New Olight I3S-CU Polished finish. First Impression (Pics and runtime)

[Trevilux]

Received one week ago this little brass light: Olight I3S-CU Polished finish,

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Olight I3S-CU:
LED: XP-L Cool white
REFLECTOR: Orange peel
BATTERY: 1xAAA 0.9-2.0 V (NiMH, Alkaline, primay lithium).
MODES: 3 HIGH/MID/LOW
INTERFACE: Twisty
DATE: February 2016

Packaging, perfect for carrying the flashlight, to give away or to store the flashlight. Includes one alkaline battery ( I am not a big fan and, I will use with high quality NiMH aaa) and a Manual user, but I miss one spare oring.

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The light not change the size of his predecessor I3s aluminium version, but the weigh is increased for the new material:

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Some Pics now for comparisson with other "3 Series"; ITP A3 Eos upgraded (XP-G R5), Olight I3 (XP-G R5) and Olight I3S (XPG-2):

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Now Pic with a Maratac aaa copper Rev3, my first copper flashlight, I am not sure yet if I will be a fan of copper lights....(but I love this Maratac!)

and with other well known aaa flashlights:

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Some pics for detail of design; tailstand is allowed, the threads have a good quality and run very soft. The clip is strong enough for this little size. head to head with the auminium version, only 2 small external aesthetic differences:

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Battery and Interface:

Information from Olight says; 0.9-2.0V, and of course I will no try 10440 on this. I prefer NimH and Primary Lithium.

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Is a Twisty light (tighten and loosen head for changing modes)[FONT=arial, sans-serif].
[/FONT]
No memory modes, always turn on the highest mode. The sequence; High,Mid,Low,High,..... (this I3s-CU has not hidden strobe as the I3S aluminium version)

LED/BEAM:


A XP-L Cool white welll centered in small Orange Peel reflector. Perfect beam, more flood than his colleague in aluminium:

A animated gif:

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Information about modes and runtime in high:

Official information manual:

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First I put a small graph of relative power modes in % to get an idea of which is the distribution of modes. Considering that the flashlight has 3 modes, but how high suffers a drop in power "step down" programmed for 3 minutes, I have included the value of this step as a reference within the graph;

(ceilling bounce)

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Runtime test in High mode with a Panasonic Eneloop NiMH min. 750 mA. One data for minute, for reference the 100% on this test is the highest value between 30 and 180 seconds (ANSI NEMA FL-1 standard).

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In detail the first 4 minutes of test, one data for each 10 seconds. The step down begins at 3 minutes, slowly descent for 30 seconds to about 45% of initial power and then the line is flat:

I love the light, my score is 9/10. (for the price is a perfect 1xaaa, but I will prefer a diferent order of modes, my preferred for aaa lights is low/mid/high).
This sample was not provided for review.

PLEASE COMPLETE REVIEW IS IN (SPANISH) HERE, http://luxlinternas.blogspot.com.es/2016/02/olight-i3s-cu-polished-finish-1xaaa-xp-l.html

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[Ladd]

Nice Review. Thanx for posting!

 

[kreisl]

Thanks for the nice review!

How would you describe the tint?

 

[Trevilux]

Thaks guys!!!

The tint is cool white kreisl....is not the most cool white of my aaa. There are not blueish or greenish;
Here with 2 lights that are more colder than the I3S-CU

the new I3E eos (one mode light)

Here Vs well known by you ; Tank007 E09 (both light in highest mode with NiMH)

Here Vs a nichia light (the BLF edition of singfire)

But I think the more realistic representation of the tint of the I3S-CU is the beam of my original post:

 

[kreisl]

Thanks for your efforts with the tint comparison beamshots!

And congrats to the two beautiful new Olight flashlights you got

 

[mzil]

Great job Trevilux. Thank you.
So the ramped down brightness on Hi, after 3 minutes, is still much, much brighter than Medium.

