The PT28 Oathkeeper Is A Military-Law Enforcement Tool With Personal Self Defense Uses
It always pays to reserve judgment on things until you have all the facts. When a representative at Brinyte reached out and asked us to look at a flashlight they were offering I confess I wasn’t too excited about it. I mean, it’s a flashlight, how interesting can they be?
So I asked them to send me the PT28 Oathkeeper because it had an appealing look. About ten days later it arrived in the mail and I was pleasantly surprised by what I received. Here is a review of my impressions of the PT28.
The Packaging is Outstanding
It arrived undamaged in a heavy stock cardboard box with a foam cut out not unlike what you get with a thousand-dollar cell phone.
You know, the kind of box that is so good that you don’t want to throw it away? If you are thinking of giving the PT28 as a gift to someone, packaging, and presentation is important and Brinyte got it right in this case.
In the foam cut out is the PT28 itself, it’s made of high-grade aluminum and has a nearly ideal ergonomic feel to it. It’s got enough contours to give you a sure grip in your palm and has some weight to it as well. The aluminum body is a bit thicker than what you commonly find in Tac-lights.
It also came with some very useful accessories as you can see below.
The retention lanyard clips to the back of the light can be tightened around the wrist to ensure you don’t drop it. You may not think of this immediately as a useful item but it really is. More on that in a moment.
The charger for the PT28 is magnetic which means no dirt or gunk or water is going to get inside the usual mini-USB connection short out the charging circuit.
The light does not come with any guarantee that it’s waterproof but it is certainly water-resistant with several rubber gaskets sealing screw-together parts. The accessories thoughtfully include a spare set of rubber O-rings as well. Brinyte does offer a thirty-day replacement warranty for defects along with a two-year repair warranty. I’m impressed that this is a flashlight that can actually be repaired as opposed to just thrown away and replaced. It speaks to the build quality.
Then there is the sturdy holster which is also very well done. It features a swiveling belt attachment with a small side pocket you can use to store the retention lanyard or a spare battery.
The PT28 has a detachable metal belt clip on the body of the light as well.
Finally, there is that circular gunsight-like fitting you see below. Do you know what it is? Can you guess?
The PT28, made for law enforcement use is a personal defense weapon as well. That gunsight fitting is notched to fit over the backside of the casing is called the BR Tactical Ring and it converts the Oathkeeper into a self-defense weapon. Gripping the flashlight in the palm with your first finger in the ring, you can punch with it to a rather devastating effect I imagine. With the battery installed it weighs just under five ounces so you have added that to your throw as well in a fight. That TAC ring gives you a very sure grip so you can hang on to this light in a close fight.
Note: In some jurisdictions carrying the PT28 in this configuration may not be legal so you’ll want to check your local laws before you do.
Here are some particulars about the operation of the PT28.
Five Operating Modes, Including an S.O.S. Mode for Search and Rescue.
A push on a rubber button at the back of the light will switch it on to a blinding 1600 Lumens in Turbo-Mode which it can sustain for over ninety minutes. On the body, an illuminated button allows you to cycle through a total of five other modes,
High, at 360 Lumens for two-hundred at ten minutes of run time.
Middle, at 60 Lumens for nine-hundred and 60 minutes of run time.
Low, with five-thousand and eighty minutes of run time.
A 1600 Lumens strobe.
A 60 Lumens S.O.S. signal.
The 1600 Lumens output is made possible by an aluminum alloy reflector using an LED made by Cree. To say that it’s an utterly blinding light is understating things a bit. You can go into a pitch dark room and this palm-sized flashlight will just about turn it into daylight. It will get pretty hot in extended use so take care not to leave it turned on with the light in contact with any surface you don’t want to be scorched.
An Illuminated Mode Button That Is A Charge Indicator
The PT28 is powered by an IMR18650, 3100mAh battery which is lithium-ion and can be bought online for about $15. I like this feature over the special proprietary batteries offered by some makers that charge closer to $30. The PT28 has reverse-polarity, over-charge, and overheat protection built in but having the right battery with a high discharge rate will make a big difference in how this light operates day to day.
I said earlier that the mode button was illuminated, and it’s a great feature in this light. That illumination is a battery charge indicator that goes from green to amber to red to show charge level down ten percent where it will flash red until the charge is totally expended. This illumination feature can be turned off by holding the button down for ten seconds with the light on.
Final thoughts.
Pictured above, you see the PT28 Oathkeeper ready to roll with the Tac Ring and lanyard attached, it makes for a nice compact, well thought out package overall.
