Wuben X1

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Wuben X-1 specifications

Brand/model	Wuben X1
Category	EDC flashlight / high-power
LED	3*CREE XHP70.2
Max. Lumens	12,000 lm
Max. Beam intensity / distance	? cd
Battery config.	Battery pack
Onboard charging	USB-C
Modes	4 + Turbo
Blinkies	Strobe, SOS
Reflector	OP
Waterproof	?
Review date	June 2022

Wuben is still a relatively unfamiliar brand outside the flashlight community. But they are pretty innovative, including the recently launched (and reviewed) Wuben A1, which is one of the most expensive lights we ever reviewed. And this is yet another unique light.

Flashlights are usually cylindrical, that doesn’t mean they have always been, or always will be. The one I’m reviewing isn’t cylindrical either, it’s rectangular with 3 LEDs sitting in a row.

These aren’t just your average CREE XML LEDs with a couple of hundred lumens. They are 3*CREE XHP70.2’s which promises a high output, and……. lots of heat. And that’s what Wuben tried to tackle with something special. They added a very quiet fan, that blows air through the body (where you can see some bare aluminum heatsinking fins). Yes, you can look through the flashlight from the side.

Just when I finished this review, the flashlight was announced.

Package quality.

Mine came in a generic plastic box, with the following:

• The flashlight: Wuben X1
• Lanyard
• USB-C to USB-C charging cord

This is a prototype product without any branding, images, or text. I expect you will receive a typical Wuben box, with a nice number of accessories, and of course, the branding printed on the body.

Mine also received with a broken bead. I’m not sure if that was supposed to be inside.

Before your first use

For safety reasons, Wuben ships their lights locked. So, before using your Wuben X1, make sure you deactivate the lockout mode, by doing 4 fast clicks. Do them as fast as possible. Once the flashlight is unlocked you can start using it.

Beware: we recommend locking the flashlight when carrying it. You do this by 4 fast clicks when the light is off. (It won’t work when the light is turned on)

Hold on!

Do you have trouble turning your flashlight on? That’s because it’s locked…. Scroll down to the User Interface section to learn how to unlock your flashlight!

A cylindrical flashlight gives a natural grip with your hand, especially when the diameter feels just right. The X-1 doesn’t have this kind of feeling because of its unusual design. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad design, just …. different.

So let’s start with the most obvious benefit: it won’t roll off the table. And secondly, you can make its tail stand quite stable and fit in your pockets easier than a 2*21700 cylindrical light.

There is no knurling as you find on a typical flashlight, so it can feel a bit slippery. But the cutouts, corners, and grooves on the battery tube help with a bit of grippiness. And you can always attach the lanyard in case you prefer carrying it that way.

The X-1 uses a single e-switch, that sits in the top middle of the light. Basically, about the spot, you would rest your thumb.

The use cases for this kind of light could be multiple. I wouldn’t be surprised if some people would carry it as an EDC for work, but generally speaking, it’s a bit too big for everyday carry. I’d probably use it in a car, or just on an occasional walk. The output (up to High) is maintained pretty well, so you wouldn’t burn your fingers while walking the dog and have plenty of runtime.

Oh, yeah, this one looks pretty robust. The only thing I would worry about is the fan getting clogged with dust or accidentally activating the light while carrying.

The anodization is matte black and covers the whole light. Since I have no manual or website with specifications, I wouldn’t be able to tell of what kind of aluminum it’s made, or what type of anodization is used.

Once the light is available, I guess it will be available in several different colors, just like the X-0.

Here’s what Wuben mentions about its warranty on its website:

• 30 days money-back guarantee: Within 30 days from the date of purchase, if the product has quality problems, customers can request full refund.
• 30 days replacement: Within 30 days from the date of purchase, if the product has quality problems, customers can request free replacement.
• 1 year warranty: Within 1 year from the date of purchase, if the product has quality problems, WUBEN will offer free repair.
• Battery warranty: WUBEN offers a 1-year warranty for the rechargeable batteries but other included accessories are not covered by the warranty.
• 5 Years product warranty: Within 5 years from the date of purchase, if the product(for battery-removable flashlights, accessories excluded) has quality problems, WUBEN will offer free repair for WUBEN registered customers(Support-Product registration).
• Lifetime maintenance: From the date of purchase, if the product has problem after 1 year, WUBEN will offer paid repair for WUBEN registered customers.

So, it’s better to register your light, so you can get the best possible warranty.

I can only share what I can observe and measure. I don’t know what Wuben will mention about the LEDs when this flashlight comes available, or whether there will be more LED options, but the one I received has 3*CREE XHP70.2’s. That means a lot of output, and a lot of heat if used in Turbo mode, and likely in high mode.

The LEDs are sitting in a row, with shallow orange-peel reflectors. And that’s a smart choice because the beams of XHP70.2 can show quite a bit of tint shifts, from purple to green. And with an orange peel reflector, you’ll reduce that shift a bit, albeit still visible.

There is a hotspot and a great amount of spill, but the transition from hotspot to spill is very smooth. The most obvious thing you can see is the difference in tint at the hotspot and spill. The hotspot is more ‘greenish’ and the spill more ‘purplish’. But the measurements with the Opple Light Master III (pro) weren’t too bad.

I got the following, measured at a distance of 1 meter, and a few seconds after turn on.

