Olight is a small company slowly making a big name for itself. As their name implies, they are all about producing lights. They do a little bit of everything, from weapon lights to handhelds, penlights, and more. Of their vast catalog, one light that stands out to me is the Freyr. Olight loves to name their lights after Nordic figures, and Freyr is famously a beloved Nordic god who brings health, abundant crops, and peace. The Freyr light might not do that, but it seems to bring the power.
The Olight Freyr is a fiery little light that packs a multitude of functions. The white light powers top out at 1,750 lumens and 32,400 candelas at its max power. The downside is that the Freyr has a step-down mode. It can shine at 1,750 lumens for 2 minutes before stepping down to 850 lumens. The 850-lumen setting will last for 150 minutes before the battery level switches to low mode, and the light sits at 300 lumens for an additional 28 minutes.
You can also manually switch to 300-lumen mode or even a 5-lumen mode. The 300-lumen mode will last for 9.5 hours, and the 5-lumen mode will last for 15 days. Both of these are well suited for lightweight work, from simple navigation to reading Dune after hours in your rack.
Freyr – Beyond White Light
Beyond just a few different settings for white light, the Freyr also packs a red light, a blue light, and a green light. Red and green are excellent choices for preserving natural night vision. Greenlight is invisible to most animals, and red light is well suited for reading maps and investigating with a low profile light. Blue light helps make spotting blood easier and treating wounds at night or tracking a wounded person or animal.
These various colors allow you to use the Freyr for dang near anything. It makes an excellent duty flashlight for field use.
The Freyr in Use
The various brightness levels and colors provide plenty of versatility in what is a somewhat small package. The Freyr is slightly larger than some but is still only 5.35 inches long and weighs a mere 7.13 ounces. It comes with a belt pouch, as well as a pocket clip. You can carry it any way you see fit, and you can do what works for you.
The Olight Freyr does use a rechargeable battery, which can be both loved and hated. It eliminates the need to continually swap batteries, but if you don’t have generator-backed power, it’s tough to recharge. We all deployments can vary quite a bit in terms of what’s available. The charger is a magnetic design that attaches to the rear of the light. The charger shines red while charging and switches to green when fully charged.
The outside of the Freyr is ultra textured. It provides an excellent grip on the light, and along with the lanyard loop, you’ll be hard-pressed to drop it. The head is scalloped, and the lens sunk deep into the design to allow it to drop and fall and leave the glass unmolested.
Controlling the Torch
The Freyr has odd but effective controls. It’s a two-button design. The rear features a big clicky button that turns on the high 1750 lumens mode with a deep press, and a shallow press gives you the second 300-lumen level. This button can be used for both constant and momentary use.
The second button is a small button located near the head of the Freyr and gives you control over the 5-lumen mode, as well as the ability to cycle between the various colored beams. Hold the button down, and the light will cycle through the various colors. A quick double-tap will turn the light to the high white beam instantly from any color.
In Living Color
The light’s bright design makes searching over extended distances possible. You can see quite far, and hiding from the beam can be rather tricky. It’s so powerful it cuts through darkness and delivers you a mighty powerful beam with an excellent degree of throw. The range is impressive, and to take full advantage of it, and you’ll need a magnified optic like a set of binos.
The addition of multiple light colors is also quite nice. Many a mission had someone from our drenched in a poncho liner and using a red light to read their map as we patrolled the Helmand province. The blue beam is also a low profile way to treat wounds since red a red beam will often hide blood and the blue beam makes it glow.
The combination of the various light beams, the heavily textured aluminum design, and the interesting ergonomics turn the Freyr into a worthwhile duty grade light. It gives you both the ability to be bright and powerful while also offering lower lumen lights for less serious tasks like navigating your way to the head or organizing your tent for the tent.
The more options you can fit in a The Freyr is chock full of options and can give you the light you need for barracks raves, for search and rescue, finding bad guys, tracking animals, reading maps, and as I mentioned before, reading Dune in your rack after hours. If you need a versatile lighting option, the Freyr might just be for you.
