As you can see from the image to the right, the head of the T10 houses a unique reflector cup which is half smooth and half textured. The smooth surface area reflects a highly focused hot spot for optimal throw, while the textured surface area smoothens out any artifacts in the spill region of the beam profile. Its an innovative take on reflector design and produces a beam that is characteristic of Olight products. The emitter is just slightly off-center, but not by much. On the exterior, the head has a thin band of checkered knurling which provides some grip when you're twisting the head. The Type 3 hard anodized coating is smooth and consistent throughout, free of scratches or smudges. The threads on the head are a similar to those on the Fenix lights, not too thin or too thick relative to its overall size. There may be some squeaking initially due to some machining dust stuck between the threads, but a quick clean with a stiff bristled brush will fix this. The threads on the head also sometimes cross-threaded during my tests, however I don't think this would be much of a problem since you wouldn't need to completely remove the head while using the T10. The heads of the Olight T10 and T15 have the same dimensions and are interchangeable.

The battery tube has a simple and clean looking design. There's only one flat face machined onto the tube, which is where the Olight branding is printed on. Other than than, the entire battery tube is a smooth cylindrical shape. I noticed that its actually very similar to that of the Olight T15 which runs on AA cells. Externally, the only difference is the slightly slimmer area towards the rear end of the T15 which makes the battery tube longer to accommodate an AA cell. The battery tube can accommodate protected 16340 cells just fine. As with the head, coating on the battery tube is just as well done. Very smooth and consistent. The threads between the battery tube and the tail cap are cut very smooth. I noticed that the more force you apply while screwing on the tail cap, the higher the chances of it getting cross-threaded. Otherwise, it screws on perfectly fine and smooth. The tail has a band of checkered textured knurling similar to that on its head. This provides adequate grip when unscrewing for battery changes. Housed inside the tail cap is a reverse push button switch module. It seems identical to the ones found in Fenix lights. Everything from its tension and positive tactile feedback, to the clicking sound it makes is identical, which is a good thing. The T10 can tail stand without problems since the rubber button cap is slightly recessed from the end of the tail cap.

The user interface of the Olight T10 is similar to the NiteCore Defender Infinity which was reviewed earlier in the sense that switching between brightness levels and strobe/S.O.S. modes are done by separate mechanical actions. Brightness is cycled by twisting its head, while strobe/S.O.S. is done by half-pressing the push button. The instructions on the box doesn't say how quick these half-presses should be, but it seems anything between 1 second is sufficient to change the modes. This user interface is a nice alternative if you don't quite like the cycling of levels via push button. One thing I didn't like about the cycling of brightness levels is that it cycles from brightest to dimmest level. Personally I would think it makes more sense to cycle from dimmest to brightest. All levels provide constant output with no detectable rapid blinking effects of PWM (pulse width modulation).

The color temperature on my sample is slightly on the cool side, and the emitter used is advertised as a Q5 bin. The beam profile reminds me of that from the Streamlight ProPolymer Luxeon model (not as bright of course). The spot is well-focused and the spill beam is smooth without artifact thanks to its unique reflector design. There is a slight dark area right in the middle of the hotspot, but its not noticeable in practical use.

So, most people must be wondering what's the difference between this 2008 model of the T10 and the first model. Taking a look at the runtime graphs and output measurements tell all. Aside from having improved runtime on the lower levels, the electronics in the 2008 model T10 now fully supports and regulates output very well with either a 3.0V CR123 or 3.7V 16340 li-ion cell. No longer will the light loose it's low output levels with a li-ion cell. Speaking of levels, the differences in intensities of the lower levels are wider apart. Levels 3 through 5 also provide generally lower output intensities. One thing I didn't like is that while the difference in output between level 1 and 2 is about 50%, runtime difference is about 7 times shorter. The 2008 version of the T10 is advertised as having the following output lumen values, 180 lumens level 1, 105 lumens level 2, 60 lumens level 3, 25 lumens level 4 and 11 lumens level 5.

Take note that I only took single control shots for each brightness level since output intensities on each level are practically identical with either a CR123 or 16340 cell (apart from the slightly steeper initial drop with a CR123 cell on Level 1).

Here's a rundown of the modes available and how they're accessed.

Constant Illumination:
Click on the push button, cycles through the 5 brightness levels by loosening then tightening the head within 1 second each time. Brightness level is memorized even when powered off.

Strobe:
Half-press the push button while on any level in Constant Illumination mode. Light will strobe on its brightest level. Mode is not memorized, light will revert to constant illumination mode the next time its turned on.

S.O.S. (Low Brightness):
Half-press the push button while in Strobe mode. Light will blink the S.O.S. sequence on low brightness level. Mode is not memorized, light will revert to constant illumination mode the next time its turned on.

S.O.S. (High Brightness):
Loosen then tighten the head within 1 second while in S.O.S. (Low Brightness) mode. S.O.S. sequence will now blink on high brightness level. Mode is not memorized, light will revert to constant illumination mode the next time its turned on.

The Good - Very well built and finished. Provides a well-focused spot while still having a smooth, artifact-free spill beam. Great regulation with 3.0V CR123 or 3.7V16340 cell while providing good output and runtime on all levels apart from the brightest level 1.

The Bad - Slightly longer than most single CR123 powered lights. Brightness level cycles from brightest to dimmest. Short runtime on level 1 with a CR123 cell compared relative to the other levels.

The Relative - Half textured and half smoothened reflector provides a unique beam profile. Beam's color temperature is on the cool side. Uses a reverse push button.

Head (front view).

Head (side view).

Head (rear view).

Battery tube (front view).

Battery tube (side view).

Battery tube (rear view).

Tail cap (front view).

Tail cap (side view).

Tail cap (rear view).