urFLAMP V63-S

1lumen selects and reviews products personally. We may earn affiliate commissions through our links, which help support our testing.

urFLAMP V63-S review

urFlamp V63 Spotlight specifications

Brand/modelurFlamp V63 S
Flashlight categoryEDC / long-range flashlight
LEDLuminus SFT40 6500K
Max. output2,000 Lm (18650) / 1500 Lm (18350)
Max. beam distance663 m (18650) / 514m (18350)
Max. beam intensity110,000 cd (18650) / 66,000 cd (18350)
Battery config.1*18350 / 18650
Onboard chargingUSB-C
Modes6
BlinkiesStrobe, SOS (and slow strobe)
WaterproofIP68
Review dateAugust 2023

Review intro:

The urFlamp V63 started off as a Kickstarter project, with a few unique features, including a extendable battery tube as well as a screw-on adjustable magnetic base.

The extendable battery tube is a little unique, but has already been offered by 1 or 2 other flashlight brands in the past.

At the time of writing, there are 2 versions of the V63, namely the V63 Floodlight, and the V63 Spotlight. And the one I am reviewing here is the latter.

The Floodlight is using 3 LEDs for max brightness, and the Spotlight is using a single LED for maximum distance. And from specs, this sounds like a pretty interesting offering, so let’s see how this one actually performs. Because, like you probably know, we don’t

Package quality.

The flashlight arrived in a generic carry case, with the following inside:

  • The flashlight : urFLAMP V63
  • Storage case/bag
  • Lanyard
  • 2 O-rings
  • Magnetic base (which seems to be optional)
  • USB-C charging cable
  • 18650 battery with 3800mAh capacity (which is impossible)
  • 18350 battery with 1100mAh capacity
  • Manual (printed on normal copy paper, with very very poor quality printing)

If you buy the V63-F, you will also get a OTG connector. I’m not sure why this is only available with the Floodlight, and not with the Spotlight.

Edit: The manual you receive with the V63-S will be printed on high quality paper! Mine was just printed quickly before sending out.

Flashlight in use

The flashlight arrived with a 18350 loaded in the flashlight, which measured 3.98V, and therefore ready to use. The 18650 battery was added to the package separately, and measured 4.10V.

In its shortest form, it’s pretty compact for a thrower, and you probably need to get used to its size. It’s the same size as the Manker MC13, Speras M4, and the like.

And in the extended configuration, it’s about the size as any other 18650 flashlight. But I don’t personally enjoy its design when extended. The smooth battery tube is visible, and with the rest of this light, doesn’t look too good, and it doesn’t add any grip.

Handing is pretty easy, extended, where the thumb rests nicely around the switch.

I would probably recommend using this light while camping, or doing some search around the barn/yard/fields. The beam is a little too narrow to use for an EDC.

The tailcap has a small tapped hole where you can attach a magnetic base. This base is optional, but quite nice. It can hold the flashlight in any direction, as far as the base allows. Mine was also strong enough to have the flashlight stay up, when attached to a vertical frame. I heard that some people complained about the the light losing its position, and slowly dropping down.

There is a flat cover with 2 little holes which seems to be there to adjust the smoothness/strength of the inner ball. I don’t really know how to describe this in English.

There is nothing that witholds the flashlight from rolling off a table, and it doesn’t include a pocket clip.

Build Quality and Warranty

urFLAMP didn’t hide the fact their driver (and likely the flashlights itself) was produced by Speras. How do I know? The driver has Speras printed on it.

That’s actually not a bad things, because Speras flashlights are built very well, and we have reviewed quite a few of them. And some of our reviewers were perlexed receiving a Speras flashlight, so don’t think this is a con. It’s actually a pro, knowing it was made by a well established brand.

This is how many, if not most, flashlight brands start out. And this include other, pretty popular, flashlight brands.

All parts are nicely chamfered, and everything fits together perfectly.  And the anodizing… it’s Type III Hard-Anodized and a very well done satin sheen. It ranks up there with the best of them.

