My thoughts on the Wurkkos HD02 MINI

LED Flashlights – General Info 1 x AA / 1 x 14500 Flashlights
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Wurkkos suprised me with a HD02 Mini in the mail, so here are some of my impressions, along with those from a group of normie non-flashlight-enthusiasts. Unlike the last time when they sent a HD04 with no explanation, the HD02 Mini was accompanied by a letter which demystified the situation!

I decided to discover the flashlight without reading specs or manuals, and also see how other people fared with the HD02 Mini without introduction.

The uninitiated immediately went for the wing light and were impressed with the novelty and brightness, and thought it was a fun fidget gadget. To my confusion the main e-switch button seemed to evade some, while they just went to switching the ring selector. It appears some assumed the safety lockout (labeled On/Off) to be the On/Off switch. One person even thought the tailcap was a switch or zoom and was confused when nothing worked after having unscrewed it a bit! Hilarious.

For me most of the UI was fairly intuitive. I love the ring selector, so glad to see that Wurkkos keeps making use of that design. The availability of 4 different emitters (well 5 if you count the battery indicator..) means it is really versatile, whether for throw, flood, area lighting, or red. I like their choices of color temperature, where the throw is colder for max lumens, the flood is warmer, and the wing light at 5000K high CRI is in my opinion perfect for a task light.

I just really really wish that the wing could rotate! That is a missed opportunity which would make it far more useful. In general I rarely mount flashlights with their magnet as it almost always impossible to get it pointing exactly where I want.

The red light is not something I have much use for in practice, however I find the color really beautiful. It also gets surprisingly bright for a red light. I started using it essentially as a mood light / night light in a dark room. That color is just so satisfying. It also lasts a long time on even a 900 mAh 14500 battery.

This is my first 14500 flashlight, and the runtime is more than I thought it would be. I’m also happily surprised that it works with regular alkaline and rechargable AA batteries too, very versatile! They don’t mention that on the packaging, but it is buried in the manual. The manual mentions not to plug in the USB-C charging cable with AA… I don’t know what would happen but I did not try it.

The animated battery indicator is fun and nostalgic – reminds me of Duracell PowerCheck from long ago. It is a series of 10 small LEDs which indicate the charge level both by the number of LEDs that light up (presumably 1 LED for each 10%), as well as by the color (green, yellow, red). However, there is some strange behavior, where if the indicator is down to 60% (yellow) eg. by running the throw LED on turbo for a while, unscrewing the tailcap briefly will get it back to 80-90% (green).

I don’t use clips, but the included one is deep carry and double sided, so that seems more useful than most. I find it quite strong, which worries me that it would wear out whatever it gets clipped onto. It is if nothing sturdy.

Typically I have been more of a traditionalist preferring tube flashlights, but I have come to really enjoy and appreciate the innovation of these different designs Wurkkos has been releasing. I’m also glad that they have more interesting colors than a plain black. In addition to the classy dark gray, I especially like the brighter blue and orange colors.

My attention has shifted from lumens and even CCT to just using interesting flashlights without thinking too much about it, and the HD02 Mini is a fun, rectangular, palmable EDC. The HD04 is also fun in a more playful sense. Who doesn’t want more fun in their life?

Though I’m not much of a collector, I found it fun to photograph the included 7th anniversary commemorative coin (Happy Birthday, Wurkkos!) in red light, which I think produces a cool effect!

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Hey, kewl! I thought I was the only one to “explore” lights without reading any manual. :joy:

Mine didn’t come with a coin, though. :confounded_face:

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Well, you’re part of the inspiration for that approach! Also, most flashlights are so good these days that I find the experience of using them is more relevant than specs.

And don’t worry, afterwards I still sit down and read the manual cover to cover like a novel. :nerd_face:

I’d offer to send you the coin, though coming from Canadia who knows how much this priceless item would cost you in import duties… :money_mouth_face:

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Haha! I didn’t look at the manual either.

Some other preliminary observations:

  1. All 4 light channels are infinitely variable.
  2. The 3 forward light channels have a fairly simple and intuitive interface. Rotate the control ring to the selected mode. Press and hold the button for moonlight in that mode. Release and hold down again to ramp up. Double-click for turbo. There is mode memory.
  3. The swing-out side light always comes on in medium. However, once it is on you can hold the button down to ramp up or down. The side light does not appear to have mode memory.
  4. The clip is fairly strong, but lacks an adequate ramp or clearance at either end. I was not able to slip it onto sweat pants from either direction without using 2 hands. This could be better.

I like the new interface. It’s an improvement over the interface in some other Wurkkos models. However…

WARNING:

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DEACTIVATE THE TAILCAP MAGNET UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES AS DOING SO WILL DESTROY THE LIGHT!

The Hall sensor at the tip of the swing out arm is tuned with the tailcap magnet in place. If you deactivate the tailcap magnet, the light will think the swing-out arm is always out and only the swing out arm light will ever work. All other modes become permanently inaccessible.

I learned this the hard way by using heat to deactivate the magnet and effectively bricked my light. OOPS!

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Yes, I too found the clip difficult to use, and nearly impossible with one hand.

The mode memory is tricky, some situations use it others don’t, considering there are so many ways of turning things on or off (e-switch, ring selector, lockout switch, wing opening/closing).

Momentary with the lockout engaged is neat. But despite the warnings in the manual I end up almost never using the lockout. The slider has a nice feel though.

I could imagine a basic flashlight with the slider for on/off and the ring selector for modes and/or emitters. That would be a great “granny light”

As for criticisms that the slider leaves the USB port exposed when on, perhaps it is to allow the light to be used while charging.

Good warning. I wonder if it works if you put a magnet near the tailcap. Another reviewer mentioned, and I can confirm, that the wing light will turn on even in the closed position if a magnet approaches it near the tailcap.

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I fixed my light by replacing the stock magnet. I didn’t have any donut shaped magnets so had to dremel down the center post to fit a flat round magnet, but that’s ok. I wasn’t going to thread this light onto a tripod anyways.

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