EDC Review: Olight Warrior Mini 2 EDC Tactical Light

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Flashlights have come a long way since getting my first EDC light back in the early 2000s. My incandescent Maglite Mini has long since gone to flashlight heaven. Enter the Olight Warrior Mini 2 EDC Tactical light. I’ve used several EDC flashlights over the years and nothing comes close to the sophistication or technological capabilities that the Warrior Mini 2 provides. In this review of the Olight Warrior Mini 2, we’ll find out what’s illuminating and what will leave you in the dark.

Olight Warrior Mini 2: What’s in the Box?

Here’s what you can expect to receive with the Olight Warrior Mini 2:

1. Olight Warrior Mini 2 EDC Tactical Light
2. 3500mAh 3.6v 18650 Rechargeable Battery
3. MCC3 Magnetic USB Charging Cable
4. Carabiner Style Ring
5. Rubberized Lanyard (Not Pictured)
6. User Manual (Not pictured)

Design and Features

There’s no way of saying it other than the aesthetic design of the Warrior Mini 2 looks awesome. It does give off some tactical vibes, but not so much that I’d consider it “tacticool.” The texturing on the barrel provides a good grip without feeling like you’re handling a cheese grater. I can only assume this ribbed or finned design also provides some heat dissipation for the 18650 battery — Practical and functional, just the way I like it. Besides the overall design of the Warrior Mini 2, here are some features I found particularly impressive:

Magnetic Charging

We’ve all had various charging ports break at some point in our lives. This often results in hair-pulling frustration and makes us feel like we need to hire a team of lawyers to get our justice. With the Olight Warrior Mini 2, you can keep your hair and keep those lawyers on retainer.

From the unboxing and presentation, the Olight Warrior 2 Mini gives off an Apple-esque vibe. The company, not the fruit. And much like some Apple products (ie. Apple Watch), the Warrior Mini 2 comes with magnetic charging. The charging cable magnetically snaps to the flashlight tail which means there’s no need to manually insert a cable. Thus, there are no charging ports to break. I’ve already had a case where my 4-year-old son grabbed the Warrior Mini 2 while it was charging. Thank goodness for the magnetic charger.

Pocket Clip

Much like a pocket knife, I appreciate the deep-carry pocket clip on the Warrior Mini 2. I will note that the clip comes positioned behind the side switch by default. That said, the Warrior Mini 2 gives you the option to position the clip right underneath the tail switch. This is one of the main differences from the original Warrior Mini. I prefer to carry it close to the tail switch for several reasons. First, it makes the clip a true deep-carry. The entire light virtually disappears into the pocket. Second, with the flashlight head down in the pocket, it protects the lens.

Finally, it makes the 2-way clip more usable. I’m a big fan of this type of clip as it allows me to clip the light to my hat for hands-free operation. If it were positioned in its default location, you could only get the light 2/3 up the clip before hitting your noggin. While I do prefer to wear headlamps, I don’t always carry one. Since I’m always wearing a hat and carrying an EDC light, I always have a hands-free light option.

Proximity Sensor

The proximity sensor is a design feature that I didn’t think I’d need, but certainly glad to have. With a max output of 1750 lumens, the light and battery do tend to get a touch on the hot side. You definitely wouldn’t want to have the full force of 12,300 candelas burning in your pocket. The proximity sensor will automatically dim the Warrior Mini 2 if there is an obstruction about 7”-8” from the light. If the obstruction remains present for 60 seconds, it shuts off the light completely. Great for protecting you from the humiliation of your pants catching on fire.

Testing Fit for a Warrior

Drop Test

The Olight Warrior Mini 2 is advertised to handle drops from five feet (1.5m). Although I don’t often make a habit of dropping my gear, accidents happen and I want to provide a thorough review. For this test, I dropped the Warrior Mini 2 from chest height. I will note that I am 6’ 3” (75cm) tall. I didn’t measure it out, but it’s just beyond five feet. Nevertheless, I figured if it can survive from this height, then it can easily survive its rated impact height.

When I say I dropped the Warrior Mini 2, I mean it was dropped 18 times. That’s how many times it took to get the photograph above. I’m an equal-opportunity dropper. Each end of the Warrior Mini 2 had nine drops each. Also, don’t be fooled by the photo. Underneath the thin layer of dirt is my solid concrete driveway. The Warrior Mini 2 came out of this test with a few light scratches on the lens. In addition, I kept the light on and it didn’t produce any flickers upon impact. Needless to say, the Warrior Mini 2 did a mic drop on the drop test.

Crush Test

Come on, who doesn’t like a good crush test? Let’s run this sucker over with my 5640lbs (2558kg) Toyota Tundra truck and see what happens. You know what? Apart from the few light scuffs, absolutely nothing happened. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but let’s just say the results weren’t surprising. The Warrior Mini 2 is a solidly built flashlight. Also, I didn’t plan on taking a photo with the light operating. The act of running over the Warrior Mini 2 happened to trigger the side button. Even with all that weight bearing down, everything still works perfectly. The Warrior Mini 2 absolutely crushed the crush test.

Waterproof Test

I don’t have a shortage of rivers, creeks, streams, and lakes where I live. More often than not, I tend to camp near a body of water. There’s just something about a babbling brook that eases my soul. That being said, I must carry gear that will function even when wet. Good thing the Warrior Mini 2 has an IPX8 waterproof rating. Although I can’t find the specific depth, an IPX8 rating means the Warrior Mini 2 can be submerged deeper than 1 meter.

