Contents

• Pricing & Availability
• What comes in the box?
• Design & Construction
• Size & Measurements
• User Interface
• Emitter & Beam
• Mode Chart
• Runtime
• Driver & Regulation
• Switch
• Carry & Ergonomics
• Batteries & Charging
• Competition
• Conclusion

Pricing & Availability

Olight sent me this light in exchange for making an honest review of it and including some information about their upcoming sale (September 19-23) where this light will be discounted. Here are links to their website, the official product page, and the temporary bundle page where you can see current pricing. Those are affiliate links that let them know I sent you, but I’ve chosen not to earn any commission. Code “tgreviews” is 10% off most items that aren’t otherwise on sale. All customers will get a free keychain light with purchase during the sale as well.

What comes in the box?

Seeker 4 Pro comes in one of Olight’s premium boxes with high-quality printing all around and a magnetic closure. It’s a whole unboxing experience and is sure to impress if you gift the light to someone.

• The light itself
• Battery (inside the light)
• Holster
• Holster wall mount
• User manual
• USB A-to-C charging cable
• Screws & drywall anchors

Design & Construction

This design is very similar to previous Seekers with rubberized grips on the body tube, a large button, and a flared head. I like the clean black look but I don’t care for the blue aluminum accents Olight puts on their black flashlights, the bezel in this case.

Build quality is superb, as always, from Olight. It has a feeling of quality, fit, and finish that you can’t get from budget brands. Even the rubber grip feels high quality, which surprised me.

Size & Measurements

Mini Maglite | Skilhunt M300 | Olight Seeker 4 Pro | Sofirn SC33 | Olight Warrior 3S

Acebeam E75 | Olight Seeker 4 Pro | Olight Seeker 2 Pro

Measurement	Measured (mm)
Bezel Diameter	35.0
Maximum Head Diameter	35.0
Length	133.4
Switch Diameter	14.5
Switch Proudness	2.1
Lens Thickness	u/m
Optic Diameter	u/m
Optic Height	u/m
MCPCB Size	u/m
Body Tube Diameter (internal)	21.7
Body Tube Diameter (maximum)	29.6
Body Tube Diameter (mode)	~28.3
Tailcap Diameter	29.6
Tailcap Length	20.1
Driver Diameter	u/m
Included Battery Length	74.9
Included Battery Diameter	21.4
Holster Height	142.5
Holster Width	41.2
Holster Maximum Belt Width	56 (~2″)
Wall Mount Height	67.2
Wall Mount Width	44.8

Flashlight weight (including battery): 207g
Holster weight: 51g

User Interface

This is a solid user interface hidden by an annoying auto-lockout function. You won’t really run into the lockout function if you keep the light in the holster though.

The actions are # of presses followed by a hold (H) or a release (C). So, “1C” is one click and release. “2H” is two clicks but you hold down the last one.

State	Action	Result
Off	1C	On (mode memory)
Off/Locked	1H	“Moonlight”
Off	Rotate	Adjust brightness while off (shown on indicator LED’s)
Locked	1C	Activate battery indicators
Locked	Rotate	Unlock
“Moonlight”	1H	Low
On	1C	Off
On	1H	Cycle Mode
On	2H	Activate timer or toggle it between 3 and 9 minutes
On (except “Moonlight”)	Rotate CW	Increase brightness
On (except “Moonlight”	Rotate CCW	Decrease brightness
Any (except locked)	2C	Turbo
Any (except locked)	3C	Strobe
Turbo	2C	Previous mode

What they got right:

