Olight has develop into not possible to disregard in the previous few years. They made a reputation with very inexpensive lights and artistic designs. What began as flashlights advanced into handgun lights, which have since advanced into devoted rifle lights. We acquired our grasping arms on certainly one of their newest lights, the Olight Odin GL M.
The Odin sequence of rifle lights got here out a very good bit in the past however has continued to evolve. These initials on the finish imply one thing. GL means inexperienced laser; as you’d anticipate, the Odin comes with a inexperienced laser on prime of its white gentle functionality. The M stands for M-LOK, and the brand new mounting system permits for direct attachment to M-LOK rails.
Olight Odin GL M Tactical Flashlight
Stay Stock Worth Checker
Digging Into the Olight Odin GL M Tactical Flashlight
I’m going to name 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 really particular candela ranking, however I like specifics. One factor I’ve by no means preferred in regards to the Olight weapon lights is how they promote their lumens.
The 1,500 lumens is only one,500 lumens for two.5 minutes. Then it cuts all the way down to 37%, so 555 lumens. The Odin will stay at 555 lumens for 168 minutes, then reduce down to twenty% for the final 20 minutes. The candela dips down because the lumens dip. The sunshine does have a devoted low mode of 300 lumens, which stays fixed at 300 lumens for the whole thing of the sunshine’s battery.
It’s not unusual for lights to lose lumens and energy because the battery dies. Most lights will final at their marketed energy ranges till close to the very finish of the sunshine’s battery or will separate a Turbo mode from the usual lumen/candela depend.
The Odin GL M comes with the whole lot it’s good to get began. The system makes use of a chargeable battery that makes use of a magnetic charging cable. It additionally comes with a clicky cap and a magnetic distant change. You get the M-LOK rail mounts and the screws and nuts to make it simple to connect.
Olight advertises the max vary as 215 meters. The Odin GL M’s IPX4 ranking permits it to resist sprays of water and lightweight rain. It’s additionally rated to withstand 1.5-meter falls.
Mounting up The Olight Odin GL M Tactical Flashlight
The M-LOK mount can connect to the sunshine in two separate instructions, which makes it simple to mount your rifle in numerous methods. I mounted this on a Jakl. It’s clear that Olight designed the mount for the extra round AR handguards. The Jakl has an oblong handguard, so it mounts awkwardly, nevertheless it works fantastic.
The distant change installs onto each the sunshine and the weapon with ease. I ran the distant change excessive and onto the highest rail of the Jakl’s handguard. The magnetic hand attaches simply sufficient and is pressed upward to lock onot the sunshine. General, the set up course of is user-friendly and easy.
Brighten Up The Evening
Let’s put it in drive and get going! Ready for night time to fall while you get to play with a brand new gentle is like watching water boil. It takes endlessly, particularly in the summertime. After the solar lastly set, I acquired an opportunity to strive the sunshine and laser below numerous situations. I usually examine the utmost ranges marketed by gentle firms to the utmost ranges radio firms use. It’s a bit overblown, and it depends on excellent situations.
I’m positive the sunshine ekes itself out to 215 meters, nevertheless it’s not essentially useable on a weapon at that vary. If I’m utilizing a weapon-mounted gentle, it’s as a result of there’s a excessive chance I have to shoot one thing. In that case, I’m utilizing the sunshine to determine constructive identification. At 215 meters, the Odin GL M doesn’t present that sort of energy, nor do most different weapon-mounted lights.
Inside 25 yards, the 1,500 lumens of white gentle and 11,000 (and a few change) candela gentle up the world earlier than you. At 50 yards, you possibly can see and set up an identification of a menace. Past 50 yards and as much as 75 and 100 yards, you’ll want a number of different elements to determine menace PID. You’ll be capable to inform if they’ve an extended gun, the colour of their shirt, and comparable options, however issues like camouflage and darkish colours will begin to work of their favor.
Utilizing the Mild
The candela doesn’t attain these modlite or Clodu Defensive ranges to achieve 100 yards and overwhelm a goal with gentle. The Odin’s beam isn’t tremendous targeted and does supply a fairly vast spill that fills the peripheral imaginative and prescient with gentle. Indoors, it fills rooms with gentle for two.5 minutes, and it runs at full energy.
When it drops down, it drops laborious and begins to work extra like a pistol gentle. Indoors, it’s nonetheless viable and helpful, however as you step outside, its useability is proscribed. In an city setting, it will be fantastic, however within the nice outside, the 555 lumens fall brief.
The max energy does effectively towards photonic boundaries created by gentle. I used my automotive with the excessive beams on, and the Odin overwhelmed the excessive beams and allowed me to see the ‘menace’ behind the wheel. The laser even stood out fairly effectively. Sadly, I couldn’t check the sunshine towards rain and fog as a result of the climate didn’t cooperate with me.
Run and Gun
Capturing at night time could be difficult, so plenty of my testing was achieved throughout the day and late night. I ran the sunshine and recorded potential failures or flaws utilizing a digicam. In all my taking pictures, the sunshine by no means flickered or faltered below recoil. Lengthy, rapid-fire strings of fireplace by no means precipitated the sunshine to flicker or fail. It holds up effectively to warmth and will get fairly scorching with none issues.
The laser is plenty of enjoyable as effectively. The brilliant inexperienced laser excels in low and mid-light profiles. At excessive midday, it’s solely purposeful at ranges inside 15 yards. Because the solar set, I had a blast utilizing the laser to ring metal. An excellent small Allen wrench makes it simple to zero, and the laser held zero on the Jakl rail with no drawback.
Lasers have restricted utility, however I’m not towards them. Switching to the laser requires a easy dial spin on the head of the optic. You possibly can swap from laser and lightweight to laser solely or gentle solely.
The Odin GL M has a neat little function that vibrates to provide you with a warning that your batteries are low. That is the primary time I’ve seen something like this on a weapon gentle, and it’s fairly helpful to have a tactile heads-up.
Issues With the Swap
The magnetic distant change has two buttons. One large button is for prime, and one small button is for low. We get a momentary and fixed choice. Hit the button rapidly for fixed, maintain for an extended press, and launch for momentary. The distant change works decently with the Odin when it comes to controls, however I’m not a fan of the magnetic attachment.
The magnetic distant head has a horrible locking system. You press it up, and it locks. Then, you pull it down and unlock it. Nevertheless, it’s very simple for the change to unlock and fall off. When operating some multi-position drills the magnetic distant change indifferent from the sunshine. I used to be taking pictures round weak facet cowl, and the magnetic change will need to have hit the blue barrel I used for canopy and indifferent the change from the sunshine.
It wasn’t confidence-inspiring. I believe a twisted lock would work higher and be safer than a press-to-lock design.
The Olight Odin GL M – The place It Stacks Up
If I had to decide on a job for the Odin GL M, it will be for bedside residence protection. In that position, the downsides wouldn’t trigger a serious drawback. The worth level is 209.99, and that could be a bit a lot for me. You’re paying a bit additional for a laser, and I’m undecided it justifies the value. I’d moderately have the 110-dollar Streamlight HL-X than the Odin GL M. The Odin does have a number of neat options, however at $209, Olight is getting away from its inexpensive roots and going through a lot stiffer competitors.
About Travis Pike
Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine Gunner, a lifelong firearms fanatic, and now an everyday man who likes to shoot, write, and discover methods to mix the 2. He holds an NRA certification as a Fundamental Pistol Teacher and is the world’s Okayest firearm’s teacher.
