Olight Warrior Mini 2 Cu Flashlight Review
The newest Olight Warrior Mini 2 is this Cu (copper!) edition. It packs the punch the previous models had but rocks a solid copper body!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Olight Warrior Mini 2 Cu product page.
Versions
There are at least a few versions. There’s the black aluminum (which I reviewed previously). There’s also the “Mountain Sky” edition” which is a blue fade to gray. There’s a desert tan version. Next is the Regal Blue, which I tested. And now this solid copper version! These all have the same emitter.
Price
While the list price is around $110, during the sale you can buy this light for $87.96. Here’s my Shareasale link for the Olight Warrior Mini 2 Cu.
Short Review
I can safely report that the Copper version is functionally no different than the other versions I previously reviewed. So pretty much everything I said about it is true here too. In comparison to the original Warrior Mini, I should say I never really had any issues with the original Warrior Mini. I know a bunch of people might have gotten burned pockets and all that, but in all my use I never faced this problem. That said, the Olight Warrior Mini 2 in copper is a nice light and a solid offering. Also pleasantly not too expensive!
And if you’re a lover of copper, then the Olight Warrior Mini 2 Cu is for you!
Long Review
The Big Table
| Olight Warrior Mini 2 Cu Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Luminus SST-40 (Cool White) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $87.96 during the sale! |
| Cell: | 1×18650 (included) |
| Turbo Runtime Graph | High Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Both |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | Proprietary Magnetic |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | with cell: all modes without cell: no modes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 1750 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 1608 (91.9% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 7.4 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 220 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 412lux @ 5.782m = 13774cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 234.7 (106.7% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | 6000-7000 |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 5300-6000 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 Warrior Mini 2 Cu (shipped sealed in a vacuum package!)
- Olight 3500mAh customized 18650
- Olight MCC 1A/1.5A/2A charger (USB to proprietary magnetic)
- Lanyard
- “Carabiner” ring
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
Alright, this copper is pretty incredible. Also with the black accents – the whole light just looks great. You’re going to ask if the copper is coated or raw – I’m not sure to be honest. There’s a faint smell of copper, so there’s certainly some exposed, but the smell isn’t overwhelming so it doesn’t seem completely uncoated.
Having now handled the light quite a bit, I can say that there’s hardly any patina forming. Still looks like a shiny penny!
Notably, the grip pattern here is the same as before, and that’s fine. This pattern provides excellent grip.
Only the head comes off of the light. These threads are fairly short, square-cut, and anodized. However, since the cell is “this type of” proprietary, it’s not possible to lock the light out mechanically.
Both head and tail have a spring. The head end has both positive and negative contacts there in the center. With the head unscrewed a little (which is normally the “mechanically locked out” position on most flashlights), the e-switch still functions!
Here’s a bit of detail of what you’ll get when the bezel and optic are removed. Below are pics from the aluminum version.
To the right (below), you can see the hole that goes through the shelf for the proximity sensor.
The photo below doesn’t show it but you can see the optic. Also, you can see that (custom?) gasket. Between those two parts is a glass lens. This is an improvement over the original – you won’t have to worry about this being scratched anymore!
Size and Comps
Length: 4.65in/118mm
Head Diameter: 0.98in/25mm
Body Diameter: 0.91in/23mm
Weight: 194.6g (including Battery)
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.
Here are some other Warrior Mini 2’s! And one original Warrior Mini, which has been recalled. You can clearly tell which orientation I prefer my pocket clips to be…
Retention and Carry
A pocket clip is included and attached from the factory. This is a “two-way” clip and has seen some improvements over previous generation Olight two-way clips.
First, it’s much longer. Second and most importantly, the clip now has a slot on the tail end too, which allows bezel down carry (without using the “second-way” aspect of the clip, which is terrible on all two-way clips). The new clip has a bigger mouth too, so getting it onto pockets will be easier.
Secondly, there’s now a groove on the tail end of the light which accommodates the pocket clip. You can see there’s also a keyring attached. This is reversible with the clip – it’ll fit on the head end too. It’s not possible to put both on the same end, though.
One more thing about the clip before I move on. I hated how the clip ground over the body when removing the head for cell swaps on the Warrior Mini. Since the clip wasn’t reversible, there was no option – either just remove the clip entirely or deal with the scrape. On the new version, just throw the clip on the tail and you won’t have this grinding problem anyway! Also, this allows bezel down carry. You don’t carry bezel up like a monster, do you?
One great thing about this version, specifically vs at least one of the other versions of the Warrior Mini 2 is that the half-moon keychain clip fits perfectly in the pocket clip area. There were some versions of the Warrior Mini 2 (specifically the Mountain Sky) where this half-moon didn’t fully seat in the head area. I can happily report that’s not a problem here.
Finally, there’s a lanyard included. This lanyard can attach on the pocket clip or this split ring mentioned above. It’s an unusual lanyard because it feels fully silicone. That’s neat.
Also included is this carabiner-type ring, which seems intended to fit through the tiny split ring.
Power and Runtime
The Olight Warrior Mini 2 Cu is powered by a custom single lithium-ion cell. The appropriate cell is included – a customized 3500mAh 18650.
The “custom” part is seen below – both positive and negative terminals are exposed on the positive end. One great aspect that was retained from the previous Warrior Mini (and a massive improvement over previous iterations of this type of cell) is that the positive terminal is not recessed. This means the cell can charge in a bay-style charger! Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ends: This customized type cell is required for operating the Warrior Mini 2. This is still a step forward, though.
