The Flashlight That Does It All? Wuben X2 Pro (UV) Review

LED Flashlights – General Info
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Wuben :face_vomiting::face_vomiting::face_vomiting: Never again!
Ask the backers on Kickstarter and the comments on wuben’s facebook…
They’re only interested in mass selling(with LOTS of defectives, they don’t care)
Also, I’ve never seen such as horrible customer service…

But I appreciate the work on your reviews :wink:

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I now have 2 Wuben X2 Pros. One black UV version and one white RGB version.

Here’s my impression:

What I like:

  • Battery hatch - works great on both mine. No issues. Big improvement over the original X2’s built-in battery.
  • Mechanical lockout switch - this is superior to the original X2’s large flat switch which required electronic lockout if carried in pocket.
  • Aesthetics - White body version looks very pretty when the light is not on.
  • RGB sidelight is fun.
  • Fit and Finish - I have read reports of issues with the fit and finish on the X2 Pro. However, the fit and finish on mine is flawless with no nicks in the anodizing and all functions working properly.

What I don’t like:

  • Output - it’s about 1,000 lumens dimmer than the original X2. This reduction in lumens is quite noticeable and makes the entire light feel like a downgrade from the X2.
  • Electronic zoom function - This sounded cool in theory, but the reality is very underwhelming. Both flood and spot modes leave a lot to be desired. I find myself defaulting to Turbo when I use it. Since Turbo activates all the front LEDs, the zoom functionality is lost. It feels like a gimmick rather than a useful feature.
  • No shortcut to turbo from off - to get to turbo it is necessary to single-click to turn the light on, then double-click to get to turbo. Strangely, double-clicking when the light is off does nothing.
  • Rubber boot covering the charging port - It’s way to thin and flimsy and the lift tab is too easily knocked causing the cover to open. Fortunately, this is easily fixed by using a scissors or knife to cut off the lift tab.
  • Clip direction - Clip is bezel up rather than bezel down.
  • White Leds - low CRI and cool white. Yuck!
  • UV light - The UV output is tiny. Almost unusable. On the upside, the output for the RGB version seems ok. If you want this light I recommend getting the RGB version.
  • Side light tilting mechanism - on my black UV version the tilting mechanism is slightly loose. Brushing the side reflector causes it to tilt. This doesn’t affect function, but does make the whole mechanism feel cheap. On the upside, the tilting mechanism in my more recently purchased RGB version is quite tight and does not change position when brushed. It feels much better.
  • Modability - this is probably the biggest reason I’m not a huge fan of this light:
    • I opened the front to look inside. Unfortunately, the leds are all tiny little leds. I can’t simply reflow the stock LEDs and replace them XP-sized leds such as Nichia 519a. This is a big backwards step compared to the original X2, which could easily be swapped to 519a.
    • I haven’t tried opening the side compartment to look at its led, but based on the output, tint and CRI I think it is probably just another one of the tiny leds used at the front.
      • Accessing the side LEDs could be difficult. The optic appears to be press-fitted or glued into its housing. There are no screws. Attempting to remove it might damage the optic.
    • It might still be possible to swap the front or side emitter to 519a, but doing so probably isn’t worth the effort given the other drawbacks of the light.
      • Emitter swapping to a 3535 emitter would likely require making a custom star, or precisely cutting up a bunch of other stars and then assembling them inside the light like puzzle pieces. This would be a fairly time consuming and difficult process.
      • This assumes that the little emitters are 3v emitters.

My conclusion:
The Wuben X2 Pro is an interesting light that looks awesome in pictures and has a number of intriguing features. Unfortunately, the end result is underwhelming and in my opinion is inferior to the earlier model Wuben X2.

  • If you want a flat light for your pocket and can accept a built-in battery there are many better choices such as the Wurkkos HD01 Pro, Ultrafire Mini X3, or Nitecore EDC23.
  • If you absolutely must have a replaceable battery, a Skilhunt EC200 is more pocketable, has a higher capacity battery and much better output and CRI.

Note: If you want to purchase one, get it from a third-party vendor like Amazon. If you order directly from Wuben expect to wait for possibly months since they apparently sell units they do not have in stock.