I have carried the Fenix E01 AAA LED flashlight for a year or so on an everyday basis and have included one on my "survival keychain" along with a Victorinox Classic knife, whistle, firesteel, and some tinder in a Bison Designs spy capsule. The idea is to always have a few basic essentials in my pocket to help in a crisis.

But my Fenix HL21 headlamp uses a single AA battery. That left me with no options to trade batteries between sources if needed and I would need to carry two different spares. I looked at lot of other AA LED flashlights and discovered the Olight line and the i2 EOS model that fit the single AA niche. It is a much more powerful light than the Fenix E01 and has more features.

A quick list of specs:

Cree XP-G LED
Keychain hole designed for every day carry
Three output levels : Low (2.5 lumens - 60 hours) - Medium (20 - 5 hours) - High (75 - 1.5 hours)
Removable clip with allen wrench removal tool in the package
Flat end to allow for tail standing
1 x AA battery
Highly water resistant to IPX-8
Premium Type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish
20.5g
81.2mm x 17.6mm

My jewelry scale read 20.7g (0.73oz) without a battery. A Duracell alkaline is 24.5g(0.86oz) for comparison. It feels *light* in the hand. It has a removable pocket clip and comes with the tiny Allen wrench to handle the pocket clip screws. There is a stainless steel split ring on the end and it is mounted on the side so the light can stand on the end. The pocket clip or the split ring will keep the light from rolling too.

Changing light output modes takes a simple quick twist of the head. The light comes on in low mode, which I like: no blinding blast of light to rob all your night vision--- or raise the ire of your tent mates. 2.5 lumens is a very useable level for a tent light and the 20 lumen medium setting is fine for a latrine call and general use in camp or an easy trail. The high setting is very bright for dark adjusted eyes and as much light as I normally need. I was able to change modes with one hand. The light color looks very neutral to my eyes. I like the high beam pattern better than the Fenix HL21 headlamp, with a bigger center spot with softer edges.

The light is waterproof to IPX-8 standards, which the manufacturer sets at 2 meter submersion. The lamp came with two spare o-rings as well.

Retail is a reasonable $24.95. I found one on eBay for $19.50 including shipping.

I think this one is a keeper. It is light, bright, easy to use, waterproof, and has good battery life. It is not as pocket friendly as the little Fenix E01, but still pocketable and it has the clip option to help as well.

http://www.olightworld.com/en/products_show.aspx?ProId=1295

The photos showing beam pattern and relative light output are all done with the camera on a tripod and set on the same manual shutter speed and aperture and a medium gray carpet for the target.

Low:


Medium:


High:

Edited by dwambaugh on 09/26/2012 22:48:34 MDT.

Dale,

Nice looking light...I use a Fenix LD01 as my "spotter" flashlight (my headlamp is a Petzl e-Lite).

Can you use a Lithium AA battery in it? If I'm carrying any extra batteries that's what I'll have in my pack (my GPS uses two).

Do you twist the top to change intensity settings?

Oops......disregard. I reread and found the answer.

Thank you for your input on this LED flashlight. I will purchase.

Edited by zelph on 09/27/2012 07:15:21 MDT.

Yes, you can use the Energizer Lithium Advanced or Ultimate AA batteries.

You can also use a 14500 lithium-ion rechargeable, although it is not "officially recommended" by the manufacturer. A lot of people are doing it. But it does affect the lower output settings too, making them a lot brighter than normal.

And you can use the safe-chemistry LiFePo4 3.2v rechargeable 14500, or the IMR 14500.

And there is even a 14505 3v Lithium Primary available.

These will have various increases of outputs, depending on the voltage of the battery.

And of course, the Eneloop LSD NiMh is the popular choice for non-lithium rechargeable fans.

Olight makes 3 lights in this series, an AAA, an AA, and a CR123.
They are all quite affordable and quite popular. They have a good range of usefulness, at a low cost.

Edited by towaly on 09/27/2012 07:40:37 MDT.

Nicely done on the review and information. Personally, I am attracted to the AAA version that can be had in a red or gold (among other) color that's easier to find when dropped in camp... not that I have any experience with such a thing. :)

I'm a bit of a flashaholic - but have never owned an olight. They get positive reviews as a competitor to Fenix, 4 Sevens, etc...

My headlamp is a Zebralight H31w, so I tend to build around the CR123 lights. It also conforms to my Steripen.

One area where I've not gone very light is my knife and my flashlight. Daily I carry a Chris Reeve Small Sebenza and most of the time an Arc 6 flashlight. Neither are particularly light. Camping I don't usually take the Arc - but either a Surefire E1L or a modified old HDS/Novatac 120P (which has 3 tritium tubes in a custom bezel so it's easy to find in the tent! not to mention 4 good levels and the best user interface to date). I also tend to take a Benchmade mini griptilian as my knife - still not light but I feel naked without a 2-3" knife on my just about at all times.

I could stand to have a smaller/lighter flashlight as the Novatac even is overkill. My issue is that I have grown to not like the twist on/off user interface. I generally prefer a clickie or a simple twist for light twist more for more light (the Arc6, Muyschondt, Nitecore EZ and Surefire 1L are examples). I've been thinking about an Lumapower Incendio - they are quite light and have a clickie...

This olight does look like a great candidate for daily carry and a light option in the field - the benefit of the twist interface is it allows a smaller light with fewer parts and hence lighter weight.

I like the twist interface. Simple and good. I wondered how well it would work and I'm impressed.

I'm still using the AAA light for everyday carry, but the higher performance of the Olight is great for hiking. The greater weight is offset by the consolidation of spare battery weight.

One thing to note on many of these Chinese twisty lights, especially known about the Olight and 4 Sevens lights, the threads are not always consistent, and the twisty function is sometimes affected by loose threads.

Some are good, and some are not so good. It's a QC issue that they don't seem to pay much attention to. So there is somewhat of a lottery about how good your threads are on the light that you get. Sometimes the loose threads result in mode-skipping(unwanted changes of brightness levels) when you are turning it on and changing brightness modes.
This is fairly well known and documented over several years of production of these lights.

It's not a deal-breaker for most people, but it is a known issue, so I thought it would be a good idea to mention it.
In general, the AAA and AA don't seem to have this problem as badly as the larger diameter CR123 models. But it is sometimes found in the AA or AAA.

If the flashlight has loose threads, how about quick wrap with plumbers' teflon tape?

I read of the variances in some other reviews as well and tested this one to that point. I wanted good one-handed performance, which wonky threads would effect. The one I got is smooth and very positive; fit and finish are excellent overall. I would warranty one that wasn't 100% on the mode changes. I bought mine from a domestic supplier with warranty issues in mind.

Yup. That works, but needs to be re-done periodically.
Not difficult. That's what most people do who get the loose ones.