Group Buy: Wuben TO50R HC ("The Flashlight") - 90+CRI, 2500+lm, EDC - CLOSED!

Interested, depending on price.

Thanks! Feels really good to hear those words after so much time put into this project!

The multi-click lockout was (and still is) out of the question because I want that the light acts like specified also when clicking quickly - no matter how many times you do it…
On/off-switch: Each click will turn the light on or off, even if you would do that 10 times in a row => suitable for signaling.
Mode switch: Each click will advance one mode. Again, no matter how fast or how many times you do it => robust change of modes.

That is ok but one of my friend has a long click unlok method light in his backpack in the back of his car. And he rided on the highway and smelled strange and when he looked back he saw smoke in the car. The flashlight unlocked itself and went to turbo. He has to move fast to brake and stop and then pack out of the car. Luckily only his backpack melted and no fire. This little light with it’s TIR optic and high power is also can melt things. I think if you can enter lockout with 3 clicks and enter a signaling mode with 4 clicks and exit signaling with disconnecting battery it is a usable thing. But safety is a must have with high power flashlights.
Or if you have a long click for unlock it will be also good if you hold the button for unlock and after a few seconds the led or switch lighting blinks and right that time you need to make a short click with the mode button too. If the short click is too long or doesn’t happen the light stays locked.

Your story highlights the fact that a soft lock won’t ever be 100% reliable, which is why I always use hard lock (unscrew the tail cap for half a turn) when putting the light to backpack. I also require that from all of my lights, including this.

Yes. But then no need for soft lock if you should hard lock every time. If I put it on a table I don’t use any lock. Lock is only for putting in pocket or backpack. I don’t want to argue with you. I just want out the best possibble out of this almost perfect flashlight. :wink: The almost is just depends on a little better and safer soft lock in this. Every other thing is good as it is.

Wait, have the lights already shipped?

Nope. I was at Germany on IWA outdoor classic and tried it there at Wuben’s booth.

Yeah, I have to agree with ZozzV6, as I’ve already burned a hole in my trousers twice with flashlight in a pocket that was soft locked and required a long push to unlock. (I dont even count situations when I found it with empty/almost empty battery). After that I stopped carrying such flashlights. Three or four fast clicks is much less likely to happen accidentally. I always carry my flashlights soft locked (those that use safe locking). I don’t carry lights that have to be hard locked for reliable locking as I want to be able to lock/unlock it reliably with one hand.

I’ve carried a light with neither soft nor hard lock and been negatively surprised by a dead battery and a very warm light (luckily it wasn’t a high enough power light to do damage). So now I require all my EDC lights to have hard lockout. I rarely use soft because I find it too fiddly (although I see the point regarding one handed operation). So soft lockout won’t affect my interest in this light. I think a soft lock involving a single long push might be too easy to activate/deactivate accidentally, but I can see wanting to not have multiple clicks doing something other than turning the light off and on repeatedly for signaling. It seems a combination of a long followed quickly by several short clicks could work, but that would be even more fiddly. Hmm…

Looks like some are copying Wuben style already:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Mini-LED-Flashlight-4000LM-Q5-LED-Flashlight-3mode-Torch-Adjustable-Zoom-Focus-Lamp-Penlight-Waterproof-For/32975218019.html

what a crappy clone...

Interested.

Interested depending on price

Interested depending on price

Interested

I believe it is better to have an electronic lockout as well as to have the hard lockout, than to not have the electronic lockout. My thinking is just that some potential buyers might balk if they could not have the electronic lockout. For me, I prefer to enable lockout by untwisting the tailcap a half turn. Simple and positive. The presence of the electronic lockout does not influence my choice one way or the other. I am looking forward to getting mine.

PM sent. I think this is the type of light with the features I will be looking for from now (simple side switch UI, tail magnet, usb charging etc)
Hopefully performance measures up.

Q&A time! Sorry for the late response, but I have been very busy with this & other projects + answering all the PMs.

Q: Is the tail magnet removable?
A: Yes, but requires needle nose pliers

Q: Does it have battery level indication? Do you know how much it weights?
A: Battery level is indicated by a color led in the switch. Weight 201g with battery, 130g without.

Q: What kind of driver is it using? A boost or a buck?
A: Boost driver.

Q: What’s the optics? Carclo 1062x?
A: Yes

Q: Quad LH351D?…how long does turbo last in something that small? Reflector? Range? USB mode specifications? PWM? Mechanical or e-switch? Parasitic drain if the latter?
A: Yes. Turbo is temperature controlled, roughly 2min in room temperature, way more in a cold environment. No reflector, but TIR optics. Range ~150m (Wide and smooth beam - Not a thrower for sure!). No visible PWM. Dual e-switch. Parasitic drain is negligible.

Q: How much?
A: Price too low to be published. PM me for the pricing.

Q: Do we know yet whether the bezel threads will be locked?
A: No glue in these group buy lights.

Q: Wait, have the lights already shipped?
A: No. People just saw&tested the light at IWA show in Germany. Lots of positive feedback received! Here’s a video (in German, sorry!) of the light, filmed there:

Specs screenshot from that video:

Q: Isn’t the soft lock too easy to open by accident?
A: Not a real problem as the light can be hard-locked. Anyways, I have some ideas and we are working on making the lock even better before the lights are ready.

Q: I POSTED MY INTEREST HERE! WHY AM I NOT ON THE LIST????!
A: Because you need to send me a Private Message to hear the price and to get listed.

Did I miss any question? Any other questions? Go ahead and ask!

Oh now I’m reinterested in the light since it uses a boost driver.

Niiice.

Can the switch led be used as a locator ? (always on)