Preface
The Olight Perun Mini is the next generation version of the Olight H1R Nova model, just like the Olight Perun was the replacement of the Olight H2R Nova model.
Let’s check out the merits and demerits of this new generation Olight Perun Mini model.
Note: At the point of writing, the Olight Perun Mini comes in both Black and Orange (Limited Run). The model featured in this review is the Black version.
Packaging & First Impressions
This is what the light will come with as shown below.
- The threads and o-rings were lightly lubricated. Threads were smooth and clean (no gritty feeling).
- The head electronic switch requires a rather firm and deliberate press to activate and helps in preventing any unwanted activation of the light.
- The clip comes pre-installed from factory.
- Clip is not reversible. However, the dual-direction clip enables decent pocket carry with deep pocket carry options using either bezel up or down carry.
- Magnetic tail cap is able to bear the light’s weight when attached horizontally and vertically (upside down) to a flat ferrous metallic surface.
- Anodizing of the light is uniform without any missing specs, as expected from Olight.
- The provided lanyard comes with a useful lanyard attachment pin tool to help thread into the lanyard hole.
- The lanyard is able to support the full weight of the light and should hold up to the test of time.
- No holster and/or headband are included.
- The provided velcro Duty Patch should fit most dual-direction clip’s Olight flashlights with the exception of the I series (e.g. Olight I5T EOS and Olight I3T EOS).
- Battery compartment holds a AW 16340 battery with sufficient room for a slightly thicker battery width. Fatter 16340 batteries should be able to fit without issue as well.
- The provided proprietary 16340 battery (Olight ORB-16C05-10C) will not work in other flashlights (do not use other external chargers to recharge).
- Unlike the Olight Perun, the Perun Mini does not have the Proximity Sensor to detect if there is any obstruction nearby (approximately ~10mm) and automatically switch to LOW mode & return to prior mode once the obstruction is no longer present.
- Scanning the QR code with your phone/tablet on the box’s side would bring up the Olight Perun Mini’s product page.
Note:
- Before using the flashlight for the first time, remove the Insulation Film from the battery tube.
- Battery is inserted into the battery tube with the Positive end (+) in first.
Front:
Back:
Sides:
Top:
Box Contents:
Velcro Duty Patch:
Removing Insulating Film:
Quick Overview (Manufacturer Specifications)
- Body Material: Aluminium
- Body Color Option:
- Black
- Orange (Limited Run)
- Clip Material: Stainless Steel
- LED: Osram P9 (Cool White)
- Battery Format: 1 x 16340/RCR123A OR 1 x CR123A ONLY (Note: If using CR123A battery, restrict usage to the lower modes.)
- Output & Runtime (with included Olight 16340 3.7V/550mAh battery):
- “Moonlight” (2 lumens / 4days 12h)
- Low (15 lumens / 1day 1h)
- Mid (65 lumens / 6h)
- High (250 lumens / 1h 38min)
- Turbo (1000 lumens / 1min) → (250 lumens / 1h 25min)
- SOS (1000 lumens / 2h 20min)
- Max Beam Distance: 100m
- Beam intensity: 2,500cd
- Waterproofness: IPX-8 Standard (2m)
- Impact Resistance: 1.5m
- Dimension: 61.5mm (length) x 21mm (diameter)
- Weight: 52g (including batteries)
- Battery reverse polarity protection
- Accessories Included:
- 1*Olight IMR 16340 3.7V/550mAh battery (Olight ORB-16C05-10C)
- 1*Magnetic Charging Cable (MCC 1A)
- 1*Pocket Clip
- 1*Lanyard
- 1*Lanyard Attachment Pin Tool
- 1*Duty Patch (Velcro)
- Option Accessory:
- Perun Headband III – attached using the Duty Patch’s velcro (MSRP: ~$6)
- MSRP: ~$65 (Black) to ~$70 (Orange)
UI (User Interface)
UI for this light is good for Every Day Carry (EDC) as it is rather straightforward to use.
Switching ON and OFF is done by the head electronic switch on the light, so no momentary activation is possible.
Normal Operation
From OFF:
- 1 Click – Last brightness level (all modes except TURBO & SOS are memorized only) is activated.
- 2 Click – Direct access to TURBO; 1 Click to switch OFF or HOLD down to switch modes.
- 3 (or more) Click – Direct access to SOS; 1 Click to switch OFF or HOLD down to switch modes.
- HOLD (~1 sec) – Direct access to “MOONLIGHT”.
From ON:
- 1 Click – Light will switch OFF.
- 2 Click – Direct access to TURBO; 1 Click to switch OFF or HOLD down to switch modes.
- 3 (or more) Click – Direct access to SOS; 1 Click to switch OFF or HOLD down to switch modes.
