Olight S1R Baton II Review

Olight S1R Baton II – 4 1/2 stars

Summary

The smallest & lightest in it’s class, Olight’s S1R Baton II has a more than respectable primary specification of 300 lumens for 45 minutes and 1,000 lumen turbo mode, both those figures made more effective by the focussed spot of it’s fixed beam.

Its IPX8 waterproofing and 1.5m impact resistance is top score in this size of torch.

A lot of capability in your handbag.

Brightness

300 lumens for 45 minutes plus a 1,000 lumens turbo mode is excellent performance from a tiny 51 grams torch, bettered only by those torches that cross into the small handheld category.

The fixed beam is predominantly a large spot plus a little flood going quite wide. That spot also gives the S1R Baton II excellent range for this class of torch, as you can see below.

Pointing the Olight S1R Baton II form the drive, we can see the front door on the left 15m away is very brightly illuminated. The Tilbury (pub) sign dead centre 50m away is also visible, illustrating the effectiveness of this torch’s wide spot, and The Plough (pub) sign 20m away on the right is only just visible in outline but not readable due to the less powerful flood.

Useful for

The S1R Baton II’s weight and size are key to it’s usefulness. Being the lightest in it’s immediate class, you’re more likely to be carrying it when you actually need a torch.

As well as on your keychain, it could live in your handbag or in your main commuting backback/sling. This size of torch can also live in a coat pocket without looking too suspicious. You can even clip it on to the end of a peak cap.

It’s high level of waterproofing (IPX8) and 1.5 metre drop resistance adds another level of usefulness to this highly capable little torch.

Notable features

It charges form Olight’s neat USB tailcap magnetic charger. A charging LED in the magnetic tailcap shows red when charging, then green when charged. That magnetic base can also be used to mount the torch somewhere useful.

There is also a useful timer function, where you can set the torch to turn off after 3 or 9 minutes, though I can’t think what I’d use it for!

With the torch on, double click & hold the button, releasing after the single blink for the 3 minute timer to start, or releasing after the double blink for the 9 minute timer to start.

The Olight S1R Baton II has 5 brightness levels:

• Turbo: 1,000 lumens for 1 1/2 minutes, then 300 for 37 minutes.
• High: 600 lumens for 1 1/2 minutes, then 300 for 45 minutes
• Med: 60 lumens for 3 hours 40 minutes
• Low: 12 lumens for 20 hours
• Moonlight: 0.5 lumens for 8 days

Whilst on, hold the on/off switch down to cycle through ultralow, low, med, high. Access ultralow directly whilst off by clicking and holding the on/off switch.

Access turbo by double-clicking whilst on or off.

To access strobe, triple click the button when the torch is on.

Design

The minimalist design of the S1R Baton II betrays the rich feature set of this torch. Recognisably Olight, it also has a high quality feel, the snug fit of the belt clip, the way the button gives a more than adequate click for feedback despite it’s very slight travel.

In terms of usability, packing all those features in to this little torch – 5 levels of brightness including instant access to turbo & ultralow, strobe, the timer, button lock – requires committing the instructions to memory. But Olight does a good job with this particular range of 1-button torches… as long as you give the instruction manual a solid 10 minutes when you first get the torch!