Olight i3E EOS Stellar Blue Flashlight Review
The new Stellar Blue colorway of the Olight i3E EOS AAA flashlight just dropped! This little twisty has one mode and a great output level! Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Olight i3E EOS Orange flashlight product page.
Versions
There are many versions of the i3E EOS. This Stellar Blue version is presently available as a free addition to some purchases.
Price
For at least a little while, this light is free! You had to buy something else, but when you do, just add the Olight i3E EOS flashlight to your cart and the price will be $0.00! I’m not sure that’s still the case, but click through and find out.
If it’s not free, it’s just $12.99 which isn’t bad anyway.
Olight sends these little i3E EOS lights out for free. And yes, at this point I’ve reviewed a bunch of them. It’s nice for me to sort of take a break but still produce new content, and if nothing else I hope you enjoy the photos of Stellar Blue! (Stellar Blue… there’s a Grateful Dead joke in there somewhere!!). But since we’re here, do take time to check out the other two Olight reviews I just posted, and go buy those! That’s the Olight Baton 3 Pro Max or the new Olight Warrior 3S Black Stonewash Titanium!
Short Review
This is a fun little light! For the price of free, I don’t think you can beat it. I do think you should grab an Olight Baton 3 Pro Max or the new Olight Warrior 3S Black Stonewash Titanium to accompany it, though!
Long Review
The Big Table
| Olight i3E EOS (Stellar Blue) Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Philips Luxeon TX |
| Price in USD at publication time: | – |
| Cell: | 1xAAA |
| Runtime Graph | |
| LVP? | Questionable |
| Switch Type: | Twisty |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 90 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 98 (108.9% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 4.82 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 44 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 36lux @ 3.835m = 529cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 46.0 (104.5% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 5700 |
| 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’s Included
- Olight i3E EOS Orange flashlight
- AAA cell (primary)
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
Call this “Stellar Blue” all you want, but this is the most Subaru flashlight I’ve ever seen… It’s the right blue and it even has the little star!
The head also has a bit of grip in the right direction for usability, too. Really the only difference between this i3E EOS and the other blue ones is that there are a few sections of unanodized grooves along the cell tube as well as the etched stars!
The tail end has a spring, but the head has just a button.
As this is a twisty light, you’ll want nice beefy and smooth threads. The Olight i3E EOS Stellar Blue flashlight has that! They’re even long enough that you shouldn’t have to worry about the head falling off, too.
Size and Comps
Weight: 0.68 oz (19.4 g)
Length: 2.38 in (60.5 mm)
Head Diameter: 0.55 in (14 mm)
Body Diameter: 0.49 in (12.5 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 my custom-engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats. I also reviewed that specific edition, the “Oveready BOSS FT Collector Vintage Brass” 35. I love it!
Retention and Carry
While there is a place for a pocket clip and some packages of the i3E EOS do come with a pocket clip, the only included means for carrying this version is the split ring, which you can see below.
Power and Runtime
The Olight i3E EOS Stellar Blue flashlight runs a single AAA cell. A primary alkaline cell is included, but my testing was performed using a NiMH AAA cell.
The positive terminal goes toward the head in this light.
The output here looks great and holds around 100 lumens for around 45 minutes.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On | 90 | 70m (with NiMH) | 98 | ~0.6 |
Pulse Width Modulation
No real PWM is seen. This chart actually seems a little different from the previous i3E EOS I tested. It also didn’t have PWM but seemed to have some SMS ripple or something.
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
The Olight i3E EOS in Stellar Blue is a twisty light. Twist the head for on, loosen for off.
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Tighten head | On |
| On | Loosen head | Off |
LED and Beam
Other colorways of this light indicate the i3E EOS uses a Philips Luxeon TX emitter.
There’s also a TIR in place.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
The CCT is cool at around 5700K. CRI is not high, too, at around 73.
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.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Simplicity
- Low cost (even on the ones that aren’t free, they’re only around $10)
- Includes a cell
What I don’t like
- Just one mode – I would love a low on this light, too!
- Low CRI output
Notes
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