[Review] Olight M2T ... 1,200 lumen + momentary turbo/strobe

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Hi All, Olight sent me the M2T to test out and I wanted to share my thoughts and test info with you.

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The new M2T, a spin-off of the popular M2R, features a feather trigger dual-stage tail switch and an updated UI based on user feedback, and a more budget friendly price point. Say hello to the M2T!

Link to manufacture product page: https://www.olightstore.com/olight-m2t-warrior

OVERVIEW

I’m happy to see many refinements of the M2T over the M2R, and many of them are geared towards a tactical application. The most significant change is the removal of the rechargeable tail switch, and the placement of a very wide, super sensitive, and very quiet tail switch which I find very tactile and accessible. The UI has also been modified as the latching strobe option has been done away with so there is no longer any confusing profile switching as before. Additionally, a double click of the side switch now puts the light into turbo, whereas with the M2R, a double click went to very high and a follow-up double click put the light into turbo. They have chosen to lower the lumens a tad in favor for longer runtimes, more evidence that they are making this light for a purpose and not just lumens.

QUICK SPECS

INCLUDED

  • Olight M2T flashlight x 1
  • Double direction pocket clip x 1
  • Battery magazine x 1
  • 2 x CR123A batteries
  • Lanyard x 1
  • Holster x 1
  • User manual x 1 (pdf)

OPTIONS

There was a neutral white version of the M2R but I haven’t seen it yet for the M2T.

PRICE

Current price is about $70 USD (buy link at the very end of the review)

LOOK & FEEL

OUTSIDE

The light has a very unique ribbed knurling style, similar to the previous M2T, H1, H1R and H2R, which is overall very smooth and allows for free rotation but makes it harder to slip out of your hand. I’m very happy to see the tail cap has the same knurling as the H2R does which makes it very easy to hold tactically and to remove the battery or setting the light in lockout.

I love the two-button operation and that they have different purposes; the side switch accessing all modes and the tail switch only accessing turbo and strobe.

The tail switch is very wide and has a low profile which very much improves accessibility and speed of use. The switch is also very quiet and perhaps related is that around the switch there seems to always be a little bit of lube.

The body has some some subtle anti-roll knurling. I’m also happy to see that the cooling fins that are on the M2R have been smoothed over so over all there isn’t any sharp or scratchy edges (besides the slightly crenelated bezel).

INSIDE

The light is easy to open, and there are gold/brass contacts at both ends. The body tube has a second ring for the second switch channel which beefs up the heft and durability of the light. The threads are square cut and well lubed. Overall, my only thought is that I could imagine that someone who does use this light for hand combat may like the tail cap to be a little bit tighter.

ACCESSORIES

Overall, the included holster grips the light securely but not to the same premium quality as the M2R’s. The main flap that holds the light into the holster uses hook and loop closures so very noisy if you are really in a tactical situation. The holster has 2 attachment options, a plastic D-ring, or a hook and loop closure that can attached to a 2-inch belt. One neat feature is that the bottom and top of the holster have 1/4 holes so if the light gets switched on, some light pass through and notify you.

The pocket clip is the two-way style that is used by the M2R and many other Olights. Overall, it has great function but it is very uncomfortable to take off of a light as you have to get your fingers pinched to do so, below is a pic of the clip on a M2R.

OPTICS

LED SPECS

CREE XHP35 HD CW

BEAM PROFILE

Olight does not advertise the angle of main LED but from what I’ve collected it seems to be a 60 total degrees spill with a 20 total degree spot.

The first rectangular graph is cut across the beam and helps a bit better to see what angle the spill starts at as usually it is quite a bit dimmer then the center. It’s quite possible that a very low lumen outer spill might not register using these methods. The percentage is a relative comparison to the brightest light recorded (generally, in the center).

The second, polar graph, is a simulation of the light along the beam.

Currently, these readings are strictly sensor recorded, and are not adjusted based on human perception of light but may be an interesting idea for the future.

TINT

The M2T is a fair bit cooler than the neutral white of the Nichia 219B on the right (in the Nitecore MT06MD penlight)

OUTPUT LEVELS

I’m pretty easy to please for output levels, but it’s easy to be satisfied when there are a total of 5. Below is a night shot video of me going through all the output modes. Below that, there are stills of all the primary modes.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/15UL2Ky9CcM?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent

Below is the light going through all the brightness modes.

OUTDOOR BEAMSHOTS

All the pictures below are taken with the light in TURBO.

POWER

BATTERY

Two lithium CR123As with a plastic insert are included, which is nice but not the same as a rechargeable 18650. Overall, I would have preferred a cheap 18650 but CR123As is better than nothing.

INDICATORS

The only time the indicator is used is if you are trying to turn on the light in lockout mode, the red light will briefly turn on; the second is if, while the light is on, a low battery indication will display but there is not much intelligence to it, no true battery voltage read-out.

CHARGING

This light does not have any built-in charging system like the M2R does. The tail cap of the M2R does not fit onto the M2T so they are not interchangeable.

PERFORMANCE

NOTES ON METHODS

I measured the light output in relative LUX and I have not spent time yet to calibrated for lumens or factored % of max output. The charts I’ve provided, while are literally quantitative, I suggest using as a qualitative reference for how the output may behave over time; typically lights aren’t left on this long and the max output can be reset. It’s worth to note that the runtime table provided by Nitecore states, “Runtime for TURBO [and] HIGH is calculated based on theoretical arithmetic.” so there isn’t physically reproducible in my tests.

PWM check using a 50 millisecond test period with a sampling rate of 3,000 times per second. For special modes I use a 150 millisecond test with sample rate of x.

