[Review] Wuben A21 Apollo with video and beam shots

sacrileizei · 2018-08-20T10:57:03.000Z

Review copy was sent in by Wuben to me here in the Philippines, whom I thank for the confidence afforded to me.

Preface:
I must say one of the most sought after lights in the market right now, the Wuben A21 Apollo is a very bright handheld torch that puts out a whopping 4200 lumens, utilizing a CREE XHP70.2, powered by a 21700 cell. A tiny sun in your hand, just wow!

Packaging:
It arrived in a secured cardboard box with lots of bubble wrap inside to protect the main box, which is a matte black and blue retail packaging, it has very good packaging with all the contents in place. The accessories are tucked in a smaller separate
black box beside the light. The light is situated securely by a black hard foam, enclosed in white protective plastic. Wuben also sent me
a bandana and flag along with the package :)

Inclusions:
1x Wuben A21 Apollo
1x Manual
1x Type C USB Charging cable
1x Warranty card
1x Quality check card
1x Lanyard
1x Canvass holster with side battery compartment
2x Spare O-rings

Quick Features:
-4200 max lumen output
-21700 battery
-Flexible output selection (mode or ramping)
-Type C fast charging
-Intelligent hybrid circuit
-Reverse battery installation protection circuit
-IP68 Waterproof
-1.5m Impact resistance

Manufacturer Specifications:
Emitter: XHP70.2
Max Output: 4200 Lumens
Max Beam Distance: 222 m
Max Runtime: 4 hrs
Battery: 21700
Working Voltage: 3.7 v
Modes: 5
Special Mode: 2
Length: 135.5 mm
Bezel Diameter: 42 mm
Tube Diameter: 27 mm
Weight: 147 g
Waterproof: IP68

Operation:

From OFF:
Single click - ON - click to then access into default output selection modes.
Double click - ON - click and hold to then access into the ramping mode or continous output selection mode (a short blink would signify that you are at maximum/minimum, and that clicking once
again would ramp it again on the opposite mode). Single click to turn OFF the light from this mode.
Triple click - would do an electronic lockout function, followed by three short light blinks. Triple click again, to unlock.

From ON:
Double click on any mode, to access STROBE, single click to switch between STROBE and SOS, and double click to get back to constant mode.

Form Factor:
The light is made with premium material all throughout. From the body housing which uses aircraft grade aluminum alloy, to the toughned ultra clear anti scratch glass. It fits very well in hand, not that big as you would expect high lumen output lights to be. Very ergonomic and smooth to the touch with its semi-gloss finish.

Head:
The head has a 304 stainless steel, less aggressive, crenulated bezel. It is with a toughened ultra clear, anti scratch glass lens, that utilizes an CREE XHP 70.2 LED, partnered with an aircraft grade aluminum alloy orange peel reflector.

It has deep set cooling fins that help with heat dissipation.

The illuminated switch with the "W" also acts as a battery indicator.

On the opposite side of the switch you can see the type C USB charging port covered by a rubber boot cap which fits in snuggly for water and dust not to enter the port.

There is also some sort of a yellow green rubber band which is called a fluorescent strip that separates the head to the barrel, this is a special function, in addition to aesthetics, during night time or dark it has a fluorescent effect that emits light which can act as a location indication for the light. In short, some sort of GID ring.

this is how it looks on low light

this is how it looks on 1 lumen lighting

and this in complete darkness

This is the inside the head

Barrel:
It is significantly smaller than the head. The top part of the barrel has the clip situated facing it to the tail end, which also gives anti roll feature on the light. It has straight pattern, wide gapped knurling with long horizontal grooves for grip.

The threads on the barrel is well lubricated alongside the o-ring in place. There are no markings of the brand or model of the light on the barrel except for this small marking on the end which is for the correct battery placement indication.

Tail:
The tailcap is the same size with the barrel. It also has straight pattern knurling with large gaps and also has horizontal grooves as well.
It also has a lanyard hole with big enough holes for easier placement of the lanyard.

Inside is a double gold plated sturdy spring.

It has a flat surface at the bottom, so it provides a good tail stand for the light.

Creative shots:

Beam shots:

Moonlight at 5 feet away:

LOW

MED

HIGH

TURBO tree is at 150 feet away

TURBO

Conclusion:
To sum up, I believe that the most important part of any review is if given the chance to purchase the same light for my own EDC, would I still purchase it?
For this light, it is a definite YES. Specially if you are looking for a very bright handheld flashlight with complete functions.
Scrutinizing the light over throughout the review, I am hard pressed to find any flaws at this price point. If I were to nit-pick, it would be the lack of a discharge function like a power bank feature, they almost thought of every function for this light. I love that it has both ramping and mode selection feature as well. Another thing that would concern me is the placement of the clip, I am not used to having the clip facing tail end, as the head would be facing outside my pocket not inside and no option to change that. Aesthetically, just that on my copy, the horizontal groove on the tail cap doesn't align to the horizontal grooves on the barrel (just my OCD kicking in). But overall, for this price range, given the quality, the functions, and of course should I mention the output which is insane for this size of a light is paramount, which makes it a good EDC for different applications. Oh and did I mention it comes in two versions as well? The neutral and cool white version to suit your preference. Wuben really did an amazing job on this light category, truly a pinnacle for lights on this bracket.

Thank you for reading and watching!

Here is the video review for this light:
www.youtube.com/embed/-YP8Y_CCoJI

As with all gears, two is one and one is none.

Light on brothers!

Wuben's webpage: https://wubenlight.com

Check out my Facebook page for coupons, discounts, reviews and upcoming lights!
www.facebook.com/torchesinternationale

and my blog at https://sacrileizei.wordpress.com

BlueSwordM · 2018-08-20T11:07:49.000Z

Nice review, but I think you should blur out your info from the picture.

sacrileizei · 2018-08-21T03:59:16.000Z

BlueSwordM:

Nice review, but I think you should blur out your info from the picture.

Thank you for reading/watching. And thank you for your concern as well, but it is ok with me so y’all can send me some more lights to review

x-ray · 2018-08-21T18:15:33.000Z

Thanks for the great review.

Anyone that owns both the Wuben A21 & Emisar D4S, how does the output/beam compare?
These are my two most wanted lights at present but can’t afford to buy both.
Any comments experiences would be appreciated.

RobertB · 2018-08-21T19:26:20.000Z

sacrileizei · 2018-08-21T19:40:01.000Z

x-ray:

Thanks for the great review.

Anyone that owns both the Wuben A21 & Emisar D4S, how does the output/beam compare?
These are my two most wanted lights at present but can’t afford to buy both.
Any comments experiences would be appreciated.

I’m just waiting for a D4S Ti to come and I’ll definitely do a comparison for you. But for the meantime, let’s hope and wait until someone does for us. I will try and message my friend M4DM4X to see if he can indeed do so

x-ray · 2018-08-21T20:09:19.000Z

Thank you very much sacrileizei, very kind of you :+1:

sacrileizei · 2018-08-22T06:40:56.000Z

x-ray:

Thank you very much sacrileizei, very kind of you :+1:

My pleasure Light on brother!

DavidEF · 2018-10-10T22:55:58.000Z

RobertB:

Well, it’s not a thrower, so put some DC Fix over the lens and be happy.

Seriously, though, I would like to see one of these with a smooth reflector, a bit deeper than this one, for a bit more throw, and DC Fix over the lens to blend the beam.

SKV89 · 2018-10-11T03:14:04.000Z

Wuben makes good quality lights but I just don’t like their single button UI. The click to turn on. Click and hold to turn off sucks and is the reason I don’t buy any of their single button lights. I bought a bunch of their two button lights though.