Review: Olight Odin Flashlight
The Olight Odin Flashlight is a rail-mounted weapon light that is designed specifically to mount on any rifle and most commonly an AR-15.
Let me start by saying it is bright. Very bright in fact, it produces 2000 lumens of light with a 300-meter throw and has an 8-hour run time. It comes with a very versatile mount and a tail cap that has a pressure pad on it. Also, it is rechargeable.
This article is going to dive into all of the details on the Olight Odin and hopefully help you decide if this is the right weapon light for you.
Philosophy of use
Real quick let me explain the benefits of having a flashlight mounted on your rifle and if you don’t have one already, let me tell you why it is necessary and should be one of the first upgrades or accessories you add to your rifle.
Being able to identify your target is huge. You must be able to properly see what you are about to shoot and you do not want to hurt anyone that you don’t mean to.
Most self-defense shootings occur at night and under the cover of darkness.
If you are asleep and hear a bump in the middle of the night, the first thing you will probably do is grab your gun and go investigate.
If you are still half asleep and are frightened you don’t want to start blasting at anything you perceive as a threat. You need a weapon light to identify what it is you are about to shoot.
Another reason I recommend having a weapon light is blinding power. Having a very powerful flashlight with a lot of lumens can disorient any bad guys and temporarily blind them giving you a slight advantage.
In any self-defense situation, you don’t want it to be a fair fight and want to use anything and everything at your disposal to give yourself the upper hand.
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Olight Odin Specifications
Some Key Features
- Rotate-to-lock sliding mount for secure attachment
- Revolutionary push-to-lock remote switch for tight and secure attachment
- Max 2,000-lumen output, 300-meter throw, and 8-hour runtime
- Integrated magnetic charging tail switch with compatible locking remote switch
Here is a table of all of the Technical Data of the Olight Odin.
| GENERAL DATA | |
| Beam Distance (ft) | 984 |
| Beam Distance (m) | 300 |
| Max. Performance (lumens) | 2,000 |
| Charge Type | Magnetic USB Charging Cable |
| Compatible Batteries | Customized 5000mAh 3.6V 21700 Rechargeable Lithium Battery (Included) |
| Light Intensity (candela) | 22,500 |
| Lens / Reflector Type | PMMA Optical Lens |
| Mode Operation | Magnetic Tail Switch |
| Form/Size Factor | Medium Size (Permanent Marker) |
| Series | Series PL |
| Unique Characteristics |
|
| LIGHTING LEVELS | |
| LEVEL 1 (lumens) | 2,000 ~ 1,000 ~ 760 ~ 300 |
| Run-time LEVEL 1 |
|
| LEVEL 2 (lumens) | 300 |
| Run-time LEVEL 2 |
|
| Strobe | No |
| SOS / BEACON | No |
| TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS | |
| Waterproof | IPX8 |
| Weight (g / oz) | 216.0 / 7.62 (Including Battery) |
| Length (mm / in) | 136.5 / 5.37 |
| Head Diameter(mm / in) | 29.0 / 1.14 |
| Body Diameter(mm / in) | 26.6 / 1.05 |
| LED | High-Performance Neutral White LED |
| Packaging | Carton Box |
| Use | Self-defense, Law enforcement, Tactical Use |
| Package Contents |
|
Functionality and Ergonomics
The function of the light is very simple and not complicated at all. Some other weapon lights can be programmed for different brightnesses on the first press, the Odin just keeps it simple.
There is no strobe setting on this light either but I don’t believe having a strobe setting is necessary on a rifle light.
The included tail cap pressure pad is a very innovative design that uses a magnet to connect to the back of the light.
There is a simple locking feature that keeps it attached to the main body of the flashlight.
Click here to check the current prices of the Olight Odin Flashlight
Output and runtime
The Olight Odin has an impressive output of 2000 lumens on the highest output setting. This is the brightest dedicated rifle flashlight on the market.
It has a 5000 milliamp rechargeable battery which allows it to reach such a high output of lumens.
On the high setting, it will provide light for 2 minutes and on the low setting, it will provide light for 8 hours.
