The Olight Perun 3 Review
Hello, my name is Patrick and welcome to my review. I’m a mid 30’s Australian who likes to collect knives, torches and EDC type gadgets. I am a firm believer in “value for money” which to me means that a product should be something that is reliable, high quality and could potentially last a very long time. I am always searching for the ultimate “Buy It Once For Life” product and things that I can genuinely recommend to other people.
Over the last year I have been steadily increasing my collection of Olight products. I have really come to love this brand and their impressive range of products means they really do have something for everyone. Recently I have been contemplating expanding my horizons and adding a headlamp to my collection. Headlamps have always been of interest to me but to be honest, I had never actually needed one so it sort of dropped down to the bottom of the priorities list.
A friend of mine does a lot of night running and explained how great they are for that specific use, so I figured worst case scenario he could always have my new purchase if I wasn’t too impressed with what I ordered.
As per usual, I went down the internet rabbit hole; reading reviews and watching videos about all sorts of different lights - in particular the Olight Perun 2. It looked pretty good but I decided to hold off just a little bit longer and wait for another sale. And I am so glad I did as Olight just launched the new Perun 3! A brand new headlamp that nobody has reviewed before! How exciting! I was actually fortunate enough to get my hands on one of these beauties and can I tell you… Wow! This thing rocks!
Over the last couple of weeks I have spent a lot of time with the Perun 3. It ticks all the boxes of a capable, multi use headlamp. But with such little information about it online, how do we know what it’s capable of? Let’s take a closer look at this brand new release from Olight and see just what the Perun 3 is all about.
Overview
The Olight Perun 3 is an absolute beast of a headlamp! Weighing in at 150g or 5.29oz with a total Length of 116.8mm (4.60 inches) and an overall Depth/Thickness of 28mm (1.10 inches) It boasts an impressive IP68 waterproof rating and the manual states it can withstand a 1.5 metre drop - However its far too beautiful for me to willingly test that.
Inside its slick, black coated aluminium housing sits 3x White - Max 9W/LED lights and 1x Red Max 1.5W/LED light all powered by a 18Wh 5000mAh 3.6v rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery.
It claims a mighty 160m beam throw distance and has an optimal working temperature range between 0 - 40 degrees celsius which means you probably can’t take it down a hot mine shaft or on your next trek to the north pole. But for regular use case scenarios this is more than fine.
The “Cool White” LED’s have a CCT range of: 5700 - 6700K and a CRI rating of: 70.
Personally I think it’s actually a bit higher than that but this is what the official manual says.
Speaking of which, I have included the brightness and runtime stats from the manual right here:
White Light Modes:
The “Turbo” mode brings an almost supernova grade max brightness of 3000 Lumens and can keep that up for a full 2 minutes before dropping to 27% for 180 minutes then stepping down to 20% brightness for a further 30 minutes. Considering how ridiculously bright that 2 minute blast of light is, this is pretty impressive.
The other modes and run times are as follows:
High = 600 Lumens for 300 minutes reducing to 27% brightness for a further 30 minutes of runtime.
Medium = 120 Lumens for an incredible 25 hours!
Low = 30 Lumens for 89 hours - holy smokes!
Moonlight = 5 Lumens for an absolutely astonishing 20 DAYS! That just blows my mind.
Red Light Modes:
High = 60 Lumens with a 14 Hour run time
Low = 15 Lumens for 70 hours. According to my friend who does night running, these are very good numbers!
Being a headlamp, the Perun 3 also comes with a headband and a lanyard - more on these later.
Overall on paper the Perun 3 looks to be the ultimate successor to the formidable Perun 2 and the even better Perun 2 mini. But do all those numbers actually mean anything? What is the Perun 3 actually like? I have broken my review down into two sections: Presentation and Performance where I grade both aspects out of a potential 10 and then offer some concluding thoughts. Let’s begin…
Presentation:
When the Perun 3 arrived I was very eager to see if Olight had made any changes to their regular premium packaging for this new release. As companies continue to grow and put out new products, sometimes they refine or (usually) start to skimp on the packaging that their products are delivered in. I have noticed this trend getting worse since the pandemic, which is especially annoying as the prices of these products always seem to increase! Olight however has set and continues to maintain the gold standard for packaging and the “unboxing experience.”
The Perun 3 arrived in typical Olight style with its stunning white box, a luxuriously smooth texture and addictively satisfying magnetic closing flap. Ah the sweet feeling of a new Olight product. *insert satisfied sigh here*
Inside the box was a yellow plastic sign with “before first use” instructions - very handy for people who don’t want to read the manual. Upon removing that I was greeted by a grey foam insert snuggly surrounding the Perun 3 in all its glory. Beneath that was another small white cardboard box that contained the instruction manual, warning leaflet, a USB charging cable with the signature Olight round magnetic end for the base of the torch, a lanyard, a pocket clip and the headband which the Perun 3 fits into.
