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)