Olight Perun 2 Headlamp Review
Among other limited editions, Olight has recently introduced was an orange Perun 2. Not only is the orange a limited version, but the Olight Perun 2 21700 LED headlamp is a new light! It has a proximity sensor and offers built-in (magnetic) charging. Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a referral link to the official product page.
Versions
There seem to be just two versions of the Perun 2. Black, and orange (seen here). The orange is limited, so if that’s your jam, you should buy one sooner than later!
Price
The black lists at $89.95, and the orange at $99.95. Both have special pricing upon entry to the market though. Black is $62.97, and orange is $69.97. There’s a bunch of other sale stuff you should read here:
Flash sale date: 8:00 PM November 25th -11:59 PM November 30th EST.
VIP customers(Silver and above) will have the early access to our Flash Sale from November 20th EST.
UP to 45% OFF site-wide
FREE Gift: i1R2 Rechargeable Keychain Light in random color (Worth $19.95).
(Register or Log in your account during flash sale, a FREE i1R2 Keychain Light will be automatically added to your cart.)
Perun 2 Black, 30% off,$62.97, bundle i3T DT, 40% off, $67.14
Perun 2 Orange (Limited Edition), 30% off, $69.97, bundle i3T DT, 40% off, $73.14
Warrior Mini Ti (Spring 2/ Summer 2/Autumn 2/Winter 2), 30% off, $ 83.97
Warrior Mini Cu (Eternal 2), 30% off, $69.97
Warrior Mini Ti Spring 2/ Summer 2 / Autumn 2 / Winter 2, bundle Warrior Mini CU (Eternal 2), 35% off, $142.94
Coupon Code will work during sales on non-sale listings ONLY.
Short Review
As a headlamp, I don’t dig this light so much. It’s too big and heavy for great use on a forehead. As a handheld right-angle light, this is pretty good. I do not like the sensor, and it really gets in the way of my normal use of the Perun 2, but if you don’t see yourself using the light on higher modes up close, this might not be a problem for you.
Long Review
The Big Table
Olight Perun 2 | |
---|---|
Emitter: | Cree XHP50.2 |
Price in USD at publication time: | $69.97 on sale. Regularly $99.95 |
Cell: | 1×21700 |
Turbo Runtime | High Runtime |
LVP? | Vibration warning |
Switch Type: | E-Switch |
Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
On-Board Charging? | Yes |
Charge Port Type: | Proprietary magnetic |
Chargetime | |
Power off Charge Port | With cell: All modes. Without cell: No modes. |
Claimed Lumens (lm) | 2500 |
Measured Lumens (at 30s) | (Sensor prevents calibrated testing) |
Candela per Lumen | 2.9 |
Claimed Throw (m) | 166 |
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 650lux @ 3.552m = 8201cd |
Throw (Calculated) (m) | 181.1 (109.1% of claim)^ |
All my Olight reviews! |
^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.
What’s Included
- Olight Perun 2 LE Orange Headlamp
- Olight 4000mAh 21700 (customized and proprietary, required)
- Headband
- Charge cable (USB to proprietary magnetic)
- Lanyard
- Lanyard pull
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
Build quality is great. The orange is very good orange anodizing. It matches the other orange Olights very well.
The head has some deep cooling grooves.
The body has the triangle “knurling” Olight’s been playing at lately, and some cross hatch swirling down the side. It’s an interesting design.
The tailcap carries the swirl theme.
In the head, you can see the emitter and also the little sensor. This sensor is used to dim the light when there’s a lot of bounce-back light.
The lights are serialized.
An angled head absolutely prevents headstanding.
Only the head comes off the Perun 2. It’s really a 2 piece body – head and cell tube. The threads are pleasantly short and don’t require a ton of effort or twisting to remove.
There’s a spring in head and tail. An interesting vibration low voltage warning is featured in this light, and that seems to be located in the tail, not the head! (That is based on testing with the bench power.)
Size and Comps
Weight (g / oz) 161/ 5.68
Length (mm / in) 120.7 / 4.75
Head Diameter (mm / in) 28.6 / 1.13
Body Diameter (mm / in) 27 / 1.06
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually the fourth photo).
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple. A very nice 18650 light.
And here’s the light beside my custom engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats.
Like I said above, the orange on these lights really works well. And matches well too!
Retention and Carry
The light ships with this pocket clip installed, so I’ll consider that the primary carry option. It’s a friction fit two-way clip, and does work well.
The clip is clearly intended for the one location it’s already installed, but it also fits on the wider bands on both the head and tail.
Next is the headband. The headband can be used at the same time as the pocket clip, but it’s a bit cumbersome. Ideally, you’ll probably want to remove the clip before using this as a headlamp.
A nice headband is included. It has a silicone connector into which the Perun 2 slips and a useful tab on one of the loops is included. One strap goes over the head and this strap is not removable. It’s permanently attached to the front.
And as you can see below, also permanently attached to the back.
You’ll likely want that anyway – the Perun 2 is large enough you’ll need the extra support.
The headband also has some reflective strips.
Inside the headband is only soft fabric – there are no silicone grippy strips.
Final mention is the magnet. Yes, this magnet is primarily used as a charge base connector, but it’s surprisingly strong enough to hold this long heavy light horizontally.
Power and Runtime
Olight’s Perun 2 is powered by a single lithium-ion cell. A cell is included at all purchase levels of this light. It’s the 4000mAh customized, proprietary 21700 cell.
