Field Note 003 — Olight Oclip

Sometimes you need a flashlight. Sometimes you need your damn hands.

I've carried flashlights for as long as I can remember. Around camp, on the trail, working on vehicles, digging through gear after dark...a good light is one of those things that's difficult to appreciate until you don't have one.

The problem is that holding a flashlight isn't always particularly useful.

Headlamps solve that problem, and I have used plenty of them over the years. They're great tools and absolutely have their place. But sometimes I don't want a light strapped to my forehead. Sometimes I just need something small that I can clip somewhere, point where I'm working, and forget about.

That's where the Olight Oclip caught my attention.

The first thing you notice about the Oclip is just how small the thing is. Looking at it, you wouldn't expect much. It's a little rectangular light attached to a clip. That's about it.

Then you turn it on.

For something this small, the amount of light it puts out is exceptional. More importantly, Olight managed to put that output into something that feels like an actual piece of equipment rather than a little plastic keychain light. The Oclip Pro Ultra and Pro S are rated IPX6, the controls are simple, the clip is stout, and the entire package feels far more robust than its size would suggest.

But brightness isn't really why I like the Oclip.

The clip is.

I've clipped mine to backpack straps, gear, hats, and plenty of other things, but my favorite place for it is a belt loop. Clip it on, rotate the light where you need it, and suddenly you have both hands free without wearing a headlamp.

That sounds like a small thing until you're actually trying to work in the dark.

The clip also incorporates a surprisingly strong magnet, which opens up an entirely different set of uses. Stick it to a vehicle, tool box, piece of equipment, or basically any convenient metal surface and you've got yourself a tiny work light. Between the clip and magnet, there are an absurd number of places you can put this thing.

That's what has made the Oclip useful to me. It isn't simply another flashlight. It's a light that I can put somewhere and then stop thinking about.

Depending on the model, you also get several different lighting options. The Oclip Pro Ultra gives you flood, red, and UV light, while the Pro S offers white, red, and RGB. Of those, the red light on the Pro Ultra has probably become my favorite. Around camp, sometimes I don't need to turn night into day. I just need enough light to see what I'm doing without blasting everything around me with white light.

And, because apparently flashlights need personality too, Olight makes the Oclip in a pile of colors. My lady has a purple Pro and absolutely loves the thing. Mine doesn't need to be purple, but I have learned better than to question the Hegemon.

For all of its features, though, I keep coming back to the same thing: size versus usefulness.

There are brighter flashlights. There are dedicated work lights. There are headlamps that will always be better when you need light pointed exactly where you're looking. The Oclip isn't trying to replace any of them, and much like every other piece of gear I use, I don't think it should.

What it does exceptionally well is occupy the space between them.

It's small enough that carrying one isn't really a decision. It's robust enough that I don't feel the need to baby it. It's bright enough to actually be useful. And between the rotating clip and magnet, I can attach it to damn near anything around camp, on my gear, or while I'm working.

That combination makes it one of those tools that slowly starts finding its way into more situations than you originally bought it for.

If I'm heading into the dark for any length of time, I'll still bring the appropriate flashlight or headlamp. But for walking around camp, digging through the truck, working on something, or those hundred little moments where I need light and both of my hands, the Oclip has become incredibly difficult to beat.

Small. Bright. Tough. Stick it somewhere, clip it somewhere, point it where you need it and get back to what you were doing.

Sometimes that's all a good tool needs to be.

— Dane Justus
Founder, Weekend Route

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