- HOLD – Mode change (light cycles through LOW, MID & HIGH only; MOONLIGHT & TURBO is not part of the sequence).
Note:
- TURBO mode is memorized as HIGH mode.
- If memorized mode is HIGH mode, after 2 Clicks to enter TURBO mode – an additional 2 Clicks will return light to MID mode instead of previous mode (HIGH).
- There is 1 blinky mode for this light (SOS only) and no STROBE modes.
Timer Configuration
There are 2 types of Timers – Short (3 min) and Long (9 min). Light will switch OFF once the timer ends.
From ON:
- 2 Click & HOLD – 1 Blink indicates Short (3 min) timer is activated. Repeat 2 Click & HOLD to activate Long (9 min) timer – 2 Blinks.
Electronic Lockout
From OFF:
- HOLD (till “MOONLIGHT” is activated & deactivated) – LOCKOUT mode is enabled; HOLD (till “MOONLIGHT” is activated) – LOCKOUT is disabled.
When Electronic LOCKOUT mode is activated, any button presses will cause the MOMENTARY “MOONLIGHT” mode to be activated.
Form Factor
For flashlights that are intended to use on a daily basis (EDC) and for possibly a long period of time, form factor is extremely important.
These lights fit in a clenched small sized hand easily. Due to its small form factor and (lack thereof) weight, activating the head switch is easy even with large sized hands. The removable dual direction (2-way) clip cannot rotate in its groove.
The velcro Duty Patch works by inserting the Perun Mini’s pocket clip into the hole of the Duty Patch. This provides for a 60 degrees rotation that enables the Perun Mini to function like a headlamp. To add further utility to the Duty Patch that now has the Perun Mini inserted, try out some of the following to see which would best suit one’s usage/preference:
- Attach it to a cap/hat (that has a velcro patch)
- Attach it to a backpack/bag (that has a velcro patch)
- Attach it to any velcro patch
- Purchase the optional Olight headband accessory to attach it
The raised knurling makes the light extremely “grippy” (a trend that can be found on some of the newer Olight flashlights such as the Olight Perun, Olight Baton Pro, Olight S1R Baton II & Olight S2R Baton II), even with wet hands/gloves but not overly aggressive (i.e. still fabric and pockets-friendly).
Even with the lanyard attached, it is able to tail-stand perfectly without the slightest wobble.
Note: As mentioned earlier, if the right angle flashlight is intended to be used as a headlamp as well, it is recommended to purchase the optional headband. That said, it would be nice if Olight includes it as part of the included accessories (especially since it is meant to be the successor of the Olight H1R Nova).
Velcro Duty Patch:
Charging Process
With the provided Magnetic Charging Cable (MCC 1A), the battery was charging at ~0.84A.
The light is capable of operating on all modes when charging (at the expense of a slower charging rate). However, it is recommended to use “MOONLIGHT” or “LOW” only, to ensure that the battery does get charged.
Solid RED indicator on the TAIL part of the MCC Charger depicts charging in progress.
Solid GREEN indicator on the TAIL part of the MCC Charger depicts charging has completed.
Notes:
- The MCC 1A will charge the proprietary Olight battery only, it will not charge other brands’ 16340 /RCR123A batteries.
- Charging will not disable the Electronic Lockout mode.
Beam Style/Beamshots
For this light, the spill, corona and hotspot is somewhat predictable due to the TIR (Total Internal Reflection) Bead Lens optics. The LED is fully covered under the TIR optic. Hence, the beam has both soft flood and bit of “throw” for recognizing items in the up-close to near range distance.
The above beam profile is a rough interpretation of what is seen when white wall hunting.
The beam has a fairly wide circular hotspot with some slight corona and somewhat circular wide spill (most of the beam produced is focused into the hotspot). There are some beam artifacts in the beam when whitewall hunting but not visible in real world usage.
All of the beamshots taken below are done so with the following camera settings (“MOONLIGHT”: 2sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, LOW: 0.8sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, MID: 1/2sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, HIGH: 1/5sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB and TURBO: 1/13sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB).
Some pictures have been adjusted slightly to depict as close as to what is seen in real life. The distance of the light from the door is 4.6m.
Control shot:
“MOONLIGHT” (2 lumens):
LOW (15 lumens):
MID (65 lumens):
HIGH (250 lumens):
TURBO (1000 lumens):
Mode (Output) Spacing
Mode spacing appears to be progressively brighter to the eye and the modes are well spaced enough to be able to know which mode one is currently in. With that in mind, TLR tend to view mode spacing as battery life indicators (amount of runtime left) rather than the specific output (lumens).
