Olight H05S Active 2xAAA Lightweight Headlamp REVIEW

Hello
Olight H05S is a new light weight and compact headlamp designed for ease of use and portability,without loading the user too much when carrying and using it.
H05 is available in two main versions-H05 and H05S Active. The first is available in different colors of the body. The second is available in black color as this version has the unique feature to respond on waving hand.
The light can be turned On/Off by simply waving your hand-finding and pressing a switch is not required.
Just wave your hand in front of the headlamp and its sensor will activate the light.
Read more in my review below.
The tested H05S was provided by Olight for test&review purpose.

Specifications from the included Instruction sheet

The H05S comes in the already standard for Olight transparent plastic box.
Two Lithium primary AAA batteries with the Olight brand are included in the set-the headlamp is ready to use right after unpacking it. No need to prepare additional AAA batteries when purchasing it for short camping or when it is for gift.
The User guide sheet is well explained and contains all important information about headlamp specifications and operation.

The wave function works similarly to the proximity sensors on the smartphones.
There is a IR emitter which light when reflected from objects at about 15-20cm are received from another electronic component which on its side activates the main XM-L2 LED circuit.
This way of activation give us the option to conveniently hands-free activate the light in some cases with no  need to find and press the switch.

My impressions after testing the Wave function for some time are good.
There are some specific things that I should mention.
The headlamp reacts not only on a hand,but on every other object no matter its direction of movement.
It reacts even on if you stay very close to a wall.Another possible limited use of the Wave feature could be when walking through wooded terrain.Every close branch can deactivate the light in a very uncomfortable moment.Accidental movement of the hand will turn the light off too. 
Interesting to note is that the IR sensor reacts on a TV remote control(at close distance),as well.
Placing the headlamp on a table with the beam horizontally to the surface sometimes turns the light off/on unexpectedly.
In this cases it is better to keep the wave option deactivated.

Cree XM-L2 LED.
Close up of the TIR lens.  The reflector is con-caved. There is no additional glass lens to protect the exposed front surface of the reflector.
Comparing the H05S to the popular Olight S1,we are noticing that both reflectors look identical.
However,as we can see from the beamshots below,both beams are different.

The housing is entirely made of plastic. Most of the surface has matte finish,as some of the zones are smooth,semi-clear to allow good light transmission for the IR sensor.

The button is placed on the top of the headlamp. It is large on size and easy to find/operate.
The switch is a momentary switch-does not lock down when pressed. 
It has a short way when pressing,with loud clear click sound.

The vertical angle of the headlamp to its holder can be adjusted on four defined steps.
This is enough in most cases,but the H05S definitely could benefit from more flexibility.

Olight H05S runs on two batteries size AAA.
Alkaline,Lithium or rechargeable NiMH can be used.

With the headlamp already loaded with batteries,we find an interesting feature which should help use when replacing the batteries in the compartment. The plus shaped channels marking the positive contact points are back illuminated with red light. This will be in help when we have to replace the batteries in the darkness and hesitate about the right direction for inserting them.As we can notice from the picture below,both plus and minus metal contact points have almost identical form.No spring on the minus contact. So,the illuminated pluses are probably more of a requirement than an extra feature.
The pluses seem to have an additional small battery or capacitor that keeps them glowing for quite a long time.
The housing is sealed with a black rubber gasket-it is hard to identify it on the pictures but it is there and the H05S seems well water sealed.

User Interface

The H05S has three modes of the white light and two of the RED light.
High-Mid-Low-Off  in this sequence.
As you already may noticed,there is no direct Off option. All modes have to be cycled in order to turn the light Off. Yet the modes are just three,which means if you use the light on High mode,you will activate it with one click and will deactivate it with additional 3 clicks. So,two extra clicks compared to the more common  instant On/Off interface.
Direct access to Low mode is not possible.

The red LEDs works constantly or flashing.
Can be activated by two quick clicks from On position(with the white light activated).
The headlamp will start on RED light until another two clicks,which will return it to the white light modes.
Red light mode sequence On-Flashing-Off.

