I have always been in love with outdoor activities, be it fishing, hiking, caravanning around Australia with family, or just spending time in the bush camping. When the countryside comes calling, I simply cannot resist it.
Naturally, during my adventures outdoors, I have to often visit areas that are poorly lit, and a lot of camping and fishing even take place during night-time. Most flashlights I used previously were so bulky and poor quality, which I had to start looking for a backup light. One that’s handier and easily fits in my keychain.
That’s how I came across the Olight i3E EOS. Here’s my experience after using it for a while. Reckon I have had it for around a year and a half testing it out and here is my Olight Torch Review of the i3E EOS.
First impressions of the Olight i3E EOS.
What I needed was a small flashlight and when I opened the box, I found that the advertising was correct. It was tiny and a good size to fit right into my keychain with ease. As to the other first impressions, here we go.
Look and feel of the torch.
My black colour flashlight had grooves that ran parallel along the length of the body and the head, which made holding the light easy.
The body and head was made of aluminium anodized steel.
The light had a plastic disc that separated the head from the battery, so that it wouldn’t accidentally switch on during transit. I’d call that safe and smart. All I had to do was peel off the plastic and the torch was ready to light up the area.
Oh, and it comes preloaded with a battery. So, you are good to go right from the moment you open the box. Also, despite being so tiny, I could find no defects in its design or the build quality. All good so far.
The light Intensity.
In the first instance, it was evident that the Olight was capable of brightening up a dark place fairly well. The makers say it is a 90-lumen light, which is good enough to light up a dark walkway.
So, you can assume that I was looking forward to using it in my fishing trips where I want to see what’s going on around yet do not want to use an extremely bright light to cause an imbalance in the surroundings. Although 90 lumens is pretty good for such a small light.
Olight torch colours.
The Olight i3E EOS in Australia is available in seven colours. Red, blue, green, copper, purple, and the standard black finish. A silver colour model is available in 120 lumens.
Keyring Torch Specifications.
These specs are taken from Olight Australia on the i3E EOS flashlight and Olight.
Max Brightness: 90 lumen
Candela: 500cd
Throw: 44m
Max Run Time: 45min (Alkaline Battery)
Max Run Time: 70min (NiMH Battery)
Weight: .28 ounces. Approximately 7.9g
Length: 2.38 inches. Approx. 60.5mm
LED – Philips LUXEON TX LED and a PMMA TIR lens
A6061-T6 aluminium alloy body with anti-scratch Type-II hard anodizing
Operational experience, testing the light.
My first impression of the flashlight being good, I decided to get some field trials done. So, I went fishing and hiking, sometimes with friends and other times alone, to find out whether the light was value for money. Here are a few parameters on which I now review my operational experience.
Switching the torch on and off.
To switch on the light, all I had to do was rotate the head until it was completely screwed down towards the body. And to turn it off, I simply had to rotate it in the opposite direction. Easy, don’t you think?
Well, some readers may be wondering, why not just have a button to switch the light on and off? I, too, would have thought the same thing.
But during all my solo backpacking trips, I realized that the spare flashlight lies at the bottom of your pack, and it switches on with the press of a button, it can easily be triggered by the pressure of things on top of it.
And when you are on a hike all by yourself, you wouldn’t even know when your flashlight has silently drained all of the power from its batteries, simply because of an “on” button.
Power source.
Simplicity at its best here, too. The Olight uses just one AAA battery, which you can find in any store, no matter where you are traveling in Australia.
The best part is, AAA batteries are used by most travel equipment, such as headlamps and GPS devices. This works out well in case you are deep in the wilderness and realize that one of your equipment needs a change of batteries but somehow you have used up the extras you had. Simply swap the batteries with those of equipment of lower priority and you are all set.
Having said that, you may not need to carry a lot of extra batteries for this tiny light because the one that comes in the box lasts quite long. Mine lasted about a year, and I venture out a lot!
I found it handy when caravanning and camping for an extra light when setting up. The kids would burrow (I should say steal) my headlamp main torch and I would have to get out the Olight.
Use time.
Being a secondary light, you may not need to use it that much, so there’s hardly any question of exhausting its usage time. At least I didn’t.
I used the light only when I needed to find things inside my backpack or fiddling around with things fishing if I didn’t have my headlamp with me. I have also used it to find things inside the tent while camping, especially when others were sleeping. I put my hand over the light, so it wasn’t too bright and wake people up. (I definitely didn’t want to wake my wife up.)
Sometimes, when I am at home and wanting to go back to the outdoors, I use the light inside the house to look for smaller items such as keys. For all of these little tasks, the light has never failed me.
Ease of carrying the Olight i3E EOS around.
This is where the Olight mini keyring torch really shines. (Pardon the pun. See what I done there?)
This is the best part of Olight. It is so small that it lives happily with all the keys in my keyring. So often I have kept the light attached to my car keyring and hung it in my car for a long time. No wear and tear resulted on my keyring when the flashlight hung from it and it is so light and compact.
The light has a split ring at the tail end that attaches to any keyring, and whenever I took it out of the ring, it came off easily without causing any damage to the light, or the ring.
And then, when I’m on foot, the flashlight lies in my backpack without taking up any extra space. If you are a backpacker, or dedicated hiker, you know how every inch of space in your pack matters.
Waterproof characteristics.
Although the package said that the torch is waterproof, I wasn’t so sure and hence didn’t try to deliberately soak it in water. However, nature had other plans.
I went camping with friends once and despite all the precautions, our backpacks got heavily drenched with continuous rainfall. And then, I found even though soaking wet, the light worked as well as it did before. I did have a bag inside the backpack, but it ripped and of course everything got soaked.
Then there were my fishing trips where the light accidentally fell into my friend’s live bait tank. I picked it out within a few minutes, and there it was, all ready to shine again. So, yes, I’d say it’s waterproof for sure. Not sure how long it could be left in the water, but it works being dunked a bit.
Are there any cons of the Olight i3E EOS?
Well, not so much. The only thing that I noticed was that the torch had to be carefully rotated to switch off the light. If it wasn’t, the head could screw back down causing the light to switch on again. Not much of an issue if you get the turns right. And it would have to unscrew a lot to happen.
Also, because of the split ring attachment at its tail end, it is difficult to use the torch standing up. But then, that’s not the reason I bought the torch anyway. When I want to use a hands-free light, my headlamps serve me well enough. My Olight is for an additional back up only.
If you still insist on keeping your hands free when using this light, you can always find something that the torch can lean on.
Other Olight flashlight models.
The next size up of the i3E EOS is the bigger Olight i3T EOS which is an impressive 180 lumens. The Olight i3T EOS uses a tail switch for a simple one handed operation.
I have had an Olight i3T EOS for a while now which I will also do a torch review as well. So far the i3T is impressive like the i3E EOS model.
For a list of the best torches in Aus, click on Best Olight Torches in Australia.
Where to buy the Olight?
To check the latest price on the Olight i3E EOS click here Olight i3E EOS. (Affiliate link.)
Summary – Olight i3E EOS Review.
Outdoor activities create great memories that you can cherish for a lifetime. But to enjoy your moments in the lap of Mother Nature, you must have the right equipment.
The small yet bright Olight i3E EOS can be an incredibly helpful companion whether you are hiking alone in the dark Aussie bush or having fun by the river fishing with friends.
Whether you need a low light that brightens up your trails, or a glimmer that lets you find your small items from the depths of your pack, this little torch will show you the way.
With this miniature model of a torch, it is easy to carry and is extremely light-weight. Ideal for camping, caravanning and outdoor water sports and fishing, this little torch is quality and great value.