• Clicking turns the light on/off and holding the button changes modes. That’s the way almost all e-switch flashlights should work. It’s intuitive and quick.
• The common shortcuts work. Moonlight, Turbo, and Strobe all have shortcuts that work the same way as most other lights. They work very well and there’s no learning curve for these when switching lights.
• There are discrete brightness levels and smooth adjustments. Hold the switch for discrete levels. Rotate it for fine control. That’s the best blend of stepped and smooth adjustments I’ve ever seen and it’s a treat to use.
• There are 5 stepped brightness levels, which is just the right amount. Enough to have options but not so many that it’s cumbersome to use.
• The light automatically unlocks when it’s removed from the holster. That helps alleviate a lot of the annoyance from the auto-lockout “feature”.
• The proximity sensor can’t interfere with normal use because this light doesn’t have one. I don’t mind proximity sensors but I’d rather have none than have one that dims the light when I don’t want it to.
• 1H from “Moonlight” goes to Low. That’s important for situations where Moonlight isn’t quite enough but you don’t want to have to cycle through High to get back down to Low.

What they got wrong:

• Auto Lockout. After just ten seconds of inactivity, the light will put itself in auto-lockout. To unlock the light you need to turn the switch/knob 90+ degrees or hold it down to enter Moonlight mode. It makes the light frustrating to use unless you keep it in the holster. The user should be able to permanently disable it if they choose.
• Moonlight is memorized. It shouldn’t be memorized because it has its own dedicated shortcut for quick access. Since it’s memorized, accessing it will override your memorized mode.
• Turbo is memorized as high mode. Turbo shouldn’t be memorized at all because it has a dedicated shortcut so the user always has quick access to it without memory. Since it’s memorized, accessing it will override the user’s previously memorized mode. If turbo must be memorized, then actually memorize it! Memorizing it as high mode is silly and confusing.

Emitter & Beam

Olight doesn’t name the emitters used in Seeker 4 Pro, but they’re available in cool white or neutral white, both standard CRI. I have the neutral white version. They’re domed and 3535 size. They sit behind a custom quad TIR optic (not an off-the-shelf Carclo like you see on many other lights). This produces a fantastic beam. Unfortunately, I was unable to remove the bezel with super grippy gloves, so it may be difficult to do emitter swaps on this light.

Offering both cool white and neutral white is fantastic. I’d like the neutral white LED options to also be high-CRI on future Olight models. That way the people wanting maximum lumens will be satisfied with the cool white option, and the people wanting great color properties will be satisfied with the neutral white option.

The beam is clean with no artifacts at all. The hotspot is flat, wide, and well-defined. The spill is bright too and it fades as it gets further from the hotspot. There’s just a bit of tint-shift but not much. It’s a good general-purpose floody beam.

In the beamshots below, the garbage can is 21M away and the trees are 40-50M away.

In the beamshots below, the concrete corner to the right of the hotspot is 39M away and the power pole in the center is 185M away.

Mode Chart

Disclaimer: All of my measurements are taken at turn-on. Lumen measurements were taken on a Texas Ace 3.5″ Lumen Tube. A candela measurement was taken at 10 meters with an Opple Light Master III on the highest brightness, and other candela figures were calculated relative to that. CRI, CCT, & DUV data were taken for each mode from a few feet away at the center of the hotspot with the Opple Light Master and Waveform DUV Calculator. Runtime tests were performed with the Ceilingbounce app on my smartphone. All of these tests were performed with a fully charged included battery unless otherwise specified. I cannot measure moonlight directly, so moonlight readings are calculated based on the brightness relative to the next-lowest mode. None of this is professional equipment, so take all of these measurements with a grain of salt.

Above are the official specs, followed by my own measurements below.

Level	Lumens	Candela	Throw (Meters)	CRI (Ra)	Color Temp. (K)	DUV (Tint)
Turbo	4100	19000	276	66	4820	0.0073
High	1050	4866	140	65	4810	0.0085
Medium	260	1205	69	66	4750	0.0082
Low	40	185	27	66	4730	0.0082
“Moonlight”	4	19	9	67	4700	0.0076

This light doesn’t quite meet the advertised specs, but that’s probably due to the neutral white color temperature. Neutral and warm white are usually not as bright as cool white in the same LED model. It would be nice if they advertised different specifications for the different emitter options but it’s not a vast difference.