On initial inspection, the Perun 3’s smooth black exterior looks almost too pretty to be used as something for adventuring. It’s so beautiful! The deep circular grip milling is accented by several vertical lines spiralling up the body. The new metal power button (situated on the top left side of the light housing) features a gorgeous blue accent and even contains a very small battery indicator which is unobtrusive but a little hard to see. The “face” of the Perun 3 - where the light shines from - also features a pleasantly understated blue accent on the inner perimeter which really makes the glass of the light gleam. It also allows you to see the proximity sensor which would be otherwise pretty difficult to spot blending into the black finish.
But what about the headband? Well, it is black with white detailing and comes with a pre-mounted bracket for attaching the Perun 3. The bracket is made of steel and is coated in a semi matte black finish which looks very sleek and tactical.
Overall the Perun 3 knocks it out of the park in all aspects of Presentation. I award it a full 10 of 10 rating. Olight really delivered an outstanding example of tactical beauty done right.
But how does it perform?...
Performance
Olight makes incredible flashlights (among other things) so it really is no surprise here that the new Perun 3 lights up the room. What I was surprised about was the sheer versatility of a right angled torch.
It is great for lighting up an area across the room while you wander around looking for something or are doing a task. It’s great for domestic uses like looking under a fridge for lost jewellery or sitting on a bench while you hang a picture. The flat base is rock solid and because it is magnetic you can even use it upside down! The magnet is strong enough to support the Perun 3’s own bodyweight which is no small feat! This makes it perfect for lighting up an engine bay or slapping it on the wall to use as an improvised shed light.
The inbuilt proximity sensor kicks in when things get too close but it isn’t too sensitive to become annoying. The wrist strap is super comfortable and easily adjusts so you can take it off and put it back on without any trouble.
It also comes with a detachable pocket clip which means you can clip it onto a bag strap or your jacket pocket for hands free use without the headband.
Speaking of headbands, the Olight Perun 3 comes with a pretty sweet one!
It features a removable top strap - that sits on top of your head - which personally I found to be quite comfortable and really helps manage the weight of the unit inside the bracket. Both straps are very easy to adjust to find the perfect fit and are extremely comfortable! I’m not sure what material they have used, possibly some kind of elastic/polyester type blend? but it is super soft and feels actually quite luxurious against your skin.
Being follicly challenged or bald as an egg as my darling wife likes to say, I have found that certain types of material in hats and beanies can really irritate my skin. This is definitely not the case with the Olight headband. It’s super soft and breathable and is something that I have worn for hours on end without ever having an issue. There is also a silicon gel type strip on the inside portion that sits on the forehead area behind the bracket which adds an extra bit of comfort and cushions you from any bouncing you may feel from the mounting while running etc.
Mounting the torch in the bracket is a bit tight but offers a very secure fit for the Perun 3. It definitely won’t shake loose or accidentally fall out that's for sure.
Olight have designed it so you can mount the torch without having to remove the pocket clip which really amps up the convenience factor. You could be spelunking in a cave, remove the torch, clip it to your harness and share the light with others in a matter of seconds. The newly designed metal power button has a very subtle but intricate knurling texture on it so you know exactly where to press and your finger won’t slip off when trying to use it in. The location of the power button is very well thought out. No awkwardly searching for it or accidentally blinding yourself while trying to find it here. It has a very subtle but intricate knurling texture on it so you know exactly where to press and your finger won’t slip off when trying to use it in.
Two quick presses of said power button will activate the red light mode which is great for night running or doing things in the dark where you need to preserve your eyes night vision. It also features an SOS mode which is such a brilliant feature! Where I live there are many mountains to climb and people regularly get stuck and need to be airlifted to safety. The Perun 3 would be perfect for those situations!
Overall the Performance of the Perun 3 has been absolutely outstanding. It does everything that it is meant to do and does it extremely well. I give this product a full 10 out of 10 in this category.
Conclusion
The Olight Perun 3 is an extremely capable, very well made and versatile flashlight. While it may be a little too heavy for some people to call it a “runners light”, I personally would use it for any kind of outdoor/adventuring type activity. It’s comfortable, has incredible battery life and the SOS feature is a stroke of genius.
However there is a slight issue that I feel needs to be addressed.
The design of the bracket and its steel construction means it is very durable and secure, however, metal on metal contact does cause some damage to the paint. The Perun 3 lost quite a bit of its beautiful black coating on its initial use which I found to be pretty disappointing. While the torch itself is made of aluminium means it won’t rust, seeing so many scratches and gouges in the slots where the bracket secures it does take some of the joy away.
For a collector like me it’s a pretty big deal, but for normal people who buy these things for actual adventures, they may not mind so much or even expect it to get a bit beat up. I did reach out to Olight and they are aware of the issue, so I’m sure they will come up with a good solution. But if that is something that concerns you then you may want to put some electrical tape around the area before mounting it for the first time, or perhaps coating the mounting arms of the bracket in some liquid latex or silicone. I do wish I had known about it ahead of time as I would have done both of those things before my initial use.
Apart from that, the Perun 3 gets a full 20/20 rating and I highly recommend it!
