I’ve owned a few Wuben lights and overall, I really like them. Good build quality, great drivers, etc. So when Wuben offered me their new H1 headlamp for review (thanks, Wuben!) of course I said yes! Let’s see what it’s all about…
This is an abbreviated version of my review that you’ll find over at 1Lumen.com
Packaging:
Wuben does an excellent job with packaging & presentation. But what comes in that lovely package? You’ll find:
- Wuben H1 headlamp
- Wuben-branded battery (2600 mAh, protected)
- Three-way headband (with a grippy silicone pattern on the inside!)
- Spare o-rings
- Micro-USB charging cable
- Manual
LED, Lens, Etc:
As can be seen from the removal of the bezel assembly, the Wuben H1 houses several LEDs: primary white LED, auxiliary High-CRI white LED (2835 footprint), auxiliary red LED (2835 footprint), and a bi-color indicator SMD LED.
The OSRAM P9 is nicely centered in a small, smooth reflector. It seems to be slightly cool, perhaps around 5700K. The aux LEDs are behind a diffuser that creates a very wide and even spill of light. The white aux LED is claimed to be High-CRI (I have no way of backing this claim up) and if I had to guess a CCT, I’d say it’s around 4000K.
User Interface & Driver:
The Wuben H1 utilizes a single button to control all three LEDs and their modes. This kinda concerned me at first, but it’s not too bad and it’s pretty easy to comprehend.
Modes: Moon, Low, Med, High, White Aux, Red Aux
From OFF:
- Press and Hold: turn on last used Aux mode (aux white, aux red, flashing red)
- Single click: turn on last used primary mode
- Double click: strobe mode
- Triple click: enable/disable blue “breathing” indicator LED
- 4x click: lock-out mode
From ON:
- Press and Hold: rotate through modes
- Single click: turn off
- Double click: activate high/turbo mode (or if you’re already in high mode, it will activate strobe)
Miscellaneous:
- Mode Memory is present in both the primary modes (moon-low-med-high) as well as the aux modes (aux white, aux red, flashing red)
- An LED under the switch indicates the battery capacity remaining
- There are a few blinky modes: Strobe, SOS, Beacon, and Red Flash
- Lock-out (4 clicks) disables all functions
- No PWM!
- Blue “breathing” standby light can be enabled or disabled
Charging:
- There is built-in charging via Micro-USB
- Charge rate was around 1 amp
- Charging terminated at 4.19 volts
- Indicator is red (charging) to blue (done charging) (perfect for us color challenged folks)
Performance:
Lumen measurements:
- Moon: 1 lm (spec: 1 lm)
- Low: 95 lm (spec: 80 lm)
- Medium: 480 lm (spec: 400 lm)
- High @ 0s: 1164 lm
- High @ 30s: 1171 lm (spec: 1200 lm)
- Aux White: 12 lm (spec: 10 lm)
Throw numbers:
- Lux at 5m: 167
- That equals 4175 cd (spec: 3900)
- Which translates to 129 meters (141 yds) of throw (spec: 125 m)
Pros & Cons:
- What I like:
- Versatile
- Bright main LED
- High-CRI aux
- Red aux
- Built-in charging
- Great regulation
- Nice strap
- Full kit for a fair price
What could be improved:
- Mode memory with no shortcuts
- Micro-USB charging
- Big jump between Moon and Low
- Short-lived “high” mode
Final Verdict:
The Wuben H1 embodies nearly everything I want in a headlamp. Bright main LED, super-floody high-CRI and red LEDs, built-in charging, etc, etc. Sure, there are certainly a couple things I would change. Micro-USB? What year is it? And I would really appreciate some predictability in the UI – like some shortcuts, or dropping mode memory (or make it configurable?). But all of those things are fairly minor quibbles in comparison to all the good things that the H1 has going on. I think my go-to headlamp (a customized Convoy H1) will be taking a backseat from here on out to make room for the Wuben H1!
I know ya’ll wanted to see my ugly mug
Headlamps, left to right: Thrunite TH20 (AA/14500), Wuben H1, Convoy H1
Small 18650 lights, left to right: Lumintop FW3B, Wuben H1
Indoor Beamshots:
These are close range indoor beamshots with white balance set to 5000K for all
Wuben H1 primary LED
Wuben H1 aux white
Wuben H1 aux red
Thrunite TH20 NW (left) vs Wuben H1 primary LED (right)
Thrunite TH20 NW (left) vs Wuben H1 aux white (right)
Convoy H1 5000K (left) vs Wuben H1 primary LED (right)
i can just pretend 480 is high mode, not medium, then its the same as sp40, but no constant dimming lol
Oh, hey! It’s you.