Temperature measurement condition is at room temp and currently no fan cooling.

I am still very new at doing these types of measurements so I am no authority on on this subject, but please let me know if things don’t look right or you see anything that I could do to improve for next time.

BATTERIES USED FOR TEST

The below battery was either provided or recommended by the manufacturer. Make sure that you carefully research any cell you are considering using before purchasing.

  • Brand: Olight
  • Model: ORB-186S35
  • Positive Contact: button-top
  • PCB: protection circuit
  • Voltage: 3.6
  • Capacity: 3500 mAh
  • Current: 10A (MAX Continuous)

RUNTIMES

The light runs for about 2h 55m starting in turbo mode. Unfortunately, to measure the length of the initial turbo peak, I had to put my test setup into a high output mode which introduces some noise into the data.

PWM CHECK

There appears to be no significant PWM on any constant mode. For comparison, the second graph shows PWM varying from 0 to 120 lx on the LOW mode on the Nitecore R25 flashlight.

STROBES

I measured the strobe frequency to be about 12hz which is a little slower than most. Olight’s website advertises the light to be 13hz so that’s reasonably close with my limited sampling.

TEMPERATURE

A max body temp of 115.3°F was observed for TURBO, measured at the on the outside body of the light near the led.

USER INTERFACE

I’m liking this UI a lot! The momentary turbo is really cool. I’m glad there are shortcuts to the lowest and highest modes. Initially I heard that the tail switch on the M2T was a 3-stage switch but it is actually a 2-stage switch, which means you have 4 combinations of presses but they only utilized 3 so in their minds that may have made sense.

Some comments:

  • If you turned on the light into a primary mode and then use the tail switch for pretty much anything, when the action is complete, the light will turn off. I think I would have liked the light go back to the last saved primary mode you were in.
  • Happy to see that the double click of the side switch goes right to turbo instead of very high like the M2R did.
  • The light has both physical and electronic lockout. For physical lockout you unscrew the cap a quarter turn and done. Plus if you electronically lockout the light but then loosen then tighten the tail cap the electronic lockout gets automatically unlocked. If there is going to be both, the electronic lockout should be more of a added security measure to the physical lock out.
  • When unlocking from electronic lockout, the light will come on into ultra low but does not continue to cycle even though you are still holding down the button; normal expectation would be it would continue cycling.
  • Pressing and holding both side switch and tail switch is not utilized, perhaps a battery indicator function would be nice.

COMPARISONS

Of course this light is very similar to the previous M2R minus the built in charging but with a new UI and tail cap.

CONCLUSIONS

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Wide and sensitive 2-stage tail switch
  • UI is pretty straight forward
  • Dedicated momentary turbo / strobe tail switch operations
  • Battery diagram on the inside and outside of the battery tube helps with orientation, amazing attention to detail!
  • Very useful and strong two-way belt clip

COMMENTS

  • There is no usable battery indicator; the red led in the side-switch will only notify you if you have 10% battery remaining. Would have liked it to always check when the tail cap is loosened and then tightened.
  • Has electronic lockout when physical lockout is already my preferred method. Perhaps electronic lockout could have been an extra layer of protection such that when you tightened the tail cap back on you would afterward hold down the side-switch to completely unlock.
  • Lumen output is a little lower than expected for XHP 35 but this results in longer runtimes which some may prefer
  • Comes with primary 2XCR123A’s not a rechargeable 18650
  • The lanyard is a bit short for me
  • Tail cap could be a little tighter, similar to the M2R

PURCHASE

The current price for the light is about $70 USD check out the link to Olight Store below

Link: https://www.olightstore.com/olight-m2t-warrior

NOTES

Disclaimers:

  • CivilGear Reviews received this product for testing and providing an honest review.
  • CivilGear Reviews was not otherwise paid for writing this review.

Old thread but. .....

Can I use 2x16340 or 2x18350 in this light?

Yes … I carry this fine light daily and it will run just fine on 2 X 16340 and 2 X 18350 … :wink:

Thank you.

Haven’t you burn the driver with 2 x 18350s? :o
According to specs, it can work with CR123a (3V) or 1 x 18650 (3.7V), but nothing mentions 2 x 18350s (3.7V + 3.7V)…´
Intrigued now :neutral_face:

I refer to this review as well which mentions the ability to run 2 x 16340 and 2 x 18350.

  • Other acceptable batteries would be those that come in pairs; 2 – CR123’s, 2 – 16340’s, or 2 – 18350. But there’s really no reason to use any of these since the M2R comes with its own 18650 battery. And of course, the internal charging system only works with a one-battery configuration anyway.

This is an M2T not M2R.

2 x CR123a is 6 volt.

Thanks for specifying weklund!

However, I’m afraid that Lightsngear has said it wrongly! Please look the official site of this flashlight:
https://www.olightstore.com/m2t-warrior.html

So, unless there is something missing in the official page and also on the manuals, I think that using 2x16340s or 1 x18350s may damage the driver! These lights may operate at 6V (to use with 2 Cr123a), but I’m not sure if they go up to 8.4V !!

Yes, but 2x16340 is 8.4V!
Cr123a = 3V - Driver may work up to 6V
16340 (RCR123a) = 3.7V (4.2V when full) = Driver would have to work up to 8.4V

Well its not gone pop yet.

Are you using 16340s, 18350s or CR123a?

16340's first.

Then onto 18350 10 amp Shokli's.

Cool! If it doesn’t pop it is indeed capable of holding that Voltage :wink:
I have the M2R, but I won’t risk putting 2 x 3.7V inside :innocent: