# Olight T10 and T20



## Jay T (Dec 25, 2007)

Fenix who! At least that what some posters said about Olight when they first came out. I wanted to try them out for myself, so should I get the T10 Q5 or the T20 Q5? Then I remembered the CPF rule, get em both!







First up is the T10 a 1 cell 123 light, my favorite size for pocket carry.





Opening the package and taking the light in my hand my first thought wasn't "Fenix who" but, rather Fenix!

The surface finish felt just like my P2D, the whole light felt like a Fenix, other lights I own Jetbeam, Hyperion, Novatac, Peak, all feel different, but not these two.

The clickey on the Olight was a little stiffer and it isn't textured like the Fenix. Taking the head off I saw something very familiar. The Olight accomplishes it's mode switching by loosing and tightening the head not unlike my Fenix P1D






It looks like the Olight and the P1D both use the same designed batwing board fitting into cutouts in the threads. The cutout are even the same size.

Taking a closer look at the T10 head I saw something else the brought about a feeling of deja vu.






Looking at the T10 vs the P2D there is a slight difference between the tracings on the board for the fifth pin.

Are we sure these arn't made by the same company? Sort of like a Ford vs Mercury type of thing.

Anyway clicking the clickey sends light out the front end. Using a unique half smooth reflector.





The spot is very concentrated and quite cool, this light is a thrower not a flooder. 

Once the light is on tapping the clickey cycles between Normal, Flash and SOS modes. To change brightness you loosen the head and retighten it, each time you do this it knocks the output down a notch and will eventually cycle back to 100% from the lowest setting. It the light is left on any brightness level for more that a few seconds and turned off the light will return to that level the next time it is turned on.

Personally I prefer the Fenix P2D method, with the Olight you must know beforehand if you will need low power and preset the light. With the P2D if you are somewhere where you don't need full power just twist the head and the light will come on at the lowest setting.

Now on to the T20

Ah this light does feel a little better than my P3d, mainly because of it's thicker walls, this adds some heft to the light and does make it feel a little less cheap. It also has some anti roll flats on the head and tail. Overall this one doesn't feel as fenixey.

In operation it is just like the T10 just a little brighter.

For the T10 Rechargeable cells will fit though you lose the lower modes just like the Fenix P2D. (you don't suppose they could use the same driver in there?)

For the T20 my AW protected cells don't fit. (EDIT to add: Some do and some don't not sure which type are newer)
(EDIT to add: 17670s do fit, but they must be over 4V for the light to work)

As far as performance.

In my home made lightbox the T10 scores 8,900 lux vs My P2D R100 which scores 8,800. 
The T10 draws 1.4 amps from it's 1 battery while the Fenix draws 1.3 amps.

For the T20 the lightbox says 9,300 Vs 12,700 for a P3D Q5.
the T20 pulls .68 amps from 2 cells while the P3D pulls .72amps

Now for some beam shots, All shots taken on manual with all settings locked.

The T10





A P2D Rebel 100







The T20 Q5





The P3D Q5





Here are a few Outdoor shots, please forgive me the quality isn't too good.

First the T10 Q5





Now the T20 Q5





The P3D Q5





The Malkoff M60 Q5





The Lowes Task Force Cree








Overall the Olights are nice lights. Neither one makes me say "Fenix Who?" 

The beam from these lights are designed for throw and for having little normal sized heads they do quite well. Though to tell the truth I think a wider beam would be more useful for most situations so I do carry my P2D more often.


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## jsr (Dec 25, 2007)

Both Olights look really nice. Interesting how the drivers have identical characteristics and almost identical design and layout. I would think an ex-Fenix employee took the design and started his own brand, probably using identical design and parts. One thing I didn't like about my Fenix L1D was that I lose low when using Li-Ions. Sounds like the Olights (which both the T10 and T15 were ones I was looking into) do the same, which is a big con for me. Regardless, they both seem really well made. Sad the T20 doesn't fit protected 17670s...it doesn't make sense to make 2x123A lights not fit 17670 as using 2xR123As makes runtime go to crap.
BTW, the mixed OP-Smooth reflector isn't an Olight first...Streamlight did it many years ago and made an amazing beam.


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## Jay T (Dec 25, 2007)

Actualy I never tried a 17670 in my T20, till now. It fits and it seems to work. Hmm the 123 are supposed to be 16 mm.






The RCR123 I tried are the ones with white tops, they fit in my in my P3d but not the T20. I pulled another li-ion from another light and it fits! I don't know if the white or black tops are newer. I'll have to check my other lights to see if I can find a match for the black cell. I just hope the T20 can run them without going sizzle sizzle.


Edit: I just tried a runtime test with the 17670. When I tried to charge it my DSD showed green and would not charge it any further so it was close to full charged. It ran for 10 minutes before going into a super high speed flashing low battery indication. I pulled the battery and it read 3.95V on my meter no where near dead.


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## ltiu (Dec 25, 2007)

Great review. After reading, I'll stick with FENIX. Thanks.


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## PhantomPhoton (Dec 25, 2007)

Nice pics. I think will be buying an Olight soon. On CPFM Olight said a "tactical clickie" 2xAA light should be avail in January. I understand the 'fenixy" feel. I would have bought an Olight T20 if it weren't for no 18650 support. Too bad they don't even play nice with 17670s. 
I'd guess that Olight and Fenix source some parts from the same supplier. I'd take that build any day over the Fenix body. But I must admit the Fenix UI is pretty good, except for the useless Hi mode and the low that isn't low enough when using a Q5 or a Rebel 100.


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## jsr (Dec 25, 2007)

It's Christmas! Merry Christmas all!

That being said, it's nice to see 17670s actually do fit, but it doesn't look like the driver works with a single Li-Ion, which again is a poor design choice. Seems like the T20, along with the new Fenix T1, are both designed to work at voltages >4V, which makes no sense as that limits the user to R123As which results in poor runtime. Even for a "tactical" light like the T1 which was designed for 4V-10V I believe, if I were military, I'd use primary 123As as I don't want to deal with charging in deployment, and if I were law enforcement, I'd want 17670 support to maximize runtime while on duty, which means making a driver that supports 3.7V to just over 6V. Even if the driver could support 2xR123As, that's fine, but the range they chose is not ideal nor very useful. Seems the T20 is definitely off my list then. I held off mostly because I thought they couldn't fit protected 17670s, but now knowing the driver doesn't support it well is a bigger turnoff. A nice light tho, just needs more thought in electronics execution.


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