I have owned many flashlights over the years and have spent thousands of dollars trying to find just the right one for some very specific situations.

Going camping? Then the best light for the situation could be the Olight Seeker 2 Pro

Defending property? Olight Warrior X or Olight Warrior X Pro mounted on your rifle will get the job done. Or maybe the new ODIN?

Going hunting? Might I suggest the Olight Javelot Pro.

What about being on patrol as a security guard? Then maybe the Olight M2R Pro Warrior is the way to go.

You’re probably wondering why I didn’t mention any other brands in my recommendations above. The answer is quite simple. Whenever I seek out a product it needs to meet some very specific standards. In my “O”pinion (Pun intended) Olight checks every box for my needs.

I test all the flashlights on my channel with this simple list of standard tests:

If one of their features aren’t beyond my expectations, I won’t even mention them on my channel.

· COMPANY REPUTATION

· PRODUCT WARRANTIES

· BEAM DISTANCE

· RUNTIME

· IMPACT RATING

· IPX RATING

· WEIGHT

· RECHARGE TIME

· EASE OF USE

· SPECIAL FEATURES

1.) COMPANY REPUTATION:

If a company doesn’t have a good repour with its customers, I won’t do business with them. If others aren’t happy with a company’s product or customer service, then PREPARED GUY definitely isn’t going to be. Reviews are extremely important to me. If a company has bad reviews from their customers, then I steer clear.

2.) PRODUCT WARRANTY’S:

There always needs to be a warranty, guarantee or other promise from a company before I make a purchase. If a company can’t stand behind their product then why should I invest my hard-earned money into it.

3.) BEAM DISTANCE:

I believe every light should be able to reach its target. I love a good beam shot just as much as the next flashlight enthusiast. I believe each light should do exactly what it was built to do. Whether it’s a flooder or a thrower I believe in a good balance. Olight hits the target 9 times out of 10.

4.) RUNTIME:

Nothing is worse than having a flashlight run out of juice when you need it the most, so a good long runtime is a must. I need something that is going to be able to last for as long as I need it to without hesitation. The new Seeker 2 Pro is a great light that runs off a 21700 battery that has an excellent runtime on the low 5 lumen mode with a maximum runtime of 12 DAYS (YES DAYS) on the 5-lumen mode. 5 lumens doesn’t seem like much light but when you’re in a tent in the dark overnight its more than enough light to get a task completed.

5.) IMPACT RATING:

Back in the day if you dropped a flashlight there was a 50/50 chance that the bulb filament would break, and the light would become useless. Thanks to LED technology todays lights don’t have that problem. In fact, most lights these days have a standard 2-meter drop rating on average, which is about waist height. A solid impact rating height is key to a hard use flashlight.

6.) IPX RATING:

Most lights these days have various IP or IPX ratings.

A solid IPX8 is the standard for any hard use light. If you drop it in a puddle or in a lake or other body of water, you don’t want the internal components to get damaged. A high IPX rating is key to keeping a light functional in a damp environment.

7.) WEIGHT:

Whether your light is a pocket EDC, duty light or weapon mounted light, weight is key to comfort. An overweight pocket on a hike can get uncomfortable quickly. Extra weight from a heavy light in your backpack can also be a pain on the back. Packing a lightweight flashlight is the way to go overall. The average pocket EDC light weights approximately 3 OZ The largest being over 6 OZ and the smallest being under an ounce. The lighter the better but use what is best for your situation.

8.) RECHARGE TIME:

I don’t believe in a flashlight taking twice as long to charge as it will give you in runtime. If the maximum runtime on the highest mode is 1 hour and it takes 4 hours to recharge, I could consider that a negative. No one wants to wait these days for a slow charging flashlight. I usually keep a second back-up battery with me in many cases, but as a rule I use flashlights with lengthy runtimes and shorter recharge times. So, keep in mind that a long runtime and short recharge time is a priority on my channel.

9.) EASE OF USE:

If it is a pain in the ass to use, then it will get you killed. It’s that simple. Flashlights with too many button pushes to reach the appropriate function is a huge negative in respect to ease of use. I like to keep it simple. (1) button if it’s a simple TURBO, HIGH, MEDIUM & LOW or MOONLIGHT/FIREFLY MODE.

(2) buttons if it is the Turbo, High, Medium & Low etc in combination with a strobe or other tactical style feature one button that can be pushed multiple times for the standard modes and a secondary button for the tactical mode such as strobe.

The simpler a flashlight is to use the better.

10.) Special features

If there is one thing I like it’s a special feature, one of my favorites is an auxiliary light mode such as RED LIGHT OR UV. A red-light mode can be extremely useful in the event of map reading at night, or even reading a book in a dark room. Red light reduces the strain on your eyes and keeps eyes adjusted to low light conditions better than a white light. UV lighting is great for tracking blood from a hunt or even uncovering hidden liquids or stains etc. Special clips like the 2-way clips featured on most Olight flashlights or even a magnetic base on many of the newer Olight flashlights is a huge bonus when it comes to special features.

Over-all I have tested many flashlights on my channel from many different companies. My favorite by far has been Olight because they check off the most boxes consistently. Nitecore comes in a close second based on their innovations. Fenix is popular but they still need a lot of work on their reflectors and I find their beams to be a work in progress in my humble opinion.

Nitecore has a lot of innovation with their lights and they have a wide range of products but unfortunately, they are behind the curve when it comes to charging methods and recharge vs runtime. My favorite light from Nitecore is the P18 but Unfortunately the battery needs to be removed to recharge. That’s a big negative pet peeve of mine. I hate having to remove a battery to recharge it, especially lights that are considered EDC worthy. I carried the P18 for several months and got sick of having to remove the battery every day to recharge it.

So, what is my favorite EDC light you might ask? I would have to say the Olight i5T eos for a battery op light and the S2R baton 2 for a rechargeable light.

My favorites change with the times. New lights mean new favorites. These are my go to’s for pocket EDC. If it were to choose a duty light it would be the M2R pro warrior. My selection of lights depend on my needs at that very moment. I’m still waiting for Olight to come out with a pocket EDC light with a RED light auxiliary light, but they seem to be preoccupied with making their lights different colors at the moment instead of making improvements and innovating.

I could be wrong, maybe they are coming out with something spectacular sooner than later, but it has almost been a year since they announced their Odin line at shot show in 2019. We’re all waiting. My amusement with different colored Olights is fleeting. My Olight shelf is starting to look like someone dumped out a pack of skittles. I hope their new lights are mind blowing. As of right now Olight seems like a company that is dragging their feet at the moment. Who knows what they’ll innovate within the next year. I just hope its not more of the same but with a twist.