Olight Warrior Mini 1500 Lumens EDC Flashlight Review

The Olight Warrior Mini is a new addition to Olight Warrior series flashlights, which are designed to be compact, handheld, tactical flashlights with a clip-on mount and lanyard cord.

If you are not familiar with Olight Warrior series, you can reference the M2R Pro Torch, the Warrior X, and Warrior X Pro versions to get to know the family.

The main distinguishing feature of the Warrior Mini is ,well, it’s more mini.  It was designed to be a lightweight EDC (every day carry) version of it’s larger and more powerful counterparts, while retaining as much runtime and lumens as possible.

Lets dig in deeper to see how it stack ups in terms of performance, and how my experience has been so far using this EDC light.

	Lumens	Max RT	Weight	Battery	Throw	Price
Warrior Mini	1500	45 day	3.7 oz	3500 mAh	190m	$90
M2R Pro	1800	50 days	6.3 oz	5000 mAh	300m	$120
Warrior X	2000	4.6 hrs	7.7 oz	3000 mAh	560m	$130
Warrior X Pro	2250	8 hr hrs	8.43 oz	5000 mAh	600m	$130

Warrior Series Performance Comparison

As you can see from the chart, the closest competing variant to the Warrior Mini in the series is the M2R Pro.

We can immediately see the advantages it has by comparing the two. While the M2R Pro has 5 days more max runtime and 300 more lumens it also weighs nearly twice as much.

To put that into tangible figures, the Warrior Mini is 58% of the weight of M2R Pro for only 10% less runtime and 16% less lumens.

The secret here is the compact 3.6 v Li-Ion battery Olight was able to pack in to this light to increase the performance while keeping weight at a minimum.

Though technically in the same series, the Warrior X and Warrior X Pro are in a slightly different class given the higher lumens burst and throw that is available, for which the  trade off is lower run time.

Both being nearly twice the size as the Warrior Mini, the extra bulk has to be taken into account when deciding which light is best considering how you will be utilizing the lights.

To me, the Warrior Mini is a great addition to the series that maximizes performance with a smaller size and lighter weight. It seems to be delivering a little more performance value all things being equal, especially if cost is a determining factor for you purchase.

The area where the other lights in the Warrior series excels is the throw.  The MR2 Pro provides you with 25% more throw while on the far end of the spectrum, the X Pro is blasting out over 3 times the throw.

Therefore, if you need a light suitable in scenarios where longer distances are a factor, the Mini may not your best choice with it’s 190m max throw.

In that case, you are not likely in the EDC market to begin with, and something larger and more powerful is your optimal tool.

Light: Modes, Power, & Runtime.

There are five distinct modes you can select from (see below chart) The first two modes, Turbo and High, operate on a power down curve, while the last three Med, Low and Moon remain on constant 100% power stream.

The purpose of the power down curve on the first two modes is mostly to avoid the light from frying itself from excessive heat displacement, but also to extend the max runtimes in those modes.

Note that the Turbo mode will gradually power down to the High mode automatically so you can get the max runtimes without manually adjusting the power in each mode.

Therefore, by totaling up the min available in the two top modes, you can estimate the total runtime you will have as it powers down, if starting out in turbo. This allows you to plan on which mode to use based on the situation you find yourself in or anticipate you will be in.

If car camping for a night and you need extra power, the Turbo and High modes would be suitable.

If an unexpected survival situation arises or you are on an extended trip, sticking to the Med through Low power modes would be best, and only blasting on Turbo or High if a sudden threat emerges.

Mode	Lumen	Time	Power %	Throw
Turbo 1	1500	4 min	100%	190 m
Turbo 2	495	205 min	33%	190 m
Turbo 3	165	55 min	11%	190 m
High 1	500	218 min	100%	110 m
High 2	170	205 min	34%	110 m
Med	120	18 hrs	100%	54 m
Low	170	150 hrs	100%	18 m
Moon	1	45 days	100%	n/a

Accessing the different modes on the flashlight can be a little confusing at first, but given the quantity of modes that are available I feel Olight did a pretty good job of simplifying the process and laying out the buttons.

The main things you need to know is there are two buttons:  A side switch, and a Tail Switch.

Side Switch

When off, you can access the Moon mode by holding the side switch until is comes on.  Subsequent long holds until on will cycle you from Moon to High

Anytime the light is on, you can also cycle through the three lower modes by holding the side switch.  Whatever mode you leave it on will be memorized upon powering back on.

To transition to Turbo using the side switch, simply fast click the side switch twice and again to power off.  Three fast clicks will enable strobe mode.

Tail Switch

The tail switch seems to be best reserved for when rapid deployment of the Turbo mode is needed.  I like the layout and position of the switch for this purpose because it’s big and easy to find for emergency situations when your fine motor skills may be hampered due to adrenaline.

One hard press and you’re instantly in 1500 lumens of blinding light for four minutes before it auto powers down to 495 lumens for the next three plus hours. Plenty of time to fight or fly to eliminate the danger.  Once safe, another hard press will turn it off.

A softer press on the Tail switch does activate High mode, but this is a bit finicky to activate since it’s take the perfect amount of force.  From my experience, the soft press is equally likely to do nothing or turn on Turbo as it will go to High mode.

Quality, Usability & Tactile Feel

This is an area that Olight has exceled at in recent year, launching them to the top of tactical light market industry, in my opinion.

They seem to have refined not only the performance, but the material quality, ergonomics and functionality/ease of use in all of their series, making them a pleasure to put to rigorous work, but also to just play with for fun!

When comparing this light to other top light makers in the industry, the overall feel of quality is in par with the likes of Streamlight, Fenix, and Surefire.

One of my favorite features of the Warrior Mini is the tactile feel of the slightly exaggerated ridged grip, running down the majority of the outer casing.  In the sweatiest or wettest of conditions, the grip makes the light feel secure in your hand.

The metal body, lens, buttons, thread on the light housing all feel thick, sturdy, and built to last through many more abuses than what I’ve been able to dish out so far.  Give me some time. 😉

Both the Tail and Side switches have a solid feeling click, not too soft or firm, when pressing to activate the lights.  The metal security clip is designed to “spring-snap” around the body of the light, and fits perfectly snug, making it easy to remove but with little risk of coming loose.

Lastly, the raised bumps around the light lens and the Tail switch are well designed. They give the light enough grip to set the light down on either end without sliding around while offering some added armor for the light body and lens.

Final Thoughts

While the Warrior Mini is the least powerful light in the Olight Warriors series, which is offset by by it’s compact and lightweight size.  This makes this new light a perfect EDC or vehicle EDC light to take with you anywhere.

Given it’s smaller size, it still packs a sizable punch with generous lumens compared to other lights in it’s class. While potentially excessive for some users, I like the five light modes that allow you to manage the battery use and power at your discretion, based on different scenarios.

In terms of the quality and durability you get for the cost, it offers a lot of bang for buck.  As mentioned, Olight has really excelled in recent years with providing a lot of value for the money in the tactical light market.