817lux @ 5.649m = 26071cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 322.9 (107.6% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | Olight’s emitter – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | Olight’s emitter 5800-6700 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Olight |
| 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 I like
- Baton now has USB-C charging!
- Baton now has a great tail switch option
- OAL seems like a nice material
- Olight’s new emitter has a great beam profile in this light
What I don’t like
- Cool white and low CRI
- Proprietary, customized 18650 (not optional)
Notes
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