Olight Odin GL M Tactical Flashlight | Olight’s New Rifle Light

Olight has become impossible to ignore in the last few years. They made a name with very affordable lights and creative designs. What started as flashlights evolved into handgun lights, which have since evolved into dedicated rifle lights. We got our greedy hands on one of their latest lights, the Olight Odin GL M.

The Odin series of rifle lights came out a good bit ago but has continued to evolve. Those initials at the end mean something. GL means green laser; as you’d expect, the Odin comes with a green laser on top of its white light capability. The M stands for M-LOK, and the new mounting system allows for direct attachment to M-LOK rails.

Olight Odin GL M Tactical Flashlight

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Olight Odin GL Tactical Flashlight - 1500 lm - ODINGLPBK

Palmetto State Armory

$ 209.99

Digging Into the Olight Odin GL M Tactical Flashlight

I’m going to call it the Odin, for brevity’s sake. This variant of the Odin comes with 1,500 lumens backed by 11,556 candela. That’s a very specific candela rating, but I like specifics. One thing I’ve never liked about the Olight weapon lights is how they advertise their lumens.

The 1,500 lumens is only 1,500 lumens for 2.5 minutes. Then it cuts down to 37%, so 555 lumens. The Odin will remain at 555 lumens for 168 minutes, then cut down to 20% for the last 20 minutes. The candela dips down as the lumens dip. The light does have a dedicated low mode of 300 lumens, which remains constant at 300 lumens for the entirety of the light’s battery.

It’s not uncommon for lights to lose lumens and power as the battery dies. Most lights will last at their advertised power levels until near the very end of the light’s battery or will separate a Turbo mode from the standard lumen/candela count.

The Odin GL M comes with everything you need to get started. The system uses a rechargeable battery that uses a magnetic charging cable. It also comes with a clicky cap and a magnetic remote switch. You get the M-LOK rail mounts and the screws and nuts to make it easy to attach.

Olight advertises the max range as 215 meters. The Odin GL M’s IPX4 rating allows it to withstand sprays of water and light rain. It’s also rated to resist 1.5-meter falls.

Mounting up The Olight Odin GL M Tactical Flashlight

The M-LOK mount can attach to the light in two separate directions, which makes it easy to mount your rifle in different ways. I mounted this on a Jakl. It’s clear that Olight designed the mount for the more circular AR handguards. The Jakl has a rectangular handguard, so it mounts awkwardly, but it works fine.

The remote switch installs onto both the light and the weapon with ease. I ran the remote switch over the top and onto the top rail of the Jakl’s handguard. The magnetic hand attaches easily enough and is pressed upward to lock onot the light. Overall, the installation process is user-friendly and simple.

Brighten Up The Night

Let’s put it in drive and get going! Waiting for night to fall when you get to play with a new light is like watching water boil. It takes forever, especially in the summer. After the sun finally set, I got a chance to try the light and laser under various conditions. I often compare the maximum ranges advertised by light companies to the maximum ranges radio companies use. It’s a bit overblown, and it relies on perfect conditions.

I’m sure the light ekes itself out to 215 meters, but it’s not necessarily useable on a weapon at that range. If I’m using a weapon-mounted light, it’s because there is a high probability I need to shoot something. In that case, I’m using the light to establish positive identification. At 215 meters, the Odin GL M doesn’t provide that kind of power, nor do most other weapon-mounted lights.

Within 25 yards, the 1,500 lumens of white light and 11,000 (and some change) candela light up the world before you. At 50 yards, you can see and establish an identification of a threat. Beyond 50 yards and up to 75 and 100 yards, you’ll need a few other factors to establish threat PID. You’ll be able to tell if they have a long gun, the color of their shirt, and similar features, but things like camouflage and dark colors will start to work in their favor.

Using the Light

The candela doesn’t reach those modlite or Clodu Defensive levels to reach 100 yards and overwhelm a target with light. The Odin’s beam isn’t super focused and does offer a reasonably wide spill that fills the peripheral vision with light. Indoors, it fills rooms with light for 2.5 minutes, and it runs at full power.

When it drops down, it drops hard and starts to work more like a pistol light. Indoors, it’s still viable and useful, but as you step outdoors, its useability is limited. In an urban environment, it would be fine, but in the great outdoors, the 555 lumens fall short.

The max power does well against photonic barriers created by light. I used my car with the high beams on, and the Odin overwhelmed the high beams and allowed me to see the ‘threat’ behind the wheel. The laser even stood out quite well. Sadly, I couldn’t test the light against rain and fog because the weather didn’t cooperate with me.

Run and Gun

Shooting at night can be tricky, so a lot of my testing was done during the day and late evening. I ran the light and recorded potential failures or flaws using a camera. In all my shooting, the light never flickered or faltered under recoil. Long, rapid-fire strings of fire never caused the light to flicker or fail. It holds up well to heat and gets quite hot without any problems.

The laser is a lot of fun as well. The bright green laser excels in low and mid-light profiles. At high noon, it’s only functional at ranges within 15 yards. As the sun set, I had a blast using the laser to ring steel. A super small Allen wrench makes it easy to zero, and the laser held zero on the Jakl rail without a problem.

Lasers have limited utility, but I’m not against them. Switching to the laser requires a simple dial spin at the head of the optic. You can swap from laser and light to laser only or light only.

The Odin GL M has a neat little feature that vibrates to alert you that your batteries are low. This is the first time I’ve seen anything like this on a weapon light, and it’s pretty handy to have a tactile heads-up.

Problems With the Switch

The magnetic remote switch has two buttons. One big button is for high, and one small button is for low. We get a momentary and constant option. Hit the button quickly for constant, hold for a long press, and release for momentary. The remote switch works decently with the Odin in terms of controls, but I’m not a fan of the magnetic attachment.

The magnetic remote head has a terrible locking system. You press it up, and it locks. Then, you pull it down and unlock it. However, it’s very easy for the switch to unlock and fall off. When running some multi-position drills the magnetic remote switch detached from the light. I was shooting around weak side cover, and the magnetic switch must have hit the blue barrel I used for cover and detached the switch from the light.

It wasn’t confidence-inspiring. I think a twisted lock would work better and be more secure than a press-to-lock design.

The Olight Odin GL M – Where It Stacks Up

If I had to choose a role for the Odin GL M, it would be for bedside home defense. In that role, the downsides wouldn’t cause a major problem. The price point is 209.99, and that is a bit much for me. You’re paying a bit extra for a laser, and I’m not sure it justifies the price. I’d rather have the 110-dollar Streamlight HL-X than the Odin GL M. The Odin does have a few neat features, but at $209, Olight is getting away from its affordable roots and facing much stiffer competition.

About Travis Pike

Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine Gunner, a lifelong firearms enthusiast, and now a regular guy who likes to shoot, write, and find ways to combine the two. He holds an NRA certification as a Basic Pistol Instructor and is the world’s Okayest firearm’s instructor.