The Olight Perun 3 Mini is a small right-angle torch that clips into a headband, so it works as a head torch and as a pocket torch. I paid $95 for it. Like all our Olight torches, it came with us on a trip up north to Bouddi National Park.
What You’re Getting
A 64 mm aluminium torch with the light on the side of the head, a stainless steel power button on top, a pocket clip and a magnetic tail, plus a mesh headband with a quick-release bracket and Olight’s magnetic USB cable. Ours is the neutral white version with a high colour rendering (CRI 90), marked HCRI on the body; it’s also sold in cool white. It only comes in black. On our scale it weighed 82 g with the headband.
What we like
- Head torch and pocket torch in one
- Mesh headband with grip strips
- Neutral white with true colours
- Red light, with an SOS mode
- Magnetic tail sticks to metal
- 82 g with the headband
What we don’t
- Turbo steps down after about 2 min
- Spot beam, less handy up close
- Olight’s own cable and battery
Quick Specs
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | Olight |
| Colour | Black |
| Weight | 82 gwith headband |
| Length | 6.4 cm |
| Head diameter | 2.2 cm |
| Brightness | Up to 920 lm (neutral white)1,250 lmcool white |
| Light | WhiteRed |
| Battery | 650 mAh 16340 |
| Charging | Magnetic USB cable |
| Waterproof | IPX8To 2 m |
Head torch and pocket torch
The mesh headband is really nice: good material that sits comfortably. On the inside it has strips of silicone gel. Their main job is to stop the head torch shifting or sliding down your face, and that works well. They also channel sweat away from your eyes and down the sides of your face, and add a little cushioning behind the rigid plastic bracket.
The torch clicks into a quick-release plastic bracket on the band and points forward; press the PUSH tab on the bracket and it comes out again, so it switches between head torch and handheld in a second.
Out of the bracket it’s a pocket torch with a clip, switched on and off with the power button on top of the head, and the light on the side means it lies flat in a shirt pocket and still lights the way. The magnetic tail sticks to the car or a tailgate, so it also works as a hands-free light. Because the lens sits at one end rather than in the middle, it can feel a bit less natural when you’re lighting something close up in your hands.
Brightness and red light
Ours is the neutral white version, which gives a warmer light with truer colours; it tops out at 920 lumens, against 1,250 lumens for the cool white one. It has five white levels and two red ones:
| Mode | Brightness | Runtime | Throw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 1,250 → 350 lm (920 lm neutral white) | 2 + 60 min | 155 m |
| High | 500 → 350 lm | 2 + 74 min | 97 m |
| Medium | 100 lm | 4.5 h | 43 m |
| Low | 10 lm | 30 h | 14 m |
| Moonlight | 2 lm | 10 days | 5 m |
| Red high | 45 lm | 150 min | 9 m |
| Red low | 5 lm | 19 h | 3 m |
With a small 650 mAh battery it can’t hold the top levels for long: Turbo and High step down to 350 lumens after about 1.5 to 2 minutes, to manage heat and save the battery. The beam is more focused than the wide flood of the original Perun Mini. That gives it more reach, but it’s less practical for close-up jobs like cooking or fixing something. The red light has three modes, high (45 lm), low (5 lm) and SOS. Red is what you want around camp at night: it keeps your night vision, doesn’t blind the people around you and draws fewer insects.
Charging, size and weight
The battery is a 650 mAh 16340 cell, and it charges on Olight’s magnetic cable, which clicks onto the tail. It’s Olight’s own cable, not standard USB-C, so don’t lose it, and the battery is Olight’s own cell too. The torch is 64 mm long, waterproof to IPX8 and rated for drops of up to 1.5 m. Olight gives 54 g for the torch on its own; with the headband it weighed 82 g on our scale.
Perun 3 Mini vs Perun 3
The Perun 3 Mini has a bigger brother, the Olight Perun 3, built the same way with a right-angle head and a headband. The Perun 3 runs on a 5,000 mAh 21700 battery, so it’s much brighter, holds its higher levels for longer and has a proximity sensor that turns the output down when something is close to the lens; the Mini doesn’t have one. But it’s nearly three times the weight on your forehead and almost twice as long. The Mini is the one you can wear for hours or clip to a shirt pocket without noticing it. The Mini only comes in black; the Perun 3 also comes in Dream Blue, Midnight Blue, OD Green and orange, for about $125.
| Olight Perun 3 Mini | Olight Perun 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Proximity sensor | No | Yes |
| Waterproof | IPX8 | IP68 |
| Length | 64.3 mm | 116.8 mm |
| Max brightness | 1,250 lm | 3,000 lm |
| Throw | 155 m | 160 m |
| Battery | 16340, 650 mAh | 21700, 5,000 mAh |
| Moonlight runtime | 10 days | 20 days |
| Weight | 54 g | 150 g |
| Price | $95 | $125 |
| Shop | Check price at Amazon | Check price at Amazon |
Figures are Olight’s, for the cool white versions; our neutral white Mini tops out at 920 lumens. If you want a cheaper, brighter head torch and don’t need a pocket torch, the Sofirn H05B is the brightest in our head torch guide.
Conclusion: Olight Perun 3 MiniConclusion
The Olight Perun 3 Mini is a 64 mm right-angle torch that works as a head torch in its headband and as a pocket torch with its clip and magnetic tail. Our neutral white version gives up to 920 lumens with true colours, plus a red light for around camp, and it charges on a magnetic cable. The mesh headband is comfortable and the quick-release bracket swaps it from head to hand in a second. Turbo steps down quickly and the focused beam is less handy up close, but it does two jobs and weighed only 82 g with the headband. I paid $95.
A right-angle torch with a headband, neutral white light up to 920 lumens, red light, a magnetic tail and magnetic charging.
It weighed 82 g on our scale with the headband.
- Campers
- Hikers
- 4WD tourers
Yes, if you want one light for your head and your pocket. I paid $95, more than most head torches, but it does both jobs well.
