[Review] Wurkkos TS25 || 4 x Nichia 519A + Aux RGB, 1 x 21700 || Output Measurement & Outdoor Beamshots

[bilakos10]

The flashlight was sent to me by Wurkkos for review.
Here’s the product’s link for more info: Wurkkos TS25

The flashlight comes in a nice cardboard box.

The following accessories are included in the box.

• USB Type-C charging cable.
• Pocket clip
• Wurkkos branded 21700 battery, with 5000mA of capacity.
• Wrist lanyard.
• 2 x replacement o-rings.
• User manual.

The Wurkkos TS25 comes with satin black anodization.

It’s operated via an e-switch that’s mounted in the middle of the head.
The switch is backlit and will light up during charging to indicate the battery’s status.

Opposite to the e-switch, we find the charging interface of the light, which is sealed via a rubber flap.

A regular USB type-c plug is used.

And said previously, during the charge, the e-switch’s indicator will light up.

Looking at the front of the flashlight we can see a smooth bezel protecting the glass lens.

The TS25 uses a Quad TIR lens along with RGB aux LEDs.
I’ve went with the Nichia 519A 5000k option, but other LED variants are also available.

The head can be easily taken apart.

Here’s a closer look at the quad emitter + RGB board.
The soldering is very clean and the MCPCB is secured from twisting via 2 screws.

The tail of the light is completely flat, which of course allows it to tail stand.

The sides of the tail contain some parallel grooving to enhance the grip when user tries to tighten / untigthen it.
Additionally, it contains a hole for mounting a lanyard.

Both the head and tail threads are very cleanly cut and are anodized.
The anodization allows the user to mechanically lock out the light via slightly twisting either the head or tail.

The TS25 also comes with a detachable, dual way pocket clip.
Here’s a side shot of the flashlight with the pocket clip attached.

User Interface
The Wurkkos TS25 uses Anduril V2.0, which is one of my favourite flashlight firmwares.
Going through each and every detail of the firmware would take a few hours, so instead, here’s a little picture showcasing all the available actions of the firmware.

Output

Here’s my turbo output measurement and parasitic loss:

Turbo: 4045 lumen @turn-on, 19.4A of current draw.
Parasitic draw AUX Off: 0.068 - 0.120 mA
Parasitic draw AUX Low: 0.168 - 0.210 mA
Parasitic draw AUX High: 5.11mA

As you can see, Turbo is outputting some very serious output.
I recorded south of 4000 lumen of high CRI light at turn on.

Beamshots

Here’s some output beamshots.

And here’s a GIF of the different AUX colours (+ the main LEDs at lowest mode).

[TARTARA]

Nice flashlight, thanks for the review man !

[Correllux]

I got one as well but don’t do nice reviews like you do.

Did the ultra-fast step down not bother you? It’s pretty severe in this light…more than I was expecting even after hearing others’ reviews last year. Might be a deal killer for many but I think the light can still be useful for a lot of folks.

That aux drain varies by quite a lot depending on color. On high, depending on color/mode it can be has high as 12mA, down to something like 3.3mA for green. I think red was 8.2mA if I remember correctly. I saw about the same 60uA-80uA (averaging 76uA most of the time) on the off standby, which is ok, little bit higher than it needs to be.

Magnet on this one is somewhat weak, too, which I think they could easily upgrade.

I like it, feels good in the hand and lots of nice details. The step-down, however, really needs to be addressed with a new driver. I suggested they think about an 18650 model with this same design, something to make a little family with the TS10 and TS25. Wurkkos seems to have a good thing going in enthusiasm and design!

[cannga]

I had exact same thought. Was really interested because all the right things such as 519a 5000k + sideswitch + USB charging, but suspicious of 4k lumen in such a small light so I immediately looked up runtime graph.

Output after stepdown is nasty even after Tmax raised to 50 C. Is better after Tmax raised to 70 C (!). Wurkkos TS25 review | EDC flashlight with quad LED and 4,000 lumens | 1Lumen.com.

[bilakos10]

Yup, indeed the short step down isn’t optimal.
But to be honest, I sort of expected it to behave like it, since this thing is pulling north of 15 amps at max.

Also, thank you for the heads up regarding the different current draw per color - this aspect completely slipped my attention! I’ll take some more measurements and add them to the main post.

[Mandrake50]

Yes. I got one yesterday. But I knew going in what I was going to get.
So, I set manual memory for 10/150 and top of ramp to 115/150. As I play with it more, I am thinking I could go to 120/150.
It seems to sustain top of ramp fine with the limit set to 55C. It is plenty of light for most of what I do. If I need more, I just grab a light that can do it.
BTW, as in all of my lights, I have turned off the AUX lights.
They only come on (low) maybe during camping or in a hotel.
If I had the aux lights on for every light on my dresser, I could probably read by the amount of light produced… I want to sleep in there…
Anyway, for what it is, it a decent little light. But a 4K lumen monster, it is simply not.

[uticus]

Thanks for the review!

Is the driver something like FET, where it will decrease in brightness over time as the battery runs down?

[Correllux]

Yes. It’s a FET + 1, so some theoretical regulation at a very low 350mA level (single 7135 chip). The battery it comes with seems decent enough, whatever it is. A good high drain cell will usually have good voltage rebound so if you’re not trying to (frustratingly) run it constantly at a higher output then between uses it’ll rebound and still give good bursts for quite awhile before it can’t burst as bright. If that makes sense. But it’s basically a wide open fet driver.

