Powerful OLIGHT Baton 3 Flashlight Premium Edition REVIEW

Illuminate the shadows with the powerful, portable, and pocketable Baton 3 flashlight.

When it comes to portable light, you can opt for bargain lights with throwaway batteries, or you can join the OLIGHT club and start collecting quality rechargeable flashlights. Who knew that flashlight collecting was a thing? I certainly did not realize that people collected them until introduced to the group by my brother-in-law.

As I perused the website and began using the products, I realized the collection’s value. With flash sales, limited-run lights/colors/products, loyalty perks, purchase tiers/ranks, and a prominent collector following, OLIGHT has become a rather big deal. I still have my first OLIGHT, a palm-sized OLIGHT S1R2. This light is still a go-to light for cub scout camping and campouts with my family.

I grew fond of wireless charging, magnetic tail caps, side buttons, several brightness modes, and the ability to slide the tail clip into a pocket or over the brim of my hat. Coupled with a long-lasting battery, the light could go several days before requiring a recharge. It was convenient, portable, and powerful.

I typically carry a few 10,000 mAh portable batteries to recharge my electronic devices while camping, hiking, or participating in other outdoor adventures. As I moved into rechargeable flashlights, I needed to carry additional batteries to maintain my Olight headlamp and pocket lights. With an overall effort to lighten the load, these batteries can add significant weight to a carry bag.

Thus, I became quite excited when they released the OLIGHT Baton 3 Premium Edition, an upgraded version of their S1R2 light with a dedicated charging case. The website noted that the base light could last up to 20 days on a single charge, and the charging case could provide an additional 3.7 additional charges for the light, for up to 95 days of light. The presentation was difficult to ignore, and a red version of the Baton 3 Premium Edition was added to my cart for purchase.

Measuring 3 1/8 inches wide by 5 13/16 inches tall by 2 1/2 inches thick, the OLIGHT Baton 3 Premium Edition light arrived in classic OLIGHT style.  The main cover listed the OLIGHT name and logo along the top left, the Baton 3 Premium edition name along the top right, Max 3.7 times charging for the baton 3 along the bottom left, and Max 1200 Lumens along the bottom right. 

Despite the attractive accent of the dark teal company name and the listed features, the visual vocal point was the large red image on the cover.  The glossy, slightly raised, vibrant picture of the charging case resembled a lighter or alcohol flask.  The allure of the fire engine red color against the white backdrop did not go unnoticed.  The outer box’s spine and front opening flap listed the blue-green OLIGHT logo and Baton 3 product name.  The top panel provided an SKU barcode, while the bottom panel provided a 5-Year warranty logo. 

The rear panel of the flashlight proved to be busier than the cover panel but listed a significant amount of information about the device.  From the paragraph atop the panel detailing the product features, to the bulleted list of features, to the table of product specifications, customers should have few unanswered questions.  The panel promised five light modes, IPX8 Waterproof rating, 1.5-meter drop resistance, 6889 candelas, and up to a 166-meter throw:

1. Turbo 1200 Lumens for 1.5 minutes then drops to 300 Lumens for 75 minutes with a 166m throw.
2. 300-Lumen High mode that will last 95 minutes and provides a beam to 82 meters. 
3. Medium Mode will light 60 Lumens for 7.5 hours at 38 meters.
4. A 12 Lumen Low mode for 33 hours at 18 meters.
5. A 0.5 Lumen Moon mode that should last 20 days.

Beneath the specification table, you will find a list of product dimensions (length 63mm/2.48 inches, bezel 21mm/.83 inch diameter, weight 53g/1.87oz with battery), a list of package contents (Baton 3, wireless charger, USB charging cable, microfiber cleaning cloth, user manual), a “learn more” QR code, product manufacturing labels, and an SKU barcode. 

Excited by the presentation of the outer packaging, I removed the outer plastic, lifted the front flap, unrolled the box like a scroll, and reviewed the OLIGHT team statement printed on the inner flap.  Next, I reviewed the yellow, quick-start panel.  The plastic panel instructed the user on how to remove the insulating film, to charge the light/case fully before its first use, to not turn on the light within the charging case to avoid overheating, and to keep the tailcap clean for improved charging.

