(Please note, this light was provided to us free of charge for a review. However all thoughts are our own, and they are very much the thoughts of casual flashlight users!)
Olight’s brand new Perun 2 is an improved version of their original Perun, one of the more powerful in their headlamp range. Featuring a larger battery, greater runtime and tweaks to performance, the Perun 2 also adds an impressive 500 lumens to ‘turbo mode’. We’ve been lucky enough to get our hands on one before launch, so decided to throw it into the rigours of a night-time hike and photoshoot out in the Peak District to see what’s what.
First impressions
Unusually shaped, the Perun 2 is marketed as a versatile and multi-functional torch, more powerful than the original yet retaining the ability to use hands free for convenience if desired. Both Perun’s are a strange thing to look at at first, as unlike a traditional hand torch, the light does not come from the end of the torch and instead comes out at 90 degrees. This means the Perun 2 can be pretty easily used in the hand, or attached to a backpack or shirt pocket with the clip so the light is shining away from the body to be used hands free. The Perun 2’s lens provides a nice wide, soft radius with a pretty sizeable hotspot in the centre which can throw up to 166m. Having run this alongside the Warrior X Pro, we can also now fully appreciate the difference between flood and throw - of which the Perun 2 is definitely excellent for flood, and has a nice broad coverage area which is perfect for up close lighting and carrying out tasks in your immediate area (such as rifling through camera bags in total darkness).
Olight seems to have really improved the lower end of the performance scale with this update to the Perun 2, adding a whole 2 days runtime in ‘moon’ mode and adding 3 hours to the mid runtime to bring it up to 18 hours with no loss in illumination. These gains may well be from the slightly larger 4000ma battery now used as standard vs the original 3500.
The Perun 2 retains the original infrared sensor as well, designed to automatically dim to 30 lumens if something comes within too close a proximity and will then shut down if the obstruction continues for more than 60 seconds. This is useful if the torch hasn't been put into lockout mode and turns on in a pocket or backpack, as it will then turn itself off if the obstruction remains too close, saving battery life and preventing overheating. However the sensor can be blocked by rainwater or a buildup of mist and so take care to avoid completely submerging or getting very wet, or risk a very sudden drop in your illumination!
There are also the same five brightness levels as the previous Perun (although improved all round). The torch is turned on and off with a push button located on top. The button itself has several functions depending on the length of press e.g. you can control the brightness level when the torch is on by holding the switch to cycle through moonlight, low, mid and high in turn, whilst a quick double click will enable ‘turbo’ mode. The moonlight mode of 5 lumens can still be accessed directly when the torch is off by pressing and holding down the switch and the now pretty standard ‘brightness memory’ is still here as well.
Similar to the original, there is also a morse code SOS mode, activated by three quick presses of the button. We’re unsure how useful this mode is, but we hope never to find out. (Any mountain rescue folks out there please let us know).
Specifications & technical stuff
Operational Modes
Turbo: 2500 lumens for 2 minutes runtime dropping to c.830 lumens; for 2 hours 10 minutes, followed by 500 lumens for 45 minutes of runtime to prevent overheating.
High: 500 lumens for 4 hours runtime dropping to c.260 lumens for 30 minutes runtime to prevent overheating
Mid: 120 lumens; 18 hours runtime
Low: 30 lumens; 66 hours runtime
Moonlight: 5 lumens for 12.5 days runtime
Throw: up to 166m
Waterproof to: IPX8
Impact resistance: 1.5m drop rated
Weight: 161g including battery
The Perun 2 itself comes very well presented with battery, headband with silicone bracket, USB charging cable, lanyard and clip.
Final thoughts
For our needs hiking and photographing the outdoors, the Perun 2 is great. The flood is wide enough you don’t need to adjust it often if at all, leaving your hands free to scramble, read a GPS or do anything else you fancy doing in the cold and the dark with your hands.
For those that own a Perun already, the increase in battery and runtime may not be worth a direct swap but for anyone who is finding their head torch (of say a max 400 lumens) is leaving them wanting more this is the torch for you. Really this is primarily a headlamp, but with so much more versatility. For us, this will probably spend more time clipped to a bag for us than on our heads (to avoid accidentally meeting a camera on the way up), but having that dual functionality is excellent and no doubt many people would do the opposite.
We’ll keep taking the Perun 2 out with us over the winter and post an update once lockdown ends and we’re able to get out and go further and get to grips with all it can offer, so do come back to the blog in the new year.
For more reviews, hiking routes and all things outdoors visit Northern Stroll or follow @Northernstroll