Received a review sample of Olight Warrior X Pro at the same time with the Olight i5T EOS (a single AA, 2 modes EDC flashlight). Due to my experience with the older Warrior X (predecessor of Warrior X Pro, released in December 2018), I've decided to delay posting my review and let the Warrior X Pro undergo a 2 months battery self-discharge testing and am glad it does not inherit the issue I faced with the older Warrior X.
Let's peak at the specifications of this Warrior X Pro in comparison to the older Warrior X:
Contents of the Warrior X Pro package
Putting Warrior X Pro in the carry holster...
the flap is magnet based as they sew magnet inside, pretty sturdy.
bottom of the holster has a hole so that when you carry Warrior X Pro heads down, you can tell if the light is ON or not.
the holster allows you a couple of ways to belt or bag carry.
MCC3, the new adaptive Magnetic Charging Cable that was release last year for faster charging of Olight Magnetic Charging models (for those that supports it e.g. M2R Pro).
We can use this MCC3 on smaller models too.
However, I'm still not a fan of this MCC3 charger being prematurely turning Green when charging reach ~90%. I like my light to be fully charge before I take it outside. Also, it creates confusion for some users because they might sees it as fully charged, but at the moment the charging light turns Green, the MCC3 is still charging the battery at a low charge rate (~0.4A and gradually lower) and it takes quite a while for it to reach 4.19V - 4.20V (fully charged). From the following picture, you can see that the MCC3 is still putting in charge even though the charging light turns Green.
...and the same happen to Olight Perun too... eventhough the charging LED turns Green, it is still charging. You can check this yourself if you have one of those USB charge meter.
following are a couple of comparisons with the older Warrior X (Warrior X Pro is always on the left in the pictures):
Warrior X Pro length is longer.
the reflector of Warrior X Pro appears to be slightly deeper, that may be the reason the candela of Warrior X Pro is quoted by Olight as 90,000cd while the older Warrior X is 78,400cd. However, with my review sample and in my outdoor test, it doesn't really makes a different as my tested output between the two is only different by 130 lumens (2110 lumens vs 1980 lumens) instead of 250 lumens (on paper, 2250 lumens vs 2000 lumens). It might be the Warrior X Pro review sample that I received is an under-performer (this is possible as Olight is a mass flashlght manufacturer and there are variant in LEDs and driver and testing individual light output from the factory is nearly impossible).
the tint of Warrior X Pro (left) is similar to that of Warrior X. Output is slightly higher on the Warrior X Pro. I would need to look for it to really notice the difference, else, the only different I notice is Warrior X Pro runs really hot in High mode compare to Warrior X. Another noticeable different is Olight decided to do away with Strobe mode on this new Warrior X Pro, and thus, doing away with 2 groups of modes like the older Warrior X.
the tail end of Warrior X Pro (left) compare that of Warrior X. This new design is from M2R Pro but with slight improvement in push button activations. It require a little less travel to activate on Warrior X Pro. The 3 "legs" is to help in tail-standing.
UI is a simple gas-pedal push button interface, you push (more like click) slightly for Low and push deep for High. It also support tactical momentary on with how long "you hold" the push, if you hold the button to switch ON for anything more than a second you will get momentary ON, meaning the light will turn OFF the moment you release the button.
body knurling on the new Warrior X Pro is better as Olight mill it deeper for better grip.
last but not least, the most significant change between Warrior X Pro and Warrior X is the battery system. Warrior X Pro is using 21700 5000mAh dual polarity battery (ORB-217C50) whereas the older Warrior X is using a high discharge 3000mAh battery (ORB-186S30) below:
which is a protected re-wrapped of Samsung 30Q.
as you can see from the picture above, I am not using the Olight 18650 battery now, instead I'm using the better (IMO) Sony VTC6 18650 battery (unprotected), as the original Olight battery developed rapid self discharge after a month+ of usage. Also, as I can charge the VTC6 inside Warrior X, I can continue to use the Magnetic Charging Cable (MCC 1A) that comes with Warrior X. This brings us to another different between Warrior X Pro vs Warrior X, Warrior X Pro must use the proprietary Dual Polarity 21700 battery, else, not only you can't charge using the MCC3 charging cable, you also cannot switch ON Warrior X Pro.
picture above shows that I cover the negative polarity contact with a piece of sticker and Warrior X Pro can no longer be switch ON.
another different is how we insert the battery, Warrior X Pro requires us to insert the battery possitive (button-side) facing the head, while Warrior X requires us to insert the battery button side facing the tailcap.
head contact inside the body.
now let us see how to switch to using the included tactical grip ring... first, remove the tailcap and slowly push the cigar-grip ring out from the tail end:
following picture shows the double o-rings after removing the cigar grip ring, you will then pull the pocket-clip away...
take note that some may not see double o-ring here, and if you do not see double o-ring, and you don't get a spare o-ring in your Warrior X Pro package, please ask from your Olight reseller.
after removing the clip...
You do not need to remove the o-ring like the user manual said in order to exchange the tactical grip ring, just be careful and don't use too much force to push the grip-ring back into place.
above picture shows how Warrior X Pro looks after changing to the Tactical Grip Ring.
Let's look at the measured output:
The usual disclaimer: I do not claim the above measured lumens as authoritative nor an indication of over/under-stating the number given by manufacturer. It's calibrated against some known light output (e.g. SureFire, Elzetta, etc.) so take it with a grain of salt and just as a relative reading.
Runtime on High mode:
...and the first 5 minutes runtime:
In my opinion, I think it's incorrect for Olight to quote the High mode runtime at 2 minutes when in actual usage Warrior X Pro could only sustain the High mode for 1.5 minutes and "gradually" stepping down.
and here is where the 21700 battery in Warrior X Pro makes a huge difference compare to Warrior X:
In conclusion, Warrior X Pro is a good tactical light release from Olight, I have use it to hunt down insects and deactivate house-fly in a "tactical manner"... it works wonder in those occasions. What I would like to see from Olight is to release Warrior X in true Cool White tint and if they decides to continue with Neutral White, at least choose a bin that are not "Greenish". Also, the beam throws far for its size and form factor as I have it to annoy some night creatures during this lockdown period.
