Tag: Olight Tactical Flashlight

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Olight Warrior X Turbo Review (1100 Meters of Throw, 21700 Rechargeable Battery)

Today I have Olights new thrower flashlight, the Warrior X Turbo. It’s capable of 1000 meters of throw on 1100 lumens and 250,000 candella. It has an Osram LED, and is compatible with the pressure switch from the Olight Odin. Thanks to Skyben on Amazon for sending this to me to look at and review.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

I won’t go into much detail here but the Warrior X Turbo has great packaging, arguably Olight has the nicest packaging in the production flashlight world. The light comes currently as two colors, you have the black model that I have here and then Olight does offer a limited production gunmetal gray as well. As a base package the light comes with a 5000mAh proprietary 21700mAh battery. Fun side note I will link to a video another flashlight reviewer did of how they make these batteries. You also get the latest generation of the MCC charging system, a Tactical Grip Ring (TGR), pocket clip, anti roll ring, lanyard, and a nylon holster. 

 

Construction

The Warrior X Turbo takes a lot of the design cues from the Olight M2R Pro, in the tail cap and body, adapting them to the larger thrower platform. Overall build quality is great for a production light.  First the more aggressive tail button is here, which does allow the light to tail stand but it’s not the most stable when doing so. The tail is also compatible with the locking remote switch from the Olight Odin so if you have that it works here great. Inside the tail is a spring loaded contact internally. 

 

Threads on the body are anodized, nicely greased and have a double oring system, to interface with the anti roll ring and the TGR. I will talk in detail about the clip in the retention section. The grip on the body is the same as what was on the M2R Pro, a more aggressive triangle, and has a few flats milled in for labeling. 

The head is glued to the body and really grows in size to accommodate the large smooth deep reflector. I like the relief that’s milled in to give it some more style and save weight. The front bezel is beefy with large solid crenulations that allow light the light to stand on its head and for light to spill out. It’s not glued in place and can be removed with some force. This does effect the beam shape on the outer edges. The lens is large and anti reflective coated.

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 159mm, maximum diameter at the head was 58mm, minimum diameter on the body was 26.2mm. Weight with the battery, clip, standard anti roll ring came in at 296.1g. Here are a few pictures of the light with a few similarly sized lights you might know. 

Retention & Grip

You have a couple of retention options for the Warrier X Turbo, it does come with a captured pocket clip, but it’s 38mm from the top of the light. That’s ok because with the size of the head here, your not going to be EDCing this in a pocket. The captured clip is nice, it won’t rotate because of an extra tab in the clip and on the light and anti roll ring. 

 

The stock anti roll ring allows you to use the standard cigar style grip without problems, but that can be a little uncomfortable so Olight includes a Tactical Grip Ring (TGR) that’s a softer silicon like material that slips on in its place. 

Other options include a lanyard that’s included, and the included holster thats purpose built for this light. It has a velcro belt loop and plastic D ring. 

 

LED & Beamshots

Olight doesn’t say which LED is in this light officially, but they do list the tint at 6000-6700k, and by looking at it my guess is it’s one of the OSRAM models we have seen in other popular throwers. I wish they would list the LED they are using like almost every other manufacturer does. It’s a cool tint but not blue. The beam has a small but very intense hot spot, possibly one of the tightest I have had in recent times. There is a spill but it’s very minimal, only a few percent of the center, and there is some distortion on the edges from the shape of the outer bezel that’s noticeable at short range. I didn’t measure any PWM on this light on either mode.

 

 

Runtime & Heat

The ability on the Olight Warrior X Turbo to sustain it’s turbo output was better then I expected. From start to full and stable step down was right at 9 minutes, and it stayed above 80% relative output for the first 6 minutes. At that point it was running at 50% relative output for 1:45:00. Total runtime was just shy of 3 hours. The good news is with such a tight beam even at the lower output throws pretty well. When the power level reaches 20% the light starts to vibrate every 5 minutes to let you know, when it’s below 10% it will vibrate every minute, and below 5% it will vibrate every 10 seconds. You can’t miss it especially if mounted on a firearm. Maximum heat I saw was 48C at the 9 minute mark. LVP was measured at 2.95V.

UI

The UI here is super easy, it’s a 2 mode light with momentary and full on tactual switch. Low is rated for 150 lumens and you can use it in momentary if you half press the button and hold, or a quick have press will lock it on. A full press gives you full power 1100 lumens before step down and a quick press will lock it on, or a full press and hold will work in momentary. It’s the same UI we have seen in other tactical Olights with a rear switch. This light also works with the pressure switch from the Olight Odin.

