For a long time I watched with envy our American cousins make YouTube videos about OIlight products. They were not available in the UK but I could clearly see that their quality and functionality were admired and loved by those that owned them.
Then recently I discovered Olight’s UK website and immediately began to buy products without concern as to whether or not they were any good. I knew they would be and had no worries about buying the more expensive items.
I purchased the Baton 3, a small but powerful torch that had its own rechargeable carry case making its utility of the highest standard. The build quality, light output and design were superb as I had predicted Olight products to be and was hooked.
My love of torches goes back to when I was a child and Olight brought out the 9 year old in me spurring me on to discover other of their products.
Olight were also adding some of their smaller devices as free gifts with their larger items. The iR2 EOS was one such product, a tiny rechargeable EDC/keychain torch that produced a brilliant spread of light.
I bought one for my wife. Her interest in torches is basically zero. However, I screwed the cap down a little and the lamp illuminated a basic but useful amount of light. “oh”, she said, “that’s nice”. I then screwed it down further and the iR2 lit up the entire room. She said “wow”, took it off me and I am no longer allowed to touch it.
I also bought an ir2 for both my daughters and my son in law, all of them had a similar reaction. And the ‘wow’ factor continued when I unscrewed one to reveal the micro USB port, not only demonstrating it was rechargeable, but its ‘pop apart’ design was superbly thought out and so neat in its execution.
Some years ago I bought my son in law a powerful LED torch powered by two 18650 batteries. As a heating engineer who was often working in dark locations it was excellent but soon failed for him on a practical basis because recharging it required removal of the 18650s for use in an external mains powered charger as there was no internal charging circuitry. I decided to buy him the Seeker 2 Pro 3200 Lumens Compact EDC Torch which could charge directly with its own magnetic charging lead, a feature of many Olight products. This meant he could charge it easily in his van or via a phone charger and was an instant hit for him. It is now a permanent feature of his essential tool kit.
The gadget freak in me also resulted in a purchase of the Olight Open 2 Rechargeable EDC Penlight, a robust pen with a brilliant rechargeable light in the top half making it my EDC for work and home. It has proven very useful as a light on many occasions as it always immediately to hand being my go-to pen.
By now my love of Olight products was becoming a little obsessive because they are simply so good. But practical application had to drive need. And I saw such need in the Olight Obulb Mini Light EDC Torch. This inexpensive little device happily illuminates an entire room. But I bought it for the car where I could attach its magnetic base to the lift gate of my car when open for wide illumination at night when unloading or loading items into the boot. For that price I bought two, one for the car and the other as a bedside lamp, an application for which the Olight Bulb is well suited.
Finally I bought an Olight i3T Brass AAA Battery LED Torch for my brother in law’s birthday. A small but beautifully finished brass design that arrives in an air tight package to protect its finish. My sister called me shortly after his birthday recounting how, on the night of his birthday, they took this small torch outside and were stunned to see it illuminate the entire garden. It is now one of his prize possessions!
My desire for these torches are driven by the geek and child in me, but their practical uses are limitless for the domestic and professional owner. If you have no interest whatsoever in torches, you will still love an Olight.
Some may think it is a little odd to be so excited about something as supposedly mundane as a torch. But when companies like Olight take LED technology and apply them into consumer products by encasing them in practical and innovative designs, they are irresistible. The quality of build and materials is of a very high standard, and innovations such as internal charging even in the tiniest of lights with some satisfied by their own unique magnetic charging leads makes for a compelling product solution.
If, like me, you are ‘of an age’ you will realise that Olight products are a modern example of how such an important and useful tool such as the humble torch has come on over the years and I for one, will continue to watch with interest as to how Olight continue to innovate to make these genuinely useful products even better.
In the meantime there are many other products Olight have on offer that I would love to own, especially the Olight Marauder 2 14000 Lumens Flood and Throw Torch which I can only imagine is an incredible torch. But I have to be sensible when it comes to the wallet, but one day perhaps.
In the meantime, thanks to Olight products, I can safely say that no one in my family will ever be left in the dark.
Write By Julian Morse
