Preface Official Specs Versions Price Short Review Long Review What's Included Manual and Packaging Build Quality and Durability Size Retention Power User Interface and Operation Modes LED and beam Tint vs... Beamshots, Runtime, etc table. Comparisons Conclusion What I like What I don't like Up Next Notes
Preface
Olight has iterated the X7, and added charging. I reviewed the X7 ages ago (back in 2016), and was generally pleased. Let’s see how (if?) Olight has improved on this venerable design, by adding recharging and an indicating side switch.
Official Specs and Features
Versions
There is only one version of this light, and it includes everything needed to get up and running.
Price
As of writing this review, the price is $279.95 at OlightStore.com.
Short Review
This is a well developed light, and I like it quite a bit. I like the button, and the USB-C charging is a nice upgrade from slower, older tech.
Long Review
What’s Included
- Olight X7R Marauder
- Nylon pouch
- Charge cable
- Wall wart
- Lanyard
- Manual and paperwork
The cell is built into the light, so it’s not listed above. But the light has the cell built in, so it’s RTR out of the box (after a bit of charging, of course.)
Package and Manual
As is common with these larger Olights, the box is a flip top, cardboard, highly printed box. I really like this style, because it’s so easy to get into, and it’s not like a game of Frac to get things back into the box.
The manual is also typical Olight. Many languages, all printed on a huge sheet of very-folded paper. English is toward the front (top/right). The manual isn’t wordy, but it does seem to cover the needful information. Notably charging, and UI. Here’s a pdf of the manual.
Build Quality and Disassembly
Having had both the X7 and now the X7R it’ll be hard not to compare them. I find the feel of the X7R to be superior to the X7. But in more relevant terms, since the X7 is long in the tooth, the X7R has a great feel of quality in-hand. It also seems to have a deep, glossy coat of anno, a feature I really like.
The design has been changed to have finger-sized grooves in the sides of the light, which facilitate holding. There is no knurling. Even the tailcap doesn’t have reeding, but just bigger grooves. I haven’t found grip to be an issue, especially since the tailcap never needs to be removed, just twisted to reveal the charge port.
Size
Weight: 665g. Length: 129mm. Head Diameter: 68mm. Body Diameter: 52mm.
This is not a small light. Even for a can light, it’s probably a bit long. Notably, however, this is the same size as the original X7, except for being 2mm longer.
Much longer than the Meteor (albeit that they’re very different lights).
Retention
Included with the light is a nice nylon pouch. The pouch is directional – the X7R will only fit bezel-up. The light can be oriented so that the pouch doesn’t really interfere with the switch. But there’s also an electronic lockout, which I’d recommend using with the pouch.
Also included is a lanyard. One of the longer lanyards I can recall. There’s a long bit of paracord twisted up for…. I’m not actually sure what the purpose of that is. Looks? Survival mode? Shoulder strap? In any case, the lanyard attaches to an unusual flip-out aluminum piece, on the side of the body.
Power
The Olight X7R is powered by an internal battery. It’s very likely the same setup as the original, by which I mean it’s likely 4 18650 cells inside. But in this case they’re integrated, and aren’t to be removed. It’s likely possible to remove these with enough determination: there are three set screws around the tailcap. Very small hex screws…. But I didn’t attempt this.
I performed a runtime on Turbo S. I have to say this was a bit of a problem (not with the light, but with my setup) for a couple of reasons. First, the X7R has a “proximity sensor.” This is designed to lower the output if the sensor senses there’s a lot of reflected light coming back…. ie to prevent pocket-activation-accidents, or burned nylon pouches, or the like. This was a problem for me because the light didn’t like my integrating sphere…. I had to back the light way off my sphere. Then I finally just put a piece of electrical tape over the sensor. That worked very well. You can see the tape in some of the photos. So it’s very easy to disable this proximity sensor (not that I recommend doing so). Just a tiny piece of electrical tape. Backing the light off my sphere so far does mean that the “measured lux” in the table below is only good for comparing modes of this light, not comparing to other lights and other tables.
One thing to note from the runtime is that the output graph is almost exactly like the X7 runtime. There’s a steady decline over a few minutes to aroun d90% output, and then a drop to 50%, then another drop to ~30%. This is exactly how Turbo S performed on the X7.
