My first knife comparison video is something I have been wanting to do for a while. I have been collecting and carting a blade as a daily EDC for a couple of years now. Only recently during a sharpening session I came to the realization that these were such close siblings even though I knew they were. I decided it would make for an interesting video. Please enjoy and look for more knife related videos in the future.
For me I found this light to be a great size for EDC. It’s smaller diameter in comparison to a CR123 light makes it easier to fit into the pocket. This still has the Olight pocket clip which some love and others hate. Personally I like the deep carry ability of it but it does get caught a little when placing back into the pocket. This light can run on 3 different battery chemistries and all have differing levels of performance and run time. Personally I would recommend running this off a rechargeable 14500 lithium based sell. Using this you get the best of both worlds in terms of it’s reliable so costs to operate will be low, and you also have the availability of 600 lumens in turbo mode. On a alkaline or NIHM battery you don’t have the option of turbo mode. Please see my video below for more details.
Overall I really like the light and can recommend it, I really like the fit and finish of this one too.
Olight asked me if I would like to review their revised S30R Baton iii and I said I would. This is a pocketable thrower style light powered by an Olight 18650 battery that in Turbo mode produces 1050 lumens. It’s a pretty nice light but slightly longer than the Olight S2R due to it’s different lens design to give it more throw. For more in depth review with night run shots, check out my video below.
If you are interested in purchasing the light you can find it a the links below.
New Logo – Over the past few weeks I have been working on updating my branding of my Youtrube channel. Part of that is a new logo which you will find in the video as a watermark, and the intro video. I would like to thank @DaveMedia_LNK for the animation help on the video. I think it turned out very nicely, and now on to the review.
The Olight S10R Baton iii is a new version of Olights popular S10R light. It uses a new LED, the Luminus SST-40. It produces 600 lumen on turbo mode. The flashlight uses a RCR123 sized lithium powered cell that’s rechargeable on the included magnetic doc.
I found the light to be very easy to EDC with it’s short under 3 inch size and light weight yet it has powerful performance. For a more in depth review please watch the video below.
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If you would like to purchase this light you can do so below.
The Nitecore LR30 is a new product from Nitecore. It’s advertised as a camping lantern but I found more uses for it then that in the past few days while I have been reviewing it. It’s a highly diffused, high CRI light powered by a 18650 sized lithium cell (not included) or 2 CR123A cells (Not included). I ended up getting the most use from it this holiday weekend to help paint a room in a family members new home. Lighting was not good in the room and I had this with me, and used it as a hand spot light to point out ares that needed more prep (sanding) or areas that needed more paint. It worked great for that.
The light has 3 stages of neutral white light, low, medium, and high. On high it’s producing 205 Lumens for 3hr and 30 minutes on an 18650 cell. Medium is 85 Lumens for 8hrs 50 minutes, Low is 12 Lumens for an impressive 62 hours. The light also has a Red LED mode, that does a blinking and SOS modes. Its a bit bright at 45 lumens.
The video I made below goes into more depth so I encourage you to watch it to learn about all the features of the light.
Olight asked if I would like to review their new S2R Baton LED light and I said I would. It arrived last week and I have been carrying it and testing to see how I like it. Here is a brief written highlight. For the detailed review watch my videobelow.
Pros:
Very small for an 18650 light.
Rechargeable in the light, proprietary doc
Very deep carry clip but takes some effort to go into the pants pockets usually.
Cons:
For the built in recharging to work, you have to use the Olight batteries, not the fastest charging but safe and super easy. .
No extra O rings included in the package, but I have never needed them.
Packaging is kind of tough to undo without destroying it, but it does come with directions
Build Quality:Typical of Olight the build quality is outstanding. The threads come lightly pre greased. Tolerances are tight, and the finish is great. I really like the blue accents Olight does around the switch and front bezel.
Switch is on the side,. It’s a soft press low profile button. I didn’t find it too easy to press accidentally while in the pocket of my jeans but it does have a lockout which is nice insurance. The switch is accented by blue anodized aluminum which makes it look sharp.
Tail Cap Recharging: The biggest difference for the Olight S2R baton is has built in recharging in the magnetic tailcap. The flashlight comes with a small circular docking like station. It’s magnetic and you literally can’t put it on wrong, just get it close and it snaps into place. The other end is USB based and can plug into a variety of powerbanks or wall chargers, or car chargers. When charging the doc has red LED indicators that go solid, when finished they turn green and stay on. The Doc itself is an anodized aluminum exterior. The cable is about 1ft in length with a flat black cable. It’s not the fastest way to charge an 18650 but it’s the easiest. One negative about the recharging feature is that you have to use the Olight branded batteries to make this work. The light will turn on while charging.
One thing I noticed about this light during my use is that if you were to put the light in your mouth temporarily to hold it while freeing both hands, don’t put your tongue on the contacts or well you complete the circuit. While it’s not a lot of power, it’s not pleasant and something you want to do.
This light is a thrower and has good performance. In my video I have some night video of it’s performance. I have been using it on medium mode mostly, bumping up to high sometimes for increased distance. The light has a moonlight mode at ½ lumen and a strobe as well. Heat is well managed, it definitely gets warm but it’s not too hot to handle.
