Olight GOTORCH X

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Olight GOTORCH X review

Olight GOTORCH X specifications

Brand & ModelOlight GOTORCH X
Flashlight categoryBike Light
LEDHigh Performance Neutral White LED
Max. output2000 lumens
Max. beam distance250 meters
Max. beam intensitycd
Battery config.14.4V 21700 Battery Pack
Onboard chargingUSB-C Onboard
Modes3
BlinkiesN/A
WaterproofIPX4
Review publication dateFebruary 2023

Introduction:

Having recently reviewed the Wyvern, also from Olight, I assumed I was going to be getting both ends of the spectrum in regards to output and quality from them. While the Wyvern worked well enough, I wasn’t very pleased with the quality or experience of that particular bike light. Seeing the buzz around the GOTORCH X makes me more optimistic of what else they can achieve. I expect and hope for a stark contrast to what I have already experienced. They make or have made quite a few bike lights in their time, but this is a new take. A separate battery pack and no active cooling on a head unit that gets all the way to 2000 lumens…… Hmm…. I guess you’ll have to hop on this ride with me and let’s explore if the GOTORCH X has what it takes to go the extra mile.

Package quality.

The packaging of the GOTORCH X is in the upper echelon of all Olight packaging. The same ‘base and lid’ design that they usually reserve for their premiere lineup or special edition lights. The only other lights I own with this package design are Titanium or Brass lights. I prefer this over all the others, even over the magnetic clasp style similar to what they employed on the Marauder Mini. This is just such a nice presentation and gives you a sense of what to expect. Inside, the head and battery pack are kept their own individual plastic sheathing and the head also has an additional layer of protection in the form of a stiff plastic bubble to keep things away from the lens during shipment. Also inside, all of your accessories (see below) are stored in a plastic container to keep those tidy as well. A very nice touch that hasn’t gone unnoticed. Get ready for a long list, since this has more to it than anything else I have ever tested, but everything included is as follows:

  • Bike Light
  • Battery Pack
  • Thick Cushion Ring(28.60 mm / 1.12 in)
  • Thin Cushion Ring(31.80 mm / 1.25 in)
  • Big Silicone Strap
  • Small Silicone Strap
  • Clamp
  • Clamp Arm
  • USB Cable
  • User Manual
  • 2*Cable Zip Ties
  • 7/64 in Allen Wrench
  • 2*Screws

Flashlight in use

The head of the GOTROCH X is completely separate from the battery pack, so in terms of feel, you don’t get that much. Where you do get a feel though, it comes through in abundance. You have the lens in plastic, the head in aluminum and then the switch. While I would put money on the extremely oversized switch being plastic, it is well made and gives a premium feel. This mated with the aluminum on the head and the mounting options, you get a sense of opulence, which to be honest, is something I never thought I would use to describe a bike light. But I digress…

The switch is of the e-switch variety to register the presses. This can feel quite vague, but in the sense like they are trying to mute clicking noises instead of being cheap. You still get a defined click, but it is not as pronounced as other e-switches. The travel is a little long, but can be a good thing to make sure you have made contact with it in the instance where you are wearing gloves. In my experience personally, the entire mounting system is incredibly stable and provides a platform where you can put quite a bit of pressure on the light source, accidentally or otherwise. The cable is thick and secure when plugged in and there is a second port on the battery if you need to charge your phone on the run. Quite a few conveniences for something that could get by without it.

This is, as you may have guessed, a bike light first and foremost. This doesn’t need all the frills like multicolored LEDs or a flood and throw switch. Heck, it doesn’t even need that many modes. It is designed to illuminate the road ahead and this is what it is set up for. Use this as a bike light and you will not find yourself disappointed.

Build Quality and Warranty

While there aren’t many “design features” to speak of, I can’t stop looking at the finish on the GOTORCH X head unit. The massive button to operate the unit is textured to almost replicate leather and there is a hidden battery indicator in the power icon as well (more on that later). The 6061 aluminum is ever so smooth and the Type-III hard anodizing feels nice to the touch. The finish on the ‘quite familiar’ blue bezel is played often, but not overdone on this bike light. One fantastic touch I noticed is the power cord. It comes out to the side instead of straight back. This will allow it to flow in the same direction as your handlebars instead of coming straight at you. This is a clever move on their part and one that I appreciate.

