[review] Wurkkos WK30 white/red/UV light

[Lightbringer]

And I’m going crazy just trying to find a decent (molle) holster for it.

Got some Jetbeam holsters that fit tubelights perfectly, but it’s quite snug trying to stuff a ’30 into it.

Ordered some Convoy C8 holsters, just got ’em, perfect width but the flap is looooooooooooong. Yeah, scratch that, they’re going to hold actual C8s instead.

Saw some “universal”(?) holsters at FT which are adjustable out the wazoo that are a good 2’ wide, so those might work.

Any suggestions, let’s hear ’em.

[Tom_E]

I got a Convoy holster that fits it perfect. Hhhmmm, not the biggest Convoy holster - not sure of size though.

Just measured mine - it's 45 mm across, from edge to edge, maybe 50 mm including the 18650 holder. Open up, its about 22.7 cm long. Closed it's about 130 mm with the Velcro aligned. With the WK30 in it, you only get about 1/3 down the Velcro, so the light is a little too long but still fastens well. Width wise it's good.

So I guess it's not perfect - I'm guessing it's the S2+/S3 holster but the spec'd dims look weird. Dunno why it's so hard to get simple well defined specs on these things...

[Lightbringer]

Mmm, I may have to try a coupla those universal holsters…

https://www.fasttech.com/products/1539801

“NaitHawk”? Who named it that? Tommy Wiseau?

[Watermanchris]

Thanks for the recommendation Lightbringer! I just ordered mine for $29.99 with that coupon code! It’ll be here on Thursday and I’ll test it out on my Tarantula.

[Lightbringer]

Kewl, enjoy!

[Wurkkos]

Here is the link for those people could not order from Amazon :
WK30

[1stein]

@MacLee

Here is the link for those people could not order from Amazon :
WK30

Good ease for many.
Do you send all pieces directly from China?

I like this light so much that I’m considering purchase of another one. It’s like having 3 flashlights in one.

If you ever want to make my dream come true, please release BLF version with each of 3 leds powered at least 3A.

[aswang]

@1stein

@MacLee

Here is the link for those people could not order from Amazon :
WK30

Good ease for many.
Do you send all pieces directly from China?

I like this light so much that I’m considering purchase of another one. It’s like having 3 flashlights in one.

If you ever want to make my dream come true, please release BLF version with each of 3 leds powered at least 3A.

This would be nice. Maybe an LT1 style driver with tint mixing for the 2 leds and a separate channel for the UV.

[Watermanchris]

This would be nice. Maybe an LT1 style driver with tint mixing for the 2 leds and a separate channel for the UV.

This is exactly what I was thinking when I was reading the specs. :+1:

[Lux-Perpetua]

I would appreciate an advanced WK30S with following features:

✔ Cree XP-E2 deep red (660nm) instead of XP-E2 red (630nm) to better maintain nightvision capability

✔ LG LEUVA33W70RL00 365nm UV LED instead of LG LEUVA33U70UL00 395nm for more output and more effective UV spectrum (maybe incl. ZWB2 filter)

✔ USB port moved into the thread section between head and battery tube for better ingress protection and less wear & tear with rubber boot and microUSB port

✔ USB-C port with QC 2.0 (18W) charging circuit

✔ knurling on tailcap (and battery tube) for better tactile handling

I think this may increase costs by less than $ 10.

[Tom_E]

I agree with all the above - great updates. I would like to see some improvements in the UI as well:

• I'd like to see white and red treated equally - last used of white or red is the default for 1 click ON. You can debate about UV, maybe it should also be capable of defaulting.
• of course I'd like to see smooth ramping, but if not, then do course mode level ramping, like in Anduril, press&hold to ramp, 1 click for OFF
• 1 click to last used level, press&hold to lowest, maybe keep dbl click and triple click for navigating to the next LED outputs
• the timing of the current dbl and triple click is a bit rough. I often find I'm not quick enough - I think the tolerances are too tight.

You lose dbl click to max, but max could still be the last used level. Also this keeps it all pretty simple, hopefully easy to understand by most.

Of course for the driver, a triple channel driver like what TA has designed could work, but wire each channel's output separately - the FET for the white, a large 7135 bank for the red, and a small 7135 bank for the UV - it's about a perfect match up. If you have room for a 22 mm driver, which it should, then it should be do-able. This would be a great foundation for BLF modding - add more 7135's for more power, better firmware options, spring bypasses, etc.

I've made cuts and jumpers for converting triple channel BLF drivers to multiple LED outputs (2), and modified NarsilM to work with them - worked out well for my Lumintop EDC Mini II with the side flood LED.

[Andybibbville]

This flashlight is so awesome!! It’s so much fun. I wish I would have bought it when I first saw it, but I thought it was a gimmick flashlight. But it’s not.

[Streamer]

Yep, Glad I got in on one. I’m waiting on the upgrade…I hope… to get a 2nd.

[sb56637]

@snovotill

Parasitic drain measures 31uA and so not bad, so it will take 19 years to flatten the 5AH battery if the battery itself has no leakage.

Nice, thanks a lot for posting this important detail!