I removed the yellow panel and then turned the box upside down to remove the plastic tray with plastic-wrapped red charging case.  Before setting the outer packaging aside, make sure that you remove the 2 1/2 inches wide by 5 5/16 inches tall by 15/16 inches thick accessory box (6”x6” microfiber cleaning cloth, user manual, safety manual, and 33 inches long USB-A to USB-C charging cable). 

With all of the contents removed from the box, I removed the opaque plastic bag from the tray, lifted the magnetic case lid, removed the yellow insulating film, and then opened the flashlight to remove the internal insulating film.  I then reattached the bottom of the flashlight, screwed the two halves of the light together, placed the light into the charging case slot, and closed the lid.  Lastly, I plugged the USB-A cable into a 5V/2A USB port and the USB-C end into the charging case.  

INSTRUCTION MANUAL:

While the case for the flashlight was charging, I turned to the 2 1/2 inches wide by 5 1/8 inches tall multilingual instruction manual (English, Chineses, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Nederland, Polish, German, Hungarian, Russian, Spanish, Romanian, Ukrainian, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, French, Greek, Italian, and Slovakian).  When I unfolded the manual, I found the entire top row of the 8 x 2 pamphlet in English. 

The first panel provided an ink outline of the charging case, while the second panel provided the contents (Baton 3/battery, charging case, USB cable, Microfiber cable) and specifications of the light (detailed above). The third panel provided specifications regarding the wireless charging case (plastic shell, 62x30x83.5mm/2.44×1.18×2.39 inches dimensions, 114g/4.02oz, 3.6V/3500mAh battery, 5V/2A input, 4.2V/1A output, up to 2.5 hour charging time). 

The fourth panel provided instructions to remove the insulating films, as detailed above.  The fifth panel provided information regarding the battery indicator of the Baton 3 light (>60% green, 10-60% orange, 5-10% red, and <5% blinks red) and of the wireless charger (>60% green, 20-60% orange, 10-20% red, <10% red indicator).  Lastly, the outer led will shift from red to green once fully charged.  The final panel’s detailed danger/warning/notice information and provided a table of contents. 

Starting with the second row, the flashlight’s manual provided operation instructions in the above languages, providing nearly an entire page per language.  As a native English speaker, I was impressed with the language, the translation, and the overall presentation.  I liked the presentation method that the company used to illustrate the light’s instructions. 

To power on/off the light, one can simply press the side button on the light.  As an added feature, the light will remember the last saved mode and will return to that level when powered back on.  To change the brightness level, press the side button to power on the light, and then press-hold the side switch to cycle through the options. It will start at whatever brightness level you were on last and then cycle through the modes in an ascending manner. 

To select the desired brightness level, you need to simply release the finger from the side button.  Without knowing that the light had a moonlight/strobe/direct turbo access mode, you would likely enjoy the ability to shift between the low, medium, and high modes.  The manual did a great job detailing how to access each mode.  You can activate Moonlight mode by pressing and holding the side button, while the flashlight is off.  You can activate Quick Turbo mode by double-pressing the side button at any time. You can start the strobe mode by triple pressing the side button while the flashlight is active.  

Below the mode descriptions, the instruction manual of the flashlight reviewed the timer and lockout/unlock features.  The Baton 3 has an automatic shutoff at either 9 minutes (long) or 3 minutes (short) to prevent overheating and possible burns.  The activation/changing of the timer may require a bit of trial and error and may require a quick return to the instruction manual. 

While the flashlight is illuminated, double press and hold the side button until you see either a short blink (short) or two blinks (long) to indicate the timer duration.  Once the timer completes the cycle, the light will immediately extinguish.  Like the light setting memory feature mentioned above, the timer feature will remain at the previous level until changed.  To prevent burning/overheating/damage/battery drain to the light by accidental button press, the light does have a much-appreciated lockout/unlock feature. 

