[Review] Astrolux WP1 LEP Flashlight

Astrolux® WP1 LEP Flashlight Review

Specifications:

Name Astrolux® WP1 1000m 480LM LEP Spotlight
Brand Astrolux
Model WP1
Mode High Medium Low Strobe SOS
Max Lumen 480lm 75lm 15lm 300lm 300lm
Max Runtime 4.4h 7h 11.5h 9.7h 8.5h
Intensity 250,000CD
Distance 1000m
Color Temperature Cool white
Impact Resistant 1M
Waterproof IPX8(2 Meters Underwater)
Size 156mm x 36.5mm x 26.5mm(Lenth x Head Dia. x Body Dia.)
Weight

161g(Exclude battery)

Features:

  1. Max 480lm Output, Max 1000m beam throw
  2. Constant digital printed circuit board design, max runtime 11.5h
  3. Magnet rotary switch + tail cap tactical switch, can choose mode quickly and prccisely
  4. Strobe and SOS mode
  5. Battery anti-reserse protection, comply with 1x 21700 and 1 x 18650 battery
  6. Patant temperature control technology for over heating protection
  7. Customized high transperancy lens
  8. High strength aerospace aluminum alloy
  9. HAIII hard anodizing finish
  10. IPX8 waterproof, 2 meters water submersible
  11. Drop impact resistance of 1m

Contents of delivery

The flashlight comes in a plastic case with stickers on the front and back sides. The quality of the case is good and compares favorably with the cheap boxes in which many Chinese traders pack the goods for sale to improve the attractiveness. No punching defects or burrs. The lid fits exactly and tightly to the base. The two halves of the case are connected by hinges (albeit plastic ones). Movable latches allow you to put a lock (and even two locks). I consider this as protection from children, albeit not very reliable - "a laser is not a toy for children." The case is a little too big for the flashlight, apparently this is due to the fact that a much larger WP2 flashlight is supplied in the same case.

Package included:

  1. Astrolux® WP1 Flashlight
  2. 5000mAh Li-ion 21700 battery with built-in micro USB charging
  3. Two spare o-rings
  4. Spare tactical button rubber pad
  5. Lanyard for Flashlight
  6. Holster
  7. User manual in English

The flashlight is equipped with a 21700 type battery with a capacity of 5000 mAh and a built-in micro USB charger. The battery has a “proud” name “Lithium”, that is, it is essentially non-brand. At the time of the release of Astrolux-branded LEP flashlights, batteries of the same brand were not produced, which is probably why the flashlight was equipped with a similar battery. Now amongst other Astrolux batteries there are batteries 18650, 21700, 26650, they are available on the Banggood.com website.

Flashlight color filters are also available , but they are not included in the delivery set and must be purchased separately.


Constructive

The flashlight has a classic shape for a "tactician" with a back button and a rotary ring. Some design refinements that the manufacturer applied in the design of the case are noticeable - a round tail cover, an 8-sided tube of the battery compartment, a 12-sided head part, 9 milled grooves in the pivot ring. It might be too much, but everything looks good for my taste.

The flashlight spins into 3 parts - the head, the tube of the battery compartment and the cover with the rear button. The threads are different sizes and therefore different sizes and the included red silicone o-rings.

A tactical ring made of hard rubber is put on the tube of the battery compartment.

Two springs on the button and the driver are high and stiff enough, so not only the "standard" 21700 battery, but also the recommended 18650 battery, does not dangle in the flashlight.

The driver is attached to the head of the flashlight with two screws, not glued.

In the depths, you can see the back of the laser module, which I (so far) did not dare to remove.


In the work

The flashlight is switched on by the rear tactical button, the rotary magnetic ring switches modes in order Low-Medium-High-Strobe-SOS.

The manual says that the flashlight has two thermal control modes:

  • when the temperature reaches 60 ° C, the flashlight reduces the output brightness by 50%
  • also, the brightness decreases 3 minutes after turning on the maximum power mode.

In practice, the brightness decreased after 2.5 minutes (by 60%), while the case warmed up to only 45 ° C. It is possible that the cutoff temperature was just reached at the location of the thermal sensor.

The flashlight provides an extremely narrow beam of light, with virtually no side illumination.

At a distance of 5 m, the light spot looks like a well-defined circle with a diameter of 40 cm.That is, the beam opening angle is 4.6 °

The light spot is limited by several thin concentric circles with blue and violet colors. Very weak lateral illumination has yellow-green and violet-blue rings.

The picture of the light spot was taken using a homemade "target" (outer circumference 20 cm in diameter), the flashlight was installed at a distance of exactly 1 meter. For comparison, next to it are pictures of the light spots of Utorch UT20 (XHP HI 5000K LED), Astrolux WP1 and Klarus G35 ( XHP HI 6500K). All lights worked in minimum modes.