Warranty according to their website:

  • The website seems to show a 5 year warranty, however, the details on their warranty policy page, show something different. Here it is:
  • The warranty is provided in addition to the rights and remedies granted to you by the seller or granted to you under applicable legislation. Therefore, any remedy (e.g. rectification, claim for damages, right to terminate the contract) granted by urFlamp or by the law applicable remain unaffected e.g., the right to claim lack of conformity within 12 months from the date of purchase.
  • The warranty covers all defects compared to the specification of the product in question, that may arise in the product within the below-mentioned warranty period, however, with the exceptions set out below.
  • Unless otherwise explicitly stated in documents provided in connection with the purchase, the warranty period is twelve (12) months.

LED, Lens, Bezel, Beam, and Reflector

The V63 S uses a TIR optic, and behind it sits a Luminus SFT40 (domeless) LED. 

The bezel is black with some minor ‘teeth’ which I don’t really call aggressive. It is removable, so it can give you access to the internals. And there is yet another indicator that the flashlight was built by Speras, because the MCPCB has Speras printed on it.

The beam is cool white (as expected), and with a pretty tight hotspot. It has a nice, but short, transition to spill.

Dimensions and its competition

Dimensions: 

urFlamp V63 SMillimetersInches
Length (short)84 mm3.3 in
Length (long)113 mm4.5 in
Head diameter40 mm1.6 in
Tailcap diameter27 mm1.1 in

Dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter, and to the nearest tenth of an Inch.

Weight

urFlamp V63 SWeight in gramsWeight in oz.
Without battery:88 g3.1 oz
With 18350 battery113 g4 oz

Weight is rounded to the nearest gram, and to the nearest tenth of an Oz.

Throw flashlight comparison

Size compared to some other popular flashlights.

From left to right: Olight Seeker 4 Mini, Emisar D1, Lumintop GT Mini, urFlamp V63-S, Convoy S2+

urFLAMP V63-S UI : User interface and driver

Thankfully, the urFLAMP has a pretty easy UI, that most people can get used to without reading the manual.

Available modes: Eco, Low, Medium, High, Turbo

Available blinky modes: Strobe, SOS (and there is a slow strobe not mentioned in the description)

User interface:

From OFF:

  • Press and Hold: Eco mode
  • Single click:  turn on (memorized mode)
  • Double click:  Turbo mode
  • 3 clicks: Strobe mode (and if you hold the switch, it will turn to slow strobe. 3 clicks will change to SOS)
  • Hold 3 seconds: Lockout mode (the light will flash, and turn off)

From ON:

  • Press and Hold: change brightness (Low > Medium > High)
  • 1 click: turn off
  • Double click: Turbo Mode
  • 3 clicks: Strobe Mode (and press and hold to switch to slow strobe, and another 3 clicks to slow strobe)

Mode memory:

  • Yes, it will memorize Low, Medium, and High

Shortcuts:

  • To Low: hold 0.5 seconds from Off
  • To Turbo: double click from Off or On
  • To Strobe: triple click from Off or On

Low voltage warning:

  • When turning the flashlight on, the indicator LED in the switch will light up or 5 seconds to indicate the power level:
    • Green: 100% – 70%
    • Orange: 70% – 30%
    • Red: 30% – 10%
    • Red Flash: 10% – 1%

Strobe/blinkies

  • Strobe is activated by a triple click from Off or On
  • When in Strobe Mode triple click to get to SOS Mode, or press and hold for Slow Strobe (which is not described

Lock-out mode: 

  • Activate Lockout by a 2 second hold from Off
  • Unlock with a triple click

PWM

  • There is no PWM

Additional info on the UI: 

  • Eco mode (only) can be used while charging

urFLAMP V63-S Charging and batteries

The light ships with a non-branded 1100 mAh 18350 battery pre-inserted in the light. The battery includes a button-top protection circuit. Inside the package, they also included their 3800mAh rate 18650 battery with the same color and button top.

I measured both batteries, by discharging at 500mA, and with end voltage of 2.85V. I used the SkyRC MC3000 for this.