It mounts to the handlebars in a series of aluminum brackets and clamps that are also anodized to match and finished in the same excellent machining. There are two spacers of different thicknesses as well, to aid in mounting without scratching your handlebars. All of the accessories are well thought out to provide ease of use and extreme durability. You can’t crank the ever loving snot out of a plastic clamp and still expect it to perform. There are two inserts for the clamp to fit a wide array of bars.

The unfortunate thing, however, is the smallest spacer is still too large to mount on ⅞” handlebars. This is the size of handlebars of every mountain bike I have ever had and it is limited to what you can use it on. I did however find that using both spacers simultaneously can give you the ability to attach the mounting arm on ⅞” bars, although not as secure.

This is the arm that acts as the mounting point between your bars as the head unit has Go-Pro mounts on one end and is threaded (yes, metal threads) on the other. Again, incredibly well thought out and engineered. That Go-Pro mount gives you the added benefit of being able to mount this on a huge list of available accessories that are also available for the Go-Pro.

Moving to the battery pack, the same level of quality transfers over this way too, but in plastic. The pack itself is quite robust and feels like it could double as a self-defense weapon, if the need arises. There are tabs on the sides that secure a silicon mounting strap to secure this pack to the frame of your bike. Two sizes are included, to help accommodate most size frames. This isn’t the only place where silicon is present on the battery pack. There is a pad on the section that makes contact with the frame and this will keep both from getting scratched. There is also a large silicon battery indicator that will illuminate when you push the hidden e-switch below (more on this later).

I legitimately cannot find anything out of ranks (aside from the too large of spacers) with this light and I would be shocked if you did. Accidents do happen, however, and Olight is committed to making them right.

Olight’s warranty:

At Olight, we always care about your experience as a customer and want to ensure you have no concerns regarding after-sales service. On September 16th, 2023, we sincerely make the following important promise:

If you purchased an Olight® product from Australia, China, France, Germany or the USA after January 1st, 2023, the local service centers in these countries will honor your LIFETIME WARRANTY for your purchase. If your Olight® product (including its structure, built-in battery, LED, or lens) ever experiences any issues, we promise to take care of it. If we are unable to repair your product, we will promptly replace it with a product in perfect working condition, which will be of equal or better physical condition. If your purchase is a limited or discontinued edition of Olight® product, we will repair or replace it with another Olight® product of the same or higher value.

LED, Lens, Bezel, Beam, and Reflector

Let me start off by saying that this reflector is unlike anything I have ever seen before. At least not on a bike light. It is segmented similar to an older vehicle headlamp, you know, before projectors and lasers took over the highways.

On top of that, there is a plastic lens that only with feel, you can tell has a slightly convex shape to it as well as horizontal ridges to help with its anti-glare properties. Even while plastic, the molding used was very well done and I can’t seem to find any flaws in the transfer.

If you look past all of this, you’ll see the star of the show. While it isn’t named directly by Olight, I can tell you that to me, it looks an awful lot like the Cree XHP70.3 HI, but I can only guess. The beam itself is bright. The throw is far and as far as the actual beam profile, the hotspot is defined and spills out nice and softly.

The cutoff for the beam is not only present, but is very distinct. Just above the hotspot, there is nothing. The light falls down to the sides just past the spill and that’s all she wrote. The output of the light, according to Olight, is a neutral white and comes in at 4500k so, yeah, I think it is safe to say the tint is neutral. If color rendering (CRI) is your bag, it’s worth noting that the GOTORCH X came in at under 70 Ra. At speed, I would think that anyone would want to know the difference between a stick and snake to know whether they can go on ahead or if they need to slam on the brakes. These measurements were obtained at 5 meters in all modes.

Dimensions and its competition

Olight GOTORCH X dimensions: 

Olight GOTORCH XMillimetersInches
Head length41 mm1.6 in
Head diameter47 mm1.9 in
Battery diameter68 mm2.7 in
Battery length126 mm5 in

Dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter, and to the nearest tenth of an Inch.