Utorch UT02 Astrolux WP1 Klarus G35


Close inspection of the Astrolux WP1 in minimum mode reveals artifacts in the light spot. It is likely that some unevenness of the surface of the phosphor substrate irradiated by the laser is projected. I had to do a lot of work in a graphics editor with contrast, brightness and color levels to make these artifacts noticeable in the picture below:

At medium and high brightness levels, artifacts are not noticeable, the central white field is really even.

Testing

For the "field" tests of the Astrolux WP1 LEP flashlight, two companions were chosen, long-range flashlights Klarus G35 and Utorch UT02. Both use XHP35 HI LEDs, but the former has a turbo output of 2000 lumens and a color temperature of 6500 K, the latter respectively 1300 lumens and 5000 K.


The first series of pictures compares three flashlights at short distances - up to a white fence in the center of the frame 190 m. Lateral illumination is clearly visible in flashlights based on conventional XHP35 LEDs, and the complete absence of such in a LEP flashlight:

The second series of pictures show how the top of the apartment building located at a distance of 360 meters is illuminated:

It can be seen that Utorch with its 1300 lumens in turbo mode loses, the illumination from the Klarus beam in the 2000 lumen mode is almost comparable to the illumination from the 480 lumens of the Astrolux WP1 LEP flashlight.

With comparable luminous fluxes, WP1 leaves no chance for lamps with traditional LEDs. 400 lumens Klarus LED vs 480 lumens Astrolux LEP:


Illumination measurements were carried out at a distance of 5 meters for three compared flashlights. In the center of the light beam, the illumination was:

  • Astrolux WP1, High mode - 11.400 lux
  • Klarus G35 Turbo - 7.240 lux
  • Utorch UT20, Turbo mode - 3.970 lux

Experience in using the flashlight

Regarding the practical use of flashlights with LEP technology and the Astrolux WP1.

The main features of such flashlights, as seen from the above, are:

  • extremely thin focused light beam;
  • almost complete absence of side illumination;
  • the possibility of a multiple decrease in the luminous flux in comparison with traditional long-range flashlights, which is a direct consequence of the first two features.

Spot focusing in combination with the absence of side illumination makes the flashlight practically useless for "walking" use. At a distance of 1-1.5 m, the illuminated spot has a diameter of 8-12 cm, which is at least 2 times less than the length of the foot. That is, the place where you put your foot in the next step is not fully illuminated. From a purely psychological point of view, this is unpleasant, I have tested it myself.

These same features make the flashlight a good choice if your subject of interest is a fairly distant object (on a hike, on a sortie, at sea). You highlight the object accurately with the light, the side flare does not affect the neighboring areas.

In addition, side illumination does not highlight objects near you, which, taking into account the peculiarities of human vision, would impair the visibility of a distant object. For illustration, refer to the photographs of the comparison tests shown above. Traditional LED long-range lights create a side flare near the surface of the earth that is significantly brighter than the illumination of the object of interest in the distance. It becomes difficult for the eyes to separate useful information from parasitic information.

The LEP flashlight, due to its features, is apparently a good choice for hunters and some specialists with special needs. Especially when combined with color filters. It is important to note one more feature, which is a consequence of the characteristics of the LEP-flashlight - less visibility from the side. For these categories of users, this will certainly be an important factor.

And of course, no one canceled the "wow-effect", flashlights with LEP-technology will not soon become widespread.

In conclusion, I would like to express my thoughts about what the flashlight goes with.

Wuben, for example, supplies its long-range flashlight in three well-thought-out configurations - Basic, Standard, Extended.

The only Astrolux WP1 we have considered would become the standard set . The initial option could have eliminated the box, battery and case, which would reduce the price by $ 10-15. A complete package would include all color filters currently sold separately, a rifle mount, a remote tactical button, a spare battery and a charger.

I got coupons for this BLF review:

Astrolux WP1 LEP flashlight will cost $164.99 with coupon FIN2305 (MY LINK)

Astrolux WP2 LEP flashlight will cost $199.99 with coupon FIN2307 (MY LINK)

Set of two LEP flashlight Astrolux WP1 + WP2 will cost $335.99 with coupon FIN4264 (MY LINK)

Color filters for Astrolux WP1 will cost $4.99 with coupon FIN1863 (MY LINK)

P.S.: Sorry for my English (((

Thanks for the review.

Was the lux measured closer to 0 seconds or 30 seconds?

If my maths is right, 11,400 lux at 5m is 285000cd. That’s 1068m throw.

Very thorough first review. :+1:

Thanks ,Finn for the review and coupon. Anyone else get this? $165 seems decent, I like the wider beam, 1000m and wider. I think I will buy a few models, see if they work for boating.