Having a high-quality flashlight can make your everyday life easier and could save your life in an emergency. The Olight Warrior Mini is an excellent choice for a prepper or anyone else looking to upgrade their EDC flashlight.
The Olight Warrior Mini is everything you could want in an EDC flashlight. It’s small enough to ride comfortably in your pocket but powerful enough to light large areas. The Warrior Mini is also easy to use and durable.
I had been looking to upgrade my EDC flashlight for a while and jumped at the chance to add this new light to my gear. Below is my full review of Olight’s new Warrior Mini.
Olight Warrior Mini Lighting Modes
The Olight Warrior Mini, which you can find by clicking here, is incredibly versatile when it comes to light output. While it is capable of blasting out 1500 lumens, it is also useful in situations where you only need a small amount of light. Here is an overview of its different modes.
Related: How to Build a Prepper Lights Out Kit
Moon (1 Lumen)
The moon setting is perfect for when you need to read a map or anything else in the dark. You will be able to see what you need to without being blinded by the light reflecting off the page.
I also like to use the Moon setting to check on my son after he goes to sleep. It allows me to go into his room, see any obstacles that may be on the floor, and make sure he is okay. However, the light isn’t so bright that it wakes him up.
With a fully-charged battery, the Olight Warrior Mini can stay on for 45 days on the Moon setting.
Low (15 Lumens/80 Candela)
The Olight Warrior Mini’s low setting is a good option for things like searching through your glove box or under seats. It also works well if you need to use the light in your home without waking up other members of your family.
You can operate the Warrior Mini for 150 hours on the low setting with a full battery. It has a throw distance of 18 meters.
Medium (120 Lumens/725 Candela)
The medium setting is my go-to level for my EDC flashlight. It provides enough light for most tasks without causing a blinding reflection from light-colored surfaces.
The medium setting is also very easy on the battery. On a full charge, you can run a Warrior Mini for 18 hours. It has a throw distance of 54 meters.
High (500 Lumens/3025 Candela)
The high setting starts at 500 lumens with a 110-meter throw and will stay there for 218 minutes on a full charge. After that, the Warrior Mini will drop down to 170 lumens for the remainder of its battery life.
500 lumens is a good amount of light if you are working outside at night. It is also good if you need to light an entire room for a short period of time, like taking a shower during a power outage.
The high setting is also a good choice when walking back to your truck from the deer stand at night. You should be able to see your path as well as any wildlife that may be nearby.
Turbo (1500 Lumens/9025 Candela)
The Turbo setting on the Warrior Mini starts at a whopping 1500 lumens with a throw distance of 190 meters. The light will stay at 1500 lumens for 4 minutes, drop down to 500 lumens for 205 minutes, and then down to 170 lumens for the remaining 55 minutes of battery life.
The drop in light output is meant to prevent the light or battery from burning itself out. An LED this powerful can generate quite a bit of heat which could be harmful to the light or its user.
Turbo mode is best-suited for very specific situations. These include taking quick looks at large outdoor areas at night, checking out long dark hallways, or doing quick bursts of light while investigating bumps in the night.
You can access the Turbo setting by double-clicking the side switch or by using the tail switch. How you access Turbo with the tail switch will depend on how you have it configured which I will cover later in the article.
Strobe
The primary reason for having a strobe function on a flashlight is to disorient a potential threat. A bright flashing light can ruin an attacker’s night vision, allowing you to get away or strike back. It can also be useful if you need to signal someone to your location.
The video below shows how to use a flashlight defensively in conjunction with a firearm.
Design and Features
The Warrior Mini is designed to bridge the gap in size and power between Olight’s Warrior and Baton series. It incorporates the most popular features of both lineups.
Dual-Switch
The first thing that drew me to the Olight Warrior Mini was its dual-switch design. It has a side switch as well as a tail switch, making it suitable for both everyday use and defensive situations.
I personally love having a tail switch on my light. I carried a Maglite XL-50 for nearly 10 years and got used to operating my light with a tail switch. The fact that the Warrior Mini had one made it more appealing to me than other Olight models that only have a side switch.
Side Switch Functions
The side switch performs a few different functions. First, turning the light on and then holding the switch down will cycle between the Low, Medium, and High settings.