Olight GOTORCH X weight: 

Olight GOTORCH XWeight in gramsWeight in oz
Without battery:114 g4 oz
With battery522 g18.4 oz

Weight is rounded to the nearest gram, and to the nearest tenth of an Oz.

Flashlight size comparison with its competition: I have no other lights currently that operate with a separate battery pack, so I will compare with other bike lights I currently have.

Group 1: Olight GOTORCH X, Olight Wyvern, Astrolux SL01

Olight Gotorch X UI: User Interface and Driver

Available modes: 

  • Daytime, Low and High

From OFF:

  • Press and hold: Low mode
  • Single click:  Daytime mode

From ON:

  • Press and hold (in low mode): Shut the light off
  • 1 click (in low mode):  switch to high and then alternate between the two
  • 1 click (in daytime mode): Shut the light off

Mode memory:

  • The GOTORCH X always enters low mode first

Low voltage warning:

  • Blinking red light on the switch when capacity is under 10%

Lock-out mode: 

  • No lockout mode present

PWM

  • No PWM is present.

Additional/summary info on the UI: 

  • Daytime mode: When you press the e-switch, this will put you into what Olight calls ‘daytime mode’. This bring the light output to 100 lumens to give pedestrians and other cyclists notice of you with just a little bit of light. When you’re passed them or need more light, press and hold and that 100 lumens grief by a factor of 10, to 1000 lumens. This is your normal setting group and you can switch between this more mode or less again to switch it to 2000 lumens, but only if the battery pack has 4 bars of health.
  • I would have preferred to see a change in the activation order, in which you would get to low with one press and daytime with a press and hold. If I am needing light, I would choose to have more output immediately.

Olight Gotorch X Charging and batteries

The battery included with the GOTORCH X is a 4 cell pack that operates in series to provide the driver with 64.8Wh of electron flow in the form of a 4S configuration (in series or additive voltage) to the head of the light. Being completely separate from the ‘illumination device’, it needs some way to get those electrons to the emitter. This comes by way of an XT30 connector attached to a separate pigtail.

Also on the battery pack is a singular USB-C pigtail that connects to the provided charging cable. This is also unique that it has, for the first time I can recall, a USB-C to USB-C cable, but with a twist. There is also an adapter on the end to allow you to switch it to USB-A. As you can probably guess, this means that the battery includes a powerbank feature. This is nice if you need to charge up your phone while hitting the mean streets of… wherever.

Firstly, the charging. Using the included charge cable and a power brick capable of 65w, I was hoping and anxious to see the claimed 3 amps charge current that Olight touts on their spec sheet, but unfortunately, I was only able to achieve 2 amps (2.05 to be exact) for charging the battery pack. To mitigate the potential of a fluke, I also used other cords and power bricks, but there was a glass ceiling there I could not break. Because of the lower than advertised charge rate, I also had a slower than advertised charge time. After all of my charge cycles, everything averaged to 9 hours and 31 minutes. This is a pretty far cry from the 6.5 hours I was looking for.

Second off, I tested the powerbank feature and again, using a multitude of cords, was limited to 2 amps. It is a fantastic feature to have. I just wish it worked as advertised.

When the light is charging however, you have an indicator that sits on top of the pack near the cable pigtails, letting you know exactly where the charge level stands. Hidden underneath this is a button that will activate and display the level of charge remaining while it is in use. If that seems like a rather unusual place to have an indicator if the head is mounted on your handlebar, you’d be right.

Fortunately, Olight thought of this as well and included another indicator built-in and hidden underneath the e-switch. This one is more colorful (mainly due to the space constraints) and will correspond with the charge level as follows:

Over 75% = Green indicator

75% – 31% = Orange indicator

30% – 10% = Red indicator

under 10% = Flashing red indicator

Performance test

All measurements were taken using a purpose built integrating sphere and an ExTech SDL400 datalogging lux meter. The known output from a light source (273lm Convoy S2+) was then taken into account when getting my figures calibrated for accuracy purposes.

