The summer sale is coming and Olight will plan to make 30% off for Baldr S this July, which means it only retails for 90.97$. This is pretty a good chance for many fans of Olight Baldr S as it can save nearly 39 dollars. However, while some people are ready to pick this chance of purchasing this brilliant tactical light, some other people may wonder whether it is worth this price to buy. What should we know when picking the budget tactical light and how should we value it? To deal with these problems, let’s read the following review of the Baldr S tactical light and relevant information together.
A simple review of tactical light
We all know tactical light is a flashlight used in conjunction with a firearm to aid low-light target identification, allowing the marksman, law enforcement officer, or soldier to simultaneously aim a weapon and illuminate the target. And a good tactical light should have some common features such as brightness and materials, affordable budget, and long-lasting batteries. With a high-quality tactical light, we can use it for self-defense or target practice, hunting, law enforcement, emergency, rescue, etc. But the high quality usually means an increase in budget. Thus, many people prefer to find affordable ones with decent quality. It is crucial to know how to value a budget tactical light such as Baldr S under 100$.
What to look for when buying a tactical flashlight under 100$?
Original Purpose
Firstly, it is important to figure out the real purpose of buying the budget tactical light. This view may vary among different people. Those who have a special use, seldom take affordable tactical light as their first choice as they care about the quality and the function most. Therefore, the real value of tactical light for them may depend on the functions they need. However, for those who don’t have a special use, they will set the price as the first considerable factor. Therefore, comparing the different prices of variable tactical light will be suitable for them. No matter decide to choose one, it will serve the purpose ultimately.
Lumens and Lighting
Another important factor that we have to take into consideration is Lumens and brightness. The higher the figure of lumens produces, the brighter the tactical flashlight seems to be. According to the relative statistic, it needs at least 120 lumens for tactical flashlights. If you plan to use it for other purposes such as self-defense, it may even need more than 300 lumens to blind the attacker. Certainly, many people would like to choose great consumption of output such as 1000 lumens, but most of them may cost more than 100 $. To throw a good downrange distance, it has already been enough to sport 500 lumens. At the same time, when selecting a tactical flashlight by lumens, you can also consider how far the beam will go as well as the runtime it may last on the highest settings.
Light modes
A high-end tactical flashlight should provide different lumen output settings, including high and low, which can suit different applications and conserve battery power. And the best brand often offers multiple light modes to suit different situations. If you need the basic light settings, you should notice whether your budget tactical flashlight includes high, low, medium, and strobe. The low or medium mode is ideal for indoors, while the high mode delivers the maximum light output for outdoor use. Strobe is suitable for reducing the peripheral vision of your attacker. There are also some other affordable flashlights offering five light modes, including an SOS for emergencies. The SOS mode can issue a signal to ask for rescue for dangerous or threatening situations by using Morse code.
Construction
Besides, the build of a budget tactical flashlight plays a key role in the performance and durability of the flashlight. For tactical flashlights under 100$, you’d better choose aluminum or titanium material. The aircraft-grade aluminum offers more robustness, while anodized aluminum looks aesthetic as it can keep its metallic appearance and prevent corrosion. I haven’t found an affordable tactical flashlight made of titanium yet, but this type seems to meet the highest standards of durability, which carry some additional weight. But flashlights of this type can take the pressure of being thrown carelessly. In terms of the glass lens, here I would like to recommend the Borofloat or Borosilicate because it’s abrasion-resistant. Make sure that the grip is textured so the tactical flashlight won’t slip in your hands. And if you want to pick the budget tactical flashlight which can stand for any harsh weather, you’d better look for the water-resistant ratings IPX4 or IPX7 as well as shock-proof, which can be used in the rain and survive the fall.
Batteries and other accessories
Most affordable tactical flashlights only include AA or AAA batteries, while the best ones in this price range can also include a rechargeable battery. For versatility, choose a brand that offers both. You can use the rechargeable battery for sustainability, and disposable batteries in case electricity aren’t accessible. It’s also much more convenient if the flashlight already accepts free rechargeable batteries. When it does, decide the charging time that should be quick and the run time that should be longer. How much drop in the light output should also be considered, so you’ll know its efficiency.
Price change of Olight Baldr S tactical light in 2022
For those who favor Baldr S tactical light, it is important to know whether it is a good price, for now, to take in. According to the table below, we can see there are 7 changes in price this year. And among these 7 months in 2022, there are 4-time price changes appeared in Baldr S tactical light. We know that there are only 2 times for the lowest price under 100$. One is in January and the other one is in July. And we know that the original price of Baldr S is 129.95$ appeared 3 times from January to July, which means that nearly it retails on this price for nearly most of the time in the half past 6 months. If you have missed the affordable price in the first month this year, you should catch this chance in this summer sale, which can save your budget greatly.