Here are the numbers:

  • 18350: 927 mAh
  • 18650: 3515 mAh

It does not accept flat top batteries!

urFlamp says that the built-in USB-C charging charges at 1Amp for the spotlight version, and 2 Amps for the Floodlight version. I measured the battery charging time at 1 hour and 12 minutes with the 18350 battery with the include USB-C charging cable. It has a USB-A port on 1 side, and a USB-C port on the other side of the cable.

The maximum charge current was about 0.96A, but most of the charge time it was charging at a slightly reduced rate. After a couple rounds, I tested the battery capacity with my SkyRC MC3000 analyzer charger, and discharged it at 500mA to get a total capacity of 927 mAh. This is below the advertised 1100 mAh.

I also charged the 18650 battery inside the light, and it took 4 hours and 9 minutes to fully charge. The maximum charge current was measured at 0.96 Amps.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t charge with a USB-C to USB-C cable!

There is a battery indicator inside teh switch, telling the charge status by different colors.

  • Green: 70% or more
  • Orange: 30-70%
  • Red: 10-30%
  • Blinking red: below 10%

Performance test

This is the gear I use for testing:

GearPurposeLink to buy
Hagner E4-XMeasuring beam intensity (throw)Inquire at Hagner.se
2* Extech SDL400Lumens and logging runtimesAmazon.com, Amazon.co.uk,
Leica Disto D2Distance for throw measurementsAmazon.com, Amazon.co.uk,
Sekonic C-800 Spectrometer for LED measurementsAmazon.com, Amazon.co.uk
Uni-T UTi260BThermal Image cameraAmazon.com,

Lumen measurements:

How Lumens are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards How Lumens are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards: The ANSI FL1 standards specify that output in lumens should be measured 30 seconds after turning on, as this is the standardized time for measuring brightness according to the industry standard. This is why we focus on this part in our measurements. The ANSI FL1 standards require an ambient temperature of 22 ± 3°C. We record the ambient the ambient temperature to identify potential reasons for any observed discrepancies.

The output measurements in this review are based on my homemade integrating spheres, each equipped with an Extech SDL400 Lux Meter. For consistency and accuracy, a calibration light (Convoy S2+ with 249lm and a Convoy S2+ with 261lm) is measured prior to each set of lumen measurements.
For high-output lights, one of the lux meters uses an ND camera filter to prevent the lux meter to max out. This is either the Kenko PRO1D ND16 up till about 80,000 lumens or Gobe ND32 for anything above.

All of my readings were taken from a fully-charged 18350 and 18650 battery.

The measurements were taken manually at turn on and 30 seconds. The 10 minute numbers are taken from the runtime graph.

Lumens with 18350 battery

ModeSpecifiedMeasured at turn on30 sec10 min
Moon0.5 lm0.4 lm0.4 lm
Low60 lm61 lm61 lm61 lm
Med220 lm228 lm228 lm225 lm
High500 lm521 lm518 lm355 lm
Turbo1500 lm1868 lm1638 lm330 lm

I try to use rounded lumen numbers, except for maybe Low or Moonlight/Firefly modes.

Lumens with 18650 battery

ModeSpecsat turn on:30 seconds10 minutes
Moon0.50.40.4
Low60616161
Med220228228225
High500521519499
Turbo2,0001,9541,736 lm332

Moon, Low, and Medium are performing the same as with the 18350 battery. You can see that a 18650 does help with the higher modes.

Parasitic drain: couldn’t test

urFLAMP V63-S Battery life and runtime

How Runtimes are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards About ANSI FL1 runtime standards: The runtime is measured until the light drops to 10% of its initial output (30 seconds after turning on). This does not mean that the flashlight is not usable anymore. The last column shows how long the light actually works till it shuts off. If there is a + symbol, it means that the test was stopped at that particular point, but the light was actually still running. This happens on certain occasions, with certain drivers, firmware, or batteries.

The runtime test was done with the 50cm integrating sphere, including the Extech SDL400 data logging Lux Meter.

Here are the runtimes for the V63-S with 18350 batteries, at an ambient temperature of between 24.9 and 28 degrees celsius.