Moonlight: isn’t really moonlight. A good rule of thumb is that a proper “Moonlight” mode is 1lm or less.

Mode Spacing is good. There are no weirdly small or large jumps. Ramp Speed is really good too. It feels consistent and linear, which many cheaper lights fail to do.

Runtime

Performance: Sustaining over 1000lm for over 2 hours on a 21700 battery is impressive. The 4000+lm Turbo mode is also great. This is some of the best performance available in this size and battery range.

Thermal regulation: Timed step-down from Turbo only. No active thermal regulation. That means the light will perform very consistently but may also overheat in hot weather or leave some performance on the table in cold weather.

LVP (Low Voltage Protection): The light has low voltage protection and will shut off when the battery gets very low. It doesn’t rely on the battery’s protection circuitry. It doesn’t really matter here because you couldn’t use an unprotected cell even if you wanted to. You can re-activate it after shutoff but you have to remove and reinstall the battery to do so.

Driver & Regulation

Olight exclusively uses Buck, Boost, or Buck+Boost drivers which are the best kinds of drivers. They tend to be the most efficient and the best performing. I’m not exactly sure what kind of driver Seeker 4 Prouses, but it’s safe to assume it’s one of those.

Regulation is average. Turbo is strongly affected by battery charge level. High is affected only when the battery gets low. The other modes are unaffected.

Note: All regulation measurements are taken at turn-on so they do not reflect any thermal or low voltage stepdowns that may occur. A value of 0 indicates low voltage shutoff immediately upon activation.

PWM: No PWM is visible to my eyes nor audible to my ears. My phone camera was only able to pick it up on “Moonlight” mode.

Parasitic Drain: I was unable to measure parasitic drain due to the proprietary battery.

Switch

Seeker 4 Pro has a unique rotary knob + switch combo. It rotates to unlock and control brightness with tactile steps. It can also be depressed like any electronic switch and has a tactile actuation but isn’t clicky. I like that it’s black instead of blue like on Seeker 3 Pro. It’s an excellent switch overall.

My only gripe is that it’s so exposed. If it’s unlocked it’s very easy for the switch to be pressed by accident. I think that’s why the auto-lockout function was added. Instead of auto-lockout, I would strongly have preferred a different switch design that’s harder to press by accident. Perhaps a center button that’s recessed inside a raised rotary knob or something like that. In my opinion, if you have to rely on a lockout to keep your light from turning on in your pocket or holster, then the switch is poorly designed.

Around the switch there are brightness (left) and battery (right) level indicators. They work fine but I wish they were a little brighter so I can see them during the day before I go into a dark space. The marketing material makes a big deal about using “laser micro-perforations” in the aluminum ring to let the indicators glow through but it’s way dimmer than previous generations and I’m sure it’s much more expensive too. I don’t see how “laser micro perforation technology” is impressive or useful here and I like the older indicators better.

Carry & Ergonomics

The size and ergonomics are perfect. It fits great in my hand, not too big, not too small. The button/knob is in the ideal place for my thumb. It’s comfortable to use for extended periods without having to shift it around in my hand.

There’s one big carry method included: the vertical belt holster. It’s made of a slightly flexible plastic and it’s all one piece, including the belt loop. It’s a complete re-thinking of a belt holster compared to the typical nylon and velcro contraption you usually picture as a flashlight holster. A horizontal holster will be available as an optional accessory.

The belt loop part is more of a belt clip. It hooks on, so you can put it on and take it off your belt without needing to undo the belt and thread it through. It seems reasonably secure on my belt but I would pick a different holster solution if I were doing a lot of running or crawling around.

The holster holds the light very securely, maybe too securely. It doesn’t have any closure mechanism like most holsters do. The light is held in just by the friction of the holster squeezing it and by the magnets on the bottom of the light and holster. I found it cumbersome and fiddly to get the light in/out of the holster while it was on my belt. The upside is I don’t think there’s any way this light is coming out of the holster by accident.

