Olight Warrior X Pro Review

It has been a while since we last reviewed a flashlight. Grayson reviewed the Prometheus Beta QR V2 back in January of 2018. So, yeah. It has been a minute. Personally, I’ve never reviewed one, so this will be the first.

Buy the Warrior X Pro at OlightStore.com
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I like flashlights, but tend to be a one and done kind of guy until I need a different style of light. Ironically, I’m that way with most things. Currently, my rotation of lights includes a Streamlight Microstream, a Prometheus Lights Preon P1 MKIII, and a MKIII Turbo with the headlamp kit. All 3 of those lights rock for their respective purposes. I EDC the Microstream and Preon P1 constantly. The MKIII Turbo gets used as a headlamp in more extreme situations.

I was missing a high powered thrower in my little collection. My dad has an old Thrunight Catapult, and while he doesn’t use it every day, it’s great to have when he needs it. He tells me one time someone was trespassing in his yard in the middle of the night, and he used the light to put them on blast; literally. It’s stories like these that made me pine for my own high powered thrower. Preferably one with a crenulated strike bezel.

So when Olight contacted me about reviewing one of their lights, the Warrior X Pro was at the top of my list. They have some cool EDC lights that I would like to check out as well. Ben reviewed the S1 Baton back in the day, which is arguably their most popular model, but the Warrior X Pro fills a void on my flashlight collection. This light was provided to me free of charge for a review. All thoughts are my own, and they are very much the thoughts of a casual flashlight user. Don’t expect a Candlepower Forums in depth review. I’m just a regular guy that owns a few lights.

General Dimensions and Construction

The Warrior X Pro has an overall length of 5.875″ and weighs 8.43 oz. with the battery, and 5.6 without. Compared with an EDC light, this Warrior is huge, but next to something like my dad’s old Thrunight Catapult it’s actually quite compact. The emitter head is deep, designed to accommodate a deep reflector and throw the beam out 600M, and it has a strike bezel. The light appears to be mostly made of aluminum and has been hard anodized a handsome gunmetal gray. My last car came in similar shade, so maybe I’m a little biased, but I like the color.

Here’s a size comparison with my Preon P1 MKIII:

Fit and finish is excellent. At the time of writing this article, the Warrior X Pro retails for around $130. It looks well built to me. The anodization is smooth and even. There are no unintentionally sharp edges or machining marks. The emitter appears to be slightly off center, but that doesn’t seem to impact the output or beam pattern (more on that later). The body tube and head appear to be one solid piece of aluminum, which is impressive if they milled this from a solid block of aluminum.

The only threads are on the tail cap. These are square threads, and the tail cap unscrews in an easy, fluid manner to reveal double o-rings and the friction fit pocket clip. There has to be a way to remove the bezel to get to the internals, but it evades me. Olight proclaims that this light has survived a 3 meter drop test. I haven’t attempted that personally, but it’s good to know. I will say that this is an impressive piece of hardware that I fully expect to last many years.

Olight ships this light with both a belt pouch, and a pocket clip. They also include 2 grip rings: one in anodized aluminum, and another that is rubberized. The clip is a friction fit clip, but then the aluminum grip ring slips down over it.

Personally, I’ve using the light with the rubberized ring and the belt pouch (or “holster” as Olight calls it), but if I were camping I might like the versatility of having a pocket clip. They also included a lanyard. That’s the nice thing, you can switch things up. Options are good.

Output, Runtime, and UI

The reason this light is on your radar is the awe inspiring 2,250 lumens of output. Prior to the Warrior X Pro, my most powerful light was the Foursevens Mini Turbo MKIII. I thought that was a bright light, and it is. Especially if you are going to use it in a neighborhood. But the Warrior X Pro is so goddamn bright I’m afraid to use the light in public. This is for good reason. The flashlight is incredibly bright and throws to great distances. Olight says this thing can hit distances of up to 600M. That’s about a third of a mile. While I haven’t tested the claim, I don’t doubt it. This light is born to throw.

At first I tried playing around with the Warrior X Pro in my neighborhood. I used it to hit the tops of some tall pine trees a couple hundred yards away. They lit up like a birthday cake. It was cool, but you have to be extremely careful with a light like this in a populated setting. You could blind someone, or at the very least seriously piss them off. You don’t want to shine it at someone’s house, and you have to be very careful about using this around people driving cars. This light could easily cause a car accident.

Really a light like this is meant for a more rural setting. That’s where I had to take it to understand the Warrior X Pro’s true potential. This light is designed to cover some ground. If you have a big property, or spend a lot of nights camping, or work outside at night, hunt at night, or are part of a SEAL Team, then this could be a great fit. If you are looking for something to use while walking the dog in your deed restricted community, well, prepare to get a nastygram from your HOA.