EDIT: I said that just based on a few photos here and on reddit where people had the driver out of the light. I don’t think anything has changed. The driver itself is glued in pretty well and accessing it is pretty difficult and/or likely to be destructive…and it’s a t-board so you really can’t see anything on it at all without removal. The bezel has no glue, however.

[uticus]

Sounds good. I’m concerned about constant output at lower brightness levels since I won’t be using it mainly for high output, but still good to know about the volt rebound for high brightness.

I still get confused on what causes dimming, seems like a “constant-current” driver (like buck or boost) eliminates that. But also seems like Anduril automatically steps down the brightness as voltage drops (and temp increases past limit of course)… does that mean that Anduril works the other way, and even if there is no “constant-current” driver Anduril automatically attempts to maintain a constant brightness if the voltage is available?

[Mandrake50]

@uticus

But also seems like Anduril automatically steps down the brightness as voltage drops (and temp increases past limit of course)… does that mean that Anduril works the other way, and even if there is no “constant-current” driver Anduril automatically attempts to maintain a constant brightness if the voltage is available?

I am no expert, but I do not think that Andruil limits brightness except in response to temperatures over the set level. Though some lights have a programmed stepdown after a specific time (I can’t remember for sure that they do that in any lights using Andruil).
Andruil does not increase output to compensate for lower cell voltage. Output drops in an unregulated driver in response to lower voltage being available from the cell over time.

[Jeffgoldblum]

@uticus

But also seems like Anduril automatically steps down the brightness as voltage drops (and temp increases past limit of course)… does that mean that Anduril works the other way, and even if there is no “constant-current” driver Anduril automatically attempts to maintain a constant brightness if the voltage is available?

No brightness steps down as voltage drops because the voltage has dropped.

Anduril only makes low voltage adjustments when you get <3v

[uticus]

I guess what I mean is, the brightness levels always seem to decrease over time.

For example, the non-Anduril Convoy S21D with a constant-current driver shows a steady output (if temp isn’t exceeded): Convoy S21D Nichia 519a Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews

Compare to the Anduril Wurkkos TS21, which does not show a steady output, but a decreasing output: Wurkkos TS21 Andúril Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews

What causes the dimming on the TS21? If it is dropping voltage, why would Anduril not be able to compensate to mimic a constant-current driver?

[Jeffgoldblum]

@uticus

What causes the dimming on the TS21? If it is dropping voltage, why would Anduril not be able to compensate to mimic a constant-current driver?

My understanding is more current to the LED means more brighter. You get more current with higher voltage. Anduril achieves dimming by turning the LED on/off very quickly, decreasing the amount of time the LED spends on as it dims, to lower the average current and we perceive this as being less bright because it all blends together. But anduril doesnt have a resistor or a converter to lower or increase the actual voltage. So while anduril has the LED on, it’s on full power at every pulse. As the battery voltage decreases, the amount of time the LED spends on/off doesn’t change but each pulse is now at a lower current. Average current decreases, this lowers actual and perceived brightness.

So why doesn’t anduril increase the time the LED spends on then to compensate then? Well it can, but it leaves that to you. You have the button to control PWM. When you’re actually holding and using the flashlight this works fine. As voltage drops if you need it brighter you press the button, duty cycle increases, average current increases, and brightness can stay consistent as voltage decreases. This works for real world use.

If you place it on a desk and don’t touch it, not quite a real world example of how a person generally uses a flashlight, it does what that graph shows it does. But that graph isn’t a good real world example because even though we commonly use these as lamps it assumes a person wouldn’t just reach out and press the button to make it brighter if they think it’s too low.
So why don’t they add a boost/buck or variable resistor so it can regulate voltage itself? Because those add cost and complexity and anduril is trying to do what they do without needing them, jn a different way that allows for simpler drivers, lots of features and lots of customization.

Someone feel free to correct me if im making a wrong assumption somewhere. That’s my understanding.

[SammysHP]

@Jeffgoldblum

Anduril achieves dimming by turning the LED on/off very quickly, decreasing the amount of time the LED spends on as it dims, to lower the average current and we perceive this as being less bright because it all blends together. But anduril doesnt have a resistor or a converter to lower or increase the actual voltage.

Anduril outputs a control signal telling the driver, what brightness the LEDs should have. The driver converts this information into a specific current for the LED. Simple drivers use the PWM signal directly to quickly turn on and off the LEDs. Better drivers use a linear or switching regulator and the brightness will not be affected by the battery voltage. This is important to distinguish.

[Jeffgoldblum]

@SammysHP

Anduril outputs a control signal telling the driver, what brightness the LEDs should have. The driver converts this information into a specific current for the LED. Simple drivers use the PWM signal directly to quickly turn on and off the LEDs. Better drivers use a linear or switching regulator and the brightness will not be affected by the battery voltage. This is important to distinguish.

I thought anduril could only regulate a specific current below 350ma on a fet +1, when it’s still using the 7135? Then after step 65 regulation was all PWM of the fet? I do get the fet isn’t direct drive. Just seems like that’s what everyone calls the low resistance fets.

[SammysHP]

That is just how one type of driver works, but not related to Anduril.

[uticus]

Very useful explanation, that clears things up quite a bit. Thanks!

[Jeffgoldblum]

@SammysHP

That is just how one type of driver works, but not related to Anduril.

Oh I gotcha. That’s the type of driver on the ts21 tho isn’t it.

I think I get what you’re saying, there’s some places where I said anduril where i should’ve said the ‘driver that anduril is on’ or something else

[joechina]

Has the Wurkkos TS25 flash pads?
Three little dots inside the head?

[Sudsy]

Yes. I have seen pics that show them, but I don’t own one.