Olight Javelot Mini

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Olight Javelot Mini specifications

Brand/model	Olight Javelot Mini
Flashlight category	Long-range / searchlight / belt carry
LED	?
Max. output	1,000 Lumens
Max. beam distance	600 meters
Max. beam intensity	88,320 cd
Battery config.	1*18500
Onboard charging	Magnetic USB proprietary
Modes	2
Blinkies	N/A
Waterproof	IPX8
Review date	October 2022

Today we are reviewing the Olight Javelot Mini. And just like the name implies, it’s a small thrower flashlight. But small doesn’t almost mean subpar performance. The Javelot Mini can produce 1,000 lumens and over 88,000 candelas.

And since it’s made by Olight (a very well-established flashlight manufacturer), we know the specs are not far off from real-life measurements. But like we usually say: don’t rely on the manufacturer’s specs, so I’ll do my best to let you know how good this performs in real life.

Package quality.

Olight’s packaging is among the best in the industry. High-quality, well-designed packaging with some basic accessories. And like 95% of their flashlights, it comes with a rechargeable battery and charging cable, so it’s ready-to-use.

• The flashlight: Olight Javelot Mini
• Magnetic Olight charging cable: MCC1a (new type!)
• Plastic holster
• Manual

No spare o-rings, a pocket clip, or a lanyard this time.

The Olight Javelot Pro 2 is a long flashlight with 2*21700 batteries, and its little sibling, the Javelot Mini uses only 1 battery, and it’s not even a 21700. So, is it an 18650? Nope.. Is it an 18350? Nope.. It uses a relatively unusual battery size. Namely, the 18500.

The way Olight built this flashlight, it almost looks like a 21700 flashlight. And that’s because of the size of the battery tube. There’s quite a bit of ‘lost space’ with the included 18500 battery in my opinion. On the other hand, the wide battery tube makes it fit better in my hand. But overall, they could have just gone with a 21700 battery.

Olight also included a plastic holster that you can use to attach to your belt.

It has 1 single switch, located at the rear. It’s another 2-stage switch that Olight uses on many of its popular flashlights. The switch is also the connection point for the magnetic USB charging cable. It has a built-in magnet, so you can also attach it to something metal, both hanging from, as well as attaching it horizontally.

If you have never owned an Olight with this type of switch, you probably need some practice to get to the 2 modes without failing. But once you’re used to it, it’s actually pretty cool.

You can use it with an overhand grip, with your thumb on the switch, or an underhand grip. But with the underhand grip, you either need to use your other hand to operate the switch or change position.

With all the knurling on the battery tube, you don’t need to worry about dropping it. The tail end is also a bit wider than the battery tube, to reduce the risk of slipping it out of your hand.

There is no lanyard attachment point, if you were wondering, and no pocket clip. The only other way, besides pocket carry, is using the included plastic holster. You clip the holster on your belt, and there you go. And that’s probably the preferred way to carry it, because it doesn’t have a lockout mode, as far as I could find. That makes it a bit more dangerous to carry it in your pocket. You could accidentally turn it on in your pocket. And that won’t be much fun.

And last, but not least, the rear end of the light has a protruding edge, that will make the light stand on its tail very comfortably, and stable. That makes it great for ‘candle mode’.

This light is intended to be carried inside the holster, and therefore great for security guards. But it’s also great for medium-range searching, and stuff. It’s not really meant for EDC to carry with the type of LED, UI, and holster. Olight also built a special gun mount version of the Javelot Mini, named the Javelot Tac.

Every time I come to this part of the review, I feel like I can skip it, and just say: it’s Olight quality.

But maybe I can add a few more words.

First off, the Javelot Mini is only available in 2 colors as of now. I assume they will include more colors in the future, but now they only have black and OD green.

Mine is the OD green version, but wouldn’t have minded a blue one, lol.

One thing that is a little unusual about this light is the way they built the tailcap. It screws in the body tube instead of over the body tube.

Warranty: from their website:

Orders can be returned for any reason within 30 days from the date the order was received. Returned items must be in the same condition, unworn and in the original packaging. Once you apply for a refund or replacement, we will send you a return label to return the item to us, no need to pay for the shipping cost. Free or promotional items must be returned along with the original item when being fully refunded.

