Olight has new light on the market the Baton Pro. This is an update to the older S30R II and shares a lot of features with the S2R Baton II I looked at a few months ago. Thanks to SkyBen Trading for sending this to me to review. I will have a link to their shop in the description on where you can pick up this or any other Olight.
YouTube Version of this Review:
Purchase this light on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2NyAG35
Packaging
Olight has continued their white box theme of 2018 and 2019 and the Baton Pro is no different. It’s a white compact cardboard box, with a fold out top. On the front it shows the light, on the sides it gives a QR code and warranty time period (5 years). On the back it describes the light in pretty good detail and gives a runtime table.
The light is held in a white plastic holder, underneath are all the accessories held in place with a cardboard warning to remove the plastic protector to operate the light. Accessories for the Baton Pro include the customized (Proprietary) 3500mAh 18650 Olight battery, Blue pocket clip, Standard olight lanyard, Revised MCC II Charger, instructions and brown felt Olight bag.
Construction
If you have seen my review of the S2R Baton II you will notice a lot of the same design similarities on the Baton Pro. The light is made from aluminium and anodized a semi gloss black. Starting at the tail you will see the magnetic charging port. I did test the open contacts for safety with steel wool and didn’t have any issues. There is a magnet in the tail cap that is sufficiently strong to hold the light in a horizontal position on a painted steel surface. The tail also has a spot drilled in for the narrow included lanyard. The body tube and tail cap are all one piece. The bodies texture is a pyramid type design with the top milled off. It looks kind of like a corn cob. I like this new texture it provides quite a bit of grip but isn’t so aggressive it will tear up your hand or pocket.
The head here is different from the S2R II, it’s a bit longer at the top. This allows for a different optic, and some decorative milled circles. The side button has an LED in the center used for low battery indication. It’s a slicker plastic feeling button not a silicone button. It’s surrounded by a gloss blue ring, an Olight signature. The clip is removable but fixed in place. The only markings on the light are the Baton Pro are the Name and the serial number. Opposite this is the Olight logo.
The top of the light features a recessed blue Olight bezel. It’s a larger diameter as well as deeper then what was on the S2R Baton II, more similar to the S30R Baton II released a few years ago. On the top it’s engraved 2000 lumens and cool white. It features TIR style optic with a frosted center, clear cone and a flat glass lens on top.
Size & Weight and Comparisons
I measured the length of the Baton Pro at 108mm, maximum diameter at 25mm, minimum diameter at 23mm. Weight with the included battery and pocket clip was 110g.
Size wise the Baton Pro slots in the middle, it’s shorter then the S30R II with a narrower head, but not as short as the S2R II. Weight wise this makes it only 12 grams heavier then the S2R II, and within 1 gram of the S30R II. While total output is a big jump up on the Baton Pro it’s more of an incremental change elsewhere.
LED/Beamshot/Runtime
Olight doesn’t specify the LED that’s being used in this light officially only that’s it’s cool white. It’s tint is cool white and pretty similar to the S2R Baton II that was using a SST-40. My guess would be it’s the same LED but I can’t be for sure. Not naming the LED is a shame for a light in this price category from a big player in the market. This gives them production flexibility but isn’t good news for enthusiasts.
The beam pattern with the optic has a hot center but alot more gradual spill then the TIR in the S2R Baton II. This new optic does seem to introduce some distortion mainly in tint it seems in the spill, where as the S2R Baton II is a harder cut off.
Officially output is listed at the following:
Turbo 2000 Lumens with step down to 600
High 600 Lumens
Medium 120 Lumens
Low 30 Lumens
Moon 5 Lumens
Mode spacing here on the normal modes excluding turbo is fairly even. It’s disappointing to see moonlight be so high at 5 lumens, to me this more like low not moonlight. The difference between high and turbo is pretty big. Now the interesting thing is it can sustain high (because it’s a lower output) for longer then average. Heat was well managed at the hottest it getting was 101F at the 5 minute mark.
Runtime
In Turbo the Baton Pro only lasts for 1 minute before stepping down 60% of relative output around 600 lumens, for around 15 minutes. At that point medium is the bulk of this lights runtime at 150 minutes before stepping down one more time for another 40 or so minutes. Total runtime is just shy of 200 minutes. Total runtime is pretty good for a single emitter 18650 but that time is well below the advertised max output and a large majority of its under 200 lumens, a bit disappointing in the output regard.
UI
The Baton Pro has the standard Olight UI many of us have come to know, and I like with the slower fades from off/on and between modes. From off, long press to activate moonlight mode at 5 lumens. To turn on in normal modes single click the switch, to change brightness level hold the button and the light will cycle through the 4 available modes lowest to highest. Double click to access turbo. Triple click to access strobe. The light also features memory mode for normal modes.
Lockout can be accomplished when the light is off by pressing and holding the switch for 2 seconds until moonlight mode comes on and immediately shuts off. If you then press the button the red LED under the power button will come on to let you know your in lockout mode. To exit lockout press the button for about 1 second until moonlight mode stays on. Personally I will just give the body of the light a ¼ turn to mechanically lock it out. The light features a short 3 minute timer, and a longer 9 minute timer. If these are setup (See the included manual) the light will automatically shut off when the end of the timer is reached.
Charging
The new MCC II charger is like we saw on the S2R Baton Ii. It’s edges are chamfered, and it’s still magnetic. It can now charge at 1A. Charging Time from a completely empty battery to charged was 4 hours and 41 minutes. Maximum charge rate I saw was 0.80A. . I would like to see a higher then 1A charge rate on their updated charger. That said this is very safe and conservative charge rate for the included 3500mAh battery. Full voltage was 4.185v.
Pro’s
- I like the revised design and grip. Its an increase in texture but not too aggressive.
- Good Basic, familiar UI
- Useful beam pattern, not a pure flood or thrower.
Con’s
- No Specific LED or Tint is officially mentioned here. This is very disappointing from Olight but gives them flexibility during manufacture.
- Moonlight mode is quite bright at 5 Lumens
- Proprietary battery is necessary for onboard recharging to work. The light does work with flat top with a magnet or a button top for just lighting.
Conclusion
The Baton Pro continues Olights small incremental updates of their lights in 2019. It would appear that the marketing department is pushing for those big lumen numbers rather then the R&D department coming out with bigger innovations or filling holes in the product line (Like a lantern or a Bike light).
That said this light has some good features, I like the texture on the body, the small speed improvement in the charging system. It puts out quite a bit of light for it’s size in a good quality beam pattern. It’s disappointing they don’t say exactly what LED is being used here or the tint, only that it’s cool white. Hopefully they won’t continue this practice for future lights. Overall it’s a bright compact light with a good 5 year warranty.