Basic analysis of the Market
According to the table above, we can know the proportion of different prices taken in the top brand including Maglite, Surefire, Streamlight, and Olight). Only 2 tactical flashlight retails for less than 50$ while 21% of the retail is from 50$-100$. One thing that has to be mentioned is that the 1% tactical light that retails under 50$ has fewer lumens output than Baldr S. ObviOusly, most of the tactical light should retail over 100$. And in fact, most of the Olight tactical light with good quality always retails at over 100$, as well as the average performance at the flashlight market. Thanks to this Summer Sale, Baldr S tactical light can have such a good 30% off than before, so we shouldn’t miss this valuable chance as this price deserve it.
Basic analysis of Baldr S tactical light
Let’s come to the inner value to measure it. The Baldr S is one of the most powerful compact light/green beam combos on the market. Its white light output goes up to an amazing 800 lumens and is complemented by a low 100-lumen setting. Its adjustable green beam provides foolproof accuracy when zeroed to your setup. It has an inbuilt recharging port supporting USB charging, and you can charge it with any mobile charger, laptop, and power bank. To control the flashlight, it has a dual switch that you can use to toggle between different modes. Using the setting switch, you can change between the white light, green beam, and combined settings easily without turning it off. Built-in 3.7V 380mAh lithium polymer battery, it can ensure a max runtime of 140 minutes when the light is set to 100 lumens.
What’s more, the Baldr S still features the patented sliding rail mount to easily adjust the light to your desired position and includes two types of rail adapters to fit both Glock and Picatinny rails, which has wide compatibility. With the quick-install system, you can attach and release the light in seconds for instant activation. The flashlight weighs 3.35 ounces, which makes it lighter and easy to carry. You can take this flashlight anywhere you want, and it never feels like you are carrying something. Its lightweight won’t affect your target while using this with your firearm. The flashlight is IPX4 rated water-resistant, and 1-meter impact-resistant tested. The flashlight uses a smooth aluminum reflector, which provides an improved beam focus for mid and short-range. While searching for a compatible flashlight for your needs, it’s one of the best products. Overall, this powerful, precise, compact, and adjustable WML is a nice and sturdy tactical flashlight in this Summer Sale.
Vs. Other Baldr Series tactical light
Compared with the Baldr Mini which is always popular and is tagged with the most hot-selling product on Olight each year, however, it has a 30% discount while Baldr Mini doesn’t have any discount on this Summer sale. And it has more than 200 lumens output than the Baldr Mini, which can make it produce a more bright beam and better accuracy. And when comparing it with other Baldr series such as Baldr Pro tactical light, which has a max of 1350 lumens performance, it still has a cheaper discount of 30% while Baldr Pro has a 15% discount on this Summer Sale. There are only 3 Baldr products that have an affordable discount on this Sale, and one of them is Baldr S, which should be taken as a decent choice for it.
If you like another budget Baldr series product such as Baldr RL mini tactical light with 15% on this Summer Sale, you can take it into your shopping list too though it is a little bit more expensive than Baldr S. After all, all of the product will be bought by the proper customer. And we know that the most budget product should have good function among the same series but with a lower price.
Another prominent advantage of Baldr S that I want to mention is that it can fix more firearms than Baldr Pro tactical light. So if you intend to pick one for your guns, it’s better to choose Baldr S as it has the same wide compatibility as Baldr Mini. If you want to know more details about the specifications of the Baldr Series, you can check Baldr s product detail page to help you make a deeper understanding of the Baldr s product and then make your decision.
Another bonus: i1R 2 Pro (Lake Blue) for 9$
One of the greatest pieces of information about picking Baldr S is that you can have more discounts if you pick its recommended flashlight together. If you plan to pick i1R 2 Pro in lake blue together with Baldr S, it has an appealing discount of 34.19% on the whole. To be brief, you just pay 9$ for the i1R 2 Pro in lake blue, which is nearly the half price of its original one. And this time Baldr S has 2 color options at a 30% discount, and you can pick either one in terms of your favor. And all you need to do is only cost under 100$ to get the high-quality Baldr S tactical light and i1R 2 Pro together, which helps you save nearly 51.93$ in total. This i1R 2 Pro keychain flashlight is the upgraded version of Olight’s most popular rechargeable keychain flashlight with a max of 180-lumen output and runtime of 12 hours. If you plan to find one tiny flashlight to replace your EDC flashlight, this one could be a good option. More than anything, it is cheaper and more convenient.
Final words
To sum up, Baldr S tactical light is under 100$ worth it because it comes with features to deliver satisfactory performance, which is ideal for your self-defense, law enforcement, and other tactical scenarios. Also, the construction seems to be durable enough to endure the light rain and moderate impact. There’s no free lunch in the world and if you intend to pick a premium tactical light, you need to pay some money for it. However, you can try to pick it up when it is on sale as it can save your money to some extent. Thus, grab this valuable chance and get the Baldr S tactical light to strengthen your force on this Summer Sale in 2022!