I like to test products based on my use cases. During the warmer months, we play in a lot of streams and river beds. If I were to drop the Warrior Mini 2, it’d be in water no deeper than two feet. So I went out to a nearby creek with my youngest son and dropped the Warrior Mini 2 in about shin-deep water. The light was set to medium mode and sat for half an hour while we threw rocks into the creek. Not surprisingly, it had no issues with waterproofness. When it comes to providing light, the Warrior Mini 2 won’t leave you up a creek without a paddle.

Olight Warrior Mini 2: Light Modes

Okay okay, the Warrior Mini 2 is well-designed and is durable. So how does it function as an EDC flashlight? In short, amazingly. Six light modes that can accommodate any lighting situation. The maximum 1750 lumen output is quite impressive for such a small light. You can thank the Luminus SST-40 LED for that kind of output. The easiest way for me to show you all the light modes is with a table. Without further ado, here are all the light modes:

Light Modes

Mode	Output (Lumens)	Runtime
Turbo	1750/500/200	4m/206m/40m
High	500/200	218m/55m
Medium	120	19 Hours
Low	15	164 Hours
Moon	1	45 Days
Strobe	1750 (13Hz)	—

Olight Warrior Mini 2: User Interface

I’m not going to mince words, with 6 light modes and 2 switches — the user interface can be somewhat complicated. That said, Olight did a good job making the UI intuitive. It only took a few times running through all the modes to become a Warrior Mini 2 master. To make things easier for you, here are some tables to break down the user interface:

Side Switch

Initial State	Action	Outcome
Off	Press Side Switch	On (Last Mode from Memory)
On	Press Side Switch	Off
Off	Long-Press Side Switch > 1 Second	Moon Mode
On/Off	Double-Press Side Switch	Turbo Mode
Turbo	Double-Press Side Switch	Last Mode from Memory
On/Off	Triple-Press Side Switch	Strobe
On	Hold Side Switch	Cycle Low – Medium – High Modes
Off	Long-Press Side Switch > 2 Seconds	Lockout Mode
Lockout	Long-Press Side Switch > 1 Second	Unlock to Moon Mode
Lockout	Press Side Switch	Off (Red Indicator on for 2 seconds)

There are two configurations for the tail switch. Configuration 1 is default and Configuration 2 provides more tactical light modes. To switch from Configuration 1 to Configuration 2 — Hard-press and hold the tail switch. Then press the side switch and you should see the light go from Turbo into strobe mode. Release the tail switch and you are in Configuration 2. Repeat the process to return to Configuration 1. Here is the user interface for each configuration:

Tail Switch: Configuration 1

Initial State	Action	Outcome
Off	Half-Press Tail Switch	Medium Mode
On	Half-Press Tail Switch	Off
Off	Hold Half-Press Tail Switch	Medium Mode (Momentary)
Off	Hard-Press Tail Switch	Turbo Mode
On	Hard-Press Tail Switch	Off
Off	Hold Hard-Press Tail Switch	Turbo Mode (Momentary)

Tail Switch: Configuration 2

Initial State	Action	Outcome
Off	Hold Half-Press Tail Switch	Turbo Mode (Momentary)
Off	Hold Hard-Press Tail Switch	Strobe Mode (Momentary)

Note: Some options are limited if the proximity sensor is activated. You will not be able to cycle through the low, medium, and high modes by holding the side switch. You will not be able to change the tail switch configurations. Again, these only hold true if the proximity sensor is activated.

What’s Not to Like?

Proprietary Battery

It’s not a deal-breaker, but the Warrior Mini 2 does run on a proprietary 18650 Olight battery. These batteries are readily available from Olight and will cost about double of a regular 18650. It’s honestly not a huge deal for me. The likelihood that I’ll need a new battery before getting newly released Olights is slim to none. Some people like getting the latest and greatest phone every year, I prefer to use my phone until it explodes and get the latest EDC gear.

Magnetic Tail

Another small issue I have with the Warrior Mini 2 is with the magnetic tail. While the light is able to hang vertically on a magnetic surface, it’s not strong enough to hold itself at any other angle. It would have been a bigger deal if I was still driving my 2001 Land Rover Discovery II. I’ve spent a lot of time under that hood. Then again, I still have the hat clip option.

Final Thoughts

An EDC flashlight is one of those things that you never think you need until you do. This is especially true in the dark winter months. I’ve been able to use the Warrior Mini 2 for the past several months and I am deeply impressed. From the magnetic charging to the proximity sensor, the Warrior Mini 2 is one of the most technologically advanced flashlights I’ve used to date. Not only that, I think I’ve proven how tough this light can be. I am fully confident that the Warrior Mini 2 can handle the rigors of EDC. Needless to say, but I highly recommend the Olight Warrior Mini 2 for all your illumination needs. 

Don’t forget to use the code “RECOIL10” to recoil 10% back into your wallet on all Olight products.

Technical Specifications

Shameless Plug and Disclosure

Thanks for reading! If you found this article interesting and helpful, please consider signing up for my newsletter! That way you won’t miss out on any new content coming out. I cross my heart and promise that I won’t spam your inbox. Also, please consider using any of the affiliate links below to support my work. I’d like to keep Toil + Recoil ad-free to give you the best experience possible. Olight provided the Warrior Mini 2 for review. As stated in my full disclosure, this in no way impacts my opinions and review of the Warrior Mini 2. Thanks again and have a great week!

Olight Warrior Mini 2 EDC Tactical Light