To activate/deactivate Wave mode-press and hold the switch for about two seconds.
In Wave mode,all lighting modes are memorized by the driver and the light can be turned On on the last used mode.

My lumen measurements:
High 180Lm
Mid 44Lm
Low 12Lm

High mode is quite bright for a 2xAAA light. 180Lm should be sufficient for close to medium distance lighting.
Mid mode output is well selected.
Low mode however is not lower enough than the Mid mode and in practice leaves a desire for a much lower mode. 3 or even 5 lumen mode would be much more useful especially for close use in the darkness. 
The light from the red LEDs is very low and I see them useful mostly for signalling or using at very close distance with fully adjusted to the darkness eyes.

Check out my quick demo video to see the wave function in work:


Below is the usual run/time graph which is giving us illustrative look of the driver performance-how it does regulate the output.
As we can see from the graph Olight H05S is programmed to decrease the brightness gradually 10 minutes after activation.After this state the light is constant for about 110 minutes.
Batteries used for the test-Duracell Duralock 750mAh.

The H05S features low voltage warning-flashing when the voltage is low.
In my tests I did not detected low voltage protection,as the driver works at very low voltage,which is undesirable when working on NiMH batteries. To protect the NiMH from over-discharging,stop the light once the low voltage warning kicks in. In this state the voltage of each battery is about 1.08V and quickly drops lower.

Headband width 2.5cm.
Good quality. Can be adjusted for different heads.

The beam from the TIR reflector is similar to the S1's beam,but has different proportions.
The hotspot is smaller with the spill reaching larger area.
Depending on the user preferences,the beam will meet most requirements for a headlamp,but in my opinion not all. I personally would like to have a larger spill with less pronounced hot-spot.

The light from the Cree XM-L2 LED used here is cool white,with no noticeable greenish or bluish tint.

Olight H05S Active Beam profile.
White wall

A profile image of the red light in the dark.
In reality,the red light is much less bright than the lowest white mode,so I had to take the picture with a longer exposure time.

All modes
Low-Mid-High and comparison with Olight S1.
1/20сек,White wall
Olight S1 is not on its highest mode.

My impressions of the headlamp are only good,so far. I did not find any problems with the build quality or electronics operation,so far.
Thanks to its light-weight body and working on small batteries(especially with the included lightweight Lithium batteries),the headlamp is very comfortable to wear on the head and use. should be suitable also for running in the dark.
As I already pointed above,my preferences are for more diffused beam and switch operation similar to the baton series flashlights.

Thanks for reading!
Thanks to Olight and Olight BG for providing the H05S for test and review!

Olight H05s Active Demo video

Read my full review here-olight-h05s-active-2xaaa-lightweight

Olight H05s Active-lightweight headlamp,Cree XM-L2 LED,powered by two AAA batteries.

OLIGHT S1 Baton /1x16340(CR123A) battery REVIEW

Hello
I am happy to review for you one of the most pocket-able 16340 flashlights.This is the Olight S1.
It is a flashlight from Olight's Baton series lights and shares the same well known design of this series.
The S1 is almost identical with the S10,which is a preferred EDC flashlight by many people.
Very short body,easy user interface,good beam useful for every day use,tailcap magnet.
These were the main advantages of the S10. The new S1 features all of the good points,but now in even shorter body.
I was "testing" it for quite long time and it became my first choice for an EDC pocket flashlight.
It even displaced my MecArmy 10180 miniature light,just because the side switch allows me much faster and comfortable operation. 

The S1 is much shorter than many AAA flashlights,which makes it a perfect choice for everyday carrying.

Shortening the length is possible thanks to the redesigned battery tube and changes in the reflector.
The aluminum reflector is now replaced with a smaller TIR(total internal reflecting) acrylic reflector,which is the main part allowing less length of the head.
The other main update is the position of the battery,which have to be inserted in reverse position,with the negative pole going to the head. The plus pole contacts the tailcap. This is probably a result of redesigned driver board.

