How do you determine what premium high-powered light it is you need to buy? It is not enough to just look up the specs and the price of the product, you want to compare it to something else premium, something else that has a similar quality, but with different capabilities so that you can workout which of the lights will better suit your needs. So, in this review we are going to be looking at the Warrior X 4 torch from Olight, but we will be at times comparing it to the Olight Prowess, which is one of my favourite Olight products, and I think a stellar light to compare the Warrior to.
First, let’s look at the X 4 and what it offers.
Image 1: X 4 in the box.
This is a tactical light. Of course, it notes that on the box, but you can tell right away just by looking at this light. It is a solidly built and cleverly designed light that has clearly been created with the tactical user in mind. First all you need to do is pick it up and hold it to feel its weight, and its solid build quality. Whether you buy the pocket size Olight I3E EOS or a premium light like this X 4, either way, it is not going to feel cheaply made. There are other torch brands out there that sell more expensive lights, but they don’t feel like it when you are holding them. But with Olight this is different, and this Warrior X 4 is solid to hold and grip in the hand, which matters for a tactical light.
If you are a police officer or in the military you want to know that you are using solid equipment, because you are not just using this for leisure purposes, but in some serious situations. You don’t want something that is flimsy, or slippery in the hand. This torch could be soaking wet and the design of the grip will not let it slip out of your hand, and if it does, well you can drop it 2 meters before it breaks. I have not dropped this torch 2m’s to test this, because it is not a cheap light. But I have dropped other Olight products from a similar height by accident and none of them have broken. Though they do have the scratches on them to show they have been through some rough treatment. But these torches are meant to stand up to rough treatment, especially if you are going to be using them in tactical situations.
As you can see the Warrior x 4 also comes with a holster in the package that will attach to your belt.
Image 2: X 4 Light next to its holster.
It locks into that holster very solidly as well. So, if you were a security guard and you had this light on your belt, you would not have to worry about it falling out of its holster. Some Olight torches come with attachable clips that you can leave on them or take off, but I like this idea of having a solid holster like this for the X 4. This torch is designed to be used quickly in a situation where tactically you do not have a lot of time to respond. You can flick this out of its holster much quicker than you can unclip one of those other torches from your belt. There is nothing wrong with, say the Perun 3, that has one of those attachable clips. I have found that they are solid and do not drop off even when you are doing heavy lifting work around the garage; they are good quality products. But this holster is designed for a different purpose and it suits that purpose well. The light just pulls right out and clips right back in, which is a clever design.
The specs on this thing are incredibly impressive as well. As with the Perun 3 and the Prowess, the X 4 is powered by an Olight proprietary 21700 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery, that is 3.6 v and has a 5000 mAh capacity. The reason I mention it alongside those other lights, is so you know you can interchange the batteries on the three lights, which all have incredible specs, and different unique usage applications. Those of you who have used an Olight torch with this battery are aware that these batteries are long lasting, powerful, and incredibly useful. And this battery pushes this light to incredible heights. It has a maximum output of 2600 lumens and a max throw distance of 630m. Or, you can choose to run it on its low setting for 8 hours at 300 lumens, which in its own right is a useful light. If you are working an 8 hour shift in security, you could use this light for the whole 8 hours on the low setting and be just fine. Of course, you are not going to need to do that, but it is good to know that you can.
To put those specs in perspective here is where I will bring in the Prowess. Here is the Warrior X 4 next to the Prowess:
Image 3: The Prowess is on the bottom and the X 4 on top.
As you can see these lights are similar in size with the X 4 being just slightly longer. The Prowess puts out 5000 lumens and illuminates up to 245 meters. Which is incredibly impressive. I have shown my Prowess light to a few friends and they are all pretty amazed by what it can do. But the X 4 is equally impressive. A good way to compare these lights is to look at my side by side illumination pictures below:
Images 4 and 5: The Prowess on the Left, the Warrior X 4 on the right.
As you can see, both these lights are incredibly impressive and both of them light up the night right in front of. Both lights in these pictures are on their highest settings. You could call the high setting on both these lights ‘daylight’, because of how impressive they are. But they also both have very distinctive fields of vision. The Prowess puts out a wide beam, intensely bright flood light, and the X 4 has a much more precise long distance beam. As stated, it has a maximum throw of 630 meters. So, these lights have very different applications in the field.
I have taken my Prowess hunting and it does not have the throw distance of your standard Halogen spot light beam. But when we were in scrubbier terrain with more trees around us, the light was perfect for creating a wide field of vision, because the light illuminates such a large area that you don’t just get focused on a small part of the brush. This is excellent if you are hunting pigs in scrubby terrain in low light. You can light up such a large area that you are less likely to miss the pig you are hunting. But the X 4 is great if you are hunting in an open field with large distances in front of you. This X 4 has an epic light throw distance, it is truly next level and is incredibly impressive.
Not only does it have this incredible light throw distance, but you can choose to use it as a free handed light, or attach it to the scope of your rifle with the Olight scope attachment, so that you can point it exactly where you are aiming.
Image 6: The X 4 in the scope attachment.
Of course, the Prowess can also be placed in the same scope attachment, as it is a similar size to the X 4, but it is not going to give you the same throw distance in the open field, which you really do need if you are spotlighting at night off the back of a ute in the bush. So, if I had to choose which of these lights to take hunting with me, I would choose the X 4, because it has such an incredible throw distance. However, both lights have their legitimate uses in the field, and both are tough and useful lights. So, maybe the right answer is just to buy both right… 😉
I should also note that X 4 is IPX8 waterproof, so you can drop it in a pool and you won’t kill it. It weighs 249 grams, so you can feel its heft, but it is not too heavy to lug around by any measure. And the holster which allows you to flick it out quickly makes it a great light for using on your belt when walking the rounds on your security job, or out in the bush at night hunting. A battery powered torch like this is not going to last as long as a 12v spotlight that is plugged into your car battery, of course, but it is a good back up to have on your belt none-the-less, and you can always carry a few spare batteries as well.
Just a couple of practical notes as well, the light does get warm at the front when in use for a bit of time, so be aware of that. There is a warning label on the front of the light noting this. Also note that it has several settings, but there is a small trick to using two of them. You have low at 300 lumens, high at 2600 lumens, and you can lock the torch on, or use it in finger release mode, where it turns off when you remove your thumb. But it also has a tactical mode which you activate by turning the light on low and then unscrewing the back and screwing it back down. This gives you access to the 1000 lumen setting and the strobe setting. And of course, the phone charges with a provided USB cable, or you can pick up the magnetic charging cable from Olight and use that instead. It is up to you. Having multiple charging options just makes the light that little bit better.
I highly recommend this light. It is built to be used in situations requiring quick access, to a bright, precise light, providing assurance that you won’t miss what you are looking for. Grab one of these lights today, you will not be disappointed.
