“REVIEW”: Olight M2R Warrior – XHP35 (NW version) - 1500 lumens – Dual Switch

Hi BLF!

This is my review of the Olight M2R Warrior flashlight! This light was won in a GAW from member OutdoorsIQ.

First of all, I have to thank Mr. and Mrs. OutdoorsIQ for the GAW and for sending this light to me from Australia!! The path was not the easiest in the middle due to Customs’ inspection and bureaucratic process, but the light is here and that’s what matters :smiley:

Despite there are already some reviews on the forum (this is not a “new” light), I’ll give my overview of it! :person_facepalming: Here are the other reviews:

vestureofblood: My First XHP35 High Density Light. Olight M2R Warrior Review.
Maiden666: REVIEW OLIGHT M2R WARRIOR
liquidretro: Olight M2R Warrior (NW) Review (Video available)
robo819: Review Olight M2R Warrior / / GIF's , Tested Lumens , Runtimes and more
Tahts-a-dats-ago: (Review) Olight M2R Warrior
Neil_Tennen: [Review] Olight M2R Warrior (1x18650, tactical, USB rechargable)
Virisenox_: Olight M2R Warrior - Dual switches, magnetic charging, XHP35 HD
maukka: Olight M2R NW+CW review with measurements (18650, XHP35, USB charging)
CivilGearReviews: [Review] Olight M2R NW ... 1.5k lumen + Charging + Boost Button
mattlward: Review Olight M2R in NW! Added beamshots & comments. Photo heavy!
viperxp: Olight M2R review(1500 lm, XHP35 HD CW+NW, 18650)
Budda: Review: Olight M2R (XHP35, Tactical, 1x18650, Rechargeable)

After this “short” list where you can find some information, my words about this flashlight! :wink:
NOTE: Despite this is a gifted flashlight, I will do an honest review of it, based on what I feel using it :face_with_monocle:


GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

Body Material: AL6061-T6 Aluminium alloy with MilSpec type III hard anodizing
Body Colour: Black + Blue bezel ring and
Emitter: XHP35 (NW)
Lens: AR Coated Glass
Reflector: OP (aluminium?)
Switch: Side switch + Tail Switch
Beam distance: 208 meters
Beam intensity: 10.880 candela
Waterproof: IPX8
Impact resistance: 1.5 meters
Reverse Polarity Protection: Yes
Batteries: 18650 (protected or unprotected)
Built-in charger: Yes, magnetic, in the tail, using proprietary cable

OTHERS
Low voltage warning: Unspecified

  • This light is also sold with Cold White emitter.

THE FLASHLIGHT: Packaging and Accessories

First, the package! A nice Olight branded cardbox. On the back it has a summary of some information about constitution and operation of the flashlight

Inside, a first “warning” on how to operate the Olight M2R Warrior, namely on how to change the tactical action of the tail switch!! And also to remind the user to remove the yellow plastic protection from the top of the battery before use, to turn the flashlight ON :wink:


THE FLASHLIGHT

Well…this is a review with a clear stating that: this flashlight is awesome!!! My point :wink:
First, the construction quality, immaculate in all aspects, from top to bottom, form, ergonomics, anodizing and the feel when touching/holding it!
Second, the way it works with 2 switches working independently, the different possibilities it gives when using it :wink:

https://i.imgur.com/TEESFa8.jpg[![](https://i.imgur.com/TEESFa8.jpg)](https://i.imgur.com/TEESFa8.jpg)

On the head we find the brand and model of the flashlight written in white!

There are also some fins/grooves to help improving heat dissipation (and for style :sunglasses: )!
The tube has rectangular knurling that improved gripping. None of these are aggressive and are actually quite soft, specially due to the awesome anodizing!
Anodizing is well done, more brilliant than matte; even when turning the pocket clip it doesn’t get scratched.

The bezel (not necessarily tactical but with some grooves!!!) can be removed and under it we find a blue “kind of” o-ring. But this is not an ordinary o-ring, it hold the lens on its edges, too. I didn’t took it out to avoid damage. However, unlike the S1R Baton, it is probably easier to mod this emitter than in other Olight flashlights.

There is a white gasket around the emitter and the LED is well centred. The Lens is AR coated glass!

It is easy to identify the side switch button due to the rubber button with a small tip on the top. The button will be RED when the flashlight is locked (see USER INTERFACE).
The “entrails” of this flashlight are not easily accessible, as the tube and head are glued. Therefore, we can only see the bottom of the driver, namely the disc with “-“ engraved and the spring. It can also be seen that there is a inner tube to – I presume – make the charging process happen!