It also includes a wall mount for the holster. It’s a sort of slot that the holster clips onto. There’s adhesive on the back (a spare is also included) and two screw holes for mounting (screws and drywall anchors are included). It could be a permanent charging station for the light by the back door or on your center console so you know it’s always charged. Or it could be a handy place to store the light and holster when they aren’t on your belt.

The light knows when it’s been removed from the holster and it unlocks and activates the indicator LEDs. That mostly alleviates the pain of auto-lockout and also makes it easy to glance at the battery indicator before turning the light on.

The most interesting part is the charger is built into the holster, which I’ll discuss in the batteries & charging section.

I wish it came with a pocket clip. In Olight’s product release Q&A, they stated that the existing Seeker 2/3 clip will also fit Seeker 4 Pro. It seems like they could easily have included that inexpensive clip right in the box with a $140 light.

The tailcap is magnetic as usual and it’s strong enough for most situations. It’s not super strong though.

Batteries & Charging

This light uses a proprietary 21700 battery with an extra negative terminal on the traditionally positive end of the cell. It will only accept this proprietary cell. No other 21700 batteries will work at all. Replacements are very expensive at $27 each (a basic unprotected flat top 21700 is usually around $5).

One reason Olight likes to use proprietary batteries is it lets them do tailcap charging and switches without adding thickness with an inner signal tube. That doesn’t apply to Seeker 4 Pro though because the body tube is already super thick. It has plenty of room for a signal tube to be added. Then you could use the included proprietary cell or a standard cell. I’m disappointed that they chose to only support their proprietary batteries here despite there being no benefit for the user.

The included holster has a USB-C port on the side and little magnetic charging contacts inside on the bottom. There’s no battery inside the holster so it has to be plugged in for the light to charge. Both A-to-C and C-to-C cables worked fine with the holster and Seeker 4 Pro is compatible with regular MCC charging cables too. I’m delighted to see Olight including a way to charge via USB-C. No other models can charge in this holster because the outer contact ring is larger than a standard MCC charger.

The light can be used while inside the holster and/or while charging, but it will only go up to 530 lumens. If it’s brighter than that when you put it in the holster or start charging, it will automatically dim to 530lm. That’s to prevent it from accidentally burning your clothes if it’s put back in the holster while on.

There are four battery indicators on the right side of the switch. Each one indicates 25% capacity and the bottom one will turn red when the battery gets critically low. They glow when the light is charging, when removed from the holster, or when you press or rotate the knob. It’s easily glanceable and intuitive. I like this so much more than the “click 3x from off and count the blinks to check battery voltage” that some other lights have. I only wish they were brighter.

Competition

Here are some lights in the same class and how they compare.

Acebeam E75: less expensive, better emitter options, reflector instead of TIR, worse battery indicators, no auto-lockout, pocket clip included, no holster nor wall mount, USB-C charging, accepts standard batteries, no rotary knob

Olight Warrior 3S: Olight’s other big, bright 21700 light. More EDC friendly, dual switches, no rotary knob, no auto lockout, throwier beam, pocket clip included

Sofirn SC33: much less expensive, tailswitch, no holster, pocket clip, no rotary knob, user-disable-able auto-lockout, one large LED in a reflector, accepts standard batteries, USB-C charging

This section is not comprehensive. If I didn’t include a particular light here, it doesn’t mean it’s bad or doesn’t deserve to be here. I simply cannot list every possible competitor.

Conclusion

I like to keep my light clipped to my pocket and this is the wrong light for that. If you’re looking for a larger EDC, look elsewhere. Seeker 4 Pro works best in conjunction with the holster, whether it’s on a belt, bag, wall, or center console. It’s the best light I’ve tested for those use cases and it excels there with stellar performance, excellent build quality, a good UI, great beam, and convenient charging. I hope in the next version they’ll redesign the switch so auto-lockout isn’t needed and include a pocket clip in the box.

Thanks to Olight for sending me this light for review!