Low mode:

• CCT: 5353K
• CRI (Ra): 67.2
• DUV: 0.0103

Turbo mode:

• CCT: 5595
• CRI (Ra): 67.8
• DUV: 0.0071

Keep in mind that these measurements are not 100% perfect, and can differ a few percentages. The DUV changed 30% between Turbo and Low, but differs also, depending on the time you measure it after the light is turned on. So you can’t give just 1 DUV number, because it’s so dependent on many variables.

Dimensions: 

Wuben X1	Millimeters	Inches
Length	129 mm	5.08
Head width	56 mm	2.2″
Body thickness	28 mm	1.1″

Weight: 

Wuben X1	Weight in grams	Weight in Oz.
Weight:	381.4 grams	13.45 oz

Flashlight comparison

Size compared to other popular flashlights

Image 1, from left to right: BLF Q8, Wuben X1, Lumintop FW3A, Panasonic NCR18650B battery

Image 2, from left to right: Weltool W4 PRO, BLF Q8, Wuben X1, Lumintop FW3A, Panasonic NCR18650B battery

Hey.. you’re new to flashlights and you bought a Wuben X1? You need to know that your flashlight was shipped in the Lockout mode. This means that you first have to unlock the light, before you are able to use it. To unlock the flashlight do 4 fast clicks…. see the video above!

Available modes:

• Ultra low, Low, Medium, High, Turbo
• Strobe, SOS

From OFF:

• Single-click: to last used mode; mode memory, except blinkies and Turbo
• Double click: Turbo
• Triple-click: Strobe
• Press and hold: Lowest output mode (I just call this Ultra Low for the moment… but it’s not very low)

From ON:

• Single-click: light turns off
• Double click: Turbo
• Triple-click: Strobe
• Press and hold: Run from ultra low to high: UL-L-M-H-UL-L-etc

Shortcuts:

• To Turbo: double click from on/off
• To ultra low: long-press
• To Strobe: 3 clicks from on/off

Mode memory:

• Yes, but not Turbo, or either of the 2 blinkies

Blinky modes menu:

• Yes, you can enter strobe with a triple click.. and repeat to toggle between Strobe and SOS

Low battery warning:

• The shut-off is pretty abrupt.

Lock-out mode:

• Yes, 4 clicks from off. When you receive the flashlight, you have to unlock the flashlight first, before you can use it!

PWM:

• Not visible

Firmware / UI Conclusion:

It’s a very nice UI, with the usual, well-known, shortcuts to the Lowest mode, Turbo mode, and even Strobe.

NOTE: This flashlight isn’t supposed to be opened, and you are likely to lose any warranty by doing so.

There are 2*21700 batteries built-in, which are removable without too much trouble if you have to. Just make sure you insert them the correct way.

A USB-C to USB-C charging is included, and a red indicator LED shows the battery is charging. When it turns blue, the batteries are fully charged.

Charging goes automatically at 9V and 2A, so the batteries are fully charged within 2 hours!

I normally use a USB-tester to see the charge current. But just before it finished charging it kept switching the charging light from red to blue constantly. I used a USB-C power adapter, and it looked like it wanted to discharge the flashlight batteries and charge the power adapter… strange. At 1 point it discharged the batteries, because when I noticed this strange behavior and swapped to a normal USB-A to USB-C cable it charged again for a while, at 9V and 2A.

I didn’t have this problem with a normal USB-A to USB-C cable.

After all the testing, I tried to charge my phone with the included cable, but nothing happened. I believe that there is a power bank feature, but it didn’t work (anymore) on mine.

Lumen measurements:

All output numbers are relative to my homemade Integrating Sphere. It is set up with an Extech SDL400 Lux Meter for measurements including a Kenko PRO1D ND-16 filter. The base measurement is done with a Convoy S2+ that has been tested at 255 lumens.

All of my readings were taken with fully charged batteries.

Mode	turn on	30 sec	10 minutes
Moon	18.77	18.77	–
Low	399	400	397
Med	1,012	1,010	996
High	2,608	2,582	2,504
Turbo	10,103 lm	9,566 lm	2,461 lm

Runtime: Battery life

The runtime test was done with the 50cm integrating sphere, including the Kenko Pro1D ND-16 filter and Extech SDL400 data logging Lux Meter.

Mode	Specified	Measured runtime (ANSI FL1)	Time till shut off
Moon	?	–	–
Low	?	13h 59min	13h 59min
Med	?	5h 44min	5h 44min
High	?	2h 01min	2h 01min
Turbo*	?	1h 57min	1h 57min

ANSI FL1 standards: The runtime is measured until the light drops to 10% of its initial output (30 seconds after turn 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.

Throw Measurement: Peak beam intensity and beam distance

Measurements were taken indoors at 5 meters with a Hagner E4-X Lux Meter. Lux were measured and converted to Candela. Meters and Yards

Mode	Candelas measured	Peak distance in meters	in yards
Lowest	25	10	11
Low	825	57	63
Med	2125	92	101
High	5575	149	163
Turbo	20,750 cd	288 m	315

Extra info: Peak beam distance according to ANSI FL1 standards: The calculated value of distance in meters at which the flashlight produce a light intensity of 0.25 lux. (0.25 lux is about the brightness of a full moon shining on an object).

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

The shed is about 65 meters / 71 yards away. 

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