Olight Odin Mini Budget Tactical Rifle Light Review

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Olight Odin Mini LaRue Tactical AR-15
The Olight Odin Mini Mounted on a LaRue Tactical Ultimate Upper AR-15. IMG Jim Grant

In the past few years, the tactical weapon light market has seen a deluge of companies and products flooding the market, like the Olight Odin Mini. And with the market so saturated with newcomers, for a company’s product to really shine, it must differentiate itself from the competition in a meaningful way. Whether that’s price point, features, or durability, the fact remains that producing an, “OK” weapon light just won’t cut it anymore.

So did Olight produce a light that ticks of enough of these boxes to make their new Odin Mini stand out? Let’s take a closer look at the Olight Odin Mini, and find out.

Olight Odin Mini

To be honest, I’m a little skeptical when it comes to Olight and the durability of its products. While I’m sure I’ll be labeled as xenophobic or some other nonsense by some intellectually dishonest ne’er do wells, my experience in the past with new-production Chinese weapon components did not inspire confidence. AK optics mounts that never held zero, handguards that should be drop-in requiring fitting, or components just simply breaking after normal use – in a word, junk.

Olight Odin Mini
The Odin Mini produces a staggering 1450 lumens at more than 14000 candelas! IMG Jim Grant

This isn’t to say that all Chinese-made components aren’t well-made or high-quality. Rather than because most companies that outsource their products to China do so to save money, these products tend to be literally cheaply made.

But does the Odin Mini buck this trend? From my experience thus far, absolutely.

Features

First off, there is nothing, ‘cheap’ about the Olight Odin Mini. From its durable anodized aluminum construction to the included mounting optics and tape switch, the Mini seems to be well-made and deliberately designed for use on a firearm.

For starters, the Olight Odin Mini ships with the following components.

    • Tactical Light
    • 2040mAh 18500 Rechargeable Lithium Battery
    • Magnetic USB Charger
    • M-Lok Offset QD Mount
    • Magnetic QD Tape Switch
    • Polymer Picatinny Rail Tape Switch Mount
    • Spare M-Lok Mount Screws/Bolts

Let’s go down the list of features and get the full details of everything included in the box.

The light itself is built from durable anodized aluminum and is available in black, gunmetal gray, and FDE. It features an LED emitter capable of producing 1,250 lumens at 14,400 candelas with a runtime of six minutes plus 11 plus 39 plus 14 minutes. Which is to say, the light starts off at 1,250 lumens and runs at that intensity for six minutes before stepping down to 900 lumens then 700, and finally 200 lumens. According to the Olight website, this is done to prevent the light from overheating but is a fairly big limitation for shooters expending steady performance over a long period of time.

Olight Odin Mini Detached
The Olight Odin Mini features a QD M-Lok mount and a magnetic tail cap tape switch. IMG Jim Grant

That said, even 700 lumens is plenty of light for nighttime use, which means shooters will have just shy of an hour of use at full power with the bean dropping down in intensity during that hour. Personally not a big limitation for my uses, which would be property patrol and home defense, but law enforcement may want to stick to other designs. Though I would easily take this statement back if there was a way to toggle intentionally to the 700-lumen setting and leave it there.

The light itself is powered by an included rechargeable 18500 lithium battery that is charged by the included magnetic USB charger. Simply attach the charger to a USB device, and the back of the Odin Mini with the battery inside the light to charge. From empty, the Odin Mini takes about 3 hours to fully charge, and the charger’s LED changes from red to green to indicate when charging is complete.

Olight Odin Mini M-Lok QD Mount
This locking knob secures the Odin Mini to its included M-Lok offset mount. IMG Jim Grant

One unexpected inclusion with the Odin Mini is the offset M-Lok quick-detach mount. The light itself features a bone-shaped extrusion on the bottom which locks into a camming QD mount which secures itself to a handguard VIA an M-Lok interface. To secure it, a shooter slides the extrusion into the narrow channel on the mount, then turns a camming knob 90 degrees. This engages some ball-bearings and a steel recoil bar that prevents the light from shifting during firing.

Olight Odin Mini M-Lok Mount
Slide this portion of the Odin into the channel on the M-Lok mount then turn the locking knob 90 degrees to secure. IMG Jim Grant

Behind all this, the Odin uses a magnetic tail cap that interfaces with a tape switch endcap that locks into place with three ball bearings. While seemingly fragile and overly complex, in practice it holds up fine and makes for very quick assembly and disassembly for charging.

Speaking of which, the Odin can be left on the charger indefinitely with no ill effect. The system is designed to not shorten the battery’s lifespan even if left charging for long durations of time. Plus, this means the shooter has the option of either detaching the light for charging or leaving it on the gun to have the entire home defense setup ready at a moment’s notice.

olight odin mini tape switch
The Olight Odin Mini includes a tape switch and a polymer Picatinny mount for it allows for a wide variety of mounting solutions. IMG Jim Grant

Testing and Durability

Due to limited ammunition availability, I was only able to run about 80 rounds through the host gun with the Olight Odin Mini attached. But in that time, the light never shut off during firing or came loose from its mount. Additionally, due to my man-handling and clumsy nature, it was dropped on concrete floors, wooden floors, and dirt multiple times during testing and it never affected the light’s functionality. In fact, I accidentally got some fine sand in the tail cap and this didn’t affect the light’s ability to charge to function with the tape switch installed.