[Jackie]

@Lightbringer

@aswang

Like this light a lot. Thanks Lightbringer for reviewing it. Managed to open the bezel with 2 strap wrenches. No heat and just enough force. Seems regular glue was used so a little heat should help. I’m still debating whether to replace the main LED with 4000K 351D and the red to a 2200K 351B. I really don’t like red led but might need it someday.

No worries! I really like the '351 that’s in there now. It’s a nice creamy white, lit up everything wonderfully in my skeeter-hunt, and was almost as floody as my Cometa. That candlelight '351 sounds nice, but I’ve been using red at night for peeking at the clock, etc., to not ruin my night vision. Kinda eerie when I hit it full blast. I feel like a rotisserie chicken. :laughing:

Hahaha.. the red light bring your house more interesting

[TexasToasted]

I like all the Version 2 ideas above and would like to add a very strong magnetic tailcap.

[Wurkkos]

@Lux-Perpetua

I would appreciate an advanced WK30S with following features:

Cree XP-E2 deep red (660nm) instead of XP-E2 red (630nm) to better maintain nightvision capability

LG LEUVA33W70RL00 365nm UV LED instead of LG LEUVA33U70UL00 395nm for more output and more effective UV spectrum (maybe incl. ZWB2 filter)

USB port moved into the thread section between head and battery tube for better ingress protection and less wear & tear with rubber boot and microUSB port

USB-C port with QC 2.0 (18W) charging circuit

knurling on tailcap (and battery tube) for better tactile handling

I think this may increase costs by less than $ 10.

Thank you for the suggestions we will consider it seriously ,yes it will cost more if upgrade, so what is the range if for a budget light?

[Rdubya18]

I’d like the last used default for all , including UV .

[Lux-Perpetua]

@MacLee

Thank you for the suggestions we will consider it seriously ,yes it will cost more if upgrade, so what is the range if for a budget light?

That's a very good question indeed - and one that's not easy to answer. :-D

Of course, price is important. But it also depends on what you get for the price, i.e. quality, features etc.. The WK30 has with its triple independent emitters - at least for now - a unique selling proposition, so competition is not much of a problem yet. With Sofirn as reputable OEM manufacturer in place, you have a good and reliable partner that BLF members trust.

So, let's do some thinking...

UV light

Switching from LG's LEUVA33U70UL00 395nm to LG's LEUVA33W70RL00 365nm seems to be a highly desired and anticipated change for many flashoholics. Additional costs should be more or less neglectible. Be careful with Nichia's 276A as it seems to be more expensive with less overall output (even though it emits less visible stray light). Maybe you can check with Sofirn how reasonable it is to apply a ZWB2 filter in front of the UV LED to filter out visible stray light.

Red light

There are many lights with orange-red (620-635nm) out there but real™ red (650nm - 670nm) is to be found very rarely. With regard to eyes' adaptation to darkness and to maintain night vision capability as well as to hunt some animals that do not response to these wavelenghts, deep red is more effective. The correct product bin code is XPEBPR-L1-0000-00D01. For instance, the LED is sold by Cutter Australia (https://www.cutter.com.au/product/xpebpr-l1-0000-00d01/). Mouser only charges € 1,50/LED with an MOQ of 100 pcs (https://www.mouser.de/ProductDetail/Cree-Inc/XPEBPR-L1-0000-00D01). So, maybe the deep red version is not more expensive compared to the standard red version.

On a side note: While being more effective in terms of night vision capability one needs to consider that the human eye is less responsive to 660nm compared to 630nm. So, the actual perception might be a bit less bright with deep red.

Knurling

With some slight changes on CNC machining it should be feasible to add some knurling on the tailcap. In return customers will get a better tactile handling when turning the tailcap to use mechanical lockout or to change the battery.

USB port

Using USB-C with QuickCharge 2.0 and moving the port into the thread section of the WK30 will actually drive costs to a higher level. It is questionable if these extra costs will be reasonable with regard to higher sales. However, this might be a nice option or basis for future designs. Sofirn has already integrated an advanced charging circuit into the SP36S (QuickCharge 2.0 capable). Maybe they can reveal some information on how much costs have increased in comparison to the SP36 without QuickCharge 2.0.

Personally and general speaking, everything up to $ 50 is what I deem "budget area". I think a markup of let's say $ 5 - 7 might be still acceptable for some more advanced improvements.

[1332332331]

@Tom E

I agree with all the above - great updates. I would like to see some improvements in the UI as well:

• I’d like to see white and red treated equally - last used of white or red is the default for 1 click ON. You can debate about UV, maybe it should also be capable of defaulting.

• of course I’d like to see smooth ramping, but if not, then do course mode level ramping, like in Anduril, press&hold to ramp, 1 click for OFF

• 1 click to last used level, press&hold to lowest, maybe keep dbl click and triple click for navigating to the next LED outputs

I agree with most of this, but I think single click for white and double click for red should stay so that the user can be sure which color they will get when they turn the light on. Hold to change levels and single click for off is more intuitive to me and most people I might hand a flashlight to.

Regarding the changes discussed in other posts, I would like the red and UV LED changes but would be reluctant to pay more for the charging circuit change. I have a nice battery charger and would rather live without built-in charging then pay a lot for it.