I’ve been hesitant to write this review. On the one hand, I own several Olight products and like them. On the other, I am aware that Olight has a reputation for saturating the internet with reviews. So, I will say up front that I bought this and all of my Olight products with my own money because I felt that they met my needs and this Warrior Nano no different. And now that I have spent more than a year with it, I’m ready to talk about it.
I am not going to get bogged down with stats. There are a lot of great, much more technical, flashlight review sites that can help you decide on a light if stats are what is important to you. Instead, I will focus on what drew me to this light which is the well-designed user interface and very consumer-ready experience. I’ll also be honest about some things that bother me about this light (and many of Olights).
User Interface
In my opinion, this light has one of the most complete, easy to understand, and useful user interfaces I have come across. It is this interface, split between two buttons, that lets the Warrior Nano move effortlessly between a multi-functional EDC light and a full-on tactical light.
The Warrior Nano (an other lights in this series) has just two buttons: a tail switch and a separate button on the body close to the head of the light. The tail switch is a “gas pedal” style of switch which I prefer. In fact, I only found the Warrior series because I was looking specifically for lights with gas pedal switches. It allows me to press lightly for Medium output and push more heavily for a either Turbo and Half-Turbo. Basically, you just push for light and push harder for more light. It’s so simple and most of what I need from this light can be done with this switch.
The body-mounted switch allows the user to select from High, Medium, Low, and Moonlight modes. Just tap the switch to turn on the light. Press and hold from on to cycle modes. Moonlight can be accessed directly by holding this switch for a few seconds. The light will remember which mode you last selected the next time you turn it on with this switch.
All of that switch talk boils down to the fact that you can use this light however you want and it isn’t confusing. Want a tactical light? Just use the tail switch. Want a multi-mode EDC with lots of options? Use the side switch. It’s a great UI which is a big part of the polished user experience I want to talk about next.
User Experience
The experience of using this light reminds of using an Apple product. It is just so easily consumable and slick. Olight does this better than any other flashlight maker I can think of. They deliver features that flashlight nerds like myself want but in a way that is approachable to anyone.
The Warrior Nano’s charger is a great example. While other lights make you remove the battery or open a port to attach a cable, Olight’s charger magnetizes to the tail of the light. It is an absolute no-brainer. You just get it close and the magnet takes over. There is a small, easy-to-understand indicator light that keeps you up to date on charging status.
Other really user-friendly features include a small indicator light on the body switch that can tell you charge level at a glance, a two way pocket clip, and it can stand on its tail.
Until now, everything I have written is true of pretty much any light in the Warrior series. However, one great aspect specific to the Warrior Nano is its size. The Nano big enough to use easily and pump out plenty of lumens but small enough to be easy to carry. This might be the most approachable light in the Warrior series.
What I Dislike
I drew an Apple comparison earlier regarding the consumer-friendliness of this light and so it may come as no surprise that, like Apple, Olight uses more proprietary accessories than other light makers. The main issue to which I object is the use of a proprietary battery design. That kind of sucks for compatibility with batteries you already own, though at least Olight batteries tend to be competitive in price.
The other thing that I hate but manage to live with about many Olights is that they don’t have a glass lens. The optic is just sitting there, ready to be scratched. It is recessed in the bezel so it is not without some protection but these acrylic optics will eventually get a bit scratched and scuffed which may impact that beam shape. It would be nice to have a glass lens over it.
Wrap Up
This light does everything I want it to in such a way that it is actually easy to use. I can access moonlight from off. I can access Turbo/Half-Turbo from off. Momentary, constant, multiple modes, tactical simplicity… it’s all there. On top of that, the charger is so easy to use that there is no excuse for running out of juice.
When it comes to lights, it is easy to chase stats but this Warrior Nano is just so easy to live with that it can’t be ignored.
A Word on Price…
Never buy an Olight at the original price! Don’t do it. They are on sale frequently (25% off as of the time of this writing). I just waited for a good price at Amazon to buy mine: Warrior Nano on Amazon.com
I had never heard of the gas pedal switch before.
It will be tough to replace the siege X, however. I like to be able to quickly change batteries on the X. Spare knock off batteries are on ebay for cheap and actually last longer than the stock streamlight batteries. You can use a standard 18650 in them as well if you put in a pre 64 silver dime with a dob of silver solder in as a spacer and a nipple adapter on the pos side.
The emphasis on tactical use in flashlights results in getting the highest beam on early for many programs, yet, truly tactical lights should start at the LOWEST to prevent overdosing on lumens at startup. Im looking from the perspective that a light should not give away a users location, not that the light is a “continuum of force” option.
Adding another switch seems redundant, especially with the protocol backwards, with moonlight last. Just sayin. Goes to how little the Streamlight Boot model is appreciated – with red filter and low/high it sets a standard by conforming to the military’s expectation of how this should work. Given it’s issued to new soldiers not fully habituated in light use, it prevents issues by not allowing inadvertent misuse. It has to be deliberately forced to product more light, rather than kick in “Eye Sear” mode up front.
For personal lights I am at the Streamlight USB stage, – plenty of lumens, programmed full on first touch, but that came from daylight use in warehousing looking for tiny print on auto parts boxes smaller than the palm of my hand. I don’t touch it at 2AM, the Boot gets that job. Single buttons with the first push enabled for a specific task means having them staged for specific tasks, and means you know what it will do up front by what shape it is.
Then there are those lights which have a strobe function, and those quickly rotate to tool box or truck lights where Im not constantly accessing that stupid annoyance. I quickly downselect most lights on the market that offer that, it’s a feature nobody asked for in a casual use flashlight.