Of course there is a low setting. Low emits a mere 300 lumens from the front of the light. That’s still bright, but you could get away with using it in a more suburban setting. For dog walking or just general use at night. It would be appropriate for use at a public campground or something like that. The high setting is when you really need to go the distance.

The User Interface (UI) on this light is dead simple. There is a large metal clicky button on the tail cap. Press down halfway for low, and press down fully for high. Hold your thumb down for momentary on, and press it down quickly to keep it on. It’s simple, it’s intuitive, and a it works well. Also, this tail cap is designed so you can tailstand the light. Good if you are trying to signal an airplane or debut a nightclub or something.

While the UI is straightforward the battery is much more controversial. It uses a customized 21700 Li-Ion rechargeable battery. It’s very similar to a regular 21700, but has been tweaked. From what I understand, a regular 21700 will not work in this light. This decision will draw the ire of the hardcore flashlight enthusiast. Enthusiasts want to be able to use their own batteries, swap batteries, etc. If you are like me, and this is the only 21700 light in your collection, then it probably won’t matter. I am an occasional user of this light at best. I don’t have a bunch of extra batteries for it. But for some, this will be a deal breaker.

It’s kind of like proprietary hardware on a pocket knife. The guys that really like to tinker will decide to buy the special tools for that particular knife. Or they won’t buy it in the first place. Personally, I’ve never been that way about knives, and I’m not outraged by the proprietary battery on this light either.

Part of the reason why the battery doesn’t upset me, is because I’m a light user, and Olight included a magnetic USB charger, and everything works really well. I don’t need to fiddle around with the battery to charge it. I just plug the USB charger into my laptop, slap the magnetic charger on top of the clicky button, and it charges. It’s a beautiful system.

The way this light works, is on a full charge it hits high for 2 minutes, then drops to 1000 lumens for 1 hour 40 minutes, then runs on low for 23 minutes. Or you can use the light on low for 8 hours. If you use this light for extended periods of time and need to carry multiple batteries with you, then I could see where wanting to run any old 21700 battery makes sense. Especially when Olight is charging $28 for an extra battery. As I mentioned earlier, “Options Are Good”, and conversely a lack of options is not good.

The nice thing is that there are competitive lights on the marketplace, and if this proprietary battery sticks in your craw, then you can decide to buy a different light. You could protest with pitchforks and torches on Main Street, or simply vote with your wallet. I’m not a fan of crowds, so I tend to do the latter.

Ergonomics and Carry

This is a big light, and it will never win any awards for ease of carry. For EDC I rotate between my Preon P1, and a Streamlight Microstream. The single AAA format is perfect for my needs as a self proclaimed “normal dude”. I live on a postage stamp sized lot in a suburban neighborhood. Ironically, I use my flashlight the most indoors at night, to navigate around the house before bed or to peer into the dark confines underneath my desk or behind my couch.

In comparison to an EDC flashlight, a light like this will always be an ordeal to carry. The belt pouch is usually the way to go for dedicated carry. It’s a sturdy nylon pouch, MOLLE ready, and with a magnetic clasp. But in a pinch the pocket clip works. Actually, it works quite well, holding the light in place.

In hand the light is comfortable. There is no lack of “real estate” for you to grip on. Even Andre the Giant could get an easy grip on this thing. Olight includes two grip rings. I have been enjoying the rubberized grip ring. The aluminum one is scalloped and not quite as comfortable. They are easy enough to swap out and experiment with. Rounding things out is a lanyard that so far has lived it’s life in the little cardboard box it came in. I’m not a big lanyard guy, but if you are going to work with this light, or use it on a boat, then I could see the appeal of a lanyard.

Olight Warrior X Pro Review – Final Thoughts

I have been impressed with the Warrior X Pro. Granted, I’m not a hard core flashlight guy, and I’m not the kind of person who is going to heavily use a light like this. I’ve wanted an “Eye of Sauron” in my collection for a long time now, and the Warrior X Pro fits that bill. It’s blindingly bright. You can reach out and touch someone with this thing. Whether that’s a stranger in the night, or a person in distress, the Warrior X Pro goes the distance. I couldn’t capture that in pictures, so you will have to take me at my word that this light throws.

I also like how nice of a package the light is. It’s nicely made, feels great in hand, is easy and intuitive to use, and it comes with everything you need. Enthusiasts like to fuss over things. I’ve been guilty of that myself, and I can see how flashlights can be a fussy hobby if you really get into them. But there is something refreshing about a kit like this that works. The charger is great. The proprietary battery is bound to upset some folks. I get it, and perhaps when it’s time to buy a second battery I’ll be equally miffed. But I like how well everything works with this light.

At the end of the day, I can easily recommend this light. For $130 you get a well considered flashlight with some serious high lumen utility.

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I recommend purchasing the Olight Warrior X Pro at BladeHQ, Amazon, or The Olight Store. Thank you for reading.