After the 2 minutes on the highest output, it will drop down to 1000 lumens. Then it will provide 1000 lumens for 9 minutes, then drop to 760 lumens for 125 minutes. After that, it will drop to 300 lumens for 24 minutes.
Activation and ease of use
There are 2 brightness settings on the Odin. When using the pressure pad it will only use the highest setting. If you don’t use the pressure pad you can use both of the brightness settings by just pressing the button on the tail of the flashlight.
A soft press will activate the low setting giving you 300 lumens and a harder press will give you the max brightness with 2000 lumens.
Cycling through both settings is easy and very intuitive.
When the pressure pad is attached it can be used as a “constant on” or a “momentary-on switch”
A quick press on the pressure pad will activate the constant on and if you hold the pressure pad it will be momentarily on. It will turn off when the button is released.
Olight Odin Mounting Options
The Olight Odin flashlight has a very impressive mount that is used to attach it to your rifle. It has a quick-release function built into the design and is very practical.
It has a rotating lock that can quickly be adjusted to remove the light and it can be mounted in any orientation that fits your personal preference.
Even the pressure pad that comes included with the Olight Odin has a simple mount that comes included as well.
It will attach to any 1913 style Picatinny rail and they also include some small zip ties for cable management.
The mounting options are endless and the Olight Odin rides very close to the rail which I like. This will prevent it from getting snagged on anything and just keep a slimmer overall profile on your AR-15 or any other rifle.
Compatability
The Olight Odin has the same style of mounting options as the Surefire Scout series lights. This means that it will directly attach to any mount that is made for a Surefire Scout like the very popular (and expensive) M600
There are a lot of different companies that make these mounts too so it should be easy to find them, and chances are you might already have some.
This is a nice little feature of this flashlight and lets me know that a lot of thought went into designing this weapon light.
Click here to check the current prices of the Olight Odin Flashlight
Charging Ability
One of the biggest frustrations about having a good flashlight mounted on your AR-15 or any other rifle is the price of the batteries.
All of these high output/high lumen flashlights require very powerful batteries. Most of the lights similar to this one run on CR123 batteries and they cost about three dollars apiece.
Because of the rechargeable feature on the Olight Odin, you won’t have to pay for extra batteries.
The charger will work when it is pulled into any USB port. It attaches to the flashlight with a magnetic cap and it makes charging very quick and easy. The Olight Odin doesn’t even need to be removed from the mount to be recharged.
However, if you do want to remove the light, it can be don’t easily without tools with the mount that is included.
If you own any other rechargeable flashlights made Olight the chargers are the same and will work on them too.
Olight Odin Overall Design
The Olight Odin has a metal tail switch with small bumps to help prevent the light from getting activated by mistake.
It has a hard-anodized finish and is the perfect size to be used as a handheld flashlight as well.
This is a well-designed weapon light and it seems like a lot of thought went into it.
My Only Concern
The magnetic tail cap is great for recharging the light quickly and is compatible with other flashlights made by Olight. The Locking device on the tail cap hasn’t failed me and it hasn’t come unattached when I didn’t want it to.
Under heavy and extreme use I would be slightly concerned if the magnetic tail cap locking device came off.
This hasn’t happened during my testing but it seems like it would be the most likely thing to fail if anything would.
That being said, I am still a big fan of this flashlight and believe it is worth every penny.
Click here to check the current prices of the Olight Odin Flashlight
Olight Odin Affordability
The Olight Odin is one of the most affordable weapon lights on the market. Especially when you look at what you are getting and what is included.
The fact that it comes with the pressure pad included is awesome. All other manufacturers will require you to purchase this separately and the one from Surefire will cost almost as much as the Olight Odin.
Will all of the features you get at the price point that Olight is selling these for you really can’t go wrong.
Olight is always running good deals on this light too and you can probably pick one up for a discounted price. Check the link below to see if they are running any specials or deals currently.
Final Thoughts
The Olight Odin is a very impressive weapon light. Even if you plan on using it as a handheld flashlight it will be a good choice.
If you don’t want to overpay for a flashlight for your rifle this is one that I recommend.
It is an “all in one” package too. You don’t have to purchase the pressure pad, mounts, or any consumable batteries with the Olight Odin.
Click here to check the current prices of the Olight Odin Flashlight
