[Review] Wuben E05 - Impressive eSwitch 14500

m_a_schuster · 2018-11-28T13:59:49.000Z

Just received one of these from Amazon using the coupon for $19.95.

That price, the positive review, and the bunch of unused 14500's sitting in the drawer, are what convinced me.

There is a lot to like here.

Some random observations tho:

To keep the provided USB-charging 14500 at nominal capacity, the overall length of the cell is increased considerably in order to fit the charging circuit. This works fine in the E05 as it is designed to accommodate the extra length, but not so for re-using in other lights you may have on hand. My ancient AW protected 14500 works just dandy in the E05.
I wish it had come with an OP reflector as the beam pattern is a little rough with the smooth one. Not being inclined to mod, I can live with this though.
The light came with the battery pre-installed and charged to mid capacity. To do this, they must have some confidence that parasitic drain will not deplete the battery before it reaches the customer. Wondering if it has been measured.
I am not a fan of the magnetic end cap ... or magnets in general for anything intended for EDC. Keep them away from your mag-stripe credit cards, work ID/access cards, and the like!

gchart · 2018-11-28T14:31:45.000Z

Good observations. I agree on the OP reflector - that would have been a better choice.

Regarding the magnetic end cap… bilakos10 showed in his review that the magnet could easily be removed:

Muto · 2018-11-28T14:42:47.000Z

gchart:

Good observations. I agree on the OP reflector - that would have been a better choice.

Regarding the magnetic end cap… bilakos10 showed in his review that the magnet could easily be removed:

Stipple the reflector like Old Lumens used to.

Gebe · 2018-11-28T15:06:38.000Z

m_a_schuster:

Just received one of these from Amazon using the coupon for $19.95.

That price, the positive review, and the bunch of unused 14500’s sitting in the drawer, are what convinced me.

There is a lot to like here.

Some random observations tho:

To keep the provided USB-charging 14500 at nominal capacity, the overall length of the cell is increased considerably in order to fit the charging circuit. This works fine in the E05 as it is designed to accommodate the extra length, but not so for re-using in other lights you may have on hand. My ancient AW protected 14500 works just dandy in the E05.

I wish it had come with an OP reflector as the beam pattern is a little rough with the smooth one. Not being inclined to mod, I can live with this though.

The light came with the battery pre-installed and charged to mid capacity. To do this, they must have some confidence that parasitic drain will not deplete the battery before it reaches the customer. Wondering if it has been measured.

I am not a fan of the magnetic end cap … or magnets in general for anything intended for EDC. Keep them away from your mag-stripe credit cards, work ID/access cards, and the like!

Thanks for your thoughts schuster. I’m awaiting the arrival of mine. Looks like a great deal for $20.00. I actually prefer the magnet as I find it increases the usefulness of smaller lights but to each their own.

Like you, I prefer OP reflectors in lights unless it’s a dedicated thrower. I’m thinking if the beam bothers me, an application of diffuser film will clean the beam up. I use it in a lot of my lights and it’ll turn a smooth reflector into a OP.

MascaratumB · 2018-11-28T15:16:17.000Z

m_a_schuster:

The light came with the battery pre-installed and charged to mid capacity. To do this, they must have some confidence that parasitic drain will not deplete the battery before it reaches the customer. Wondering if it has been measured.

I believe mine arrived with a piece of thick plastic on the negative pole, but I can’t remember 100%! Yours didn’t have it?

m_a_schuster · 2018-11-28T16:38:38.000Z

MascaratumB:

m_a_schuster:

The light came with the battery pre-installed and charged to mid capacity. To do this, they must have some confidence that parasitic drain will not deplete the battery before it reaches the customer. Wondering if it has been measured.

I believe mine arrived with a piece of thick plastic on the negative pole, but I can’t remember 100%! Yours didn’t have it?

Nope. There was no insulator on either end of the battery.

m_a_schuster · 2018-11-28T16:40:26.000Z

gchart:

Good observations. I agree on the OP reflector - that would have been a better choice.