 

Recharging

I had a little bit of trouble recording the graph with the Warrier X Turbo with my equipment due to the spikes along the curve where the current drops very near zero which tricks the measuring tools, but overall charge time here was 5:30:00, and the maximum charge rate I saw was 1.92A. I measured the full battery at 4.172V. No concerns with the charging but I will have to look for a firmware update for my equipment. 

Pro’s

  • Long runtime for “Turbo” Nearly 10 minutes. 
  • Great build Quality
  • Despite being cool white it’s not obnoxiously blue in tint
  • Options to mount/cary/activate

 

Con’s

  • Tail magnet is only for recharging & the pressure switch, it’s not strong enough to hold the weight of the light.
  • Proprietary Battery
  • On the pricy side
  • Two modes are ok, 3 might make it a little more useful for more then a weapon light.

 

Conclusion

The Warrior X Turbo is a nice more compact thrower from Olight. It has almost as much power as the much larger, more expensive Javalot Pro, but in a size thats easier to use, and carry on your person. While this is designed as a weapon light with the compatibility with the remote pressure switch and to beagle to be mounted on a weapon, it also works pretty well as a super easy main thrower. To me the long 6-9 minute runtime on Turbo is hard to beat in many other thrower style lights in this price category. 

 

It’s an Olight so it has the usual caveats, like the proprietary battery, and the cooler tints. If you are less sensitive to those things I can recommend the Warrior X Turbo as a pretty sweet well built thrower.

 

Get the Warrior X Turbo in Black on Amazon at https://amzn.to/32ntwHs

Get it in Gunmetal Gray at https://amzn.to/3hpK7yz

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Olight M2T Warrior (1200 Lumens, 18650,18350,XHP35 HD CW)

The Olight M2T is a brand new tactical model introduced in late January 2018 at Shotshow 2018. It shares many things with it’s more expensive brother the Olight M2R. I reviewed it a few months ago and if you have not watched or read that review I recommend doing so. Thanks to Olight for sending the M2T to me to look at.

Full Image Gallery for this review: https://imgur.com/a/LaFOs
Video version of this review:

The Olight M2T shares a lot in common with the M2R. During this review I am going to compare the two alot. The easiest way for me to summarize this is to use some car analogies. Hypothetically let’s say the following. The M2T and M2R are the same model at their heart. The M2R is the fully loaded model, it has all the optional features, extras, and costs the most. The M2T is a mid range trim level model. Its performance is very similar but it has a few differences to reduce costs, such as the removal of the recharging system, and different tail switch, only one choice in emitter, etc. This is going to be a longer review, so grab your popcorn and let’s get at it.

Construction
Olight has excellent fit and finish for production lights in my opinion and this one is no different. Apart from the new tail cap on the M2T, the light is very similar in aesthetics and build quality to the M2R. The anodizing is a smooth high quality gloss black Starting at the top you have a signature blue Olight bezel with some mild crenelation in it. Below that you have the aluminum head and body. There are tier drop cuts in the head for heat dissipation and design. It has a nice hex edges to help it keep from rolling away on a flat surface. It’s a slightly different style then the M2R has, with fewer cuts. It does still have a completely milled flat edge opposite the button to serve as a locator. On the front side you have an electronic switch surrounded by a nice blue bezel with an LED in the center that is used for Low battery notification, lockout notification. Below that you have large square cut grip panels on the body of the light giving added grip and something a little different from traditional knurling. You can attach the two way clip at either end of this main body tube for head up or down carry.

 M2T on Left



At the tail end you have a new version of the switch that’s in the M2R. On the M2T this tail switch loses its recharging and magnetic features as well as its ability to tail stand. It’s replaced with a proud black rubber boot that has a dot pattern on it for texture. It still has the half press for momentary turbo and full press for lock and is silent. To full lock it does take some definite pressure. This switch operates and programs the same as the M2R. More on that in a minute. The tail cap of the M2T will fit on the body of the M2R and operate normally but not the other way around. Labeling is kept to a minimum, with branding near the head is always done so it can be read from left to light not as you rotate the light. The branding is at 2 and 10 positions when looking head on. The CE mark is opposite the button.

This light is rated IPX8 for moisture and dust and rated for 1.5M drops. I measured it’s length is 130mm it’s with at its narrowest point is 24.5mm and 27mm at its widest point. Weight was measured with an 18650 battery at 146.2G.