Once your return is received, a refund will be processed, and a credit will automatically be applied to your original payment method. Please note that it might take 2-5 working days for a refund to show up on any bank statements. For your replacement, we will re-send a new item to you as soon as possible (within two weeks.)

For items purchased from third-party platforms within 30 days, we recommend you contact the original seller first, so they may take care of you. If you have any issues with them, please contact us.

Within 2 or 5 years of purchase: please contact our customer service at cs@olightstore.com. We may need your serial number, the date of purchase and a simple description about your issue. If your item needs to be returned for repair or replacement, we will provide you an RMA case number and application form to return the defective light together. You will need to cover the shipping cost, no need to pay for the repair.

Just like with all of their other models, Olight doesn’t say the brand or model of LED they used.

But unlike many of its siblings, the LED is clearly visible inside the smooth reflector, centered with a white centering gasket. The bezel is not like your typical crenelated bezel, but olight-like. I think Olight is one of the few that makes this type.

I wouldn’t be too surprised if the golden-looking part of the LED is made of copper or any other kind of metal. And it reminds me of the Yinding 5050 LED, but it’s not quite the same. It seems to be made by Rayten Lighting with the following product code: RT-5050CW-S72-1C1B-NVPE

I used the Opple Light Master 3 (pro) for the LED and flicker measurements. Just take these as ‘averages’.

Low mode:

• CCT: 5437K
• CRI (Ra): 57.3
• DUV: 0.0171

High mode:

• CCT: 5690K
• CRI (Ra): 60.0
• DUV: 0.0138

These numbers indicate that the beam is cool, and a bit greenish.

The center of the beam has a perfect round hotspot, with some artifacts just outside the hotspot, but those are only really visible on a white wall at a close distance. And that’s totally normal on a smooth reflector like this.

Dimensions: 

Olight Javelot Mini dimensions	Millimeters	Inches
Length	115.4 mm	4.54 in
Head diameter	40 mm	1.579 in
Body diameter	27.5 mm	1.08 in

Weight: 

Olight Javelot Mini weight	Weight in grams	Weight in oz.
Without battery:	128 g	4.51 oz
With battery	163 g	5.75 oz

Olight Javelot Mini competition & comparison

Size compared to other small, throw flashlights

Group 1, from left to right: Olight Javelot Mini, Manker MC12II, Lumintop BLF GT Mini, NLightD T90, Olight Warrior X3

Group 2: Olight Javelot Mini, Noctigon DM11, Manker MC12II, Lumintop BLF GT Mini, NlightD T90, Olight Warrior X3

Group 3 has 2 Olight flashlights: Olight Javelot PRO 2, Olight Javelot Mini

The Olight Javelot Mini uses a simple but rather unique user interface, like it can be found

There are 2 modes, High and Low. Low is actually not really low, but 300 lumens.

Modes:

• Low, High

From OFF:

• Short half-press: Low (continuous)
• Short full-press/single-click: High (continuous)
• Half-press and hold: Low (temporarily.. release switch to turn off)
• Full-press and hold: Turbo (temporarily, release switch to switch off)

From ON:

• Half-press: Off
• Single-click: Off

Blinky modes menu:

• None

Low battery warning:

• Built-in vibration system.
• Battery <30% = vibrates every 5 minutes
• Battery <10% = vibrates twice a minute
• Battery <5% = vibrates every 10 seconds

Lock-out mode:

• No

PWM:

• Not visible by eye, so that is what counts.

Conclusion: like I mentioned, this type of UI is meant for tactical use and things like hunting etc. You have a very simple UI, without and bells and whistles. Very basic, and I like that.

One thing that you might notice is the change from a blue magnetic charging cable, to a black magnetic charging cable. I mean, not the color of the cable itself changed, but the color of the part that attaches to the flashlight.

The one that Olight included is the Olight MCC1A .

For the rest, it looks like your average Olight flashlight and Olight battery, except for the size. And that’s because Olight chose a relatively unusual battery type, namely a 18500 type lithium-ion battery. It has the same diameter as an 18650, but is 1.5 centimeters shorter. And while 18650 batteries can have a capacity of up to 3500mAh, this battery has only 2040mAh.

