Introduced last summer, the Olight Odin was their first long gun weapon mounted light with an impressive 2,000 lumen output and 300 meter throw distance. Olight includes a remote pressure switch, and everything needed to mount the Odin on standard picatinny rails.
Featuring an all-aluminum construction and hard anodizing, the build quality on the Odin is outstanding. Olight uses the same Scout-style mounting system Surefire uses and is compatible with Scout mounts. A multi-positional picatinny rail mount is included with the Odin and has a lock to hold the light in place. The bezel features a wave like pattern with blunt edges. Olight doesn’t specify what type of emitter is in the Odin but the temperature is a neutral/cool white.
The tail cap features a magnetic charging base and silent activation switch that operates the two brightness modes of the Odin. There is no strobe setting. The switch itself engages smoothly and has a nice tactile click when fully depressed with a firm bounce back. It’s solid and has no side-to-side play. The tail cap and body threads are square cut and beefy. Threads are usually a dead giveaway in cheap machining, and these are well machined and lubricated.
You’ll notice a groove around the tail cap. This is where the remote magnetic pressure switch locks onto the light with their detent ball system. While this is a neat feature, it’s also proprietary to Olight and won’t be compatible with other brands. The tape switch also only activates high mode, I wish it did both high and low. It does offer momentary (long press) and continuous operation (short press).
Some people reported issues with the detent lock becoming disengaged under rapid fire or recoil from a shotgun. So far, I put 500 rounds through my carbine length .223 and .308 using the Odin without issues. As other reviewers have pointed out, a 12 gauge shotgun will bend the mounting bar and is not recommended.
Specs:
Light Output – 2,000 lumens High, 300 lumens Low
Light Intensity – 22,500 candela
Max. throw distance – 300 meters High
Weight – 7.62 oz with battery
Length – 5.37 in.
Bezel Diameter – 1.05 in.
Max. run time – 2.5 hours on High, 8 hours on Low
Battery – Proprietary rechargeable 5,000 mAh 21700 3.6v
IPX8 Waterproof rating – Able to withstand continuous submersion in water.
Olight includes everything you need in the package to take on the night- battery, charging cable, picatinny rail mount, pressure switch, zip ties, extra hardware, Allen key, and zip ties. It’s always a plus to have all you need right out of the box. The only additional item I’d suggest is a backup battery.
Charging the Odin for the first time only took 2.5 hours using the new MCC-3 magnetic charging cable. The MCC-3 can charge at speeds of up to 2A. The cable is red when charging, and green when complete. Be careful though, these cables are not compatible with all of Olight’s offerings.
Mounting the Odin to a picatinny rail is simple. Just loosen the two Allen screws pop it on the rail and tighten it down. Slide the Odin into the desired position and you’ll hear it click into place. Turn the side lock to the locked position and the light won’t come off. Unlock the side lock and push inwards to release the light from the mount for handheld operation. It’s a pretty slick design that offers flexibility in mounting but it does add some bulk to the overall footprint of your rifle. The added weight of the Odin was unnoticeable to me.
The magnetic pressure switch automatically snaps into place when you get it anywhere near the tail cap. Push down on the locking ring to engage the detent lock and the pressure switch is now locked in place. It’s nice not having to unscrew the tail cap to remove the pressure switch when you need a handheld option. When using it at the ranch for some varmint hunting, I found myself using the Odin in-hand for spotlighting and could easily throw it back on the mount if I needed it on the gun.
For me, the tape switch was the weak point. The feedback feels very inconsistent and doesn’t give me confidence I’m actually activating the switch or not. In the middle of the switch, the feedback is great, and the light operates flawlessly. Towards the ends of the tape switch is where the feedback dwindles and it’s hard to tell what exactly you’re pressing. But the light does still turn on.
Operating the Odin couldn’t be simpler. There’s only one activation switch on the tail cap and it has two positions. A quick half press activates continuous low mode, and a full press with click puts it in continuous high mode. Press and hold in either position for momentary activation.
Olight also makes a finger grip ring attachment that screws into the Scout mount on the body. This allows for single handed operation if you want a handheld.
Performance
Light output and run times are always a sore subject for people looking at lights. The main specs I typically focus on are lumens (light brightness or output) and candela (light intensity). Basically, a light with high lumens and low candela will appear bright up close but not reach that far. In other words, it will have a wide, flood type beam pattern. A lower lumen but high candela light will have a greater throw distance and more of a spot-light type beam pattern.
That being said, the Odin is an extremely bright light with a flood beam pattern. The beam pattern illuminates plenty of the surroundings to easily Olight claims the max throw distance to be 300 meters. During my tests, I was able to get out to 275 meters and I believe their claims to be true that it will reach 300 meters. However, I don’t think it’s bright enough to really see a small game animal or varmint at night at that distance. For practical night time hunting, the ideal range is within 125 meters for the Odin. But the Odin isn’t touted as a hunting throwing light, it’s a “tactical” light. Below are the beam shots comparing the different Odin models and the Streamlight TLR-1 HPL.
While the specs on paper are impressive, it’s always important to note that they are only apply for a certain amount of time. Does the Odin actually have 2,000 lumens output for 2.5 hours? No. And any company claiming their lights run on high for hours on end isn’t giving you the full story. All lights step down from their maximum output after short operating periods to protect the electronics and not overheat the light.
So the Odin really only produces 2,000 lumens for 2 minutes, then steps down to 1,000 lumens for 9 minutes, 760 lumens for 125 minutes, and 300 lumens for the final 24 minutes. During my normal use, I rarely had the light on high for longer than 2 minutes at a time. The light does get pretty hot if you leave it on for longer than 5 minutes. That’s pretty standard with any high powered LED flashlight these days.
Conclusion
My only complaints about the Odin are the proprietary battery and LED temperature. Not being able to go to the store and pickup a backup battery is frustrating. You have to use Olight batteries with the Odin and they aren’t cheap ($27 each). Lately I prefer flashlights with a warmer LED and a higher CRI rating. High CRI rating simply means the colors appear more realistic and natural vs. a traditional LED. The Odin can cause some subjects to appear washed out.
There are a lot of polarizing topics in the gun world and weapon lights are no exception. The debate over who makes the best weapon light will never end. Most everyone agrees on the top contenders- Cloud Defensive, Modlite, Surefire. But not everyone wants to spend the $350+ setup for an accessory that’s not going to be used often.
That’s where Olight makes sense for us who aren’t using rifles for duty purposes or those with a limited budget. Do you want a reliable light for home defense or property surveillance that’s easy to use and operate? The Odin is perfect for that. It has everything you need to get started and features most everyone will enjoy. The build quality is great, and the light output is unmatched by other manufacturers in the same price point.
You can buy the Odin from Olight for $159.95. Use code GSA20 for 20% off ends on 7/9/21!