The side switch is also redesigned. It is now much less protruding compared to the S10L2 in its first design.The new switch cover is made of rubber(maybe silicone).
The diameter of the switch cover is a little larger than the S10's plastic button(my version is S10 L2,it was updated with a different switch later).
The new rubber button is a little uncomfortable at first touch.It is almost not protruding and feeling soft.These two characteristics of the switch have the purpose to prevent or at least to reduce the possibility of accidental activation. I was carrying the flashlight for quite a long time and in my opinion the design of the switch is successful. Yes,a 100% protection is hard to be promised,but after testing it by carrying in a pocket,I did not feel worried that the flashlight will start accidentally in my pocket.
The switch is hard to find in the darkness and requires a lot of touching to find it. But here comes the pocket clip,which will guide you with the position of the switch and will help finding it more quickly.
Pressing the switch with my thin fingers is relatively easy.I can't confirm it will be the same with bigger fingers than mine.

This is a picture from the user manual,explaining the UI.
It is very convenient and easy to operate. 
Great news is that the direct access to High and Moonlight mode is still available.

As any other flashlight with an electronic side switch,the S1 draws some current in Off state,which is actually Standby. I am happy to see that Olight is keeping this current at very low value.It is just 1,1uA (according to my measurements).

This is a run-time graph showing the performance of the S1 on its highest mode,powered by Olight RCR123A battery.
Pretty good performance for such a small flashlight. As expected for a small flashlight,there is a timed step down to prevent overheating. It comes about 1,5 minutes after activation and does decrease the brightness gradually.

My lumen measurements with freshly charged RCR123A battery:
High mode 600Lm,320Lm after step down
Mid mode 100Lm
Low mode 12Lm
UltraLow mode-I can't measure it with my equipment.

In my test,the discharge was terminated by the low voltage protection of the battery.
I am not impressed to see that the S1 has no low voltage protection,or it is not programmed correctly.
I prefer flashlights that feature low voltage protection,no matter the battery I use.
I am not a CR123A user and have no much knowledge about using this type batteries,but I suspect that many 16340 flashlights do not feature low voltage protection,because of their compatibility with the 3V CR123A batteries.Talking for CR123A batteries,I can only test Olight S1 with a 16340(RCR123A) battery. 

Below is a comparison of the reflectors of Olight S10 L2(left) and Olight S1 (right)

I have used TIR optics in flashlights many years ago and what I know is that most of them produce a beam with well defined hotspot(wide or tight) and the beam angle is usually limited in a defined circle.
It is hard to get the well flooded spill as with the conventional aluminum reflector.
The beam of the S1 can be defined as a big hotspot with not much spill around it-smaller angle of the beam with less bright spill compared to the S10L2.
I personally prefer the old beam from the conventional reflector,but looking at the difference in the length,I am thinking much less for the beam. The S1 is very comfortable for carrying and this dominates any other point of the flashlight.

Below is a beam angle comparison Olight S1- Olight S10L2

1 meter, 1/20sec

Beam color is clean Cool White. No visible tint.
As you can see from the picture below,there is a huge difference from the S10L2's greenish beam.

1 meter, 1/250sec

The S1 performs well on close to medium distance.

5 meters, 1/6sec
Olight S1- Olight S10L2- Olight S30

5 meters,1/50sec
Olight S1- Olight S10L2- Olight S30

The pocket clip has the same form,as only the length is slightly reduced.
Generally,I don't like the position of the lanyard loop.It is limiting the width of the clip and its main function,to fit on various objects as a thick belt or a backpack shoulder strap.

Below is the S1 disassembled. Only the tailcap is removable. You can see also the correct direction for inserting the battery.

The strong tailcap magnet can be removed,if you don't want to risk damaging electronic devices.

Battery tube length is very limited. It is recommend to use the shortest protected 16340.
Olight recommends using only protected batteries in the S1.
After testing the 16340's from Olight,with no doubt I highly recommend these batteries.They are specially designed for flashlights. Build quality is very high,as unlike all other protected Li-Ion batteries,the protection board is on the top end,allowing as compact dimension as possible. I like to see that the very controversial external connection between the plus and minus poles is not needed here,thanks to the smart work by Olight.

There is easily visible form difference between Keeppower's protected 16340 and Olight's 16340 batteries.