Regarding the magnetic end cap… bilakos10 showed in his review that the magnet could easily be removed:

Thanks for pointing that out.
Guess I will have to look, as it is not clear to me whether the magnet acts as a spacer beneath the rear contact; i.e. if removing the magnet will change the effective length of the battery tube.

gchart · 2018-11-28T16:51:36.000Z

m_a_schuster:

… if removing the magnet will change the effective length of the battery tube

Thats a good question, but if it does change the length, I bet you could just shim it where the magnet was with some scrap plastic/paper/etc (maybe a couple layers cut from a junk-mail credit card or gift card?)

Gebe · 2018-12-01T20:24:17.000Z

Mine finally arrived. What an great little light for $20.00! The best 14500 light I’ve ever owned and I’ve owned a ton of them. The accessories you get with it makes it an even better bargain. The only minus I can come up with is the low capacity cell it came with but that’s easily corrected and it’s fine for now.

The tint on mine is fantastic! No need to change this emitter. I’m biased towards CW and this thing is great. Pure white corona with beautiful spill. No tint shift on this, just beautiful pure white with no hint of blue or green at all and no artifacts at all, at least in this example. I really won the tint lottery!

To say I’m happy with this is an understatement. Wonderful build quality as good as any light I’ve ever had. This would be a good buy at it’s $39.99 retail but at $20.00, it’s an incredible bargain!

P.S. Thanks again Keith for alerting me to the 50% off code.

Streamer · 2018-12-01T21:43:52.000Z

Gebe:

Mine finally arrived. What an great little light for $20.00! The best 14500 light I’ve ever owned and I’ve owned a ton of them. The accessories you get with it makes it an even better bargain. The only minus I can come up with is the low capacity cell it came with but that’s easily corrected and it’s fine for now.

The tint on mine is fantastic! No need to change this emitter. I’m biased towards CW and this thing is great. Pure white corona with beautiful spill. No tint shift on this, just beautiful pure white with no hint of blue or green at all and no artifacts at all, at least in this example. I really won the tint lottery!

To say I’m happy with this is an understatement. Wonderful build quality as good as any light I’ve ever had. This would be a good buy at it’s $39.99 retail but at $20.00, it’s an incredible bargain!

P.S. Thanks again Keith for alerting me to the 50% off code.

Good to hear ! Got one to be delivered in next hour. Enjoy !!

gchart · 2018-12-01T23:36:44.000Z

Glad you like it, Gebe. I agree that $40 actually seemed like a fair price. $20 is just a steal!

Macka17 · 2018-12-02T00:01:10.000Z

I’m running those Soshine yellow/white 14500. 900’s for a while now.
in several lights.
They give good run times and plenty of output power.
2 x Jetbeam and a Sofurn.
Compliments of Bangood early this yr.
Higher output than the Pana’s I have.

g_damian · 2019-04-15T10:18:05.000Z

would it be easy to swap a driver? if yes, what is the diameter?

gchart · 2019-04-15T11:42:15.000Z

g_damian:

would it be easy to swap a driver? if yes, what is the diameter?

I haven’t been able to get to the driver. The battery tube seems to be glued to the head. You might be able to remove it with heat and/or strap wrenches. So I’m also not sure about the size, but AA sized lights are frequently 15mm.

lisonhy · 2019-04-15T14:09:40.000Z

good sample,I like it

wle · 2019-05-28T12:50:49.000Z

what causes the turbo to step down in about 1 minute?

battery exhaustion, temperature increase, or just a timer?

wle

gchart · 2019-05-28T13:05:48.000Z

I think it’s just timer based

wle · 2019-05-28T13:17:03.000Z

Gebe:

Thanks much Keith but the code isn’t working. What a wonky site that vipon is! It took forever to join and at first it wouldn’t let me navigate the site unless I downloaded their app. After much frustration, I finally got through to get the code.

Went to Amazon but the code is no longer any good.

i think all that vipon type stuff is just data harvesting
or poorly managed

including
honeybuy
buywiki

wle

Blackbeard · 2019-12-03T00:13:07.000Z

Hi, I got one of these today for $20 from amazon, but the power level indicator does not light up at all, you guys think this is a defective sample?

gchart · 2019-12-03T00:47:33.000Z

They don’t light up for a few seconds when you first turn the flashlight in? Weird. If that’s the case, it sounds defective to me.