# Olight ST25 Baton,550Lm,2xAA,XM-L2- Review,Beamshots



## FlashLion (Apr 23, 2014)

The ST25 is a new flashlight from Olight's S Baton series lights.All of them compact,with a clean,straight form,high brightness,well built.
Olight ST25 can be powered by 2xAA Alkaline or 2xNiMH batteries.
Cree XM-L2 LED with maximum lumen output of 550 Lm. 4400cd beam intensity.
The flashlight is the first using a two switch design-two electronic switches-side and tail.
The UI is convenient and allows flexibility of using the 5 brightness modes and Strobe mode.





As usual for Olight,the flashlight is perfectly machined.Excellent black anodizing.
Square shape knurling provides stable grip.






*Technical information taken from Olight(website)*










Comparing to Olight S10 L2. Deeper reflector.Deeper pocket clip. Almost the same good design.

The side switch cap is the same size and color as before,but the switch inside is stiff with a loud click sound.
Harder to press accidentally when compared to the S10. 
















5 year warranty from the manufacturer.




Olight ST25 comes in nice transparent plastic box. Most of the important information about the flashlight is stamped directly on the box.









Basic accessories. Very good lanyard,two spare O-rings. No holster.
In the box will find also user manual and product brochure with other models Olight flashlights.




The low self discharge AA batteries that I used for the tests fit well in the battery tube. 




Alkaline and NiMH batteries fit well.
Some of the NiMH batteries(not Low self discharge batteries) that I tested in the flashlight fit tightly(in width).If they heat up slightly in use,may be a problem to take out of the flashlight when they have to be replaced.
No chance for protected 14500 Li-Ion batteries to fit in ST25. Theoretically ST25 can be powered by one 14500 battery using a dummy battery to fill/connect the empty space in the tube.




The battery tube is thick.Everything is very well built.Stable construction.




Gold plated spring in the tail.




Thick,anodized square-cut threads.Very well made.




The new 'stealth' silent tail switch acts as an electronic switch. Disconnects the circuit when pressed.
This is a signal for the driver to turn ON/OFF the light.
The switch is silent(without click sound). This could be a big advantage in some situations.




The metal tail switch has the same color as the rest of the flashlight.It is slightly recessed in the tail and allows stable tail-standing. 





*User Interface*
The UI of the ST25 is very well designed.Using all modes is convenient and easy.
The combination of two electronic switches gives even more freedom when switching between the modes.
The modes are *Ultra Low-Low-Mid-High-Turbo* (in that order),as the main modes are Low-Mid-High.
The modes can be selected only from the side switch. Press the side switch to turn ON/OFF the light. Press and hold for a second (while the light is ON) to change mode.
Turbo can be activated only after double clicking the side switch. There's no memory for this mode.
Ultra Low can be activated initially with holding the side switch for about a second(from OFF).There is memory for this mode and the flashlight will start again on Ultra Low mode when you press any of both switches. If you cycle through the next Low-Mid-High modes the light will forget the Ultra Low mode and will cycle only Low-Mid-High-Low-Mid-High...

The Strobe mode can be activated by double click the side switch when the light is ON. 
The tail switch is used only for ON/OFF.
Something very interesting here,that I like a lot is about the memory function for the Strobe mode.
If you stop the light in Strobe mode,next time when you press the side switch,it will start on any of the last used(before activating Strobe) modes.No memory on the side switch for Strobe. But if you press the tail switch,it will activate directly Strobe mode if the light is turned OFF previously by the side or tail switch after using Strobe. 
This is a great 'tactical' feature on this flashlight. Can be easily used as a defense option.

As before,for protection of accidental activation,the flashlight has locking function for both switches.
Press and hold the side switch for about 2 sec will lock the side switch. The tail switch still can be used. It is nearly impossible to press accidentally and this gives you an option to use the flashlight as a single mode flashlight,without worrying for the side switch.
If you want to lock and the tail switch,this is also possible. Just press and hold the side switch for 3 sec.This will lock both switches.
To unlock the buttons,press and hold the side switch for a second. After unlocking the light starts on Ultra Low mode.

The flashlight has only electronic switches which requires a small stand by current draw.I measured 320 micro amps,which is higher than usual.
Lock out is possible(unscrewing a little the tail cap to disconnect any contact with the batteries). If you will not use the flashlight for a long time,it is recommended to lock out the tail cap.

