# Review: Olight S15 - A good EDC/Walking light



## kj2 (Jul 22, 2013)

*Review: Olight S15 (1/2x AA, XM-L2, max 280 lumens)*

_- For submission in the review section - 
_
One of Olight latest lights, is the S15 Baton. The S15 runs on 1* AA (2* or 3* AA with a extension tube) or 1* 14500 battery. On the highest mode it puts out 280 lumens and it has ,a good to use, firefly mode. 
This light is specially great when using as EDC, walking light or as maintenance light because of the magnet in the tail.

















I like it, that Olight offers a 5 Year Warranty on their flashlights. It shows they stand behind their products.
*
Flashlight specifications: (given by Olight)

*- Aviation grade aluminum body, with anti-scratch type III hard anodizing. 
- Stainless steel head ring can bear higher impaction.
- Side switch with blue button cap, soft and comfortable to press.
- Special designed smooth reflector and 99% luminousness lens with anti-reflective coating on both sides make longer beam distance.
- High efficient drive circuit, compatible with any rechargeable and non-rechargeable AA battery; The run time is up to 15 days under moonlight mode.
- Assembled with latest CREE XM-L2 LED, and maximum output up to 280 lumens (tested by using 14500 rechargeable lithium battery).
- Four adjustable brightness level: moonlight-low-middle-high and strobe; automatic memory function can memorize the brightness level while off (excluding strobe).
- With flashlight off, pressing side switch to directly activate high mode or moonlight mode.
- With a long-arm convertible pocket clip for easy access.
- There is a lanyard hole in the tail which can pass through fabric strap with diameter of 2mm.
- with detachable strong magnet inside the tail, the flashlight can be attached vertically to any iron objects.
- lat bottom allows stable tail standing.
- extremely low standby current: 0.5uA while using 1.5V battery; 1.2uA while using 4.2V battery.- Battery reverse polarity function guards against improper battery installation.
- Lock-out function
- Waterproof: IPX8






*
Inside the box:
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The S15 comes with: 1x a lanyard, 2x O-rings, 1x magnet replacer, 1x split ring and a manual. 
Inside I also found a extension-tube so I could run 2* AA batteries. The Olight website doesn't state if
you get a extension-tube inside the box. But knowing Olight, they probably will provide a extension-tube with the light.
























The Olight S15 Baton is one of the smallest lights I've held in my hands. Although it's size, is bright. It has a XM-L2 led and a relative small and shallow reflector. 
Despite it has a smooth reflector, the light spreads more than it throws. Because of the large spill and the 'lack' of throw, you will light-up a large area in front of you.
This does come in handy when using the light as a EDC light or walking at night. I've been using this light for the last couple of days now, and it has become one of my favorite lights.
A simple to use interface, plenty of light and with the deep pocket-clip it's easy to take with you.

As you expect from Olight, the fit and finish is very good. Although I found a small-flaw in the coating on my sample, I expect this won't happen on every S15.
The laser engraving is good. I like that Olight has the glow-in-the-dark (GITD) feature in the head. 
















When using the S15 in places where you don't have much space, I would recommend to use the light as 1* AA light. But when walking, I suggest to add the extension because this
gives a better grip and hold on the light. And with the extension on it, the runtimes also get better 










I did try to make some beamshots of the light. But my camera and lens would only photograph the medium and high mode. But believe me, the S15 is bright enough for most work inside and outside the house.
Nowadays 280 lumens doesn't seem much, but when you have this light in your hands- you will think differently. 

_(The fence is about 10 meters away from the camera/flashlight)
_








I did try to find some negative things about this light. And after looking and looking, I did found two things I would like to see improved.

1: The pocket-clip. The design of the clip is great. It holds the light securly inside you pants, and you don't have to be afraid it clips off. But.. the clip needs a lot of force
if you want to remove it. The first time it almost looked, like I was bending the clip. To have a secure clip is one thing, but it has to come off without bending it.

2: The coating. The sample I got as some flaws. On the handle there is a chip off, and when I took the clip off- I also took some coating of the clip. 