It can also be used to quickly access the Moon, Turbo, and Strobe settings. Pressing and holding the switch for one second will activate the 1-lumen “Moon Mode”. Quickly pressing the switch twice will activate the Turbo setting, while pressing it three times activates Strobe.
The side switch also allows you to lock the light to prevent it from turning on accidentally. This is useful because it can help preserve your battery. It is also useful if you are in a situation where a light turning on could be detrimental.
To lock the light, press and hold the side switch until the light goes from the Moon setting to off again. When you are ready to unlock the light, press and hold the side switch until the light turns on.
The side switch also serves as a batter level indicator. Here is how it works:
- Green Light: The battery is above 60%
- Orange Light: The battery is between 10% and 60%
- Red Light: The battery is between 5% and 10%
- Blinking Red Light: The battery is less than 5%.
Tail Switch Functions
The tail switch has two configuration options to choose from. The first configuration will activate the Medium light setting when you press the tail switch halfway. When pressed all the way down (Olight refers to this as a “hard press”), the light will go into Turbo mode.
A single, quick press of the tail switch will turn the light on. For momentary on, press and hold the switch and release to turn it off.
The second setting is what I prefer to use. A half press will activate Turbo mode. The light will immediately turn off when you stop pressing. Doing a hard press activates strobe mode.
My primary reason for preferring the second configuration is that I think it is more useful for defensive situations. It allows you to quickly flood an area with light or disorient an attacker with the strobe function. In addition, the second configuration gives you the ability to immediately go dark.
You can change the tail switch settings by pressing hard and holding the tail switch and doing a single press on the side switch at the same time. Releasing the tail switch will change the configuration.
Durability
The Olight Warrior Mini is a very well-built and durable EDC flashlight. The light’s body is made of aluminum which is machined to provide a reliable grip.
It is rated to survive a 1.5-meter drop as well as being submerged 2 meters underwater. I have done a few accidental drop tests, and I can say that it will survive a drop onto a hard surface.
The light’s lens is also recessed, which helps protect it from scratches and impacts. I am a big fan of this since I carry my light in the same pocket as my keys.
Related: Milwaukee M18 Lantern Review
Other Features
The Olight Warrior Mini also includes a belt clip and lanyard. I don’t have much use for the lanyard, but it does appear to be well-made and feels like it would be comfortable to use.
I wasn’t sure that I would like the belt clip, but I have grown to like it a lot. First, it is a two-way clip. This means that you can use it to hang the light either upright or upside down.
You can use the clip to secure the light to a pants pocket, a hat, MOLLE webbing, and many other items. I use it to hang the light from the bedside caddy organizer that hangs off the side of my bed.
I also like that the clip provides good indexing when holding the light. When you hold the light with the clip facing down, the side switch is perfectly located for you to press it down with your thumb.
Warrior Mini Charging Features
The Warrior Mini is USB rechargeable and includes the battery and charging cable.
The included battery is Olight’s proprietary 18650 with a 3500 mAh capacity. Since the battery is proprietary and not widely-available, ordering a spare would probably be a good move.
The charging cable works with most USB devices, including iPhone power adapters. Simply plug it into your chosen device and attach the other end of the charging cable to the light.
The tail switch is magnetic and will hold the charging cable in place. The tail switch’s magnetic properties also allow you to attach your light to metal surfaces, such as underneath a car’s hood.
The only potential problem that I have noticed with this flashlight involves the magnetic charging feature. The cable itself seems a bit finicky. If bumped, the charging indicator light will sometimes change to green. This makes it hard to tell if your light is actually fully charged or if there was some sort of glitch.
The magnetic tail switch also seems to be made of soft metal and is easy to scratch. I keep my flashlight in the same pocket as my keys and noticed some scratches on the tail switch. My concern is that, over time, normal wear and use could result in damage that could prevent the light from charging.
If you are like me and keep your flashlight in the same pocket as your keys, you need to be very careful when removing your keys from your pocket. The magnetic tail switch is pretty strong and can stick to items like key rings. I have sent my light flying out of my pocket a few times while pulling my keys out.
Conclusion
Overall, the Olight Warrior Mini is a solid flashlight produced by a good company. It has features that make it suitable for a wide range of everyday carry needs.