Since the cells are integrated into the X7R, it of course has on-board charging. This is done by USB-C, which (as far as I recall) is a first in a light that I’ve handled. USB-C is rated to a higher current, and Olight claims “3 times faster charging than normal micro-USB cable.” Now, that’s not a hard number claim, but the wall wart provided with the X7R is rated to output 4A. I’ll also add, regarding the chart below, that the setup I use is really only rated to 3A current. Yes the recording goes above 3A, but take this as an… example only… of how the charging works. I believe charging will probably go faster than the 2.5A-3.5A shown below, if not using a logging meter as I was.
The USB-C port is on the tail of the light, accessed by twisting the tailcap. When the tailcap is twisted, the little blue door slides out of the way to reveal the port.
The wall wart is a regular USB-out. It’s rated to 4A at 5V, and seems as if it can actually meet that claim (as I logged above, 3.5A to the light).
The cable provided is a USB to USB-C.
User Interface and Operation
There’s a single button on the Olight X7R. It’s a clicky, silicone button, with a bit of a double shape. The button is rounded, but in the larger center, has a crater. In the center of the crater is a little button. It’s an unusual button, but quite pleasant to click.
There’s also a green indicator beneath the switch, which shines through the white Olight logo. The indicator has some kind of motion sensor, whereby it only lights when the light is moved, or there’s motion in front of the switch. It’s neat, and useful, but to be honest, a little faint.
Here’s a UI table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | On | Mode Memory (Nightlight, LMH*) |
| Off | Hold | Nightlight |
| Off | Long Hold | Lockout |
| On | Hold | Mode cycle (Nightlight, LMH) |
| Any | Double Click | Turbo |
| Turbo | Double Click | Turbo S |
| Turbo S | Double Click | Turbo |
| Any | Triple Click (or >3 Clicks) | Strobe |
| Strobe | Click | Off |
| Lockout | Click | Momentary Nightlight |
| Lockout | Hold | Unlock |
*High is memorized for only 10 minutes, then the light switches to Medium. Turbo and Turbo S are memorized as High.
Modes
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Mode Measured Lux* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo S | 12000/3000 | 3m/120m | 48000 |
| Turbo | 7000/3000 | 12m/110m | 29500 |
| High | 3000 | 2h10m | 15030 |
| Medium | 1000 | 6h | 4970 |
| Low | 500 | 14h | 1750 |
| Nightlight | 10 | 30d | 36 |
*This light was so bright I had to modify my setup, so only compare these numbers to each other, not to other tables I’ve made.
LED and Beam
The emitters of choice in the X7R are Cree XHP70, in Cool White. This is the same emitter setup as with the X7. These emitters are centered in shallow orange peel reflectors, and provide a beam that has a spot with soft edges, transitioning into a good bit of spill. Essentially what you’d want from a can light.
Note the proximity sensor at the 12 o’clock position in the photo below.
Also note the electrical tape covering the sensor in the photo below. This is very effective in disabling the sensor, and doesn’t seem to melt off when the light is used on the get-hot modes.
Tint vs BLF-348
Beamshots, Runtime, and Lux Measurements
| Olight X7R | |
|---|---|
| Emitter | Cree XPH70 |
| Emitter Notes | CW |
| Cell | Custom Internal |
| Glamour Shots | Beamshots [0.3″, f/8, ISO 100, 5000k] |
| Runtime | Chargetime |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 12000 |
| Lux (Measured) | 1555 lux @ 5.119 m |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd | 40747.5 |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 403.7 |
| Throw (Claimed) (m) | 380 |
Random Comparisons and Competitive Options….
From the link above, really the only light that compares is the Fenix TK72R. I’d probably still lump in the original X7, because it’s still a viable contender if one doesn’t want on-board charging.
Conclusion
What I like
- Very nice indicating switch
- Complete package with internal battery and fast charger
- Charges at 3.5A (minimum)
- High quality feel in-hand
- Proximity sensor prevents pouch/pocket burns (and is easy to disable)
What I don’t like
- Same emitters as the X7 (but the XHP70.2 might have actually been a worse choice?)
- Not possible to change battery
- Light is a little long
Up Next
Next week I’ll most likely have another couple of Olights, and possibly the new Nitecore V2 charger! Might just make next week Olight week! (I have 3 more!)
Notes
- This light was provided by Olight for review. I was not paid to write this review.
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.wordpress.com. Please visit there for the best experience!
- Whether or not I have a coupon for this light, I do have a bunch of coupons!! Have a look at my spreadsheet for those coupons. It’s possible to subscribe and get notifications when the sheet is edited!!