_(Right where the clips touches the light, you see a chip of coating missing)_


Coming to the end of this review, I have one thing to mention about. And that is the magnet in the tail. When Olight first came with flashlights with a magnet inside the tail, I was very skeptic about it. 
"Why on earth did they do that?" "When do you need that"... Well, now that I have a flashlight with a magnet I found out. Because it's sooo handy 
You have your hands free, it's perfect to light-up a room when the power is out, and there are probably a 100 more scenarios when you could use a flashlight with a magnet.
If you don't want to have the magnet installed, you can take it out. The manual shows how. 









As you can see, the light can hang upside-down, even with 2* AA installed.

I mentioned before, the light has quickly become one of my favorite lights. It's more than capable for most jobs, and still tiny enough that you can take it everywhere with you.
Olight did a real good job on this one 
















- A big thanks to Olight and Adola B.V. for given me this review opportunity. -


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## ChibiM (Jul 22, 2013)

Bedankt voor de review.. ziet er leuk uit. 

I just ordered one myself, and im looking forward to receiving it..


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## agent80 (Jul 22, 2013)

What does the convertible clip mean? Can you attach it to the tail so that the head is not pointing up the way it is now?


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## kj2 (Jul 22, 2013)

agent80 said:


> What does the convertible clip mean? Can you attach it to the tail so that the head is not pointing up the way it is now?


I think they mean, that you can remove the clip. There is no other place on the body where you could put the clip. 
Would be a improvement if you could choose for head-up or head-down carry.


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## NorthernStar (Jul 22, 2013)

Excellent review and nice pics as well,kj2 !

I´ve got a question regarding the button on the S15. Besides of the blue color of the button,does the button have any difference in feeling or material from the S10 and the S20?


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## kj2 (Jul 22, 2013)

NorthernStar said:


> Excellent review and nice pics as well,kj2 !
> 
> I´ve got a question regarding the button on the S15. Besides of the blue color of the button,does the button have any difference in feeling or material from the S10 and the S20?


First of all I've to say that the button (switch) feels great. Feels strong and solid. If it feels differently than the S10 or S20 I can't answer, because I don't have those lights.


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## candle lamp (Jul 22, 2013)

Nice review & pictures. kj2! Thanks a lot for your effort & time. 

I like the light as well.


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## kj2 (Jul 22, 2013)

candle lamp said:


> Nice review & pictures. kj2! Thanks a lot for your effort & time.
> I like the light as well.


It was my pleasure  hope this review will be moved to the review-section.


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## NorthernStar (Jul 22, 2013)

kj2 said:


> First of all I've to say that the button (switch) feels great. Feels strong and solid. If it feels differently than the S10 or S20 I can't answer, because I don't have those lights.



Sounds great. I thought you might be the owner of either a S10 or a S20 besides of the S15,that´s why i asked for a comparison of the button.


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## markr6 (Jul 22, 2013)

Nice light! SC52 alternative? Why or why not? The 70lm-280lm gap is what stands out for me. Not sure about the physical size but the comparison next to the Eneloop helps.


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## kj2 (Jul 22, 2013)

markr6 said:


> Nice light! SC52 alternative? Why or why not? The 70lm-280lm gap is what stands out for me. Not sure about the physical size but the comparison next to the Eneloop helps.


+ here a comparison between the S15 and a Lumintop ED10.


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## Ishango (Jul 22, 2013)

Nice review, thanks kj2! I've placed it on my shortlist already.


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## staghater (Jul 22, 2013)

Thank you for nice review.
That Lumintop looks interesting


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## Swedpat (Jul 22, 2013)

Thanks *kj2* for the review! :thumbsup:

I just wonder: did you notice if S15 uses PWM, or is it current controlled?


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## kj2 (Jul 23, 2013)

Swedpat said:


> Thanks *kj2* for the review! :thumbsup:
> 
> I just wonder: did you notice if S15 uses PWM, or is it current controlled?


In any mode, I haven't seen PWM. Not even with moon-mode. So I think it's current controlled.


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## uncle wong (Jul 23, 2013)

Possible to swap the emitter ?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2


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## agent80 (Jul 23, 2013)

The S15 is 280 lumens on a 14500 right? The zebra outputs that much on a AA. And the S15 would output less on AA. Doesn't that make it less brighter than the zebra?


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## kj2 (Jul 23, 2013)

uncle wong said:


> Possible to swap the emitter ?