White / Red headlamps sure are getting popular.
Sofirn are prototyping a D25 headlamp with SST20 White and SST20DR 660nm Deep Red:
https://budgetlightforum.com/node/75090
I wonder the the red aux LED in the Wuben H1 is…
Looks like a nice design, at least its not mini usb
oh thats sofirn? i didnt even know, i googled d25 headlamp, and i saw 77outdoor…
whos barry then?
also, whats the purpose of that red aux exactly? like a real life practical use case
Red is good if you want to navigate without killing your night vision (dark adjusted eyes). Also, as a hunter, it doesn’t spook wildlife.
Sofirn and 77Outdoor are like cousin companies I think. Barry works for Sofirn and is active here on BLF.
OH! well thats some back story i didnt know…thanks
so you would recommend wuben h1 over sp40 any day of the week then?
is there anything better than the h1 in this price range? under or around $30
If you want the output to be consistent and regulated so that the light doesn’t gradually dim over time as the cell voltage drops, then the Wuben H1 is better.
right, i was wondering if theres any other ones around the same price that could maybe do like 600lm or 800lm, also regulated, or more/better features
Thanks for the review gchart, very informative.
I can’t tell from the picture for sure, but it seems the P9 diode is integrated with the pcb, and the black plastic sheet around is the washer. Please correct me if I’m wrong since I’m not sure what is the white round thing underneath. Could it be the LED mcpcb?
PS: you’re not that ugly, but I like only girls
[WTS] HID host: http://budgetlightforum.com/node/68693
[WTB] Interesting LEDs:http://budgetlightforum.com/node/68968
Good question! It appears that the driver board has a circle cut out of it and that an MCPCB with the LED sits in that cut out. Interesting, space saving design, huh?
everybody goes through an experimental phase
This WTF P6 led must be replaced immediately ;))
Boost drivers
If you demand another CCT, then sure… but what makes you say that? P9 is 3737 BTW but I bet you could probably do a 3535 ok. Or I guess shoehorning a new MCPCB would work.
I wish I hadn't just spent $30 on a Wowtac A2S. I would have picked the H1 instead. The A2S needs some DC-Fix to make the beam more my preference for a headlamp. The H1 not only has that full flood capability I like, but regulation, a brighter main light and a red light too!
Thanks for the review.
Just gift the Wowtac to someone this Christmas and get yourself an H1
i need to make more friends like u
I already bought two Wowtac A2 headlamps and two W1 EDC lights to give to as gifts to some non-flashlight people.
hey gchart, i just got a sp40 from amazon to try it out, and i realized i needed the lamp to be able to rotate easily, as in a built in functionality to rotate, not manually force the rotate. cuz the sp40 is strapped by 2 rubber rings, and if i want it at a different angle, i have to forcibly twist the light past where i want it, due to the give that rubber rings have, then let it turn back a little bit by itself to get it where i want it. i dont like this mechanism at all, and by the looks of it, wuben has the same design?
A ton of headlamps are the same way, including the Wuben H1. The only one that I’ve had be different was the D10/D25 headlamp which uses a hard plastic bracket.
wait which brand? i been seeing a lot of d10 and d25 recently
There are a bunch of brands of the same white-label headlamp. Commonly going by Boruit, but many others. D10 being the single emitter, D25 being dual emitter. Sofirn has their D25S, which is a customized version of it.
https://budgetlightforum.com/node/58827
Seems quite similar to the excellent Nitecore HC65.
Recent Reviews: Light Flashlight Painting Buying Guide 2020 // LumeCube 2.0 // Lumintop FW1A // Light Painting Paradise Lightpainter // KDLITKER E6 // Sofirn SP31V2.0 // Convoy S2+
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Part of the problem here is that the headband Sofirn included is a bit tight for an 18650 light – I found it more suitable for the diameter of an AA body tube.
It won’t change the elastic properties of the rings, but using a headband for a 24mm light (loads of cheap options on AliExpress) makes adjusting the light a lot easier.
hm…that could be it, cuz i noticed when i twist the light to position it, im pulling on the rubber quite a bit, and it feels like sooner or later, the joint where the ring is attached to the backboard will start to give out and eventually rip.
Ahh… yeah. That’s not a problem with the Wuben. The rings on the H1’s headband are less “rubbery” and it doesn’t twist back on you when you rotate it. It seems to stay right where you put it.
really! so is it like a hard rubber thats not very elastic? or is it just a bit loose?
Certainly not loose. It’s just that as far as the rubber/silicone material goes, it seems more stiff. Kinda hard to describe, but I haven’t notice any issues with bounce-back when rotating it.
hmmm, maybe i should order one to try it out
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