Using the flashlight is easy,thanks to the side switch.
Absolutely sufficient hand grip.
Other flashlights that operate by twisting the head are hard to use in many scenarios.

Here is the plastic packaging,standard for Olight.

The S1 is a great choice for people that prefer CR123A and 16340 batteries over the AAA/10440.
As advertised,the S1 is very compact and easy for pocket carrying.
I used it for quite long time after receiving it for review. I was a little reserved about the short,hard to find/press switch,but after some time using it,I don't meet any trouble using it.
Good user interface.I don't feel need of  different modes-the programmed ones are well selected.
I carry the flashlight in a pocket. Depending on the clothes,I would choose the S1 or a single AAA flashlight.
But in many cases,I found twisting the head of an AAA flashlight by only one hand,rather hard(especially if the flashlight has a thick O-ring for proper sealing). I have to have my both hands free,to be able to turn On and cycle the modes. So the S1's side switch in many cases is much more convenient.
Thanks to the high voltage of the Li-Ion battery,Olight S1 is able to provide very high lumen output.
It is always impressive to see that small flashlight to produce so bright beam,which could be very helpful sometimes.
My only concern is about the switch cover,which seems very thin and soft and I would not recommend to press it with a nail.

Thanks for reading! I hope you found some helpful information.

Thanks to Olight for providing the test sample and patiently waiting for the review!

OLIGHT M3XS-UT Javelot (de-domed XP-L)(2x18650) Review

Hello
Olight is recently updating many of their best flashlights with new LEDs,aiming primarily much better distance of throw.
The updated M3X,M22,SR52 in their UT and Javelot version,along with the M2X have some of the best size/throw ration on the market of stock flashlights.
In the review bellow,I am reviewing the new Olight M3XS UT Javelot flashlight,featuring de-domed Cree XP-L LED and a side switch for mode changing.
Impressive peak beam intensity of 250 000cd and 1km calculated distance of throw.
The M3XS-UT can be used in two different configurations-Short supporting three CR123A batteries,or two 18500; Long version with an additional extender tube for using two 18650 batteries.

The overall size of the flashlight in my hand can be seen in the few pictures below.
First is the 3xCR123A form. Noticeable is the big reflector and the thin battery tube.
The side switch is well placed.The typical foe Olight knurling is more aggressive comparing to the M23 and M2X.
This should provide a better grip.

The flashlight is long,but yet comfortable,thanks to the grip ring.
Only the rear switch can activate the light,so the M3XS will be hold mostly with the thumb on its tailcap,as the hand is not in the center of the body,where the weight is balanced. This is why the grip is very important here.
In this form the M3XS-UT is like a longer side switch version of the M2X.

It is possible to hold it in the so called cigar grip.

Here is the M3XS-UT in its full length allowing two protected 18650 battery to be used.
366gr. loaded with two batteries.
245mm length with the extender.

In this position the rear switch is far from the grip ring,which reduces the comfortable grip,increasing the effort needed for activating the light.
The distance from the tail to the side switch is more. Adjusting the flashlight in my hand when changing the mode is needed takes some time and it is impossible to keep the beam on the same point,while holding it one hand. The grip ring is now on my pinky.Still better than no grip ring,but not so comfortable.
The hand is far from the center of the weight.

Yes,if desired,with more effort the M3XS can be hold in cigar grip.

Here is the M3XS-UT with dismounted tube extender.
Aluminum alloy body.Aluminum grip ring.
The finish is black matte.Great anodizing everywhere on the body.
Perfect machining. I have no any complain about the quality.

This is the packaging.
Great plastic case. As before I will mention that the case is very good way to carry and store the flashlight and all its accessories.

You can see the most important technical data on the sides.

Five cooling fins for good heat dissipation.
There is a "Hot Surface" warning at the top of the bezel.Actually the hot surface is on the cooling fins,which get the heat directly from the LED.
In my opinion a warning "High intensive beam" should be more appropriate,considering the highly focused beam with high peak beam intensity.

