Wurkkos TD01C with SFT40 3000K

LED Flashlights – General Info
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I bought the TD01C because of the buck driver and wanted to try the SFT40 3000k. I am actually not too impressed with the SFT40 3000k. I don’t like lights with positive DUV tint and the host is really bulky for so little power. But I have to give credit to Wurkkos for finally using buck driver instead of the cheap unregulated drivers most low cost brands are using.

Edit: I recharged the battery and realize the previous test was done with an almost depleted battery. Reran the test and the output on turbo is actually 826 lumens instead of 548 lumens. Top of ramp didn’t change. Here are the updated test results.

Wurkkos TD01C Turbo 826 lumens 3231K -0.0007 DUV 94.9 CRI Blue light relative amplitude 0.50 80.5 R9 88.7 R12 91 Rf 104 Rg Samsung 50G
Wurkkos TD01C Turbo with low battery 548 lumens 3181K 0.0008 DUV 96.0 CRI Blue light relative amplitude 0.44 86.0 R9 89.2 R12 94 Rf 103 Rg Samsung 50G
Wurkkos TD01C Top of Ramp 493 lumens 3198K 0.0014 DUV 96.2 CRI Blue light relative amplitude 0.44 86.3 R9 88.6 R12 94 Rf 103 Rg Samsung 50G
Wurkkos TD01C Random level 171 lumens 3120K 0.0020 DUV 98.0 CRI Blue light relative amplitude 0.41 93.0 R9 88.8 R12 96 Rf 101 Rg Samsung 50G
Wurkkos TD01C Random level 75 lumens 3094K 0.0014 DUV 98.1 CRI Blue light relative amplitude 0.41 97.3 R9 88.4 R12 95 Rf 101 Rg Samsung 50G
Wurkkos TD01C Random level 16 lumens 3039K 0.0010 DUV 97.1 CRI Blue light relative amplitude 0.40 98.5 R9 87.0 R12 93 Rf 100 Rg Samsung 50G

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2

This is really good data, and brings to my attention the ridiculously low performance of the TD01C.

Turbo output: your 3000K variant has a turbo of 548 lumens, while the cooler version barely reaches 1250, which is very low for a SFT40. In comparison, the Convoy L21B can do 2088 at turn-on.

Sustainable output: around 670 lm for the TD01C, and 890 lumens for L21B.

Throw on Turbo: <220kcd (<940m) for TD01C, >340kcd (>1160m) for L21B.

Efficiency: just look at the medium mode: the TD01C cool version holds less than 700 lumens for around 90 minutes, while the L21B holds more than 800 lumens for 110 minutes; afterward the TD01C has a sharp dropoff whereas the L21B has a gradual dropoff. Thus, for the same cell capacity (5000mAh) the TD01C squeezes 63000 lumen-minutes out of it, while the L21B does 88000.

In conclusion: the L21B, compared to the TD01C, has

  • 67% more turbo output
  • 33% more sustainable output
  • 55% more intensity
  • 40% more efficiency in at least medium-high mode, despite not having a buck driver [correction: the Convoy does have a buck driver!].

I will no longer recommend the TD01C.

Review data for TD01C, L21B.

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3

Let me charge the battery. The battery might be low. I will verify tomorrow.

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There’s a couple beamshots of both (see links below)
I know it’s not the 3000k sft4o but both lights really throw well.

Convoy L21b sft40:

Wurkkos TD01C :

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5

These beamshots are great for comparing beam profiles, but unfortunately useless for comparing performance as the camera settings are most likely not fixed. Plus, even if a light throws really well, if there’s another light that beats it in every department I’d recommend that instead.

I suspect it’s not a battery issue as the performance is very low even in the reviewer’s sample.

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According to the linked 1lumen review the L21B has a “22 mm 8-amp buck driver designed for the Osram Boost HX-powered lights, but has been conscripted to drive the SFT-40-W”. Aren’t Convoys known for having pretty efficient drivers? I’m not surprised that the Wurkkos drivers aren’t as efficient as the Convoys.

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Thank you for the fact-check! I’ve corrected it in the previous comment.

Convoy’s drivers are generally pretty efficient, but a 40% gain in efficiency is crazy! I’m unsure how much of this difference to attribute to the driver, and how much to optic losses.

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It actually is due to the low juice battery. Charged it up and lumen output on turbo is now 826 lumens instead of 548 lumens.

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That’s interesting, the gap between 826 lumens of your 3000K version and the 1250lm of the cool review sample is quite a bit smaller than the output gap between the LED themselves tested here. Maybe you got a over-performing sample, or 1lumen got an under-performing sample. Or maybe the optical system is somehow more transmissive of the low CCT spectrum. Really don’t know.

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I confirm that it does not meet the stated characteristics. The maximum useful working distance is up to 200 meters. Warm light does its job well when there is dust in the air, but it is far behind its characteristics.

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Well, so glad that I bought the Acebeam L19.2 instead waiting for this TD01C. This driver seems to be really low quality.

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