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.
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.
Currently the light has mode memory only on white - this may be fine, but it is interesting.
Maybe keep the single click to white, dbl click to red, triple click to UV from OFF, but use the press&hold from OFF to go to the lowest level of last used LED, not just white? I'm just look'n for an easier way to the last used LED - dbl and triple clicks can be tricky. If they made the dbl click timing less aggressive, more like NarsilM or Anduril, there may not be as much reason to work around the dbl click issue.
With this light, I'm inadvertently going into white and bumping it up a level when I really want red.
I think chosing a 365nm UV emitter makes the light much more dangerous. I have a Convoy S2+ UV, and it emits very little visible light. This could lead to someone looking straight into the emitter. I have a lot of respect for ionizing radiation and wouldn’t want such a LED in a multi purpose lamp.
I don't mean to disagree but let me put it this way:
Every kind of high energy radiation is harmful to your eyes, even at 395nm. So, you need to protect your eyes anyway - either by wearing protective glasses and/or by not looking into the LED while in operation.
The Convoy S2+ probably uses the Nichia 276A which is known to emit very little visible stray light. The LG 365nm LED however is more powerful but also emits more visible stray light. So, people would still see that the WK30 is in UV mode unless there is a ZWB2 filter in place.
Wurkkos has implemented a nice blue light indication in the side switch while operating the WK30 in UV mode. So, again - you will be alerted that you are using the UV mode.
The manual has been updated and reflects additional safety warnings about using UV light. Everyone owning the WK30 is highly encouraged to read the instructions before using the flashlight.
The WK30 does NOT emit ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation is a whole different thing that carries sufficient energy to detach electrons from atoms or molecules, which only occurs below wavelengths of 250nm. In a nutshell: The WK30 is not an X-ray machine or radioactive flashlight. ;-)
Please don't take this as an offence but if we all agreed upon using harmless, non-dangerous flashlights, we would not be having flashlights like Acebeam's W30 or Lumintop's BLF GT today. Using high powered flashlights, regardless if in UV, red or white light spectrum, always comes with a certain amount of responsibility.
Pretty good info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionizing_radiation. I work with ionizing radiation a bunch because of the nuclear med equipment we develop. Usually I have 1 or 2 Cs-137 10 uCi button sources and a 0.1 uCi rod source around my desk, but kept in a small lead container.
You don’t (well, I don’t) want to make that a mandatory “feature”, in case you carry magstripe cards anywhere near where you’d be carrying the light. That could be a dealbreaker for a lot of people.
There are plenty of Nd disc-magnets that can be stuck on with Stoopit-Gloo (and then later removed with a little AcMe to dissolve the glue, if needed), which would fit perfectly in the hollow that’s in the end of the tailcap.
Deep-red… okay, but it won’t appear as visibly bright when driven at the same level as the existing red LED. I’m okay with it as-is, but…
365nm, sure, I could go for that… maybe. More potential to fry eyeballs, though, so warn, warn, warn.
USB-C charging? Meh. I don’t care either way, but now that I got lights that use it, I’m not against it.
Knurling? Nah. I’m guessing there’s some reason there’s no knurling on most diving lights I’ve seen, and I really like the “smooth look” of those and the ’30.
Maybe a separately-available tailcap and/or tube, then? Just like the come-with and add-on shorty tube for S2+es.
Charging-port moved into the threaded section? If it could be done, great. I’m not a fan of rubber flaps, but, they’re more accessible for The Muggle.
That I gotta strongly disagree with. There’s a shortcut to moonlight/low/whatever for white. With none for either of the other modes, I’d rather they default to the lower/lowest mode for the same reason you don’t want to get blasted with a face full of turbo in the middle of the night when going to the can.
… there are times when I simply cannot get to the red mode and UV mode, frustrating. That triple click is difficult. Any others have this difficulty? And is it intermittent?
I’m still waiting for my strap wrenches to open the fatty.
Did anybody measure the glass diameter, thickness?
It seems mine is not AR coated so I’d buy another glass.
