Olight Baldr Mini Tactical Flashlight Review
Here’s a bit of testing on the Olight Bladr Mini Tactical flashlight. This flashlight has both white output and a green laser, and charging!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a ShareASale link to the Olight Baldr Mini Tactical flashlight product page.
Versions
A few versions of the Baldr tactical flashlight are available. (Baldr, Baldr Pro, Baldr Mini, I think). But of the Baldr Mini, there are three body colors, and each is like this review copy internally.
Price
The complete package Olight Baldr Mini lists for $129.95 at OlightStore.com.
Short Review
The Olight Bladr Mini seems good in its simplicity. There is just one (white) output level, and the green laser can be used a number of ways. Built-in charging is a lot like the typical proprietary Olight magnetic charging, but it’s “Special.” If we’re doing proprietary magnetic charging, I’d rather it at least be just like all the other Olight options.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Olight Baldr Mini Tactical Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | unstated |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $129.95 – here’s my Shareasale link to OlightStore.com |
| Cell: | Internal |
| Runtime Graph without laser | Runtime Graph with laser |
| LVP? | Yes With Warning |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | Proprietary Magnetic |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | Yes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 600 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 658 (109.7% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 6.3 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 130 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 195lux @ 4.71m = 4326cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 131.5 (101.2% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 5814 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Olight |
| All my Olight reviews! | |
^ Measurement disclaimer: I am an amateur flashlight reviewer. I don’t have $10,000 or even $1,000 worth of testing equipment. I test output and such in PVC tubes!! Please consider claims within 10% of what I measure to be perfectly reasonable (accurate, even).
What’s Included
- Olight Bladr Mini Tactical Flashlight
- Charging cable (Proprietary magnetic “Special”)
- Alternate rail mount adapter
- Spare screws (4, 2 types)
- Hex key
- Manual
Package and Manual
Olight back with their family planning advice…
Build Quality and Disassembly
I was curious what removing those screws would reveal. Turns out it pulls the laser unit and reveals the battery. Still no real access to the emitter, though.
Size and Comps
Weight: 3.07 oz (87 g)
Length: 2.24 in (57 mm)
Width: 1.29 in (32.8 mm)
Height: 1.41 in (35.8 mm)
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.
Retention and Carry
This is a tactical weapon mount flashlight. There is no other purpose for it, and as such there are no other carry options beside the rail mount system.
The rail mount is actually interesting though and has features I’ve never seen before. It’s possible to completely remove the flashlight from the mount. This allows you to leave the rail mount attached while pulling the light for charging or whatever. Charging is possible while the light is mounted, though.
The lever for attaching to a rail isn’t removable. That’s good; there are no parts to lose. The little rail adapter though is removable and can be swapped for the other type, which is included.
Of course this flashlight is intended for use on a handgun, but here it is on a DSBR-style long gun. This setup isn’t ideal since the handguard blocks the switch, but at least you can see the Baldr Mini mounted. And I can say that mounting it is easy. I’m also pleased to report that the Baldr Mini fits in such a small space as is allowed in front of the handguard seen below. So it should be great on pistols.
Power and Runtime
The Olight Bladr Mini tactical flashlight runs on a single built-in LiPO battery. It’s a 230mAh batter, and is not user-replaceable.
There’s just one mode but here are two runtimes. I figured why not see how the laser affected runtimes. (A lot, actually).
There’s a little LED on the side of the Baldr Mini that indicates when the battery is getting low. It is very subtle.
Charging
As stated above, the Baldr Mini uses Olight’s proprietary magnetic charging. This is a “SPECIAL” charger though and does not work for lights such as the Baton series.
This charging port is accessible even when the light is mounted. But as I said above, the light can be pulled off the mount while the rail adapter remains attached.
Charging is over 1C, and quick, at around 45 minutes.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White only | 600/100 | 1m/39m | 658 | – |
| White and Laser | 600/100 | 1m/29m | 617 | – |
| Laser only | – | – | – | – |
Pulse Width Modulation
The one output level does not use PWM. (Laser on or off does not affect this.)
For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor. Also, here’s the light with the worst PWM I could find. I’m adding multiple timescales, so it’ll be easier to compare to the test light. Unfortunately, the PWM on this light is so bad that it doesn’t even work with my normal scale, with is 50 microseconds (50us). 10ms. 5ms. 2ms. 1ms. 0.5ms. 0.2ms. In a display faster than 0.2ms or so, the on/off cycle is more than one screen, so it’d just (very incorrectly) look like a flat line. I wrote more about this Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight and explained a little about PWM too.
User Interface and Operation
Olight has a paddle switch here that because of the design, is accessible around the trigger guard on a handgun.
Aside from the switch to turn the light on or off, there’s this selector switch that allows selecting between white light (rightmost, when mounted), white LED and green laser (center position), and green laser (leftmost, when mounted). This switch snaps into place very firmly and I do not have the impression that it’ll move around easily even during operation.
Here you can see the positions of the selector switch.
Here’s a UI table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Tap paddle switch | On in selected output |
| Off | Hold paddle switch | Momentary (for as long as held) in the selected output |
| On | Tap paddle switch | Off |
When the light is mounted properly, the action is “downward” on the switch. Upward on the switch does not do anything. Also the switches are separate, but do the same thing – right and left.
LED and Beam
Olight does not state what emitter is used here. And I also can’t identify it. The emitter has a shallow smooth reflector which provides a beam with a fair bit of spill but still a good tight hotspot.
The laser is of course very lasery. Since this is a weapon mount light, you might wonder if the laser is adjustable – it is adjustable. There are holes in the side of the Baldr Mini that can be turned to adjust the laser right/left and up/down. Since I’m only hunting whitewalls, I did not make any adjustments here.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
You probably expected the coolest white ever from this Olight tactical flashlight. Surprise, it’s not! This Baldr Mini comes in at a pleasant 5800K, but does have a low CRI (at around 68).
Beamshots
These beamshots are always with the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.
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
- Can be removed from rail mount
- Rail mount is very user-friendly
- Can be charged while mounted
- There’s just one output level
- Hard selector switch between laser/white/both
- Switch reaches around the trigger guard
- Light can be moved around the rail mount for perfect snugging against the trigger guard
What I don’t like
- “Special” proprietary magnetic charger
- Just one mode
- Price
- Non-replaceable LiPO battery
Notes
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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