Question: If after 3 minutes, when you have reached the ramped down level, will a quick cycling between modes bring you back to the very bright starting level or are you locked to the ramped down level?

 

[Trevilux]

Hi mzil, good question, I will test this info tonight!
( I prefer a little high Medium mode)

 

[jon_slider]

Thanks for the review and great photos.
If I understand correctly, both models are Brass, the one you got is plated with titanium vapor so it wont tarnish (and wont be Oligodynamic).

"step down" programmed for 3 minutes

thanks for testing that. I was confused by this literature stating 30 seconds:
"Built-in intelligent active thermal programmatic control system limits output on turbo mode for constant-on. the output will ramp down by 50% of the initial output within 30 seconds (approximately 90 lumens)."

A brass light with thermal step down just begs to be tested with a 10440 LiIon (unofficially of course)
not to start a battery argument in this review thread, as the light is not rated for 10440, here is a place to discuss pros and cons of unsanctioned LiIon use
10440 LiIon in lights not rated for LiIon, pros and cons ...

 

[Trevilux]

Hi again guys:
- Yes I think both are brass flaslights.
"thanks for testing that. I was confused by this literature stating 30 seconds:.." Yes the information is not clearly, but now with this runtime graph seems clearly

- I have tested again, after step down, I wait a few seconds, and cycle again to high mode. The light maintain again 3 minutes the high mode with a power over 90% of initial

 

[jon_slider]

- I have tested again, after step down, I wait a few seconds, and cycle again to high mode. The light maintain again 3 minutes the high mode with a power over 90% of initial

thank you for all the info, very helpful
one suggestion, instead of 90% or other % values, I would prefer to see actual Lumens

I really hate that about selfbuilts charts, they are all in % like you are using.. maybe you have reasons I have not considered

similarly, your chart that shows 0.1% for the low mode, I would much rather see it show 2 lumens

still great respect for your efforts and contributions

 

[Trevilux]

Hi jon slider.
I have not problem with use lumens....but really I obtain my data with a ceiling bounce, I have not an integrated sphere, without the sphere If I make my graph with lumens information , really I would be writing data lumens that I do not know if they are true.... the relative power in % are true data obtained by me and indicate an aproximation of the regulation of the light.
Of course I also prefer the data in lumens!!!!

 

[Trevilux]

Yesterday receive the unit in finish not polished: "raw version", I like both….

Some Pics for comparisson:

 

[Capolini]

I got mine yesterday. I wish I had measuring equipment!!! I can tell you this.This light is at least 550 lumens w/10440! It is a warmer tint as we know[cooler white always seem brighter]. The Ultratac K18 SS is 360L @ 30 sec and that is a COOL WHITE tint. The i3S CU is soooo much brighter..brighter than the i3E on 10440 which is also brighter than my Ultratac K18 SS.

With that said it gets very hot after 1 minute. It caught me off guard. After running it incrementally for 5.5 minutes[INITIAL BURST 3 MINUTES UNTIL STEP DOWN] the battery[Efest IMR 10440] WAS @ 2.37V!

NO DOUBT IN MY MIND I WILL BE USING MY ENLOOPS FOR THIS LIGHT! I AM NOT TAKING A CHANCE AT RUINING IT! IT GETS TOO HOT AND THE BATTERY LIFE IS SO SHORT AT THAT OUTPUT!

It was fun testing it. My modified light brain always wants to test the limits of lights,even the emergency type key chain variety!

I still like my Ultratac K18 SS better,,,,,,,side switch and 10440 compatible with great output and run times!:thumbsup:

 

[SVT-ROY]

I got mine yesterday. I wish I had measuring equipment!!! I can tell you this.This light is at least 550 lumens w/10440! It is a warmer tint as we know[cooler white always seem brighter]. The Ultratac K18 SS is 360L @ 30 sec and that is a COOL WHITE tint. The i3S CU is soooo much brighter..brighter than the i3E on 10440 which is also brighter than my Ultratac K18 SS.

