“DO NOT throw the light directly into human eyes. This may cause temporary blindness or permanent damage to the eyes.”
Is it just me, or is that exactly what you want to read in the instruction manual of a premium flashlight you’ve just purchased? At the end of the day, the main function we all want from a flashlight is superior brightness, all bells, and whistles aside. The Warrior Mini 2 Ti delivers in the essentials and tech department. Before we cover those, though, let’s check out the unexpected.
Unboxing the Olight Warrior Mini 2
Outdoors gear tends to have very minimal to zero packagings. It’s not even a part of a gear review I would usually even consider.
With the Warrior, though, I had to pinch myself to remember I wasn’t unboxing an iPhone or a Huawei but a tactical flashlight designed for use in the wilds. This limited-edition offering from Olight comes in a solid rectangle of premium white cardboard with a life-size quality print of the flashlight within.
Upon opening the box, I was greeted with the simple words “THANK YOU!”. Thank you Olight, the old school gamer in me loves a box full of feelies. Aside from the flashlight, we find inside a “Thank you” card, USB cable, silicone lanyard, and a karabiner.
There’s also a Magic The Gathering style character card printed in a very satisfying way similar to the box. I guess it’s for the flashlight collectors out there if they exist.
Enough consumer voyeurism. Does the thing perform? The short answer is yes, and then some.
Let There Be Light
On turbo mode (the Warrior’s maximum setting), she’ll emit light of 1,750 lumens. For those not savvy with flashlight lingo, one lumen is the equivalent of the light output of a single traditional candle.
Imagine an old man’s 80th birthday cake and how it would light up a dark room. Now imagine over 21 of those cakes all concentrated into a beam of light emanating from a flashlight that fits in the palm of your hand.
“DO NOT throw the light directly into human eyes.”
OK, Olight, you have my attention.
So when in the aforementioned turbo mode, the flashlight has a “throw” of 220m. When using the Warrior out on the trail for an early morning sunrise-at-the-summit kind of hike, it was this reach that allowed me to navigate at an almost daylight level of ease.
When you can see that much trail in front of you, this is the kind of light that will let you make important route-finding decisions as you are still moving.
If you don’t need that illumination level and are on the trail for a long time, it would be wise to use less light to conserve battery power. Thankfully the Warrior is what could now be called a “smart flashlight” and offers five light levels.
Alongside turbo is low, medium, and high. These modes have their throw, lumens, and use time detailed in the accompanying instruction manual.
There’s one extra mode that I love though, Olight has called it “moonlight,” but it’s basically “sneak mode.” If you long-press the Warrior’s side button when it’s off, the flashlight will kick out a modest beam of one lumen.
This mode is great for getting out of bed at night and not waking your baby, reading a book, or doing whatever other weird sneaky things you need to do. On a serious note, this feature would be great for wild camps when you’re a little unsure about the locals.
Power In Your Palm
This is not a light that you will have to worry about battery life with. The Warrior is a refreshing flashlight in that batteries are included. In this case, it’s just the one, though, a 3500mAh 3.6V rechargeable lithium-ion battery.
This beast will keep you going night after night. On the off chance you would be using the flashlight for extreme amounts of usage using the highest modes only, the battery is not molded into the flashlight’s housing.
Simply unscrew and take out. This could allow you to keep multiple charged batteries in your backpack. To be honest, though, I think you would have to be a hardcore user to even need to consider this.
Charging is unique with the Warrior as well. It’s familiar at one end, a traditional USB connection. However, the other connector is a magnet that quickly finds its way to the Warrior’s tail. This easy-to-use connectivity works great when fiddling with the flashlight in a tent when charging via a power bank.
Nifty Features
The Warrior features one of Olight’s best tricks, their proximity protection function. This nifty little sensor sits underneath the Warrior’s glass lens. The sensor is on the constant lookout for nearby obstructions and will dim the light when necessary. When walking through wooded areas, this is great to don’t dazzle yourself when shining the flashlight at nearby trees.
The sensor also acts as a failsafe. The Warrior’s buttons are sturdy, and accidental presses are unlikely. If the flashlight does get turned on while bouncing around in your backpack, the sensor will switch it off if the blockage continues for sixty seconds.
This will stop the flashlight from overheating or running out of battery. It’s clever tricks like this that could save your skin when night comes around, and you’re in the middle of nowhere.
Speaking of life-saving features, the Warrior has a strobe function. Easy to access, this function will alert anyone in the nearby vicinity to your location. It also makes the Warrior just as useful at a rave as it is in a mountain range.
All of these features and more clever programmable tricks for tech geeks are all controlled by two buttons. A sidelight adjacent to the pocket clip also indicates the battery life with a simple LED traffic light color system. There’s also a tail light that will let you turn the Warrior on just like you’re in your own episode of CSI or The X-Files.
Smart And Tough
The Warrior’s clever features are kept safe by the superior build quality. It feels sturdy in your hands, plastic is minimal. It’s all metal and glass, yet the weight is kept down to just 145g with the battery as well-meaning this is an option for the ultralight backpacking community.
The Warrior is waterproof to IPX8, meaning it can be submerged into the water around 1 meter deep. I don’t recommend that you use the flashlight underwater, but if you dropped it in a lake and fished it out quickly, it won’t mean you’ll have to make an impromptu camp.
LED technology is improving all the time. If it’s been a while since your last flashlight upgrade, you may be shocked by the results a modern light can give you. With a five-year guarantee and a range of designs to chose from, you’ll be hard-pressed to find much competition for the Warrior in this price range.
You may even get up at 2am for that summit sunrise hike you’ve always talked about.
Maybe?
Send any enquiries to tboardwriter@gmail.com
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