And downwards we reach the Tail! The tail button is metal, it is surrounded but a “magnetic ring” through which the charging cable will couple the flashlight.
The Tail switch has 2 levels, as indicate in the images engraved in the tailcap.
A soft press (level 1) activates momentary Turbo; a deeper press will activate momentary Strobe or continuous Turbo, depending on the chosen configuration (see USER INTERFACE).

The magnetic ring holds well when the light is placed vertically, but not so much when it is on the horizontal position. It has too much weight when the battery is inside and will no hold so well.
Outside, there is a lanyard whole. C’mon, you know what for :wink: :stuck_out_tongue:

More than that, the threads are square and well lubricated and there is a sealing o-ring on the end of the battery tube (that enters the tail).
Inside the tail cap, there seems to be a disc with “+” engraved to mention the battery polarity! I didn’t dismantle this to avoid…you know what :stuck_out_tongue:
The battery was covered with a yellow plastic to protect from drain during the trip.


ACESSORIES

So, what we got as accessories? Well: 1 Olight 3.6V 3500mAh 18650 High Discharge Current battery; 1 Pocket clip (already attached to the M2R Warrior); 1 Lanyard; 1 Holster; 1 Magnetic Charging Cable (Olight proprietary cable). There is also a User Manual and an Olight brochure!

Starting by the end! (click to see larger images if needed)
The User Manual has information in 18 languages (curiously, or not, Portuguese is not included), and has the information about specifications, operation and functioning of the Olight M2R Warrior!

The Lanyard has good quality, is adjustable and has a thin metal piece to help putting it into the lanyard whole (sorry, I don’t know the specific name of it :person_facepalming: )

The Holster is quite good, allows the flashlight to fit correctly (tail down, head up fits better!), and has the possibility to be put on a belt or hanged in a backpack!
It does not get open easily, as the buckle is protected with a piece of tissue over it! So, it does give security that the flashlight will not get lost for sure, but it is not what I would call a “tactical holster” (like those from Convoy). Though, it has very high quality :wink:

And the Magnetic Charging Cable is similar to the ones used in other flashlights of the Olight S series, at least on the S1R Baton. The cable is about 52cm long, has a USB tip that can be plugged into a USB port (power bank, computer, adapter, a powerbank flashlight…) and the other tip is the magnetic round tip that sticks to the bottom of the flashlight.

When charging, the indicator is RED, and when it is not charging (due to incorrect placement of batteries inside the flashlight or other) or has already charged the battery, it turns GREEN!

For the Pocket Clip …Well, I like it a lot! If we analyse correctly, we can use it in 4 different positions! It is a 2-way clip and can also be reversed as there are 2 grooves on the flashlight, one near the head, and other near the tail to allow using it as deep pocket clip.

I will not go much through the Olight 3.6V 3500mAh 18650 High Discharge Current battery that is included.
One thing that must be mentioned, though, is that the battery used must be 6A or more to hold the 1500 lumens on Turbo. Left to Right:
Olight M2R Warrior > Olight 18650 Protected Battery > Wuben 18650 Protected Battery > Sony US18650VTC6 Unprotected Battery


FLASHLIGHT FUNCTIONING

First, I have to say that the modes of this flashlight are well spaced and adequate to different levels of need in terms of luminosity!
More than that the operation is as simple as can be! Now I know what many people say about “Olight’s UI” :open_mouth:

USER INTERFACE
As mentioned above, this flashlight has 2 swicthes. It also has 2 “tactical” options! Let’s see how they and are configured :wink:

TACTICAL OPTIONS
Option 1: Momentary Turbo 2 + Momentary Strobe
Option 2: Momentary Turbo 1 + Continuous ON Turbo 1

To configure any of these option and to alternate between both, deep press the tail switch and click the side switch. If you are in Option 1 it will turn to Option 2 and vice-versa.

Olight also points another method (less practical and less effective and more…weird) to get to Option 1 : press and hold side switch, cycle 3 times through the regular modes (Low > Medium 1 > Medium 2 > High) it will reach Strobe and Turbo 2, and releasing the side switch choses the setting we want (Strobe or Turbo). Yeah, weird :person_facepalming:

—————/////—————

REGULAR MODES = Side switch - Operation is similar to other Olight S series flashlights

FROM OFF:
Single click to turn ON in the last used mode (Except Turbo 1 , Turbo 2 and Strobe) (*)
Short press (1.5s) to turn ON in Moonlight
Double click to activate High. When in High, double click to activate Turbo 2
Triple click to activate Strobe
Long press (3 seconds) to lock/unlock the flashlight

