Here are my impressions of the Wurkkos WK01 and WK02 penlights. Many thanks to Mark Lee (Wurkkos) for sending me these two samples, both in desert tan with 4.000K 95CRI. Please excuse the poor picture quality as I made them quickly with my smartphone tonite.
Some facts about the UI and more:
- Yes, it is definitely a forward clicky, providing momentary modes for low, medium and high
- There is no mode memory. Both lights always start at low mode.
- The tailswitch is not too cushy. In fact, it's quite stiff and requires a good proportion of pushing. I like it very much as it prevents accidental (de-)activation. Tactile feeling is also very nice.
- Mode spacing between low - medium - high is well done. However, a (hidden) firefly mode with 0.2 - 0.5lm would have suited great to these tiny lights.
- Differences in brightness between modes of WK01 and WK02 are absolutely noticeable. While WK01 is more than bright enough on high mode, WK02 adds a good portion of light on top of it, getting noticeably warm on the head unit whereas WK01 remains cool.
Both lights come in small cardboard boxes, protected in bubble wrap. Included is the manual and two spare o-rings. Batteries are not included. Those who bought Sofirn's C01(S/R) will probably recognize the same cardboard box of Wurkkos's WK01.
Both lights seem to have an anti-reflection coated lens. The SST-20 4.000K 95CRI emitters are very well focused inside the reflectors. I did not find any artifacts in the beam. Well done!
Unlike stated in the manual, both lights do not have a detachable tailcap but a detachable head unit - just like Sofirn's C01(S/R) series. So, please excuse the false information in the manual. Threads are dry and not greased at all. However, screwing the head on/off goes gently. I used IKEA's rechargeable LADDA AAA batteries with 900mAh which are claimed to be Sanyo Eneloop Pro cells in disguise. These batteries fit in easily without any friction on the inner tube walls.
Left picture: Wurkkos WK01 (left) vs. Wurkkos WK02 (right) on low mode. WB: 4.000K / Right picture: Wurkkos WK01 (left) vs. Sofirn C01S (right) on low mode. WB: 4.000K
Wurkkos WK02 on low, medium and high mode, WB: 4.000K. (medium and high mode might be a bit overexposed but mode spacing looks real good) ;-)
Verdict and room for improvements
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Both lights are made of good quality, providing more than enough light of a small penlight, having a fool-proof user interface with three well-spaced modes. The beam shape is very allround-like, being not too floody but giving a good piece of throw with enough spill to cover a wide area around the hotspot. The dark tan anodizing looks very nice even though I would not call it "desert tan" but simply "brown" as stated on the cardboard sticker. Both lights have excellently centered LEDs with no artifacts in the beam. Reflectors are dust-free and lenses are coated for better efficiency. The tint looks really pleasing to my eyes with a creamy white and barely any shift to greenish. The tail clicky switch has a fantastic tactile handling and will be great for those of you who like tactical and tacticool flashlights. I can recommend both lights to doctors, dentists, craftsmen, mechanics, policemen, firemen etc. but I would not recommend it for eye inspection as the low mode is way too bright for this kind of application.
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Not a real issue at all but just a minor, cosmetical imperfection: The CNC machining or post processing of the head units might deserve a closer look as I found some small nicks on my two samples, see pictures below. Again, nothing serious at all as this can also be found on Sofirn's C01(S/R) lights, too. Moreover, the clip is slightly warped to one side, not being exactly in parallel to the tube - again, just a cosmetical imperfection for those being too nitpicking as me. After all, it will have no impact on the functionality of these nice lights. :-) Apart from this, both lights are well designed and assembled.