Inside this light uses a dual tube design which allows for the use of the two electronic buttons and the non proprietary battery. Do not remove this inner tube, it’s held in with an O ring and is hard to impossible to put back in place. Threads on the tail are a nice stout square cut.

LED & Runtimes
The Olight M2T uses a Cree XHP35 HD LED in cool white, this is the only LED and tint offered at this time. While I prefer a neutral white this isn’t so cold in tint that I dislike it. I did notice a little tint shift in the outer edges, but I think that blue bezel of the light also might be a factor in that. Depending on your power source maximum output (depending on your mode) is 1200 lumens compared with the 1500 lumens on the M2R. My M2R is neutral white so it doesn’t reach that full 1500 lumens and to me the two lights look the same brightness and the biggest difference is the tint. The beam is pretty even in shape. It has a smaller hot center and the spill is bright. At a distance it’s more like a flood then thrower, however for it’s narrow size it goes a good distance. It’s a very useful beam I find out to 100 yards.


Runtimes
I ran my tests with an Olight HDC battery that had a 3500mah capacity and a maximum continuous discharge of 10A. The M2T only ships with 2 CR123A batteries in a spacer tube instead of the high drain non proprietary Olight 18650 battery that was in the M2R. This is disappointing to me as to receive the best performance and longest runtimes, an 18650 is required. The light is also compatible with Flat top batteries, I had no issues with a Sony VTC6. Runtimes were good and what Olight is advertising. The light still has a timed Tubro mode which is 3 minutes. It then runs on high for 127 minutes before stepping down and running on moonlight mode. The graph tells the story. This light will also run safely on 2× 18350 batteries. I confirmed this with Olight that 8.4V is safe for the driver and that the batteries physically fit. I was unable to get a full working voltage for the driver though.


UI
Like the M2R the M2T has a rear button that provides momentary and full lock operation as well as a button up front for the full range of modes with shortcuts. One of the complaints I had about the M2R was that in normal mode you were limited to Turbo1 and not the brightest turbo which was only available in Tactical mode. The M2T fixes that by only having one turbo mode which is how it should be. The rear momentary switch was also slightly reprogrammed for an improvement. Now you have momentary on with a soft press, release and it will turn off. A firm press on this button will lock the light on in turbo for 3 minutes before it timed step down kicks in. You also have access to momentary strobe if you press in and keep holding the light goes into strobe at it’s new 13 cycles per second rate. The button up front has a total of 5 modes from Moon to Turbo with shortcuts to Moon (From off Press and hold) to Turbo (Fast double click), or Strobe (Triple click from off). Press and hold to advance in modes and there is memory. Pretty standard for recent lights from Olight. It’s an interface I like. Lockout is available but personally I just unscrew the tail cap ever so slightly to achieve the same thing. I thought the mode spacing is pretty good on this light.

As a Tactical and EDC
This is designed with tactical use in mind and it certainly could be used for that but I think it makes a good EDC option too. The proud tail button is easy to turn on if it gets any pressure. Given that the light comes on in Turbo when this happens I don’t recommend taking any chances, and I use mechanical lockout with just a quarter turn of the tail cap. It also offers an electronic lockout if you want to use that. The new clip is the same that is on the M2R and I like this dual clip. It can go on either end of the light and can be used either way. It allows for ultra deep head down carry which is what I like. For tactical use the strobe mode has been adjusted to 13hz and is now more easily accessed if you want it but not accidentally by holding the tail button down in the locked position for about 1.5 seconds. You can also get to it by triple clicking the front button. The bezel isn’t aggressive which is the way I would prefer it personally as it makes a better EDC and is less threatening in most situations.

Packaging & Accessories
Packaging on the M2T is now a bit smaller and less intensive to the M2R. I suspect this is to reduce overall costs and also make it easier to open. It is still very high quality but is now a white box with a pull through design. Inside the light sits in a nice tray, underneath it is a read before first use card, manual, lanyard, and holster . The holster design is different on the M2T. It’s less premium holster then the M2R. Gone is the latching clip, and extra padding, and metal grommet drain holes. Instead a heavy duty weaved nylon, with a velcro flap is the main holster. It still has a plastic D Ring and nylon belt loop. This is a more standard quality holster you see from other brands.