This graph shows the output measured with 2x1,2V low self discharge batteries,once on Turbo,once on High mode and High mode when using regular(cheap) alkaline batteries from the supermarket.
The ST25 Baton has quite good run time performance.
Green-Turbo NiMH
Red-High NiMH
Blue-High Alkaline





Smooth aluminum reflector. Cree XM-L2 LED-perfectly centered.
Ultra clear glass lens with anti-reflective coating. Very clean and clear with very high light transmittance.




Thick stainless steel bezel protects the front of the head and holds the glass and reflector in place.
Blue water sealing ring with glow in the dark particles.















Thanks to the rear/tail switch the flashlight can be held in classic grip.
The grip is stable and comfortable.The light will not slip off the hand when pressing the tail switch.




The side switch is easy to use.




The flashlight can be held stably even in cigar grip.





The light from the Cree XM-L2 Led used in ST25 is nice white light.Cooler tint than the S10 L2,but no greenish or bluish tint,which is very good.
The beam from the smooth reflector is not so clean,smooth,floody as a beam from an orange peel reflector,but the smooth reflector gives more intensity in the center of the beam.
The ST25 is very bright flashlight and gives quite enough illumination for regular EDC,outdoor sport,camping or other use.
Comparing to Olight S10L2, with the low self discharge batteries,my ST25 on Turbo is a little dimmer than the S10 L2.



*

1 meter distance,white wall*

Olight ST25 Turbo-High-Mid-Low
1/20sec












Olight S10, Sunwayman S10R,Jetbeam RRT0








Olight ST25 Turbo-High-Mid-Low
1/250sec










Olight S10, Sunwayman S10R,Jetbeam RRT0








*5 meters*
1/6sec





Olight ST25 Turbo-High-Mid-Low
5m 1/6sec


















5meters 1/50sec











*Outdoor*

The beam is a little narrower than the S10's beam due to the deeper reflector.
Thanks to the smooth reflector(instead of orange peel) and its depth the beam has more concentrated in the center 
which gives a better distance of throw.








Olight ST25 Turbo




Olight ST25 Low-Mid-High-Turbo





Olight ST25 Low-Mid-High-Turbo
~50m





The ST25 can be easily attached to a belt or backpack.
The pocket clip is quite good for that as only its loop for a lanyard could be a problem when attaching to thick objects.
But the clip is longer than the clip of the model S10 and is deep enough for secure attaching.





The ST25 Baton from Olight is a great choice if you need a good strong built flashlight that uses conventional type of batteries - rechargeable or alkaline that are easy to find and don't need too much care. The flashlight is slim,lightweight,doesn't take too much space,easy to carry.
The new silent tail switch is very good idea and gives you an option to use the flashlight as a regular tail switch flashlight.
The side switch has the same design as the previous Baton lights. But inside is used a switch which requires a firmer pressing to activate it. This makes it harder to activate accidentally.Still possible,but there's a locking function which adds more protection.
Loosening-tightening the tail cap is the same as pressing the tail switch.When you screw on the tailcap after replacing the batteries,the light starts,because it thinks that the tail switch is pressed.This is not something that I like,but can't be avoided with this switch design.Just should be careful not to shine the light in someone's eyes.






*Thanks for reading!*


Olight ST25 was provided by Olight for review.


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## Nightflash (Apr 23, 2014)

Thanks a lot for posting. Awesome review, amazing pictures and very complete. Already love the UI of the S10 and S20 batons and after Your review will take a look into this one. Clean and precise pictures and amazing night-shots. This was real fun to read


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## Torpedo (Apr 23, 2014)

Very nice review, good job.


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## Andrey_Nikolov (Apr 24, 2014)

Thank You for this excellent review of this nice new model! 
Good job! 
I am thinking at this moment Olight ST25 is one of the best choices for two AA powered flashlight. It's very universal and suitable for outdoor, EDC, household ;-)


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## jonwkng (Apr 24, 2014)

Thanks for another great review, *FlashLion*! Nice photos and beamshots!


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## kj2 (Apr 24, 2014)

Thanks for the review 
What where your camera-settings for the outdoor beamshots?


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## Jdubs (Apr 24, 2014)

Thank you - very nice review and photos.


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## FlashLion (Apr 24, 2014)

Thank you all.Glad you like the review.


kj2 said:


> Thanks for the review
> What where your camera-settings for the outdoor beamshots?


