Olight has come out with a new i5T Plus LED flashlight, and it’s the spotlight of their latest flash sale.
This is a 2xAA flashlight, which makes it brighter and larger (but still manageable) EDC flashlight compared to AAA-powered penlights.
But, this isn’t just a new flashlight size, there are changes in the lighting characteristics as well.
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For what I believe to be the first time in the 2 years since I’ve been following the brand, Olight is giving customers color temperature choices.
You can select an i5T Plus in cool white (5700K – 6700K), neutral white (4000K – 5000K), and warm white (2700K – 3700K).
I presume that Olight provides ranges as there could be some variation between flashlights.
The i5T Plus is also launching with two handle styles. You can buy it with a traditional i5T anti-slip double helix grip pattern, or with a pebble etching pattern.
At this time there are also 4 body color options: black, blue, orange, and olive drab green.
I have a test sample of the neutral white flashlight (thank you, Olight!), and the i5T Plus is essentially a longer i5T. I’m as pleased with the i5T Plus beam profile as the i5T, which I find well suited for close-up and short-distance lighting needs.
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You get 2 brightness settings – low and high.
The i5T Plus can deliver 550 lumens max at the high setting, and 15 lumens at low.
The max brightness is duration based. You can get 550|300|55 lumens max brightness for 3|30|130 minutes. (This is presumably done for temperature regulation purposes.)
I like the i5T, as it’s compact and easy to stash in drawers, around the house, or in the car. AA batteries are widely available, and I particularly like to power them with primary (non-rechargeable) 1.5V lithium cells that have a very long shelf life.
The i5T Plus, from what I can tell so far, is considerably brighter, and you also get longer battery life. Looking at the spec sheet, the AA i5T goes from 300 lumens to 150 and then 30, whereas the 2xAA i5T Plus starts at 550 before dropping to 300 and then 55 lumens.
My i5T seems brighter than my i5T Plus, but it’s not. The neutral white i5T Plus seems quite bright, but also less harsh. The i5T has 910 candela max light intensity, and the i5T Plus 1900.
I generally prefer neutral white flashlights for closeup lighting tasks, and cool white for distance.
If you’re looking for an everyday flashlight that might be used closeup, I’d point you to the i5T Plus with neutral white color temp. If you want better contrast at a distance and a brighter-looking light, go for cool white.
The i5T Plus isn’t as bulky as some other brand’s 2AA flashlights, which is good, but its 5.71″ length might not be for everyone.
I like the simple operation – you get a clicky tailcap with soft-press for momentary-on or hard-press for on/off operation. If you’re looking for more than this, consider a different light.
Lastly, it has an IPX8 waterproof rating and can run for up to 54 hours on low (15 lumens) with a fresh set of batteries.
Price: $39.95
Flash Sale Price: $31.96
Olight’s latest flash sale ends 5/20/22 at 11:59pm ET.
(To be clear, these lights do not have variable color temperatures, you choose the style you want at the time of purchase.)
Olight also has a new lime green S2R Baton II LED flashlight with neutral white and cool white color temperature options.
While not as small as the Baton 3, the S2R Baton II is a great size for EDC (everyday carry) and is powered by a rechargeable 18650-sized Li-ion battery. As with most Olight rechargeable flashlights, this one has a customized battery and is recharged via a magnetic tailcap USB cable.
Flash Sale Price: $59.96
i5T Plus & S2R II Bundle Price: $80.43
If you start with i5T Plus, you can select any color and select the lime green S2R Baton II from down the page for a custom bundle. The S2R Baton II is a $48.47 when purchased with an i5T Plus.
Randy
Does anyone really prefer their magnetic charging over USB? I love olight’s design style, but when my 18650 lights last 24+ hours at reasonable brightness I have more trouble finding a the right charging cable than the 5 seconds to open up a usb cover.
Koko The Talking Ape
Fantastic! The only reason I’ve stuck to Milwaukee for all my work lights is the neutral (maybe slightly warm) light they provide. But they don’t have a huge selection for flashlights. I’ll be looking at Olight more now.
And I like AA batteries too. I use those non-rechargable lithium batteries for things like road flares and car flashlights, which I never use and rarely even look at, but need to be ready to go when the need arises.
USB rechargeables are cool, but a lot of them still use USB-A, and all the cables I have lying around are USB-C, because that’s I have to charge my phone most often. So I’d need a special cable or an adapter, which is a pain. I wish they would just all switch to USB-C.
Dario
with you there.
i just purchased the Nebo Mycro headlamp and was disappointed to find a USB A cable.
Stuart
If you are intent on USB-C, they have a one as an optional accessory purchase. https://amzn.to/3wwKIJs It’s a little pricey at $15, but at least it’s an option.
There’s also the Baton 3, for which a USB-C power bank is available. You charge the power bank, and it charges your flashlight.
A lot of rechargeable flashlights are still microUSB, but USB-C is becoming more and more common with newer designs.
Matt the Hoople
With regard to Olight providing a color range rather than a specific Value… I’m not an expert on LED manufacturing but know just enough to talk out of my butt about it. My understanding is that LED manufacturers (maybe some or maybe all) are unable to easily control LED color temperature tightly. They can get close but the precision is not there. Maybe they can but maybe that costs more. Therefore, at the time of manufacture, finished LEDs are then sorted by the temperature (and possibly the output) they produce. Allowing a larger range allows use of more LEDs or allows all of the manufactured LEDs to fall within the range. Think of it like egg production. Egg farmers can’t reliably make a chicken lay a specific size egg so they sort them into the various batches by size. LED manufacture is not the only industry that sorts after manufacture. Ball bearing manufacturers do this as well when classifying bearings by their internal clearance measured in microns.
Stuart
Yes – the process akin to sorting eggs or baked goods is called binning when talking about semiconductor components.
Greater uniformity is usually possible at higher costs.
Lance
I’ve looked int Cree LEDs purchased in quantity before. You are correct, they “bin” their production based on how it tests.
If your application requires a specific production bin you can expect to pay more than if they can supply you with a wider range of whatever they have available. For something expensive and tightly regulated like automotive headlights, expect tight binning requirements and higher prices.
For flashlights… who cares, really? Only nerds comparing their light with someone else’s would ever know the difference, and even most of them would not fully understand the light spectrum binning procedures anyway. Warm, neutral or cool is more than enough granularity for 90% of people.
Koko The Talking Ape
That’s interesting!
I believe at once point computer CPUs were sorted after manufacture (and maybe they still are.) All 386s (I think?) were printed with an FPU, so if there were a flaw in the FPU, it was just disabled somehow and the chip was sold without it for a lower price. I think clock rates were set individually too.
I had a set of speakers (Spica) that were famous for performing well using relatively cheap drivers. The secret was they measured each individual driver for frequency response from the supplier, and hand matched them with matching drivers (and maybe they rejected some). I think they did it without automation, which must’ve been a headache. Their stock was probably in the thousands, and somebody had to find pairs which matching graphs, I guess just by eyeball. Or maybe they could sort them into groups somehow.
Stuart
It is my understanding that CPUs and processor chips continue to be binned today.
Randy
Almost every electronics device is binned, even many individual LEDs, transistors, and resistors. Anything where multiple levels of quality or performance are available is binned. For everything else the second bin is just the recycling bin.
Nathan
I like the baton model but the price is high. Their magnetic charging should allow them to be that next level of water proof and I suspect they are but haven’t checked for comparison.
I don’t own any tactical lights at the moment and might not own another. the cost is too high for what they do – and I love my headlamps.
Stuart
None of these are tactical lights.