As of 6/19, Olight just launched their Valkyrie Turbo. This is their first eye safe LEP (laser excited phosphor) pistol light — and to my knowledge this is the first LEP pistol light on the market. I’m happy to see that Olight is pushing the industry by using newer lighting technology in defensive handgun lights. Let’s take a closer look and see if it is the highest candela light on the market!
Valkyrie Turbo
The Valkyrie Turbo boasts 250 lumens and 530 meter range. To get candela, we use the formula of
.25 x (Distance in Meters)2 = Candela
.25 x (530)2 = 70225 Candela
If true, that could be a contender for the highest candela pistol light we have in the shop.
This light takes 2x CR123A batteries, which are plentiful and cheap. I wonder why Olight didn’t include the internal rechargeable battery system that they are known for. Perhaps that will come later.
This light is very similar in size and shape to the PL-Pro or the Baldr Pro R, both of which have the same body shape, but slightly differently sized bezels. It fits fairly well on full size pistols. Smaller pistols might have the light protruding further than desired.
Applicability to Pistol Lights?
LEP is a technology that allows extremely small angles of light departure from the device. This means that available lumens are focused in a way that can provide a very bright, but very small hotspot. This is quite useful for long-range applications, or applications where controlling a subject requires the highest amount of light on the target. But the lack of any perceptible flood means that peripheral illumination is lacking. This is commonly overcome with umbrella lighting (bouncing the light off the ceiling or high on the walls) or baseboard lighting (reflecting the light from the floor or lower walls). But in those cases, you still need enough lumens to reflect. Since LEP lights work great longer distances, those using them indoors might prefer a light with some flood. Since LEP is useful to identify threats at distance, they’re often used outside, but again, searching is lacking. Further, umbrella lighting is often not an option (shining the light into the sky does little good), and baseboard lighting often is absorbed by grass or black asphalt.
So when might this light be useful? I can think of 3 possibilities.
- You think it’s cool and just want it
- You want the max candela to effectively control a subject
- You need your pistol light to identify threats at longer distances (50 feet or more)
Lumens
As usual, we tested this light in our integrating sphere. Given that this is a lower output light, I shouldn’t care too much about lumens, but I’m curious…
| Measurement | Olight Valkyrie Turbo |
|---|---|
| Max Lumens | 309.4 |
| ANSI / PLATO Lumens | 282.0 |
These are not overwhelming numbers by today’s 1,000 lumen standard, but again this light is not built for lumens. It’s built for candela.
The light has a normal drop immediately upon turning on, but oddly then comes back up, dropping quickly to a consistent 75-ish lumens for the whole time I gathered data.
Light Quality
We also tested for CRI and color temperature.
The color is a little cool for my preference, but I doubt I would notice at the range. The CRI is about 8-10 points lower than normal. If I’m using the light for PID at distance, the better I get to see colors such as R9, R13, and R15, the better I’m able to determine red and skin tones. Given two lights with the same output but one with better CRI, the better CRI will do a better job allowing my eyes to see the full spectrum.
Candela
Ok, this is the real test of this light. Does it have the most candela of any pistol light on the market today? I’m going to compare versus the mighty Modlite PL350 with the OKW head. This light consistently performs the best in our testing for candela.
| Candela Measurements | Olight Valkyrie Turbo | Modlite PL350 OKW |
|---|---|---|
| Instant Candela | 53,880 51,520 (2nd run) | 62,760 |
| 30s Candela | 55,730 | 60,230 |
In short, the Olight didn’t outperform the Modlite. I didn’t expect it to. That said, this 50k+ candela is a huge amount. Most full size pistol lights are sub 30,000.
Holster Availability
At Werkz, we have determined that holsters we developed for the Baldr Pro R fit this Valkyrie Turbo as if they’re made for it. At the time of this writing, holsters are avialable for Glock and Sig Sauer P320 pistols, but more pistols may be supported in the future. Go to https://werkz.com/ and use the holster finder to see if your carry setup is supported.
Conclusion
The Olight Valkyrie Turbo is a niche product. It should appeal to those with a need for a super high candela pistol light with almost no flood. That said, I think many people will want to try it out. It’s an interesting product, and I suspect we’ll see more of its kind in the future. I would like to see one with some degree of flood. The risk of trying it is minimal; if you already have a PL-Pro or Baldr Pro R, you can try the Valkyrie Turbo without having to buy new holsters.
I wouldn’t be discouraged that it didn’t beat the Modlite in the candela testing. However, I do expect a time when the highest throwing lights will be LEP. Period. And once manufacturers figure out how to get some flood with the hotspot, LEP may even compete with LED. I appreciate that Olight is pushing the envelope with new technology… let’s see where it goes!
| Pro | Con |
|---|---|
| Super high candela | Virtually no spill |
| Familiar form factor | A little too large for compact pistols |
| Utilizes common CR123a batteries | Does not use Olight’s recharge capability |