Overall I really like the light. Its about as thin as possible for an 18650 powered light. The clip is strong, and holds the light well. The magnetic tail cap comes in handy. The rechargeable nature of this light makes it really easy to keep charged and recharge when needed. I think it would make a good gift for someone who wants a high powered light but doesn’t have or want a charger. It comes with everything needed to use the light and keep it going. If you have any questions please let me know.
Olight contacted me to see if I would like to review the new Olight H1 Nova Headlamp. I of course said yes because who can have enough flashlights? Headlamps are one of those things that are super useful when you need extra light but need both hands free (Home improvement, rock climbing, automotive repair, etc) but sit in a drawer most of the time. Olight has solved this problem with the H1 Nova by making the light removable from the headstrap. This is a tiny light, with some fantastic performance for it’s weight and size without sacrificing build quality.
For a more detailed review please see my video review below.
Lumintop asked me if I wanted to review a series of flashlights for them so I said yes. Over the coming weeks I will be posting my written and video reviews with a few photos.
The construction and fit and finish of this light is impressive. The front emitter and tail are both made of brass. The light comes vacuum packaged to keep the brass in a pristine shiny state. As soon as you open it, the brass will start to oxidize and distress. I found this to be a fast process, within a few days your light will start to take on a lot of character. You can always seal the metal first thing to preserve the shiny look or use a metal polish to “restore it”
The center tube is internally made of copper for heat dissipation, with the outside having a carbon fiber weave with what looks like a few brass wires in it to set the look off from normal carbon fiber. This middle section is the best place to hold on to the light when it starts to get hot from continual use on high. The end cap is brass as well and holds the tail click button. I will talk more about that below. The light is IPX-8 rated for about 6 feet. With a battery installed this isn’t a lightweight light, it’s a very solid somewhat heavy but it’s a powerful tool too. Mine with the included battery weighed in at 5.7 oz.
The light quality is good. This light uses a Cree XM-L2 U2 LED Chip and I would call it a neutral color. The light on high mode produces 1000 lumens and will run for a quoted 2.5 hours. I think this is pretty accurate as the brightness compares to my other 1000 lumen lights. On medium it produces 170 lumens at 11 hours, and on low 25 lumens for 65 hours. The light has a glass lens that has double antireflective coating on it, with an o’ring to seal it to the body. The reflector is mirror like and smooth. The LED itself has a lens over it too. I would call this light between a thrower and a flood. It has a narrow angle reflector but the beam spreads pretty easily.
The head (brass) really does get very hot on high. I would guess north of 130F after about 10 minutes of high use. The carbon fiber parts and the rear stay cool enough to touch. On the lower light outputs, the heat output are not a problem. It might be a good idea for Lumintop to put in a thermal controls to dim the light if it gets over a level where the outside could burn you.
This light is turned on with a large button in the tail cap. The button is flat and made of metal a milled aluminum it looks like. It has the lumintop logo on it and it spins freely. The switch feels pretty good but has a little side to side play. The switch can either be On or Off and used in ½ presses to change modes. I do like that it’s flush as this light will tail stand. The light has only 3 modes as I covered above, a high, medium, and low mode. No special flashing etc. There is also no memory modes.
This light has a slim long “Deep carry” style clip. It really is tight to the body of the light and makes the light very secure in your pocket or its included pouch. On my brass model light it’s made of a polished stainless steel. It uses torx screws to attach to only one point of the body of the light. It is removable.
The Lumintop Prince comes with a nice full grain leather case. The light fits tightly in it with the pocket clip to one side. It also has a belt clip. It’s a nice upgrade over a typical nylon “tactical style” holder. The leather makes sense for a classy light. The case has a spot on one side for a spare 18650 battery as well which is nice.
The light came with a Lumintop 18650 lithium ion battery that’s 3600mah but did not include a charger. This battery says it’s one of the popular NCR18650B models made by Panasonic. I have no way of verifying that it is actually a Panasonic battery. When I got it, it came at about 3.7v. I charged it in my Nitecore D2i charger at 500ma and it was full 5 hours later before it read 4.2v (Full). I have a charger that prioritizes safety over speed and I am ok with that. Never leave your lithium ion batteries unattended when charging. Safety first. The battery life has been great with this cell, no trouble at all with it so I would say it’s probably a real Panasonic cell because of it’s high quality.
The materials of this light set it apart and make it a luxury light. It’s non tactical and probably fits most people in most situations better than a tactical light. This would make a great gift for someone if combined with a nice, safe, lithium battery charger (Assuming they didn’t have one). I like the light and have been using it a lot. For it’s size it’s performance is great, the heat is a bit of a concern if used on high for a long time but that’s to be expected for such a high lumen light. Overall I recommend it.
If you are interested in purchasing this light, please click my Amazon link. http://amzn.to/1V9X50I
Lumintop has offered me a 20% off discount code for my fans by using the code PZKZTJFB
Make sure the seller is “LUMINTOP DIRECT” to make sure the code works to get your 20% discount on all Lumintop products. The code is valid through 12/31/2016