The tail switch silicone cap has a bigger diameter than before. This allows easier operating with the switch.
There is a crenelated periphery around the switch.Tail-standing is possible,as it is quite stable.
As usual this has its price. The periphery may cause harder pressing the switch and this along with the deeply placed switch and very long body could be a problem. I could prefer a removable tail crown/periphery,which will give the people a choice for more comfortable operation of the switch.
The metal grip ring is removable and can be detached,if needed. It is not threaded and is fixed to not free spin,only by a silicone O-ring.

The "electronic" side switch works as expected. It is not too hard to press,not too light.
Definitely easy to accidentally press it,but it is not a main switch,so this is not a big deal here.
The switch cover is made of hard plastic.
The switch has a transparent white dot,which is illuminated in red when the battery voltage is very low.

Now on the most impressive part of the flashlight-the big,wide aluminum reflector and the de-domed XP-L LED.
The reflector is a Smooth type,but as can be seen on the pictures,but similar to other aluminum reflectors there is a light texture,
probably result of the way of machining.

The LED is perfectly centered on my sample.

Olight M3XS-UT disassembled on main parts.
Excellent machining on all parts.

The M3XS-UT has the new tailcap design,seen in the M23 Javelot,as well.

Anodized,square cut threads.

The M3XS-UT comes with a nice,practical holster. Fits well and ensures good protection and easy carrying the flashlight.
On the pictures the M3XS is with the extender.

I don't like the way of using the velcro tape in the Olight's holsters,but still it's better to have this option,than to not have it.

Few words about the M3XS compatibility with different battery types,as I had problems using IMR and protected 18500.
The battery tube with the extender is definitely designed for protected 18650s.
Two IMR batteries stay way too loose and ratle a lot in the tube.
I tested the flashlight with two Keeppower IMR3000 and found that this flat top batteries don't contact each other,when placed directly in series.
The postive contact on one of the batteries does not touch the negative on the other.
I had to use a simple method to add an improvised button top on one of the batteries,without soldering.

I tried also two protected 18500,but unfortunatelly their total length is way too much and does not allow to screw the tailcap to the required level.
Unscrewing the head also does not work,because the battery tube have to contact the driver board in the head. If the head is unscrewed so the two 18500's can fit,the flashlight does not work. I don't have unprotected,or IMR(without protection) batteries for test and can't comment on their compatibility.

Sticky tape and small ring of copper wire.
This is a good fix while taking some tests,but definitely not good in long term use.
A magnet disc could be used as well,but I am not sure about its current resistance.

The reflector is really impressive for such a compact flashlight.
The head bezel has a minimal thickness.

Absolutely clean glass lens with great clarity.
Anti-reflective coating for best light transmitance,with minimum backward reflection.

Close up view of the de-domed XP-L LED.
Relatively clean de-doming.Both wires are somehow flatened,though.
There are two black particles over the phosphor die. I would prefer not to have them there

User Interface
Using the flashlight is quite easy and convenient.
On/Off is possible only from the tail switch. It is a forward clicky and allows momentary activation.
The brightness levels are four Low-Mid-High (in this order) plus hidden Ultra Low mode.
Cycling trough this modes is possible by pressing the electronic side switch.
Holding the side switch while pressing the tail switch will activate Ultralow(moonlight) mode.
High mode can be activated also directly from Off,by double half pressing the tail switch.

There is an instant memory for the last used mode,excluding UltraLow.As usual for Olight the memory mode works perfectly.
A hidden Strobe mode is available too. Can be activated by pressing and holding the side switch,while the light is On,on by tripple press the tail switch from Off state.

A picture from the actual operation manual.

Below is a brightness vs time graph.
The M3XS was started on High mode and left for full batteries discharge.
No pauses or moving the flashlight. Air cooling with a small cooling fan.

Two discharge curves- one for 2x Keeppower 3100mAh discharge, one for Keeppower IMR 3000mAh discharge.
As we can see from the graph,both different battery types perform identically with minor differences in their tracking.
For the IMR battery test I left the light ON until the red indicator activation. Then I waited a few minutes and stopped the light.
Battery voltage after the test 2.93V (no load). This is just the right voltage to stop the discharge and keep the batteries in perfect condition. The batteries could be discharged lower,so I could kept the test on,even longer.
The test with the regular Panasonic 3100mAh core ICR batteries(Keeppower 3100) ended with a battery protection triggering. The reason should be not well selected batteries with different number of cycles,or slightly different level of charge.
Both batteries are in series,which means the total voltage is always over the required forward LED voltage.