FROM ON:
Single click to turn OFF
Short/long press to advance in modes, from Moonlight or Low to High ()
Double click to activate High. When in High, double click to activate Turbo 2
Triple click to activate Strobe
Long press to lock/unlock the flashlight

—————/////—————

TACTICAL MODES = Tail switch
Depending on the Option configured (see above) we get:
Option 1:
Half press: Momentary Turbo 2 (1500 lumens)
Deep press: Momentary Strobe

Option 2:
Half press: Momentary Turbo 1 (1000 lumens)
Deep press: Continuous ON Turbo 1 (1000 lumens)

SUMMARY:
This is the way flashlight operates and it is quite intuitive once you get to use it some time! Summing it up we have: quick access to Moonlight; quick access to High; quick access to Strobe, quick access to Turbo 1 or Turbo 2; and…quick access to any other mode depending on the one in which the flashlight was turned OFF. :wink:


OUTPUT vs RUNTIME

Here are the Modes in Output & Runtime
Moonlight = 1 lumen >>>>> 25 days
Low = 15 lumens >>>>> 70 h
Medium 1 = 60 lumens >>>>> 20 h
Medium 2 = 250 lumens >>>>> 6h15m
High = 700 lumens >>>>> 2 h
Turbo 1 = 1000 lumens => 700 lumens >>>>> 3m => 120m
Turbo 2 = 1500 lumens => 700 lumens >>>>> 3m => 120m (*)

(*) Turbo 2 is active when the tactical Turbo + Strobe (Option 1) is activated and when we double click from High!
When shifting from Option 1 to Option 2, it is slightly noticeable the lumen drop on Turbo output levels.

BTW, it is mentioned that the Moonlight level is 1 lumen, however, when compared to supposed the 0.5 lumens of the S1R Baton, the output matches at naked eye! So…maybe this one is correct and the S1R Baton is wrong or…the other way around :stuck_out_tongue:


TINT & BEAMSHOTS & OTHERS
Time for some indoor and outdoor beamshots!
Damn, this flashlight on Turbo is a beast! I didn’t had the possibility to take many pictures in different distances, but I guess you’ll see it easily reaches a great distance, even not being a thrower! Powerhouse in a relatively small flashlight!

But first:no PWM! Clean, all of them :wink:

These are some beamshots to show how the tint shift decreases with the higher outputs. It is not completely liner, but I guess that you will be able to see that the “shifting” pattern is different the higher the output is!

These photos were taken in total dark room @ 1.5m away from the wall .

Olight M2R Warrior (XHP35 HD NW; OP reflector) vs Olight S1R Baton (XML2 U2-1A NW; TIR)

Olight M2R Warrior (XHP35 HD NW, OP reflector) vs Wuben TO46R (XPG3 NW High CRI; triple TIR + non adhesive diffuser)

Olight M2R Warrior (XHP35 HD NW) vs Amutorch AX1 (XPL-HD NW, SMO reflector)
(Please note that the Olight has a lens with AR coating, while the Amutorch doesn’t. Both LEDs seem to have the same or similar tint but the lenses provoke slight shifts towards green on the Olight).

@ 16m >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> @20m

@ 50m >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> @ 55m

@ 65m (house) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> @ 76m

Some indoor photos, from Moonlight to Turbo 2 (with double click after High)!

Last but not least, some flashlight comparison :wink:
Left to Right
Olight M2R Warrior > Olight S1R Baton

Left to Right:
Zanflare F1 > Olight M2R Warrior > Amutorch AX1 > Wuben TO46R > Convoy S2+ > Emisar D4


OVERALL APPRECIATION
Well, I normally do a balance of What I liked the most, What I think that can be improved, and Some “Neutral” aspects!

This time I will only mention 2 things that could be improved but that do not harm my “evaluation” of the flashlight nor its value.

These are the points:
> Tint shift: if there was a way to erase the slight tint shift on this light, it would be TOP!! Maybe XHP35 produces that yellow “hallo”, and AR coating accentuates it! Still, it doesn’t bother me, as long as I’m not hunting white walls :stuck_out_tongue: (not white wales :D)

> The magnetic power: specially when used on the horizontal, it becomes “less powerful” because the flashlight gets “heavier”! Well you know that it’s not this, but yeah, the length and weight of the flashlight makes it not hang on well when “sticked” in a fridge or other place!

Other than this, this flashlight is very well made, powerful, easy to use, versatile, and I WANT IT IN 14500 and 18350 VERSION!!!
CAN YOU READ ME OLIGHT? :wink:

Feel free to leave comments, questions! Other review threads are probably more complete than this one, but…a point of view is… a point of view!

Best regards :sunglasses: