Review of the Olight Obulb

The Obulb comes with the light, instructions, a metal disk with adhesive backing and charging cable (Source)

So yesterday I discussed a couple reviews of Olight's Odin weapon light. As a weapon light, I haven't actually used mine too much. If there is a zombie apocalypse, that might change, but for now, of the various Olight products I've purchased, the one that I use the most is the Obulb. Which is ironic because the reason I got it was because it was something like $5 or $6 more when I was purchasing a flashlight on a flash sale, so I thought, "why not?" and added it.

    Before we go any further, let's discuss the Obulb and its features. At the time of this writing, it is selling for $19.95 at the Olight store, not including shipping or taxes (if applicable). It is literally shaped like a barely squashed sphere of 2.13 inches diameter, according to the web site, with the bottom sliced off to provide a flat base for sitting the bulb and attaching the induction recharging cable. This uses Olight's standard recharging cable that uses magnets to attach to the light being recharged. Because of this, there are a couple small magnets on the underside of the Obulb.

    To turn the Obulb on or off, you simple push on the center of the bottom of the bulb (you will feel a slight dimple). The Obulb has four light settings which you can switch between by pushing and holding the on/off "button" on the bottom of the Obulb. The settings are:

1. A 55 lumen warm light setting (the high setting);
2. A 3.5 lumen warm light setting (the low setting);
3. A 7 lumen flashing red light; and,
4. A 7 lumen steady red light.

The one that I use most often is the low (3.5 lumen) setting. I would describe it as being about as bright as a decent quality candle, albeit without the flickering. 

    The Olight is supposed to be handle a 1.5 meter drop and has an IPX7 water resistance rating. 

    I didn't actually believe that I would have much use for the Obulb except maybe as a small lantern for camping. After all, I have other flashlights that are brighter and direct a beam. The Obulb is a lantern, and its brightest setting is only 55 lumen. But the time I'm most likely to use a flashlight is if I wake at night to use the toilet or get a drink, or waking before my wife and getting showered and dressed. In those cases, I don't really want to turn on the house lights and wake people up. And that is where the low setting on the Obulb comes in handy as it has enough light to see what you are doing as you move around, but not so bright that it is going to wake my wife, the kids, or the dog. Even at the higher 55 lumen setting, it certainly is not going to be like flashing a multi-hundred lumen flashlight around.

    On top of this, the magnetic base comes in handy because I can attach it to anything made of steel, whether the bottom of a stainless steel shelf in my bathroom, the door of the refrigerator, the fender of a car, underside of a car hood, etc. And if you want to use in a closet or someplace that doesn't have a light, you can attach the metal disk to a wall or ceiling with its adhesive, and then attach the Obulb to that disk when you use that location.

    I don't remember exactly when I bought it, but I've had it at least 6 months and had no problems. The Obulb has a maximum 56 hours of runtime on the lowest setting, which I believe because I only just recharged it a second time this past Sunday; and that is without ever having let it run dead.

    In sum, it is a useful light--far handier than you might think.