Lumen measurements (for each mode)

ModeSpecs@turn on@30 sec@10 minutes
Daytime100lm83lm83lm82lm
Low1000lm868lm854lm827lm
High (w/ fan)2000lm1719lm1676lm1229lm
High (w/o fan)2000lm1725lm1685lm458lm

Battery Life: Runtime graphs

The included Olight GOTORCH X battery pack was charged until the charging circuit completed and then each mode was tested. Each runtime test was done until the lights shut off unless they were to take over 24 hours.

ModeSpecified runtimeMeasured runtime ANSITime till shut off
Daytime89h24h+24h+
Low7h 30min7h 29min10h 44min
High (w/ fan)4h 45min4h 43min7h 57min
High (w/o fan)n/a13h 29min13h 40min

With the exception of a potentially days-long runtime (which I ended after 24 hours) The runtimes are remarkably accurate. It is apparent that Olight is expecting the GOTORCH X to be used at speed and the high runtimes are quite indicative of this. Without a fan running to simulate bike movement, high output ran quite a bit longer, but also got dimmer quite a bit faster, since it was activating its temperature regulation. Before it kicked down, it was incredibly hot.

ANSI FL1 standards: The runtime is measured until the light drops to 10% of its initial output (30 seconds after turning on). This does not mean that the flashlight is not usable anymore. The last column shows how long the light actually works till it shuts off. If there is a + symbol, it means that the test was stopped at that particular point, but the light was actually still running. This happens on certain occasions, with certain drivers, firmware, or batteries.

Peak beam intensity and beam distance measurements

Throw information was gathered using an Opple Lightmaster Pro at 10m after 30 seconds.

ModeSpecsCandela measured MetersYards
Daytime55m1325cd72m79yd
Low185m15275cd247m270yd
High250m25425cd318m348yd

These numbers are quite good. This is with my Opple Lightmaster Pro, so I don’t think these numbers are (that) far fetched, although they do seem to be on the high side. In my experience, a very concentrated beam does seem to run a little high, and this is just that, a concentrated beam to make sure you have light ahead of you and can see what’s coming up fast.

Extra info: Peak beam distance according to ANSI FL1 standards: The calculated value of distance in meters at which the flashlight produces a light intensity of 0.25 lux. (0.25 lux is about the brightness of a full moon shining on an object). The columns ‘Meters’ and ‘Yards’ use rounded numbers.

Beamshots

Camera settings and distance: Panasonic Lumix G7 with ISO 5000 and ev0.0 at 70y.

Beamshots of the following flashlights compared:

  • Olight GOTORCH X
  • Olight Wyvern
  • Astrolux SL01

Disclaimer: This flashlight was sent to me for review at no cost by Olight. I have not been paid to review, nor have I been holding back on problems or defects.

Final Verdict

Pros

  1. Spectacular fit and finish
  2. Very usable light output
  3. Powerbank feature is quite handy
  4. Accessories are very stout

Cons

  1. Low on output
  2. Longevity of the connections with repeated disconnects
  3. Gets downright hot with no cooling
  4. Charge/Power Bank current was lower than advertised
  5. Doesn’t fit 7/8” bars

Explanation on star ratings:

1: Avoid: a match would be a better choice – 2: Poor: significant defect or issues; almost unusable – 3: Average: some defects or issues; but still usable 4: Good: recommended (minor issues) – 5: Great: highly recommended

Author: Josh

4 stars: ★★★★

Summing up my experience with the GOTORCH X can be said in just a few words, “This is my new go-to”. While I didn’t get the charge speed I was hoping for and I had to double up the spacers to mount to my handlebars, this is a fantastic bike light. I was a little worried about the cooling without having a fan or dedicated cooling fins, but at speed, this is a non-issue. What you get though, is an impeccable fit and finish on a bright light with a very nice cut off that I am sure passersby will appreciate. To boot, you can keep your other devices charged up with the USB-C output on the battery pack. This checks quite a few boxes that I am willing to forgive the shortcomings I mentioned above. The rigidity, brightness and quality are just there, and it works great. The GOTORCH X is very well deserving of 4 stars. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to go hit the trails. 🙂

Buy Olight GOTORCH X with discount code

Use our exclusive 1lumen discount code to get an extra 10% off anything you order at Olightstore.com (USA). Coupon code: 1lumen

1lumen selects and reviews products personally. We may earn affiliate commissions through our links, which help support our testing.

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