The name of the battery is: Olight ORB-185C20. Have a look at the images below. It’s a bit bigger than a normal 18500 battery, because of the protection and special terminals.

And as you can see in the pictures, it has a positive and negative terminal at the front of the battery. You can’t replace this battery with a normal 18500 because of this. I tried it with a normal 18500 battery and the light didn’t turn on. If you have a 18650 battery charger, with some protruding points at the positive terminal, you can still charge this Olight battery. Just be careful not to touch the negative terminal on the battery to the positive terminal of the charger!! Do at your own risk.

Charging works with the MCC1A charging cable. The USB meter shows a 5V and 0.9Amps at the highest I could see. And the charge takes 3 hours and 20 minutes. After the charge, the battery read 4.19V, while the battery measured 3.2V after it finished the runtime test in high mode.

The last image shows an unprotected flat top 18500, Olight 18500, Olight 18650 and an Olight 21700 battery.

Lumen measurements:

All output numbers are relative to my homemade Integrating Sphere. It is set up with an Extech SDL400 Lux Meter for measurements including a Gobe ND16 lens filter. Depending on the integrating sphere I use, the base measurement is done with either a 249-lumens or 261-lumens Convoy S2+.

All of my readings were taken from a fully-charged Olight ORB-185C20, 18500 type battery.

The measurements were taken manually at turn on and 30 seconds. The 10-minute numbers are taken from the runtime graph.

Mode	Specs	Start	30 seconds	10 minutes
Low	200 lm	220	220	219
High	1000 lm	1068 lm	1054 lm	669 lm

This is what I expect from Olight. Conservative or spot-on numbers. Low is even 10% higher than spec, and High is only a couple percent higher.

Olight Javelot Mini battery life and runtime graphs

The runtime tests were done in the 50cm home made integrating sphere, combined with the Extech SDL400 data logging Lux Meter.

Mode	Specified runtime	Measured runtime (ANSI FL1)	Time till shut off
Low	4h57min	4h 41min	4h 41min
High	6.5min-78min-19min (1h 33min)	1h 37min	1h 37min

After 3 hours and 47 minutes, the light started buzzing in Low mode. But it still took almost 1 hour before it turned off. You get plenty of time to replace the batteries. And if it starts vibrating every 10 seconds, you know you need to hurry.

Low mode was a bit shorter than spec.

ANSI FL1 standards: The runtime is measured until the light drops to 10% of its initial output (30 seconds after turn on). This does not mean that the flashlight is not usable anymore. The last column shows how long the light actually works till it shuts off. If there is a + symbol, it means that the test was stopped at that particular point, but the light was actually still running. This happens on certain occasions, with certain drivers, firmware, or batteries.

Olight Javelot Mini peak beam intensity and beam distance measurements

Measurements were taken outdoors at 20 meters, with a Hagner E4-X Lux Meter. The numbers were written down 30 seconds after turn on.

Mode	Specs	Candela measured	Meters	Yards
Low	–	17,600 cd	265	290
High	88,320 cd	85,200 cd	584	638

My measurements were just a bit short of the specs. You wouldn’t be able to notice the difference between 88320 cd and 85200 cd in person.

Extra info: Peak beam distance according to ANSI FL1 standards: The calculated value of distance in meters at which the flashlight produces a light intensity of 0.25 lux. (0.25 lux is about the brightness of a full moon shining on an object).

Throwers:

For the beamshot at the tower (450 meters), I used a Canon EOS 5D Mk2 and a 100mm lens. manual settings: ISO1600, .5sec , F4, 5000K

For the other beamshots, I used a Canon EOS 5D Mk2 and a 50mm lens. manual settings: ISO1600, 1/4sec, F4, 5000K

The shed is about 65 meters / 71 yards away, the reflective fence about 200 meters.

Compared to the following flashlights:

• Olight Javelot Mini
• Lumintop GT Mini
• Olight Warrior 3S
• Olight Warrior X3
• Lumintop FW21 X1L

Disclaimer: This flashlight was sent to me for review at no cost by Olight. I have not been paid to review, nor have I been holding back on problems or defects.