Conclusion
The Olight M2T is a still nice but lower cost version of the M2R. While it doesn’t have all the features of the M2R like magnetic recharging, it does have a few improvements in my opinion like only one Turbo mode, the melding of Tactical mode into normal operation. The new tail switch in the M2T is good, it’s a bit too easy to activate in the pocket so lockout is necessary. I do wish Olight would have shipped the light with an 18650 battery even though it doesn’t come with built in recharging. I guess that’s against what they do with their R series but it’s how the light gets the best performance in both output and runtimes I think it’s sub-optimal shipping it with CR123 batteries instead.

So which one do you pick? If you want Neutral white, recharging or a magnetic tail cap the M2R is the clear choice. If those are not important features or you want to save a little money the M2T is a good choice then. I do recommend running the M2T with a higher drain 18650 battery so make sure you have one of those too. I think the M2T will make a good choice of rifle light as well. I plan to test this when I get a mount that works for the light. Until then I think this might be the light that goes in my go/Tornado bag along with a few spare 18650 batteries. Let me know how you would use you your M2T. You can pick up the M2T on OlightStore.com.

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Olight M2R Warrior (NW) Review

The Olilght M2R Warrior is the newest light from Olight and one of the most highly anticipated of the year. The first time we saw it was at Shotshow. The M2R Warrior is designed as a tactical light and includes several features Olight is known for and a few new ones. Thanks to Olight for sending this out to me to take a look at.

Full Photo Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/adoWB
Video version of this review:  

Construction
Olight has put a lot into the physical design of this light. https://i.imgur.com/lUB0yaD.jpg The anodizing is a high quality gloss black. Starting at the top you have a signature blue Olight bezel with some non deep crenelations https://i.imgur.com/BU09nQn.jpg in it. Below that you have the aluminum head and body. There are tier drop cuts in the head https://i.imgur.com/CMIfmPU.jpg for heat dissipation and further down you have more traditional heat syncing . It has a nice polygonal edges to help it 

keep from rolling away. Inside this you have an electronic switch surrounded by a nice blue bezel with an LED in the center that is used for Low battery notification, lockout notification https://i.imgur.com/CMIfmPU.jpgt. Below that you have raised bumps https://i.imgur.com/DE6I2sr.jpg on the body of the light giving added grip and something a little different from traditional knurling. At the end you have the new stainless steel tail switch https://i.imgur.com/GX6Mfdf.jpgwhich has magnetic recharging, as well a second electronic switch which offers a silent momentary mode, and then a full press to lock in power. More on modes in a bit. Labeling is kept to a minimum, with branding near the head is alway done so it can be read from left to light not as you rotate the light https://i.imgur.com/3rpqvWs.jpg . The branding is at 2 and 10 positions when looking head on. The CE mark is opposite the button and the tail clip has a bit on instruction on how the new tail switch works.

Inside this light uses a dual tube design https://i.imgur.com/51p8ddx.jpg which allows for the use of the two electronic buttons and the non proprietary battery. Do not remove this inner tube, it’s held in with an O ring https://i.imgur.com/xP9ObVC.jpgand is hard to impossible to put back in place. The light will still work but lack of it could affect it’s IPX-8 water rating.

Measured weights and sizes with my caliper and scale are below.
Weight with Included Olight battery = 5.43 oz
Length = 129.9mm
Diameter at its widest = 28.53mm
Diameter at its narrowest = 25.48mm

LED
My M2R Warrior uses a Cree XHP35 LED in Neutral White. https://i.imgur.com/BU09nQn.jpg Cool White is also available.

The Lens itself is made of glass and anti reflective coated. The reflector itself is highly polished with a heavy orange peel. https://i.imgur.com/BU09nQn.jpg When combining this with the LED you get a light pattern that’s a little hard to describe. It has a hot center but with quite a bit of flood on the spill. The transition is very smooth. The result is a light the is kind of a do it all. It’s not a true thrower but throws decently, and it’s not pure flood but does that pretty well too.

Heat
High output lights put out heat, this is nothing new and the M2R isn’t an exception. During my 3 hour runtime test I measured the light at the 2 hour mark with an infrared thermometer and the body where you hold your hand was a warm 122F. This radiated through out the light. This is fairly warm for the 2 hour mark. During my standard 1 minute test during turbo it reached 91F.

Runtime chart 

Modes
This light has 2 main modes of operation, a Standard and an Enhanced Tactical mode. I did most of my testing in standard mode because I prefer to have turbo available at the rear switch instead of strobe like in tactical mode. See the manual for how to switch between modes.