I use ISO100 and 5 sec or more exposure time for outdoor beamshots. f=3.4


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## Lord_Foul (Apr 24, 2014)

Thanks for the review, already ordered. :goodjob:


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## demoteamone (Apr 26, 2014)

Thanks for the Nice Review, I was wondering if the tail switch of the 25 ST baton is or can be compatible with the S15 baton?


Thanks so much in advance.


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## FlashLion (Apr 26, 2014)

demoteamone said:


> Thanks for the Nice Review, I was wondering if the tail switch of the 25 ST baton is or can be compatible with the S15 baton?
> 
> 
> Thanks so much in advance.


Hello.
The tail-caps of the ST25 and S15 are completely different. The battery tube of the ST25 is much thicker(larger diameter) and the threads are thicker.
I don't think there is a reason of using the S15 with the ST25's tail cap/switch. Maybe ST25 with the S15 extender for one more battery is a good idea,but they are incompatible.


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## välineurheilija (Apr 26, 2014)

Thank you very much for a great review and excellent photos.
that new switch seems very interesting


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## Kris_Outdoors (Apr 26, 2014)

Great review! I especially loved the pictures and beam shots. Looks like the s25 is everything I like about the s10 and more. I'm not really sure why the made the battery tube the way they did, it's a little weird changing the shape so drastically halfway down the pipe.


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## kj2 (Apr 27, 2014)

Kris_Outdoors said:


> I'm not really sure why the made the battery tube the way they did, it's a little weird changing the shape so drastically halfway down the pipe.


So you can reverse the pocket-clip


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## Kris_Outdoors (Apr 27, 2014)

kj2 said:


> So you can reverse the pocket-clip



Ok, but I'm sure they could have found a more eloquent way to do that. It looks like they took a S15 and shoved an extension tube up its butt :huh:


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## tobrien (Apr 27, 2014)

excellent photography as usual


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## FlashLion (Apr 28, 2014)

tobrien said:


> excellent photography as usual


Thanks tobrien


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## newbie66 (May 8, 2014)

Darn, Olight has improved the design of their lights and this one makes me want it a lot, but unfortunately it is not sold by my dealer.

Love the 550lumens but too bad only for 30 minutes.


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## mikemild13 (Jun 4, 2014)

Great review! Will be ordering this one soon.


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## LAMPARITA (Jun 6, 2014)

Thanks for the great review and great pictures! I replaced my Fenix LD22 with the awesome, 550 lumens, ST25 Baton that also uses AA batteries, this is now my new EDC light, and the best part is that it fits perfect in the LD22 holster.
Don't see the point of using the ST25 550 lumens for more than 30 minutes unless you are a LEO or ERT or maybe planning on going hunting for black bear but whatever the reason is, you might asw well purchase the Surefire P2X Fury Defender with a runtime of 1.5 hours at 500 lumens.


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## D6859 (Jun 11, 2014)

> Press and hold the side switch for about 2 sec will lock the side switch. The tail switch still can be used. It is nearly impossible to press accidentally and this gives you an option to use the flashlight as a single mode flashlight,without worrying for the side switch.



This is a nice feature and I didn't happen to find it in any other review I've been reading. Thank you FlashLion! I might change my mind and update my Olight S15 to ST25...


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## Overclocker (Jun 21, 2014)

nice review! and great photography

i’m curious about the turbo mode using 2x nimh. seems like the “550 lumens” is not sustainable for any useful amount of time. on your graph it seems like it takes a nosedive immediately, and i mean it really really falls like a brick, and that perhaps 550 lumens only lasts for like 5 seconds or so? probably even less…

if so then it’s really no better than it’s cousin the foursevens QP2A-X which doesn’t brag about a “550 lumens” but instead puts out around 450 lumens for 3 minutes then steps down to 336. and the 450 lumens is actually sustained quite well for those 3 minutes…

perhaps ~450 lumens is the practical ceiling for a 2x AA-nimh XML2 flashlight?


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## FlashLion (Jun 21, 2014)

Yes,Turbo output falls quickly. 
Two NiMh batteries have not enough voltage for better regulation with only a buck driver.
The batteries that I used for the test are far from their best condition,so the graph could be a little better with better batteries.

I don't have the QP2A-X and can't comment about it's performance.
As usual the choice is-constant output at lower brightness or Highest possible for the power supply brightness for short time.
Most important is to have a few different outputs(modes) to choose from.


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