If you aren't familiar with them, Olight is a fantastic company that makes really cool and exceptionally well-built lights, lanterns and torches.

They sent me their S2R Baton II last year, and I totally fell in love with it, so they sent along an early production model of their latest offering, the Warrior Mini 2.

It's like a beefed up Baton II, but still an epic EDC Flashlight, and worthy of your consideration for your daily carry or emergency kits.

Olight Warrior Mini 2 Review

Some of the key features of the Warrior Mini 2, aka the "why would you want this list:"

• Insanely bright light with 6 different output levels
• Our favorite 18650 battery which runs and runs
• IPX8 waterproof (for underwater cave exploration)
• Small enough to carry everyday in a pocket
• Built-in magnet for hands-free use
• Power indicator light
• Safe Proximity Protection sensor

Light Output Characteristics

The Warrior Mini 2 puts out 1,750 max lumens at 12,300 candela.

Remember, candela is really the most important metric, since it refers to the amount of light emitted by the LED itself into a particular direction. 12,300 is a lot.

Like the Baton II it uses a TIR optic lens for a nice balanced beam. It has a big hot spot int the middle of the beam, which concentrates the light in the area you want it to be, while still leaving enough splash on the periphery to see what's happening around your point of interest.

An interesting feature is the addition of a proximity sensor to the bottom of the lens. If the lens gets around a foot or so of a solid object, the light level will decrease in order to prevent overheating or burning.

It's a smart feature that probably isn't a huge selling point, but more of an indication as to the high level of detail Olight puts into the design of their products.

Battery & Longevity

The Warrior Mini 2 has my favorite battery, the 18650 style rechargeable. It's a beast and in use by a bunch of different manufactures and styles: lanterns, headlamps, WML's and torches.

So anything that has an 18650 in it goes right to the top of my proverbial in-box, in terms of daily use.

A feature I must admit I at first overlooked with the Baton II was the magnetic charging cable that came with it. I figured since I had multiple charging docks around I wouldn't need it.

I've since changed my tune, now that I have the Baton and Warrior torches. This thing is just too cool.

I clicks on with a nice solid "thunk" and I really appreciate the charge indicator light. The tech alone makes the Olight offerings hard to ignore when comparing brands.

Lighting Levels & Run Times

As you would expect with the battery running the show, the Warrior Mini 2 has some impressive run times:

• LEVEL 1 (lumens)     1,750~500~200
  • Run-time LEVEL 1       4+206+40 minutes
• LEVEL 2 (lumens)     500~200
  • Run-time LEVEL 2       218+55 minutes
• LEVEL 3 (lumens)     120
  • Run-time LEVEL 3       19 hours
• LEVEL 4 (lumens)     15
  • Run-time LEVEL 4       164 hours
• LEVEL 5 (lumens)     1
  • Run-time LEVEL 5       45 days
• Strobe Yes, 1,750 lumens, 13Hz
• SOS / BEACON       No

Level 5 is their "moonlight" level, which is great for operating in the deep dark or indoors. Just enough light to keep you from smashing into things for up to 45 days (if that's the only level you use._

Form & Function

The first thing you notice when you get your hands on this light is the grip and overall feel. It's has a solid, easy to handle balance that isn't excessively heavy.

The grip is aggressive enough to provide resistance from slipping, but not too sharp to be uncomfortable in un-gloved hands.

• Weight (g / oz)     122 / 4.3 (Including Battery, Pocket Clip, Lanyard Clip )
• Length (mm / in)     118 /4.65
• Head Diameter (mm / in)     25 /0.98
• Body Diameter (mm / in)     23 /0.91

IPX8 rated, means it will work underwater at 1 meter continuously. Get it soaked and it keep on shining.

The Warrior Mini 2 comes with some nice accessories I didn't expect:  a slick rubberized lanyard and a round lanyard carabiner style clip.

I like the carabiner quite a bit, it makes hanging the light onto the outside of a backpack or onto a tarp line or hook super easy.

The lanyard I wouldn't use as much, but if you are doing search and rescue or might need to drop the light quickly without losing it, it can be really helpful. Especially with the provided cinch that can keep resistance on your wrist be reducing the slack.

The Warrior Mini 2 is about 3/4" longer than the Baton II. They both use the same battery, but the Warrior has a more light output.

If you are looking for the user manual in .pdf format, here it is.

One downside to this torch, the magnet works when the torch is attached vertically to metal, say the hood of a car. However if you want to mount it at a 90 degree angle to the ground it will tip over.

The Baton II doesn't have this issue, likely because its overall smaller, and since it lacks the tail switch it has more surface area for the magnet to seat against.

Side & Back Switch Operating Directions

SIDE SWITCH

ON/OFF: Single click the side switch to turn the light ON/OFF.

When the light is turned on again, it will return to the previously memorized mode.

CHANGE BRIGHTNESS LEVEL: When the flashlight is on, press and hold the side switch and it will, starting from the present brightness level, automatically cycle through Low, Medium, and High mode.

The mode is selected when the side switch has been released. ( Please note: moonlight and turbo are not in the automatic cycle ).

MOONLIGHT MODE: When the flashlight is off, press and hold the side switch for over one second to access the moonlight mode. If the memorized mode is moonlight, simply click the switch to access it.

TURBO AND RETURN: fast double click on side switch to enter into Turbo, double click again to return. If memory mode were High or Medium, the output is Medium; if memory mode were Low or Moonlight, the output is memory mode.

STROBE: Quickly triple click the side switch to enter the strobe mode. To quit this mode, single click or press and hold the side switch.

LOCKOUT/UNLOCK: When the flashlight is off, press and hold the side switch ( for about 2 seconds ) to access the button lockout mode ( the flashlight will enter the moonlight mode first and will then switch off to signal the lockout mode ).

Under the lockout mode, press and hold the side switch for less than one second. The red indicator below the side switch will be on for two seconds to signal that the light is still in lockout mode.

To unlock it, keep holding the side switch for over one second until the moonlight mode is on again.

TAIL SWITCH

The flashlight produces different output settings by pressing lightly or hard on the tail switch (please refer to the following program configurations).

TWO DIFFERENT PROGRAM CONFIGURATIONS

CONFIGURATION 1 (FACTORY DEFAULT SETTING) :Half press for Medium, hard press for Turbo; Single press the tail switch (press and release quickly) to turn the flashlight on or off;Press and hold the tail switch for momentary on. Release to turn off

CONFIGURATION2: Half press for Turbo, hard press for Strobe, release switch to turn the flashlight off.

SWITCHING BETWEEN DIFFERENT PROGRAM CONFIGURATIONS

Switch between configuration 1 and configuration 2 by pressing hard then holding tail switch and single press on side switch at the same time; when you release tail switch, the Configuration will be selected

See the Olight Warrior Mini 2 in action

Pros

• Great everyday carry size
• High output and battery life
• Durability and waterproofing
• Ergonomics

Cons

• Unique battery (for some)
• Tail magnet doesn't hold on the side

Conclusion

This is a great all around torch. Useful in nearly a million ways, and not pricey at all given its performance.

Where to get one

Olight Warrior Mini 2

Typical Price: $90

The Warrior Mini 2 is the brand-new upgraded version of the previous Warrior Mini, and one of the most powerful compact tactical EDC flashlights on the market.

$90Olight