ModeSpecified runtimeMeasured runtime (ANSI FL1)Time till shut off
Moon220h
Low6.4h5h 57min5h 57min+
Med1.6h1h 36min1h 36min+
High1.1h1h 00 min1h 00 min+
Turbo1h56 min56 min+

The flashlight kept running for many more hours at sub-lumen level. This could probably continue for 1 or 2 days.

And here for the 18650 batteries

ModeSpecified runtimeMeasured runtime (ANSI FL1)Time till shut off
Moon760h
Low23h21h 57min21h 57min+
Med5.7h5h 52min5h 52min+
High4h3h 57min3h 57min+
Turbo3.9h3h 51min3h 51min+

The V63-S doesn’t shut off, and continues running at sublumen level for many, many hours. And I didn’t test Moon mode, which was supposed to do run for 220 hours

urFLAMP V63-S Peak beam intensity and beam distance measurements

About Peak beam intensity: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards About peak beam intensity The calculated value of distance in meters at which the flashlight produces a light intensity of 0.25 lux. (0.25 lux is about the brightness of a full moon shining on an object). This means that the intensity has decreased so much, it becomes difficult to see darker objects, or objects that don’t reflect light. The columns ‘Meters’ and ‘Yards’ use rounded numbers.

Measurements were taken indoors at 5 meters with a Hagner E4-X Lux Meter.

With 18350 battery

ModeSpecsMeasured Cdin metersyards
Low7763,425 cd117 m128
Med4,74313,150 cd229 m251
High15,40030,225 cd348 m380
Turbo66,00092,500 cd608 m665

Not sure where they got the numbers from, but min performed much better

With 18650 battery

MoswSpecsMeasured Cdmetersyards
Low7763,425117 m128
Med4,74313,150229 m251
High15,40030,150 347 m380
Turbo110,000 cd99,000 cd629 m688

Low, Medium, and High performed way better than specs. But Turbo was just slightly off. Mine read 107,000 at turn on though. But they should use the 30 seconds measurements.

It’s still a great thrower flashlight for its size!

Beamshots

For the following beamshots, I used a Canon EOS 5D Mk2 with a 50mm lens. Manual settings: ISO1600, 1/4sec, F4, 5000K

The shed is about 65 meters / 71 yards away, and the reflective fence about 200 meters.

Compared to the following flashlights:

  • urFlamp V63-S
  • Olight Perun 2 Mini (16340)
  • Wuben X2 (18350*2)
  • Olight Marauder Mini (thrower)
  • Weltool T2R (tactical)

Disclaimer: This flashlight was sent to me for review at no cost by urFLAMP. I have not been paid to review, nor have I been holding back on problems or defects.

Final Verdict

Pros

  1. Works with 18350 and 18650 batteries
  2. Extandable battery tube, which is still pretty unique
  3. Relatively affordable
  4. Matches up with specs

Cons

  1. Manual is printed on normal paper, and in places unreadable (edit: this will not be the case when they are going to be sent out)
  2. 3 clicks for unlocking the light is a bit uncommon
  3. USB-C to USB-C charging not working

Explanation on star ratings:

1: Avoid: my phone flashlight would be a better choice – 2: Poor: significant defect or issues; almost unusable – 3: Average: some defects or issues; but still usable 4: Good: recommended (minor issues) – 5: Great: highly recommended

Reviewer Marco
Author: Marco

4.5 stars: ★★★★⋆

While our star rating provides a reliable indicator, we encourage you to read the full review to make an informed decision based on your own needs and preferences.

This was a total surprise for me. Not just the fact that it is a pretty good ‘first’ flashlight, but it also matches up to specifications. That’s rather unpopular, because most new flashlight brands exaggerate when they start out, using incorrect numbers, inflating their numbers. But this time, urFlamp (I personally think this is a strange name to use…and to pronounce) uses trustworthy numbers, so that is definitely starting on a good foot.

The small cons are worth noting, but aren’t that important. An unreadable manual, and 3 clicks to unlock aren’t the end of the world. And charging with a normal USB-A to USB-C cable isn’t a problem for me either. Most of the time I use that still anyway.

Buy your urFLAMP V63-S here

1lumen selects and reviews products personally. We may earn affiliate commissions through our links, which help support our testing.