This cell has a plastic shroud around the positive terminal, and also has an exposed negative terminal on the positive end, too.
This shroud is tall and will prevent the cell from being charged in most bay chargers.
Installation of the cell is opposite to what I call the “usual” way. The positive terminal goes into the body, and the negative terminal is toward the head.
Here are a couple of runtimes. Since the bounce feature is so…. aggressive… I can’t do my normal calibrated runtimes. So I’ve set the 30 second reading to what Olight claims, and the rest of the runtime profile can still be useful. The vibration warning for low voltage is interesting.
Same as above – due to the bounce sensor, this is an uncalibrated runtime, which I have set the 30s value to what Olight claims. Output is extremely well regulated!
I stopped both tests when the vibration warning had been happening for a few minutes.
Charging
The charge connector is the same as other recent Olights. It’s the MCC charger, and on this light goes up to (or over) 2A charging.
Charging takes around 3 and a half hours, which is pretty good for a 21700 cell! Notably, the green charge indicator on the charge connector turns green long before the current stops, but even then the cell is at 4.15V or so. So it’s good or good enough.
Modes and Currents
Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
---|---|---|---|---|
Turbo | 2500/32%/20% | 2m/130m/45m | – | 6.31 |
High | 500/54% | 240m/30m | – | 0.82 |
Med | 120 | 18h | – | 0.18 |
Low | 30 | 66h | – | 0.04 |
Moon | 5 | 12.5d | – | ~ |
Pulse Width Modulation
No PWM on any of the 5 modes.
Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor.
Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.
User Interface and Operation
A single button controls the Perun 2. It’s a big pad of an e-switch and sits at an angle on the head.
This angle does completely prevent headstanding.
The switch has a power symbol and is quite large and easy to find. Actuation is very positive but absolutely only in the center of the button. That is, within the power symbol seen below.
Here’s a UI table!
State | Action | Result |
---|---|---|
Off | Click | On (Mode Memory, Moon, LMH only) |
Off | Hold | Moon |
Any | Double Click | Turbo |
On | Hold | Mode advance (Moon, LMH only) |
Turbo | Double Click | Exit Turbo to previous mode (except if previous was high, then results in Medium) |
Any | Triple Click | SOS |
SOS | Click | Off |
On | Click | Off |
On | Click and Hold (quickly) | Timer (Single blink: 3 minutes, Double blink: 9 minutes) |
Timer | Click and Hold (quickly) | Switch between 3 and 9 minute timers. |
Off | Hold (>2s) | Lockout |
Lockout | Hold (~2s) | Unlock (and goes to Moonlight) |
LED and Beam
Olight went with a Cree XHP50.2 in a cool white for the Perun 2. The light utilizes a TIR, with a cutout to allow for the sensor.
Unlike some of the other Olight sensor-based lights, it’s not possible to turn the sensor off. And it’s not possible to cover the sensor as a means of disabling it (in fact that’ll do the opposite here – make it ultra-aggressive.) So the sensor is a real deal-breaker on this light for me.
These beamshots are always with the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.
Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)
I keep the test flashlight on the left, and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Orange light!
- Complete package
- Sensor is very effective (and good if you’re looking for a sensor light to prevent a lot of reflected light)
- User interface is easy to memorize (or just guess)
- Great build quality
- Good for hands-free use (as a headlamp or using the magnet)
What I don’t like
- Customized and proprietary cell
- Proprietary charging (but at least it matches other recent Olight charging lights)
- Probably not the best choice as a running headlamp
Notes
- This light was provided by Olight for review. I was not paid to write this review.
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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Very good review! The only thing I can not really understand is why the sensor is a deal breaker. From what I understand, it is a proximity sensor. It dims your light to ‘low’ when you run it in a high setting and there is a surface directly in front of it (~20cm?), so you do not drain your light in your pocket/backpack or even burn your stuff (which this light is very capable of in turbo mode!). Also, if the sensor notices an obstruction without movement for a minute, the light turns off. I never run into situations, where I need maximum brightness close to a surface. I have yet to try if I can run my light in a lower setting with some kind of diffuser for passive flood light without it turning off. However, I can understand that this feature obstructs testing.
I also really like the magnet, but it only really seems to hold the lights weight directly on proper metal (car, radiator, etc.) It did not hold up on my whiteboard.
Thank you for your review!
I really don’t want a light to decide for me when there’s too much bounce back, or the reflection is too bright… etc. I want to decide those things for myself.
I understand why it can be a deal breaker. I did a 10km walk last night (in the rain). Knowing about the sensor I cleaned the lens every time it dimmed. BUT, it turns itself off after a while, happened several times. THAT’S a deal breaker.
I wouldn’t have bought it if I knew, can’t see it mentioned anywhere, found it in an old review of the Perun 1.
Not that I prefer walking in the rain so this was many a one off for me, and The Perun 2 sits in my breast pocket as flood light not a primary light.
A Thrunite Thrower on my head (still good spill, probably why I missed the Perun had dimmed). The Thrunite Thrower is an exceptional headlamp, some may not like it because it’s a Thrower but I love it.
Love the reviews!
I applied some Sugru over the light sensor and Turbo mode no longer dims even with my hand directly in front of the light.
We will see how long this lasts but cursory tests show success.
I’m surprised that doesn’t cause the sensor to trip all the time, instead of none of the time.
I was not sure at first since the “finger test” seemed to behave the way you describe. If you have some putty that could work temporality to test on your copies.
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