Olight Odin Mini LaRue Tactical
While the Olight Odin Mini might have some drawbacks, it’s still overall a solid piece of equipment. IMG Jim Grant

Verdict

As mentioned previously, I wasn’t expecting much from the Olight Odin Mini, but after playing with the light for several days, I’m wholly impressed. Between the performance and all the included extras and features, it seems to be an excellent light for the price – around $140. That said, I don’t like the automatic dimming feature and wish it allowed shooters to manually set the brightness level to allow more consistent performance over the course of the battery’s life.

Still, with similar performance to SureFire lights but at a fraction of the cost, the Odin Mini is an excellent deal for shooters in need of weapon-mounted illumination who don’t have a couple of hundred dollars to spend.


About Jim Grant

Jim is a freelance writer, editor, and videographer for dozens of publications who loves anything and everything guns. While partial to modern military firearms and their civilian counterparts, he holds a special place in his heart for the greatest battle implement ever devised and other WW2 rifles. When he’s not reviewing guns or shooting for fun and competition, Jim can be found hiking and hunting with his wife Kimberly, and their dog Peanut in the South Carolina low country.

Jim Grant

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grant

I have their PL-2 on my .45, and I was also skeptical about durability.
Then I was forced one night to give it the ‘Thumper” test.
2 years later, still stays locked on and works.

Country Boy

FWIW: I own 2 Olight PL-2 WMLs and a PL Pro rechargeable. These attach via QD lever on a pic rail So far no problems from any of them.

Magnum

I have 2 Olights and both perform very well, great value when they have big sale offers.

But, for this light the Automatic Dimming “feature” is a deal killer for me.

Arny

I believe they still sell some of the older versions. 500 Lumen,constant. I have plenty of light. If not, I also have my Warrior X with 1200 lumen. I have used that for spotting deer at night. It’s a bad @$$ light for it’s size. And also rechargeable. Nice light for vehicle or home defense. Not much bigger than the ODIN but a lot brighter. And has a nice case for your belt if you go hiking or whatnot. It could also be a weapon light, very easily with zip ties.

SGT_Wombat

I have three O-Lights. Got an S1R Baton for EDC, but it was too small, then got an M2R Pro Warrior, it was too big, finally got a Warrior Mini and it’s just right. Dang I feel like Goldilocks. Anyway I gave the S1R to my daughter and she just gave it back to me because it stopped working. I contacted customer support they sent me troubleshooting instructions which determined the battery went bad. They were out of stock so I asked where I can get a replacement and they sent me a new battery free of charge. For some… Read more »

SGT_Wombat

They told me to send the S1R Baton in and sent me back a S!R Baton II.

snowrodeo

Bought an O-light Warrior X Pro earlier this year for a duty light. It lasted 3 months. The tail cap switch quit working, couldn’t turn it on or charge it. $100 dollar light, lasted 3 months. Initiated a correspondence with their customer service – it took over a month before they agreed to let me send it back. Then 6 weeks of run-around and constant excuses from customer service. I finally had enough and told them I wanted a full refund of my money. They offered to send me a new one the next day. Bottom line, I don’t trust… Read more »

Arny

Funny I still have & use mine after a year. In fact I have many of their lights. And have yet to need customer service. lol

将在今晚

I bought an Olight light when I was in Japan a few years ago, and there are no problems yet.

Arny

Love mine. I got the older version with constant 500 lumen. More than enough light. And can recharge from any J5 port. Same price point a year ago. Olight has one hell of a flashlight also. But they do get hot. lol

Texas Patriot

You need to explain what a ‘J5 port’ is. Thank you.

Xaun Loc

YAWN — Just AmmoLand recycling old content

Xaun Loc

Apparently Olight pays AmmoLand and Jim Grant to re-run this same nonsense about every four months. This is at least the fourth time this same review has been featured in the AmmoLand emails.

FL-GA

Isn’t that the whole reason AmmoLand exists?

Ledesma

The M-16 rifle must have been haunted. Years after its catastrophic performance in Vietnam it reappears via a hundred different look alike’s, off shoots and re-do’s. Slickly renames itself with a list of various monikers and disguises and the world falls in love with it. Even Russian units have deploy an M4 style. The M-16 offshoot rifles make excellent pop culture symbols and are as pretty as a girl! But they are flawed combat rifles. The reason they survive is their flashy space age appearance. And the lucky fact that civilian populations that lust after them rarely are forced to… Read more »

DDS

American’s seem to go for the forbidden. Forbidden substance, forbidden beverage, forbidden partner, forbidden rifle: doesn’t seem to matter. The key word is forbidden. Note that Colt seemingly had trouble selling the AR15 before the 94AWB, but once they became “banned” sales took off.

P. S. The web seems to think that the M16 is a militarized version of the Stoner design that came out after the civilian AR15 that Colt sold as the “Sporter.”

https://www.ammoland.com/2016/04/ar-15-rifle-historical-time-line/#axzz7acX0QnqB

AZ Lefty

Nice Fiction Boris

Arny

Yeah ok. They can create some real carnage as we have seen. Have you ever seen a cook off of a cheap version ? I was amazed at the durability. Here’s an example, and this isn’t just a one off time. They have done it quite a few times.With different versions. And in a realistic world not many will be doing this. Even in a war scenario.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNG7Kkk_s6o

Texas Patriot

I had an M16 in Vietnam, and every time I cleaned, it would jam. Once I had a few rounds downrange, it magically functioned flawlessly.

SGT_Wombat

I happen to own 5 different configurations of AR-15s. It happens to be the one weapon I can still disassemble and reassemble in under two minutes while blindfolded.