We were rather surprised that Olight did away with a true MOONLIGHT mode of under 1 lumen in this updated flashlight/headlamp model. Even with the beaded TIR optics, the “MOONLIGHT” mode of 2 lumens is a tad too bright for bedtime night snack runs or with night-adjusted eyes, but is suited for other up-close tasks in day-to-day usage.
On a side note, the HIGH mode (250 lumens) is just about perfect to ensure the light can operate at a cooler temperature as well as have an increased runtime, especially for its form factor/size.
Tint & CRI
Olight did not disclose the tint (color temperature) and/or the CRI (Color Rendering Index) for the LEDs used in their light. For this light, a guesstimate would be in the 6000K and 70CRI ballpark.
However, there are tint shifts throughout the beam profile. The hotspot is a cool white tint whilst the corona possess a slight yellowish green tint; and the spill having a slight purple tint.
This is still slightly noticeable in real life usage.
Waterproofness
The light was subjected to warm water submersion, followed by cold water submersion and left under room temperature running water tap whilst running on TURBO.
No signs of water intrusion in the head, switch or body was seen.
Lockout Capability
Electronic lockout and mechanical lockout are possible when needed, like during transportation in a bag.
A quarter turn (anti-clockwise) of the tail portion of the light will enable Mechanical LOCKOUT.
For Electronic lockout, see above “Electronic Lockout”, on how to activate and deactivate LOCKOUT.
Quick Comparison to Olight H1R Nova and Olight Perun Models
| Description | Olight Perun Mini | Olight H1R Nova | Olight Perun |
|---|---|---|---|
| LED Used | Osram P9 | Cree XM-L2 | Cree XHP50.2 |
| LED Options | Cool White (CW) only | Cool White (CW) or Neutral White (NW) | Cool White (CW) only |
| Max Output | 1,000 Lumens | 600 Lumens | 2,000 Lumens |
| Min Output | 2 Lumens | 2 Lumens | 5 Lumens |
| Colors Available | Black and Orange (Limited Run) | Black only | Black & Blue (Limited Run) |
| Max Beam Intensity | 2,500cd | 1,280cd | 3,600cd |
| Max Beam Distance | 100m | 72m | 120m |
| TIR Optic | Bead Lens | Bead Lens | Clear Lens |
| Proximity Protection Function | No | No | Yes |
| Battery Level Indicator | No | No | Yes, Vibrating Type |
| Max Charging Current | 1A | ~0.75A | 2A |
| Included Battery Capacity | 550mAh | 650mAh | 3,500mAh |
| Lanyard Included | Yes | No | Yes |
| Lanyard Attachment Pin Tool Included | Yes | No | Yes |
| Headband Included | No, optional accessory | Yes | No, optional accessory |
| Velcro Duty Patch Included | Yes | No | No |
| Clip Included | Yes, Dual Direction type | Yes, Bezel Up Direction only | Yes, Dual Direction type |
Scale Comparison (Ruler)
Summary
To sum up, we believe that the most important part of any review is if given the chance to purchase the same light for our own EDC or to gift to our loved ones out from one’s pocket (wallet), would we still do it?
For this light, it is a YES, if the lack of a true Moonlight mode is not an issue for your usage.
The straightforward UI with Direct Access to “MOONLIGHT”, TURBO & SOS from OFF, strong magnet in the tailcap, inclusion of the lanyard attachment pin tool for easy lanyard attachment, dual direction clip, inclusion of velcro duty patch and Magnetic Charging Cable (MCC 1A) capability are all plus points for this flashlight.
That said, we do hope that a true moonlight mode will be a mainstay for future Olight models as well as the inclusion of headband (as a standard accessory) for future headlamps. Since the Olight Perun Mini is supposedly a “Mini” version of the original Olight Perun model, it would have been nice if some of the technology such as the Proximity Sensor and/or Vibration mode for low battery power indicator function had trickled down to this Olight Perun Mini model as well.
Side note: If having a Neutral White (NW) tint is absolutely necessary, the older Olight H1R Nova model can be a good alternative as well.
Here are 2 bonus size comparison with some of the other similar sized flashlights and some of the more recent released Olight flashlights that we reviewed previously.
From Left to Right: Foursevens Mini Mk. III, Olight Perun Mini, Olight S1R II Baton, Acebeam TK16, Oveready Ti BOSS, ReyLight Krystal Titanium, Olight M1T Raider, Okluma Ti DC1 and Malkoff MDC Bodyguard.
From Left to Right: Olight S1R II Baton, Olight Perun Mini, Olight M1T Raider, Olight I5T EOS, Olight S2R Baton II, Olight Baton Pro and Olight Perun.
As with all gears, two is one and one is none.
Stay safe,
The Lite Review
Disclaimer: Light was provided for by Olight (manufacturer) for this review. No other compensation was provided.
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Olight Perun Mini
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