And the cell goes into the light in the “normal” way – positive terminal toward the head. (This is in contrast to some of the other similar Olights like the S1R Baton II, a light that otherwise looks incredibly similar to the Warrior Mini).
Here is one runtime. Runtimes on these lights are difficult because of the nearly impossible-to-disable proximity sensor. Note that the proximity sensor is an improvement over the previous generation because of the pants-on-fire situations that were happening to some users. Again I didn’t experience this but I get it – it happens. This should be a good answer to that problem, and I doubt you’ll have hot pants again with a Warrior Mini 2.
Output steps down from an initial ~1700 lumens to over 1600 at for the first >1m. Once the light steps down, the output is incredibly flat for hours. Then there’s another stepdown, which lasts for under an hour, and then the light begins to decline in output. The switch warns the user of low voltage along the way. First green, then orange, then solid red, then flashing red. The light does shut off when the voltage gets low.
Again, remarkably well-regulated output for the duration of the runtime.
Regarding the proximity sensor – The mode that’s stepped down to (around 200 lumens) is interestingly not a mode that’s otherwise available – you can’t hit this 200-lumen mode any way except the proximity sensor action.
The indicating e-switch does display the charge level while the light is on, too. Except in moonlight, that is, where the power indicator is not enabled. Here’s what the colors mean:
Green: >60% power
Orange: 10-60% power
Red: 5-10% power
Red blinking: <5% power
Here are a couple other runtimes.
Charging
There’s also on-board charging, by way of a magnetic charge base and a magnetic charge connector in the tail (both parts are magnetic!). The charging base is the common Olight MCC, which can charge at 1A, 1.5A, or 2A. As I said above, this cell can be charged in a regular bay charger too!
Charging proceeds at well over 1A, and the 3500mAh cell is charged in around 4 hours. The charging base is red when charging, and green when not being used or the cell is “completely charged.” I noted in charge testing that the indicator on the charger would turn green before the trickle CV phase had stopped putting power into the cell.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 1750/500/200 | 4m/206m/40m | 1608 | 4.60 |
| High | 500/200 | 218m/55m | 445 | 0.75 |
| [mode for stepdown only] | 200 | – | 269 | 0.42 |
| Medium | 120 | 19h | 108 | 0.15 |
| Low | 15 | 164h | 11 | 0.01 |
| Moon | 1 | 45d | 0.5 | 0.00 |
Pulse Width Modulation
Nothing really to mention here. None of the modes seem to be using PWM. That wave graph on the second to lowest mode is fun, though.
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
There are two switches on the Olight Warrior Mini 2 Cu. First is the metal tail switch which also is used in charging. This does look to have a slight update from previous iterations in that there’s no shiny center.
This two-stage switch is quite nice to use!
Next is the indicating side e-switch.
Here’s a UI table! This is the same UI as is on the M2R Warrior Pro.
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click Side Switch (SS) | On (Mode Memory) |
| Off | Hold SS | Moon |
| Off | Double Click SS | Turbo |
| Any (Except when the proximity sensor is being “tripped”) | Triple Click SS | Strobe |
| On | Click SS | Off |
| On (Except when the proximity sensor is being “tripped”) | Hold SS | Mode Advance (L>M>H) (Moon and Turbo are excluded from the cycle) |
| Turbo | Double Click SS | Return to previous mode (If previous was “High,” returns to Med) |
| Off | Long Hold SS | Lockout (Technically “Moon then lockout”) |
| Lockout | Click SS | Switch indicating lockout (red for 2s) |
| Lockout | Hold SS | Unlock to Moonlight |
| Any | Hold (“half-press”) Tail Switch (TS) | Med (in Config 1, default) Turbo (in Config 2) |
| Any | Click TS | Turbo (in Config 1) Strobe (in Config 2) |
| Off | Hold TS, Click SS | Switch between Config 1 and 2 (there is no confirmation except the modes seen per Config) |
LED and Beam
The emitter of choice for this light is a Luminus SST40. The temperature is Cool White, at 6000K-7000K. This emitter is under a TIR, and there is a glass over the TIR. That glass is an update from the original! And an improvement.
I tried a little to unscrew the bezel but it didn’t come right off like previous versions. Probably just a lack of real effort here – the others I’ve tested do unscrew, so there’s no good reason to think this one won’t too. Anyway it’s built the same way, so it does screw in. If you do get it unscrewed, the optic can be tapped right out. Then the cup that holds the proximity sensor can be tapped right out too. And only two wires are holding the mcpcb… So if you have a favorite emitter with the SST-40 footprint (XM-L2, I think?) then you should be good to go with this light. Emitter swapping will provide no hurdles at all. You might need to modify the optic a bit though.
Also, the proximity sensor isn’t as easy to disable here as on other lights (like the Freyr). It seems to actually be under the shelf. It does seem like simply covering the sensor will disable it (but I have a few tests to do yet). If this is the case, then it should be even easier to do internally by plugging that hole in the shelf… And in that case, it’d be nice to have a replacement TIR that doesn’t have the cutout for this sensor.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
You know, despite whatever the claim by Olight is on the CCT of this Luminus SST-40, it’s really not that cool. It stays under 6000K for all but the highest output level. Now, it does have a fair bit of “positive dUV” to it – that means it can appear greenish. The CRI is fairly low, too, at around 66.
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
- Complete package
- Good user interface
- Very good beam profile
- Hits claims for output and throw
- New and improved clip over version 1
- Clip fits on both ends now
- Cell can be charged in bay charger
What I don’t like
- Cool white emitter
- Proprietary cell
- Proximity sensor
Notes
This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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