I think so. If you have a rubber ball you could try to take-off the bezel. With my hands I can't turn the bezel.



agent80 said:


> The S15 is 280 lumens on a 14500 right? The zebra outputs that much on a AA. And the S15 would output less on AA. Doesn't that make it less brighter than the zebra?


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## Swedpat (Jul 23, 2013)

kj2 said:


> In any mode, I haven't seen PWM. Not even with moon-mode. So I think it's current controlled.



Thanks. Actually I now also read in the review by *candle lamp* that he didn't detect any PWM.


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## JulianP (Jul 23, 2013)

Nice review. I agree about the usefulness of the magnet. I have numerous AAA and AA flashlights, but only one with a magnet. It gets the most use around the house at night, as I end up sticking it on the fridge, the computer, my bedside lamp and on and on...


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## reppans (Jul 24, 2013)

agent80 said:


> The S15 is 280 lumens on a 14500 right? The zebra outputs that much on a AA. And the S15 would output less on AA. Doesn't that make it less brighter than the zebra?



It would be worth noting that not all manufacturer lumen scales are created equally. Olight is somehow affiliated with Foursevens and appears to be using a similar lumen scale which is, ummm ...... a little different than Zebralight. I use a light meter to measure my lights, but let's reference Selfbuilt's recent reviews of the Preon Penlight (also know as the Olight O'Pen) - 180 47s/OL lumens = 260 ZL lumens; the Quark AA2-X's 280 lumens = 420 ZL lumens; Olight S10's 320 lumens = 430 ZL lumens.... etc.

I can't say who's conservative and who's exaggerating (Selfbuilt does not claim to be ANSI-accruate - just very consistent), since there are manufacturers on both sides of the fence, but as a sub-lumen collector, my Zebralights stand alone in its marketing claims. 

That said, I do test my SC52 to be slightly brighter than my other 1xAA/14500 lights, but you need equipment to be sure.... perhaps that somehow correlates with it having the shortest warranty in the business?


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## kj2 (Jul 26, 2013)

I've been using the Olight S15 for a week now. And I've been using it a lot. With walking the dog, finding stuff in the dark and as light next to my bed.
The moon-mode is perfect not to wake-up others, but still let you see clearly at night. I'm now thinking to take the magnet out, and see if I miss the magnet or not.


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## reppans (Jul 26, 2013)

kj2 said:


> ..The moon-mode is perfect not to wake-up others, but still let you see clearly at night.



kj2, thanks for your review...

I was wondering if you have any other moonlight lights to compare to. The 0.5 lumen spec is quite bright as far as moonlight modes go (which I personally like), but the 2 week spec'd runtime implies a really dim one to me. Being somewhat of a sub-lumen collector, I have yet to see a magic efficiency bullet..... you either get one, or the other.


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## kj2 (Jul 26, 2013)

reppans said:


> kj2, thanks for your review...
> 
> I was wondering if you have any other moonlight lights to compare to. The 0.5 lumen spec is quite bright as far as moonlight modes go (which I personally like), but the 2 week spec'd runtime implies a really dim one to me.


I've one other moonlight-mode flashlight, the Thrunite T10. Compared with the T10, the S15 is about twice as bright in the moonlight-mode.


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## Badbeams3 (Jul 26, 2013)

The lumen ratings on these Olights are a bit odd. We will have to see how the new 2013 versions compare...hopefully Selfbuilt will give us a review soon.

The old S10 was 320 LM claimed, but Selfbuilt found them much higher (around 430)

The new S10 is 400 LM claimed.

The old S20 was 470 LM claimed, but again Selfbuilt found them higher (around 560).

The new S20 is 550 LM claimed.

http://goinggear.com/catalog/product/gallery/id/7535/image/18478/

I am going to place my bet that the S15 lumen is much higher on a 14500...over 400 lumen.

Perhaps the biggest question is...is the green tint gone on the new versions using the XM-L2?


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## reppans (Jul 26, 2013)

Thank for checking, very much appreciated. I do have the T10, which is as low as I ever care to go with moonlight (I measure 0.13) so that puts it in perspective and makes the S15 good to go. Had to ask the question since just felt I got a little burned by the SC52 which specs 0.34 and yet is ~ half the output of the T10. I'm sure it doesn't matter for most people, but sub-lumen modes have become one of my favorite, most often used modes.