The M3XS-UT has a timed step-down,which has the purpose to protect the LED and the driver from overheating.
The brightness decreasing is gradual-starts at the 5th minute and continues to the 8th.
Really slow gradual step down,that is hardly noticeable in use.It is not as abrupt as we have seen in other flashlights.

I measure an initial lumen output of about 1400lm.

Initial current draw from fully charged batteries:
I high=2.33A ~1400lm
I mid=835mA ~750lm
I low=144mA ~137lm
My lumen measurements are only approximate and have no laboratory value.
Especially a very high intensity beam hotspot may affect the measured values in some way.

Here is a graph presenting the brightness on High mode with the flashlight deactivated after the step down and reactivated again one minute later.
The purpose of this graph is to see the difference in the initial brightness and how it is affected of the voltage drop.
Batteries used-Keeppower IMR 3000mAh
In the second start,the output is about 50 lumens less than the first with freshly charged batteries.
At the fifth minute the difference is just 5 lumens.
As we can see only the initial minute output is slightly different.
To minimaze the output difference due to the temperature differences,I waited one minute before to restart the light.

Here are both parts overlayed.

As expected,becuase of the de-doming the light from the Cree XP-L led is shifted to a warmer light with the usual greenish tint.
Usually,if the beam is not compared to another light,the tint is not so noticeable and the light may apper as neutral white to some,but definitely the color rendering is not that good and especially white objects may be hard to define as white,while illuminated.
The beam is extremely focused in a small hotspot. Good homogenus spill,without tint shift. There is a bright corona between the spill and the hot spot.
There is no much difference between the tint of the hotspot and the spill,which is good.
The peak beam intensity given by the manufacturer is 250 000cd with 1km calculated distance of throw!
I confirm that the M3XS-UT is capable of reaching this intensity and even a little more with well charged batteries.
This is the best throwing flashlight I have tested and one of the best throwing flashlights in stock form on the market.
The beam is something you definitely should consider,if you are searching for a good thrower.

Size comparison- ThruNite TN32,Olight SR52-UT,Olight M2X-UT,Olight M3XS-UT


ThruNite TN32(XM-L2),Olight SR52-UT(XP-L Hi),Olight M2X-UT(XM-L2 de-domed),Olight M3XS-UT(XP-L de-domed)


Outdoor Beamshots

I did all possible to represent the real beam tint on the pictures I show in the review.
However it's hard to judge for the tint only by the pictures.There are too many factors that could affect the color reproduction-screen brightness,white balance setting,contrast,etc. The tint is also depending on the exposure time of the picture.

1 meter 1/20sec

5 meters
1/6sec

5 meters
1/50sec

5 meters
1/250sec

5 meters
1/1000sec

The M3XS-UT beam in action

Distance ~75 meters

Distance ~75 meters

Here(below) the M2X and M3XS look more yellowish/greenish,because of the slightly different white balance.
I tried to correct it,but the SR52UT and the TN32 became bluish/purplish.
Distance ~160 meters

All pictures from above animated.Unfortunately no good detail in the GIF format.

Distance ~160 meters

The Olight M3XS-UT Javelot definitely is a great choice for a long throw flashlight. The things you have to consider is the form factor,the type of batteries you prefer to use and the tint. If you prefer a cool white beam,the new SR52-UT comes with a Cree XP-L Hi led,which is actually very similar to a de-domed led,but comes with a thin silicone layer over the emitter,directly from Cree and produces a cool white light without any tint. It is also shorter and more comfortable to hold.
The M3XS-UT may be better for backpack carrying. Has a physical switch. The M3XS-UT has also much higher beam intensity of about 50kcd and more.
There is no any issue,or a deal breaker I can point out from my usage,so far.

Thanks for reading!

Big thanks to Olight for providing the test sample of the M3XS-UT for test and review!