Greeting, This review will be dedicated to a newest pistol light from Olight, the PL-MINI
Link to the light page on Olight website
* So, why another pistol light? Don’t we already have the PL-1 and PL-2?
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The new one is super compact. I think you can find a holster where you can put the gun with the light attached.
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Only one brightness mode
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Built in battery and charger, can be charged without detaching from he pistol
Well, with the compact size and the built in battery there were some less wanted features added. The warranty covers the light for only two years instead of the signature Olight five year warranty, and there is a giant stepdown - from 400 lumens to 60. But … there should not be a reason to you to reach the stepdown in this kind of light.
Shall we begin?
The light comes in a small carton box, which features the flashlight picture and features.
The flashlight comes with a user manual, a charging cable, and additional mounting kit, as the light can be fitted to both Glock and Piccatilly rails.
The user manual is among the shortest I ever saw, as there is only one operating mode. The buttons resemble a gun trigger, they move in only one direction, the click is silent.
There are two buttons one near the other that you can use in order to operate the light (I guess for left-handed folks), they work exactly the same, pressing them both at the same time is the same as pressing only one of them.
The light itself feels like a weapon. It’s heavy, the built itself is very solid. The craftsmanship is amazing, there are a lot of small parts that are very tightly aligned. Even if you don’t have a need for such a light, it’s a wonder to hold and feel in your hand.
The build is just exeptional. There are almost no plastic parts, only some on the buttons . The reflector is super-tiny, the lens is AR coated.
Regarding the charging - you might have noticed the “special” word on the charging cable. It’s not easy to understand what exectly does it mean in this case (it looks just like the usual Olight magnetic charging cable). So, there are two differences.
One - the magnet in the charger (and the flashlight) are working in opposite directions than the ones in other Olights. Meaning that you will need to apply force in order to use the old charging cable, it won’t stick to the light like it should.
The second difference (actually explaining the first one) is the charging current - the maximum with the “special” charger is 0.35A , while the old one provides up to 0.75 when used with this light. If you consider the battery capacity, which is only 260 mAh
it makes sense.
The light itself is a clear cool white, without any visual tints. There is a clear hotspot, and some spill as well. I will add beamshots later, meanwhile you can see the video from Olight comparing the new model with PL-1 and PL-2.
Again, if you will use it with a pistol you won’t need insane throw, and the light will definitely do.
Conclusion, final words
The light is a true light for the professional, no unnecessary features were added to the light, and the ones the light has work extremely well.
I think it is more practical and more “to the point” than the old models.
And the built in charger, and no need to think about chargers, and batteries is a definite advantage.