Preface
The folks at Wurkkos were kind enough to stage a giveaway to BLF members to enable them to experience, and help spread the word about their new CL01 lantern. These are the brief impressions I’ve gathered since being able to sample an early example.
Basics
The CL01 is approximately 106mm tall (to the top of the switch knob), and 45mm in diameter, weighing 178g with the bundled 21700 cell.
These dimensions place it squarely in the compact, or personal, lantern sphere, most directly competing with the offerings from the Fenix, in my recollection a company that historically has had a better than average commitment to offering lanterns. In particular, the Fenix CL22 hews closely to the CL01, and could have been the source of the original inspiration.
The LT1S, Sofirn’s compact lantern offering, shares a few similar traits (500lm range max output, tint ramping, power bank functionality), but the metal construction means it weights almost twice as much (336g). Its proportions are slightly different, and while it also has a ring to allow it to be hung, it glaringly lacks the built-in magnetic attachment that the CL01 features. For campers looking for versatility, and to optimize the weight and space of their packs, the CL01 offers a clear advantage, in spite of its all-plastic construction.
Proof that this is an early example is the standard “high-line” white Wurkkos box-in-sleeve packaging, whose outer sleeve graphics carry the old Wurkkos logo, while the product carries their heretofore unannounced new logo. Oops. Clearly some time lines were mixed up and did not synchronize before the CL01 was able to ship. At least a sleeve is easier to revise than a fully printed box.
Personally, while the new logo is also distinct, I prefer the old logo, which was easier to read, and had a splash of color, even if the logos on the lights were monochromatic.
In addition to the CL01, the boxed set also includes two bundled lanyards (one large paracord-style with split ring, one small), a short USB C-to-C cable, two spare O-rings, and a velour drawstring carrying pouch. Nice touch.
Following past practice as an early production run unit, the user manual is simply a folded A4 paper sheet in English only. At this point in time, others will have to download the manual’s multi-lingual PDF file from Wurkkos’ site, which should eventually be bundled in the box, once finalized and printed, albeit probably in the tiny multi-fold form that will require certain demographics to have their reading glasses or magnifiers handy.
In its current revision, the manual contains all the expected information, but omits a complete listing of the RGB blinky modes. Of which there are many, so it would be nice for them to be completely documented.
Wurkkos CL01 Manual Scan.pdf (863.5 KB)
To me, the CL01 is reminiscent of a miniature cross between the Federation’s Genesis Device and the warp core of the Enterprise-D. This one won’t terraform to a new planet, or power a starship to warp 10 velocity, but it will emit and scatter enough photons to light your space in a pleasing manner. Including your personal discotheque. Just add mirror ball. Groovy.
Usage
The compact form factor is easy to hold, carry, and offers multiple attachment options.
In addition to the aforementioned magnetic base and hanging ring, it also has a 1/4" threaded mount concentric with the magnetic ring in the base, which provides all the flexibility of that mounting ecosystem, including tripods and other stands and mounts. A thoughtful inclusion.
Free-standing, the CL01 is reasonably stable, despite its narrow diameter, and provides a level of assuredness that the owners of say, the Sofirn BLF LT1, might envy. Its light weight might work against the CL01 in this respect, but conversely, the LT1 relies a lot of its heft to remain stable and remain upright, which to me is its biggest flaw.
The CL01 is lightweight, so the magnet has no problems bearing its weight in the scenarios I’ve tested, both in lateral and inverted top-down orientation.
Located on the top of the lantern is a dual-action rotary encoder switch.
Pressing down on the knurled knob, which provides a satisfying enough tactile response, serves as the “click” action, to power on/off, ramp output level, and switch modes.
Rotate the dial to change the tint, and other color ramping functions. In use, it does require a bit more torque to rotate than one might expect, but at least that makes it more resistant to unintentional adjustments.
Four luminous dots adjacent to the rotary switch indicate the charge level for a brief period after power-on; after that, they do suffer from some internal light bleed from the primary emitters.
Providing the energy to power the CL01 is a standard 21700 cell, rated at 5000mAh and wrapped in the familiar Wurkkos-branded white (again with the old logo). Historically, the cells bundled with the Jinba-made lights are solid, though not spectacular performers, but they do generally fulfill their capacity claims, even if they’re not high-performance, high-draw cells by nature.
The battery compartment contains dual springs, and due to the plastic body, the negative contact relies on an extended rod to carry current to the driver electronics at the head.