While powered off, press and hold the side switch until the moonlight mode is present (~2seconds).  Instead of releasing your button-press to keep the moonlight mode, continue to hold the button until the light extinguishes.  You will notice a red LED below the button, which signifies the locked-out status of the light.  Press/hold the side button until the moonlight feature returns to unlock the device.  

The final segment of the instruction manual provided additional information about the wireless charging case, LED indicators, auto-off safety features, and low voltage alerts.  I was quite impressed with the safety features built into the setup.  With the importance of light, when you plug in the charging case with the flashlight installed, the power will divert to the flashlight first, and then will power both the light/case once sufficient power was present for the flashlight. 

The automatic-off feature was perhaps my favorite feature.  I have read numerous reviews of accidental Olight button presses causing skin burns and damage to jackets/bags/pouches.  I suspect without an auto-off feature, one would likely have damage to the internal charging case and perhaps even a fire.  However, thanks to the ability to deactivate the light automatically, the setup directly prevents a potential catastrophe. 

The following 31 panels detailed similar information to that mentioned above but in different languages.   The final panel provided information about the Warranty, customer support (USA cs@olightstore.com and Global customer-service@olightworld.com), product website world.com), product manufacturing labels, and the company address in China.

The amount of light pumped out by the 1.83-ounce flashlight was astounding. As I did not have a lux meter at the time of the review, I used scenery to showcase the moonlight/Low/medium/high/turbo modes. From dark to bright, the Olight Baton 3 provided various options. The 0.5-lumen moon mode provided enough light for a stroll down my ice-covered driveway. I was able to make out the terrain at my feet and for several feet in front of me.

The 12-lumen low-light mode provided significantly more light and threw the source out to around fifty feet. Holding the button, the 60-lumen medium-light mode illuminated a significant portion of my yard out to and beyond 100 feet away. Holding the side button longer, the 300-lumen high-light mode brightly lit up most of the corner of my yard at over 150-200 feet away. Without changing my position, I was able to gain quite a bit more detail with the added mode.

When I double pressed the button to enter into turbo mode, I was shocked by the 1200 Lumen output. Even though the mode will only last for about a minute and half before dropping down to the high mode, the light was enough to illuminate a room in my home. Furthermore, the light beam extended to ~400 feet, which was extraordinary for a light this size (just under 2 1/2 inches long and 7/8 inches diameter). The strobe mode was easy to access with a triple press of the side button. It appeared that the mode utilized the medium intensity during the strobe function. Lastly, I loved the lockout mode.

The flashlight features extended beyond the illumination capabilities and the 20-day moon, 33-hour low, 7.5-hour medium, 95 minutes-high, and 1.5/75 minutes turbo mode duration. The magnetic tail clip could attach to a ferro-metallic surface like a car engine/hood, refrigerator, tool chest, etc. for added convenience.

The removable double-clip was designed to slide over the brim of a hat, shirt pocket, or backpack pocket with the light facing outward or inward. Even though the clip could be removed from the Baton 3, the connection was secure and did not easily separate from the body of the light. The machined, ribbed metallic midsection of the Baton 3 proved to be yet another upgrade from the S1R2. I liked the feel, the texture, and the reduced chances of dropping the light.

When done with the light, I lifted the magnetic lid of the charging case, aligned the light with the charging slot and placed the light into the charging case. I placed the light into the charger in moonlight, low, medium, high, and turbo modes and felt the light click into place. The light did not extinguish upon being placed into the lid. However, once I closed and reopened the lid of the Zippo-esque case, the light was extinguished.

Summary:

The tiny Olight Baton 3 is a solid enhancement to the previously exquisite S1R2 Baton that I have come to love. The light modes were easy to navigate and the button combinations were quite intuitive. The hands-free magnetic tail cap feature, double-action clip, 3500 mAh battery, and up to 1200 lumens of light output were outstanding.

I loved that they created a dedicated charging case to capitalize on a known need. If you did not want to take the extra charging case, you can utilize the Olight travel charger or other Olight charging cables with a portable battery or wall outlet.

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