[Review] Wowtac A5 ( XHP-70.2 , 26650 ) - Output, Power and Thermal Regulation Test, Outdoor Beamshots

The flashlight was sent to me by Wowtac for review.
Here's the product's link: Wowtac A5



The A5 comes in a hard cardboard box.



It's seated into foam for added protection during shipping.



Other than the flashlight, the following accessories are included in the box:
Wrist strap, 2 replacement o-rings, a replacement flap for the charging port and a microUSB charging cable.



The A5 comes with black matte anodization and is e-swtich operated.
Its body is textured, while the head has some heatsinking grooves.



The e-switch sits flush with the rest of the body and is surrounded by a metal ring.
Once turned on, the built in indicator shines in Blue ( = Battery's voltage OK ) or Red ( = Time to recharge )



Opposite to the e-switch, there's the built-in charging interface.
It's using a regular microUSB port. Once charging, the built-in indicator in the switch turns on. Red = Charging, Blue = Full.



The head of the flashlight is protected by a stonewashed metal bezel.



The Wowtac A5 comes with a Cree XHP-70.2 emitter along with an orange peel reflector.
Thanks to the centering ring, the emitter is aligned perfectly.



The tail of the flashlight is flat, which allows it to tailstand.



Fox maximum efficiency and current draw, the tail is using a double spring setup.



The driver seems to be press-fit / glued and is using a brass tab for the positive terminal.



Thick, square cut threads are found both on both sides, with the head's also being anodized.



Apart from all other accesories, the A5 also comes with a Wowtac branded 5000mAh 26650 cell.



Here's a closer look at the both sides of the battery.



User Interface

As already said, the flashlight is operated by an e-switch.
Here's all the supported actions by the flashlight's firmware:

Turn on/off: Single press.
Mode cycle: Long press ( Low > Med > High > Low > ...)
Moonlight: Long press from off
Turbo: Double press from anywhere (on or off)
Strobe: Double press while on Turbo.

Output

Here's my output measurements along with the respective current draw per output level.


As you can see, the measurements seem to verify the manufacturer's output claims.
I also measured the standby drain at 97μΑ, which is very good.

Power and Output Regulation

Here's a V/A Power Regulation graph I created.


What we can see in the graph:

  • Turbo doesn't seem fully regulated. Some sings of regulation are visible between 4.0 - 4.2V, but in general I would say
    that the output is proportional to the input voltage.
  • High is fully regulated for the whole span of the battery's life
  • Medium and Low are also fully regulated.

And here's a Thermal regulation graph.



What can be seen in the graph:

  • Turbo is sustained for 2min and 10secs.
  • After that point, the output slowly steps down to 1000lumen.
  • The stepdown from Turbo is completed at the 4 min mark.
  • The stepdown brightness if fully sustainable and regulated.
  • Thermal regulation seems to be working nicely. The flashlight never got extremely hot to touch.


Outdoor beamshots

For the last part, here's some outdoor beamshots (a.k.a me interrupting my neighbors :D )




As you might have guessed, the Wowtac is a handheld powerhouse :)

Whyyy it the switch so ridiculously small and why didn’t they make a double click from turbo go to last used mode instead of the needles strobe mode :person_facepalming:

I am not personally bothered by the Turbo -> Strobe setup, but I see how it can be a problem for some.
A workaround for it is to long press while on Turbo, which will make the flashlight switch to Low ( and continue ramping to Medium > High if continually pressed)

I did 2 full power cycles in the included battery.
After discharging the cell @1000mA, I got 5400mAh of actual capacity, which is pretty nice!

Thanks for the review.

The UI seems very similar to my Rofis R1 and R2.

How many C is rated that battery?

To be honest the battery’s wrap doesn’t report the max current.

I was kinda hoping this would run in the $40 range but I believe it is $50 on Amazon. That is all that has kept me from buying one of these. $10 doesn’t seem like much but we all have a point in which we put our foot down I guess. Luckily I have a couple 70.2 single cell light so another would only sit on a shelf anyway. I do like the light though. Maybe they will have a deal going someday.

Was planning to buy this but what put me off is the fact that a standard micro usb cable tip is not long enough to make proper contact with the charging port on the flashlight. So you’re restricted to using the included micro usb cable which has a longer tip than standard cables.

I am pretty sure a deal will eventually happen :slight_smile:
Hold on tight!

Sofirn SP33. Thrunite TC20 ?

Anyone can compare them?