Let’s discuss pocket-carried / belt-carried flashlights. There are about eighty-six gazillion of them out there to choose from.
The one I carry daily is the OLight M20SX JAVELOT. I won’t bore you with all the technical mumbo-jumbo, for I am not a professional flashlight reviewer. There are already many reviews about this particular product online from which to choose.
I’ve watched them all and deduced the same thing from my personal experience that can be seen during the video reviews. I can’t break down the light to a fraction of a lumen or tell you how the CREE LED is made, but what I can tell you is that this light just works. Every time. All the time.
My initial foray into the OLight brand started about five years ago. I was at a trade show when I came across the OLight booth. I had not heard of the brand, so I checked out what they displayed. The rep behind the counter shook my hand and started into the back-and-forth banter that comes with the typical trade show interaction. After a few minutes of picking up several lights, I found the M20-X Warrior light. I liked the way it fit in my hand. I purchased it on the spot and thus began my daily affair with the Light M20 series flashlight.
Now, let’s skip forward about five years or so. What can I tell you about the flashlight during the five years of daily use? Well, I could not kill it. I beat this little light with no reservation in daily use and daily carry lifestyle. I used it as a light hammer; I dropped it, I had it on my boat, I navigated at night in dark channels using it to light up channel markers, I used it to find my keys, and any other thing a flashlight can be used for. I traveled with it. I traveled with it a lot. For its size, TSA does not even look twice at it.
So, before I delve into the tech portion of this article, I want to tell you the “why” behind it. The mode button on the M20SX is a blue silicone piece, that allows the user to select between the low/medium/high/strobe modes. After five years of hard use, the blue silicone mode selector in the tail cap fell out, and I could not select the different modes anymore. It also left the light open to water intrusion.
So, I did what any consumer would do, I sent OLight an email detailing what happened and that I was ready to purchase a new tail cap for my beloved light. Within two business days, I was contacted by email from their Customer Service department stating that they would send me out another tail cap free of charge. The email asked for my shipping address, and I gladly provided it. The next day, another email came in from their Customer Service department, but this time it was a personal email from Matt, the actual Customer Service Manager. He apologized, stating that he could not locate the appropriate tail cap for the M20-X because that light had been discontinued and they were currently shipping the new improved OLight M20SX Javelot.
I asked Matt if he could take a phone call, and I immediately shouted at him. We talked about the light, how I had used it very hard over the past five years, and that it still functioned perfectly, except for the little silicone switch cover that became lost. He explained the difference between the old M20 and the newer version. I offered to pay for the replacement, but he stated that it was no problem at all and that OLight stands behind its products and its customers. Within a few hours, I got an email from him with a tracking number for the new light en-route.
The new light arrived in a few days and has been flawless. So, now on to the tech portion. The OLight M20SX JAVELOT is a new generation of a two-tail-switch tactical flashlight. The maximum output has been improved to 820 lumens. Now, I have no way of testing this light’s output to ensure that it’s 820 and not 819, but I can assure you it is plenty bright for its size. One of the things I really like is it is powered by either two commonly found CR123A or you can use one 18650 battery. I have several 18650 batteries that I keep charged and rotate through the various lights I have.
Three brightness settings range from 25 lumens on “low” to 820 lumens on “high”. There is also a strobe mode for those times you may need to use it in a tactical setting. This article is not intended to cover the pros and cons of using a handheld light in a low light situation, we can discuss that at a later date. But, I will tell you that when the light is at rest, or “off”, if you depress the mode selector button it immediately illuminates the strobe feature.
The brightness during the strobe feature is “high” or 820 advertised laments. PLENTY bright to disorient whoever is on the receiving end of it and the user if he or she does not have a source of constant light to accompany the strobe. So, beware of the limitations of using the strobe in a use-of-force type encounter. I can understand this feature since this light is marketed as a “Tactical” or “Law Enforcement” light. I personally, would like to see it turn on in the brightest setting when depressing the mode switch when the light is off. Deal breaker? No. I have grown used to its operation.
OLight says that it uses a customized CREE LED with a smooth reflector that creates a tightly-focused beam to maximize throw reaching out to 1000 feet and beyond. I have not walked off a true 1,000 feet to test this, but I have used it to illuminate channel markers on a very dark night, at a very considerable distance. I have no issues illuminating anything in its beam, and the light is very white. The emitter (per OLight) is the XM-L2 emitter but it has been specially designed without a dome which has a significantly improved throw.
The light is hard type III anodized and really takes some punishment. It will scratch over time with hard use, as evidenced in my photographs. The light is water-resistant, which I have tested on multiple occasions. Swimming with the light in your pocket will not cause it to malfunction. I have not taken it diving or done extreme depth tests with it. I use the light as it is intended, and it works every time I push the button.
Battery life on the 18650 is very good. I will go weeks without charging it, using it daily. In all fairness, I am not using it in a patrol vehicle on the midnight shift, or on nightly patrols downrange. I use it as an everyday carry flashlight, comparable with the average consumer. You can tell when the battery is needing to be charged or replaced because once you turn it on in a low battery scenario, it will not stay on the bright setting. It automatically goes to medium, or low, depending on the status of the battery. This is a nice function, that allows the user to predict that the light is at the limit of the battery. I have had other lights that ran until the battery was low, then the light just shut off. If you are in a law enforcement/first responder profession or a person who relies on the light on a nightly basis, I would suggest carrying a spare battery as a precaution.
The light has a stainless steel crenelated strike bezel that is useful to some, not useful to others. As I said before, this light travels with me. Everywhere. I have fairly large hands and this light extends past both sides of my palm when holding it in the middle. So, read between the lines here, between the size and the fact that it has a strike bezel. Enough said. There is also a removable “ring” that can be used in a syringe style grip with a handgun if that’s your method of shooting with a handheld light. If you don’t use it, you can remove it. I just leave the ring on. It has not hindered pocket carry or daily use in my personal experience. Just note, that if you remove the ring, the lower of the two o-rings will remain exposed when the tail cap is reinstalled. The pocket clip is robust, and I have never had an issue with it breaking or coming off. Even in the original M20 that I carried daily for five years.
Final Thoughts:
As I said at the beginning of this article, I am not a professional flashlight review guy. Those out there are way better at it than I am. I just wanted to give you a true, no-fluff assessment on this light. It works. It has really impressed me with its durability and its ruggedness, but what REALLY made me want to take the time to cover this light in an article, is the customer service that OLight gives its consumers.
If you are looking for a very hard-use pocket light that is designed and marketed as a “duty” flashlight, give the OLight M20SX Javelot a close look. Several accessories can be used with it, such as filters, diffusers, weapon mount options, remote tail caps, etc. The Javelot series also comes in different sizes, and the price is reasonable. Mine has become as much a part of my everyday carry as my cell phone and car keys have.
(D. MacIntosh) US Army Special Operations with over 30 years of service. Former 1SG, current Warrant Officer with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggary. Over the years, he’s developed a unique style and appreciates the finer things in life. He evaluates gear based on his unique personal experience and no-fluff presentation.
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