In standard mode the light goes up to 1000 lumens in turbo and bumps to 700 lumens after about 3 minutes. From there it has medium 1 at 250 lumens, and medium 2 at 60 lumens, low at 15 lumens and then moon at 1 lumen. In Enhanced Tactical mode all is the same except Turbo is 1500 lumens no matter if you use the rear momentary switch or the side switch to lock in. To me it would be much easier to just have turbo mode be the same level in both modes.

Mode Specs

UI is similar to other Olights but with some differences. Long press from Off to go to moon light mode, Double click to go to burbo, and Triple click to go to strobe.

There the front eswitch is mostly used as a mode switch but can be used to turn the light on and off from off as well.

The rear tail cap is multi purpose. It’s the charging base and a dual mode switch. It’s a silent switch in both modes but you can feel what’s happening. When in Standard mode the tail switch is a momentary turbo (1000 lumens) or you can lock in turbo. In Enhanced Tactical mode the rear tail switch is momentary tubeo (1500 lumens) or if you lock in you get strobe. It’s a bit of an odd design. Memory mode is available except for turbo and strobe.

Table and Outdoor Shots https://youtu.be/zZF66iL4jEQ?t=9m5s

Charging
Olight has taken a bit of criticism recently with their magnetic charging system. However the M2R improves by making a safer charging system. While the tail cap still has exposed voltage that matches the batteries nominal voltage its amperage is greatly reduced. I measured the amperage at 0.02aH on the new switch.

The biggest improvement in my opinion on the charging system is that this light no longer needs the proprietary Olight batteries https://i.imgur.com/Ee1sVVf.jpg. Now the light will use standard button top or flat top high drain 18650 batteries and charge them. This light is compatible with the included magnetic doc or the Micro-Dok II system. Operation is just the same, as on other Olights, the LED on the charger is red when charging and it goes green when charged.

Packaging and Accessories
The packaging of the Olight M2R is extensive, a lot of work went into the design and execution here. The outside is pretty typical of Olight with the rear having pretty extensive information about the light. Inside https://i.imgur.com/VO32jx0.jpg there is a nice box that’s covered by a plastic cover with directions on how to switch between switch between tactical and normal modes. Inside you get the light, with the battery preinstalled. Below and to the side you have the accessories which include The charging cable, holster, and lanyard. https://i.imgur.com/SkwZxOv.jpg The M2R Warrior comes with a new holster https://i.imgur.com/hCWaXle.jpg for Olight. This holster has a clip in the front that’s protected, in the back it has a snap and velcro. Inside its slightly padded https://i.imgur.com/OqxHv0I.jpg too. This is a pretty nice holster for daily use.

Pro’s
* No proprietary battery needed for the magnetic charging system to work! Flat tops or button tops are accepted and charged. You need a 6A+ continuous discharge for turbo to work.
* The tail switch has a fantastic feel, is quiet/silent and manages magnetic charging too.
* Great beam pattern from the heavy orange peel reflector. Less spotty and more practical.
* Good carry pocket clip.
* Neutral and Cool White LED options

Con’s
* It’s a little longer then I want to EDC in a front pocket in the office, but shorter than other “tactical” style lights.
* Magnet isn’t quite strong enough to hold the light on some slicker magnetic surfaces in a vertical position, but the light will hang just fine.
* A little slower charging system than standard USB through this new tail cap.
* Two different “turbo” modes is confusing. I would prefer one instead.
* No extra orings were included in the package.

The Olight M2R Warrior is a pretty impressive light in my opinion. I like the direction Olight is trending with this light by using a safer charging system and stepping away from the use of expensive proprietary batteries. For me it’s a little larger then I want as an in pocket EDC when sitting at a desk job. However, if I was standing more I think it would work well. The included holster is high quality and another good option for carry. The beam pattern https://i.imgur.com/fujFV5V.jpg makes this a very versatile light for many use cases. I think it’s slightly less Tactical and more EDC Tactical.

I didn’t have any trouble with the two electronic switches. I thought in standard mode the UI was easy enough to use but you’re never going to make everyone happy. I have seen some reviews wishing the light did more, but if so that would further complicate the UI. Right now the UI is similar to other Olights with a few small changes. What I don’t get is why Olight didn’t just include one Turbo mode instead of two for the two different modes. The construction is what I expect from Olight and they have done a nice job on this one. I can definitely see why it was delayed a few times as the engineering really shows through https://i.imgur.com/JCp6syb.jpg . I don’t think there will be any trouble with this light holding up. I am looking forward to seeing if they come up with a weapon mount for it.

You can purchase it at your favorite Olight retailer or on the offical ebay store http://bit.ly/M2ReBayUS