Review: Olight BALDR Mini Weapon Light [NEW 2020]

In this Olight BALDR S review guide let's check check out its increased lumen intensity and light beam pattern and see how different it is from the BALDR Mini.

If you have to pick one,

Olight BALDR S Core Specs

smith wesson mp compact with olight baldr s

Beam Distance: 130 meters / More focused throw
Max. Performance: 800 lumens
Candela: 4400 cd
Laser: Class 3R, 5mW Green Laser
Charge type: Magnetic USB charge base
Battery: 3.7V 380mAh Rechargeable Lithium Polymer Battery (Built-in)
Weight: 3.35 oz
Head Diameter (in): 1.28
Body Diameter (in): 1.42
Length: 2.48
LED: High-Performance Cool White LED

Buy On OlightStore

What's Included In The Packaging

The Olight BALDR S comes with the following:

Baldr S (battery built-in) x 1
MCC (Magnetic Charging Cable) Special Edition x 1
Oval Point Set Screw x 1
Cone Point Set Screw x 1
User Manual x 1

Core Features

Beam Pattern, Lumens & Candela

The biggest change for the Olight BALDR S is the brighter lumen intensity, a ~33% increase from the BALDR Mini on a full charge as far as on the spec sheet.

However, the difference is very minor.

At 5 - 10 yards

At 25 yards

At 35 yards

At 35 ft, the shooter with 20/20 vision can definitely ID the target

Light Beam Color Tint

The Olight BALDR S features a cool white LED bulb, and it's the same as the BADLR mini.

The light beam gives accurate color rendition to ID colored targets in the dark. So the user can easily tell the difference between dark red and black, or white and light blue.

Modes & Built-In Laser

The BALDR S comes with a green laser just like the BALDR MINI. The user can switch between 3 modes:

Light only
Laser only
Light & laser combo

and the mode switch is much stiffer than the original BALDR MINI to prevent accidental bump

BALDR S Body Profile

The BALDR S is similar to the BALDR Mini, but the light bezel is slightly longer that's responsible for the tightened beam focus.

Other than that, everything is pretty much the same.

Activation Switch Ergonomics

The position of the laser sits close to the bore as much as possible to eliminate the point of aim & point of impact offset.

Simply toggle the mode switch on the bottom of the light to change modes.

Press and hold for momentary light activation, and tap to engage constant on.

Some users find the the momentary light activation a bit challenging because they can't just tap the switch, instead they have to consciously press and hold the switch for momentary on and off.

I find with a little bit of practice to get used to the control since I'm primarily a Streamlight TLR 1 & Surefire X300 user.

The light features two simple ambidextrous toggle switches on both sides, and the shooter can easily control the switch without any issue.

It's the same design and feel as the BALDR Mini.

Check Price Here

BALDR S is slightly heavier and longer than BALDR Mini

Battery Endurance

The light has a built-in 3.7V 230mAh Rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery that can be charged via a different MCC cord (labeled "SPECIAL" that comes with the package.

The user can charge the BALDR S anytime they want to. Get a USB battery bank so you can charge the light in the car, at home or on the way back from the range.

The battery life is as follow:

Green Beam ON (High)	800~300 lumens
	1 minutes + 2 minutes + 30 minutes
Green Beam ON (Low)	100 lumens
	90 minutes
Green Beam OFF (High)	800~300 lumens
	1 minutes + 2 minutes + 37 minutes
Green Beam OFF (Low)	100 lumens
	140 minutes