With that said it gets very hot after 1 minute. It caught me off guard. After running it incrementally for 5.5 minutes[INITIAL BURST 3 MINUTES UNTIL STEP DOWN] the battery[Efest IMR 10440] WAS @ 2.37V!

NO DOUBT IN MY MIND I WILL BE USING MY ENLOOPS FOR THIS LIGHT! I AM NOT TAKING A CHANCE AT RUINING IT! IT GETS TOO HOT AND THE BATTERY LIFE IS SO SHORT AT THAT OUTPUT!

It was fun testing it. My modified light brain always wants to test the limits of lights,even the emergency type key chain variety!

I still like my Ultratac K18 SS better,,,,,,,side switch and 10440 compatible with great output and run times!:thumbsup:

Much brighter that the i3E with a 10440....very cool, I didn't want to risk it myself haha. I noticed on the raw version it has way more of a white tint for the win vs the polished.

 

[Capolini]

Much brighter that the i3E with a 10440....very cool, I didn't want to risk it myself haha. I noticed on the raw version it has way more of a white tint for the win vs the polished.

How is that light [forget which one,,MX2vn XPG2?!] I sold you doing?!!

My wording/punctuation may have confused you!! So much brighter than the Ultratac K18 SS...... AND brighter than the i3E!

 

[mzil]

Thank you Capolini for testing out the 10440 in the i3S-CU. You are brave to do this because it is not officially sanctioned by Olight and may cause failure if left on for too long, but I guess brass conducts heat away better than aluminum so it makes sense that it should work.

@SVT-ROY This is the first I'm hearing of the raw CU brassy vs the CU PVD coated "titanium gold" having different tints. Are you sure the difference wasn't due to different levels of battery depletion or voltage?

 

[SVT-ROY]

Thank you Capolini for testing out the 10440 in the i3S-CU. You are brave to do this because it is not officially sanctioned by Olight and may cause failure if left on for too long, but I guess brass conducts heat away better than aluminum so it makes sense that it should work.

@SVT-ROY This is the first I'm hearing of the raw CU brassy vs the CU PVD coated "titanium gold" having different tints. Are you sure the difference wasn't due to different levels of battery depletion or voltage?

I used Duracell ion core lsd aaa batteries and both were fully charged at 1.4ish Olight tried to tell me the tints were the same on both light but we know about tint lotterys, these are just so extremely different. I'm color deficient so I prefer a white beam.

How is that light [forget which one,,MX2vn XPG2?!] I sold you doing?!!

My wording/punctuation may have confused you!! So much brighter than the Ultratac K18 SS...... AND brighter than the i3E!

Im easily confused but I guess I can try it out myself and see. I love the i3E and CUs, this small aaa light addicion has been so much easier on me and so much fun. 10-30$ per light haha forgetaboutit. And oh boy the M2X is just amazing, I finally got to stretch her legs out at the coast a few weeks ago. 375 lux if I remember? If you zoom in enough you can see a hotel getting spotted through a break in the trees and fog/rain. She is a beast! The hotel is much farther that it looks, the road on the right should help with yardage, maybe 700 yards? And on the beach... The woman was like hey don't shine them, hey they shined me first(using Walmart light)

 

[Capolini]

^^^^^cool,,,glad to see it is still piercing the sky!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I also went on a little key chain light binge,,I bought 4 of them in a short time. Olight i3E/i3S CU and Two flavors of the Ultratac K18-SS & Aluminum.

First I would like to mention that I have ZERO shelf queens,,,,,,If I buy a light I use it!! Those on V54 threads know of my "Rotation" I have set up! 2 lights,,sometimes 3 a night for my trail hikes w/ Capo my Siberian Husky!

I chose the Ultratac K18 SS as my key chain light,takes 10440 and love the SS and side switch especially.........not my favorite tint[cool,cool white!],can't have everything,,,,,,UNLESS you get modded lights!