Anyways, happy to vote with my $$ for another AA/14500, moonlight mode light.....and this:



kj2 said:


> I like it, that Olight offers a 5 Year Warranty on their flashlights. It shows they stand behind their products.



Very interesting given their standard policy is only 2 yrs. Must be the Foursevens influence.... hope that carries over to the customer support as well.


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## kj2 (Jul 26, 2013)

Badbeams3 said:


> Perhaps the biggest question is...is the green tint gone on the new versions using the XM-L2?


My S15 has some green in it.


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## reppans (Jul 26, 2013)

Badbeams3 said:


> The lumen ratings on these Olights are a bit odd. We will have to see how the new 2013 versions compare...hopefully Selfbuilt will give us a review soon.
> 
> The old S10 was 320 LM claimed, but Selfbuilt found them much higher (around 430)
> 
> ...



I discussed some in post 21 above, but Selfbuilt does not claim to be ANSI-accurate, he merely stresses that his measurements are consistent across all his reviews (with which I fully agree). If you read his calibration methodology, it appears to be based off lights several years ago, perhaps even before some of the sample manufacturers have voluntarily adopted ANSI standards. 

Suffice it to say there are manufacturers (even lights within the same manufacturer) on both sides of the conservative and liberal lumen scale (which can be ~50% apart), and in the 3v and below sub-lumen EDC class that I follow and reconcile with SB, it seems (in general) that Foursevens, Olight, Eagletac, Thrunite, Fenix? are in the former group, and Zebralight, Nitecore?, Klarus?, Jetbeam? are in the later group.


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## NorthernStar (Jul 26, 2013)

Badbeams3 said:


> The lumen ratings on these Olights are a bit odd. We will have to see how the new 2013 versions compare...hopefully Selfbuilt will give us a review soon.
> 
> The old S10 was 320 LM claimed, but Selfbuilt found them much higher (around 430)
> 
> ...



Thank you for the link,Badbeams3!

When looking at the pic of the new S20-L2,the info text says that it has the dimensions (D)23mm x (L)86mm. The old S20 has the dimensions (D)23mm x (L)106mm.It means that the new S20 is 20mm(2cm) shorter. Is this a typo? How did they manage to design it to fit 1x18650 battery in it and make it 2 cm shorter and still get that increase output in lumens compared to the old S20? That is almost to good to be true! Can someone please verify that this is correct?



kj2 said:


> My S15 has some green in it.



Is that only on the lowest mode?


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## Badbeams3 (Jul 26, 2013)

Also interesting, the new S10 is rated 50 LM more than the M10 Maverick, 400 VS 350. Yet they both are using the new L2 XML.


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## bkb (Oct 19, 2013)

After reading all of the good reviews on this light, I just ordered one. Just a couple of questions. The clip looks like it could be clipped to a hat brim to use as a headlight in a pinch. Does this work or is the clip too tight. Also, the beginning of the review says it has a glow in the dark head. What glows? Is it the red ring on the outside of the reflector.


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## kj2 (Oct 19, 2013)

bkb said:


> After reading all of the good reviews on this light, I just ordered one. Just a couple of questions. The clip looks like it could be clipped to a hat brim to use as a headlight in a pinch. Does this work or is the clip too tight. Also, the beginning of the review says it has a glow in the dark head. What glows? Is it the red ring on the outside of the reflector.


The clip is good, not to weak but also not to tight. Olight has put some GITD-powder on the o-ring.


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## Richwouldnt (May 18, 2014)

I just ordered the Titanium version which I could not find a review of. The version I ordered is the polished Ti version and includes one battery extension tube. For normal use I really prefer the side mounted switch instead of the more common tail cap mounted clicky switch. Now to try and find a second Ti battery extension tube!


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## Bullzeyebill (May 25, 2014)

To top.

Bill


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## TennesseeTony (Jun 6, 2014)

The magnet in the base convinced me to get one. Now if I can get it ordered without someone finding about it.

*Olight S15 Baton Ti Titanium (Polished) Special Edition XM-L2 260 Lumens LED single AA Flashlight EDC with free extender tube, Smith & Wesson LED CaraBeamer Clip Light and four EdisonBright AA alkaline Batteries
*


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