To recharge the cell, as well as provide power bank output, there is a USB Type-C port on the side of the head, protected by a color-matched silicone cover.
Its opening measures approximately 11.8 x 6.8mm, so cables with larger overmolds (connector housings) will present a problem, and not fit into the confines of the receptacle space. The overmolds on the bundled cable measure ~10 x 5.9mm, and there is little margin to spare.
As such, I can only reserve comment on the characteristics of the port, as my normal cables are incompatible.
Performance
There have been a variety of approaches to harness the specific output of LED emitters for use in lanterns, but in practice many of them cannot claim to be entirely successful, or pleasing.
The least successful, employing a single, or minimal number of emitters, and a crude optic, or in some designs, direct emission, often results in uneven, poorly-distributed light output with off-putting glare.
Diffusion lenses, and/or indirect angles can produce a more homogenous, and pleasing output, especially when greater numbers of emitters, of multiple tints, are employed.
The approach that the CL01 takes lies somewhere between the two extremes, with a ring of downward facing emitters at the top of the lantern, a clear cylindrical lens body with prismatic rings to capture and disperse their output, and somewhat uniquely, a GITD ring at the bottom to further help distribute the light.
The bottom ring not only glows in the dark, but also disperses light in a bright enough fashion that suggests there are also emitters in the base, but that is not the case, nor is it mirrored to achieve that level of brightness. It’s an interesting component that works quite efficiently.
In appearance, the bulk of the lighting originates from the top, and bottom of the lantern, which are discernible as the primary emitting sources, but not in an overly harsh, or glaring manner. The prismatic optics and central core also play a role is light distribution, albeit minor, but without causing notable artifacts in the emission pattern.
Overall, the quality of light isn’t offensive, nor betray the cost of the optical approach as it does in many inexpensive lanterns.
The initial teaser video clip posted by Wurkkos gave the false impression that the CL01 is more of disco light with RGB effects. While it can be used in that manner, those modes are on the other side of a triple-click wall. For normal duty, it functions like any other flashlight, with a UI that should not be a challenge to users familiar with multi-mode lights.
According to the manual, runtime is claimed to be 90 seconds in turbo mode, stepping down to sustainable level with 6.5 hour duration thereafter. At minimum ouput moonlight level, 300 hours. FL1 charts should be taken with a grain, or grains of salt, but kudos to Wurkkos for at least being honest about the Turbo mode stepdown, which most charts misleadingly fail to acknowledge.
I am not in a position to perform empirical instrumented testing to verify those figures, but Wurkkos claims that the CL01 employs a regulated buck driver, which should benefit performance and a welcome design feature.
Wrap up
At its base level, the CL01 is a solid product, with some thoughtful touches, and whimsical side for those who can appreciate some occasional fun with the disco light show modes.
The lantern segment of the lighting market has long been starved, and hindered by a marked stratification between cheap products with mediocre performance, and products with better performance and genuine build quality, but at a higher price than most lay consumers are willing to pay.
That’s not to say there aren’t hidden gems in the low end segment. The late, lamented Zanflare T1 (among the various brand names it was sold under) had its limitations, but was a good performer and offered some nice features for a $10-15 lantern. Good enough for the lantern-stealing gnomes to have taken one of mine and stashed it in a hidden place somewhere on my grounds.
Conversely, my Streamlight Siege AA is nicely built, but doesn’t perform like a ~$30 light should, or even at the half-off sale price at which I acquired it.
My unbranded $10 Aliexpress lantern, intended to replace my missing T1, exhibits PWM even at full cool-white only output, even if evident mostly to a camera. It, and the other clones that litter that marketplace, also suspiciously resemble the $110 (yikes) Fenix CL30R, superficially at least. I hope its owners never stumble upon Aliexpress looking for lanterns.
The CL01 could serve as one step toward helping fill the void in the lantern space, but that will depend on how the regular price point develops. The introductory street price is $25, which is half that of its closest competitor in form and on paper, the Fenix CL22, which lacks features that the CL01 has, such as the magnetic base. Brands like Fenix, and Olight, which also more regularly deigns to offer lanterns, are positioned with higher price points, so the CL01 could still find a happy place to slot in even with a higher regular price.
Credit to Wurkkos for willing to explore the new product segments that it does, and thanks for giving BLF members an opportunity to preview them at no cost.