Back to the i3S CU.Four years ago I would not have liked the tint. All I knew was cool White,when I first got my S10/S20 I had to get use to warmer/yellower tint,and then the modded road where I converted and enjoy warmer tints 3000k to 5000k.

I like the i3S CU and did not want to leave the wrong impression on another post where I chose the K18 as my key chain light.

1.Like the tail stand ability
2.Love the Brass/Titanium laminated covering look!
3.clip is decent
4.Tint is fine w/ me,much better than cool white!
5.run time is good and I have PLENTY of Enloops/10440:naughty: and Alkaline for emergencies.

GUESS WHAT I AM USING IT FOR?!

1.I use it every night to illuminate my book when I read in bed! Hard to choOse b/w the 2L and 20L setting!

2. I also use it to TAIL STAND on my dining room table for early morning breakfast!

 

[Capolini]

Another thought about the "UI"!

I have numerous modded throwers, THREE[3] of which are single mode direct drive,that is how I PREFER MY MODDED TRAIL LIGHTS!

This is NOT a high powered search light! Like most I wish it was L-M-H. That makes a hell of a lot more sense for a key chain light!

I keep it on my night stand. When I activate this light in the middle of the night and early in the morning,,,,,,I CLOSE MY EYES UNTIL TWO TWISTS WHEN ITS ON LOW[2 LUMENS]!!! I still like this light,,,,,,,,,,I just despise the UI when it is early in the morning! :sigh:

 

[jon_slider]

I wish it was L-M-H. That makes a hell of a lot more sense for a key chain light!

… I just despise the UI when it is early in the morning! :sigh:

purely my opinion ahead, not a criticism of others preferences.. My mode preferences change depending if the light is a Keychain light, or a Nightstand light

For a keychain light I prefer Medium first, (eg, Olight i3s, Worm, Tool, and Maratac). Medium gives useful light to illuminate most items with a single twist

otoh for a nightstand light, like you, I prefer Low first, such as in the ReyLight. Thrunites also start on Low, but its so ridiculously dim I usually dont find it useful. I dont like a Thrunite as a keychain light at all, the first mode is almost always wasted and I have to twist twice to get useful light. The Thrunite 0.04 lumen low makes an OK night light, but I prefer the Olight i3s 0.50 low.

otoh, also like you, when using an Olight i3s, IF I need Low in the middle of the night, I put the head of the light against my hand and twist 3 times.. viola! Low for nightstand use.. LOL. I also enjoy the Rey Light with Nichia and its Low first, for a nightstand light. About 2x brighter than the i3s, without being blinding.

Different lights, and different UIs for nightstand than keychain, for me.

As far as the Ultratac K18, the 3 lumen low imho is too bright for nightstand use, and I also prefer warmer CCT than Cool White in the middle of the night.

my preferences atm are, a Low of 0.5-1.5 lumens as the first mode, at 3000K CCT for nightstand
a Medium of 20-40 lumens as the first mode at 4000K CCT for keychain
I only use Cool White at 6000K when looking under the car during the day, and I want at least 120Luments, when my brain is white balanced to ambient light above 5000K

so, Low in a Warm CCT, Medium in a Neutral CCT, and High in Cool White, only because its brighter.

My next wish is to find a 6000K LED with 90+ CRI, that could be swapped into one of my Maratacs.. know of any good Cool High CRI options?.. sorry, I guess thats offtopic.. Olight does not offer any neutral or warm options in the i3s, just Cool White and Low CRI

I did have an Olight i3s modded to 90CRI 3000K XPL, I dont recommend the mustard yellow tint and prefer the 3000K 93CRI XPG with a Rey Light driver that starts a 4000K Nichia on a 1 lumen Low first.. and fwiw, the 3000K XPG makes the modes about 1/3 lower than with N219, which I like in full darkness in the middle of the night.