Wurkkos TS30S + monster LED SBT90.2 = $60 4750lm 1km SUPER-Thrower. Comparison w/ TS30S Pro, Olight, Nitecore, & other monster lights. :)

LED Flashlights – General Info 21700 Flashlights
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EDIT: Data will be updated several times as I buy more lights, make more measurements, learn more things, and make less mistakes. Pls expect changes. :slightly_smiling_face:

Long story short: My wife and I take evening walks on an unlit coastline trail and need a flashlight for safety. I had first looked at headlamps, one thing led to another found myself at Budgetlight and now have Emisar Nichia 219b and Convoy 519a coming LOL :person_facepalming: . But for me these lights are “toys,” exceedingly fun around the house not as useful as these 21700 throwers for use as a walk light. Hopefully the comparison is helpful. Thanks to this forum for all the info I’ve learned; if I make a mistake please correct as needed.

I initially got the Olight M2R Pro because of its excellent review and popularity, then Nitecore MH12S and Sofirn IF22a. Still wasn’t happy with brightness (I want something that blows me and friends away), AND the slippery slope of this hobby has led me to order yet another light I don’t really need, Wurkkos TS30S with the extremely potent Luminus SBT90.2 LED. It was on sale for a mere 60 bucks and as usual it’s the LED that intrigues me, so I clicked. The Luminus SBT90.2 is one of the most expensive LED’s I’ve seen, selling by Convoy for around $30, for just the LED. As night fell the first day that I got the Wurkkos, I immediately realized that it is an absolute monster, lighting up everything in its path as if it were a lighthouse. The Wurkkos ends up making the list of 4 Lights I would buy were I to start from beginning :slight_smile: Click HERE

These 4 lights have been reviewed extensively in this forum as well as great review sites like 1lumen and zeroair, so this thread is mostly a comparison of strengths and weaknesses I’ve noted in daily use. All pictures are taken in RAW format with Canon DSLR, fixed WB 5000k. Exposure controlled to best illustrate a point I’m trying to show. I’m a fairly hardcore shutterbug and color “sensitive,” with a bias towards warm tone in adjusting WB of my travel/scenic pictures, even before I discovered Budgetlight.

I’m adding an index of the interesting or fun posts that I’ve wasted the most amount of time on :person_facepalming: :slight_smile: . Hope it helps for anyone looking to waste time reading about flashlight.

* 4 Lights I would buy were I to start from beginning Click HERE

* Summary of the lights reviewed in this thread Click HERE

* Anti Reflective Coated Lens for ~4% Gain (3% confirmed w/ Texas Ace Lumen Tube) HERE and HERE

* HUGE ~15% brightness gain with Samsung 40T over Wurkkos batteries HERE

* Beamshot comparison TS30S vs other throwers HERE

* How to check which kind of tint your AR lens has HERE

* Nice Discussion of Flashlight’s Driver Discussion Here

* Nice Discussion of Reflector and effects on Hotspot, Corona, Spill Here

My measurements - Please expect changes, as a result of repeat measurements, better knowledge, and mistakes (mine).
Wurkkos TS30S Pro with SBT90.2 with Neal’s Lishen LR2270 HP and non AR lens:
Throw 1125 m
Output 4760 lm
CCT 5700 Ra 68 Duv ~0.0050 Turbo hot, 0.0080 at lower output
CCT higher and Duv more negative at higher output.
Wurkkos TS30S with SBT90.2:
Throw
With AR lens + 40T Battery: 1062 m at Turbo start, 997 m at 30 sec
With AR lens Nealsgadgets Lishen “LR2170HP”+: 1137 m at Turbo start, 1030 m at 30 sec :smiling_imp: :+1:
CCT 5500 with Purple AR lens, 5800 with Blue AR lens
Duv
~0.0060 Turbo hot, 0.0080 lower output with Purple AR lens
~0.0040 Turbo hot, 0.0060 lower output with Blue AR lens

Output:
Stock Wurkkos Battery ~3980 lm
With AR lens ~4090 lm (~3% gain)
With AR Lens + Samsung 40T ~4750 lm (11-16% gain from battery alone - confirmed by numerous measurements w/ my TA lumen tube)
With AR Lens Nealsgadgets Lishen+ 4840 lm (3% + 18% gain)

Second Wurkkos battery is better, measuring ~4160 lm stock. Samsung 40T’s gain over this battery is 11%.
The AR lens I used is UCLp Acrylic: UCL Lens - Flashlightlens.com - Online Store(link is external)
Without doubt the Samsung 40T battery makes a big difference. The 4 Samsung batteries I tested got 4520 lm, 4730 lm, 4730 lm, and 4750 lm.

Sofirn IF22a with SST40
Throw 635 m
CCT 6463
Ra 71.0 x0.3135 y0.3288 Duv 0.0027
Output 1680 lm

Olight M2R Pro LE Purple with XHP35 HI
Throw 354 m
CCT 4455
Ra 58.0 x0.3683 y0.3981 Duv 0.0135

Nitecore MH12S with SFT40
Throw 315 m
CCT 5989
Ra 66.4 x0.3211 y0.3495 Duv 0.0094
Output 1980 lm

Mateminco PD90S:
Purple Reflection AR Lens
Throw
CCT
Ra
Output 7400 lm w/ Neal’s Lishen, 6700 lm w/ Samsung 30T

Lumintop D3:
Purple Reflection AR Lens
Throw
CCT
Ra
Output Lishen 6500 lm w/ Neal’s Lishen, 6200 lm w/ Samsung 30T

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SUMMARY
All 4 lights share these features: convenient on-body USB-C charging, 21700 battery, good throws (so I could see what’s ahead on the long trail surrounded by coastal shrubs). Some pro’s and con’s of each light, all IMvHO:

Wurkkos TS30S w/ SBT90.2 ~$60 when on sale https://m.aliexpress.com/item/3256801754924282.html?html=static&gatewayAdapt=4itemAdapt
BEAM: Stupendously bright hot spot and spill. This is the prototype search & rescue and safety light; it illuminates FIELDS, not areas. :slight_smile: The Wurkkos rocks my Opple meter, throw clocking in at 993 meters (holy macaroni), barely missing 4 digits. For me it’s important for a search/safety flashlight to have both hotspot and spill to be bright so there is a large area of illumination, and that’s what the Wurkkos gives you. For comparison IF25a is a good light but its beam (small hotspot, dim spill) is not as balanced as I’d like it to be.

The beam color will surprise you with its warmth, as a result of the lowish CCT (for a super thrower). A 993 m + warm beam = having your cake and eating it too. Please do keep in mind throwers, especially super throwers, are not Nichia lights for color comparison and dissection of Duv and Ra and R9. For me, they are not for close up views of flowers and plants like Nichia, but rather for distant dark objects and as such CRI is not as crucial (IMHO). There IS some green in the beam but it is thankfully not nauseating level as in some Cree LED. The slight/medium green tint is actually a plus for me because it makes distant trees more beautifully green :slight_smile: but obviously YMMV.

PRO:
This is far and away THE most “fun” light in my light collection because it’s as bright as a lighthouse. Comparison of other ~$60 throwers with Wurkkos TS30S will be the equivalence of bringing a knife to a gun fight. Simply put, it overwhelms with brightness and throw.
Construction is first class. It’s a beautiful yet rugged looking light to my eyes, although I would have preferred more choices of colors. Despite of the large head, it feels balanced in my hand.
The SBT90.2 LED alone is about $30; I don’t know how they make money selling this light for such a low price. There is currently no competition for this light, not at 60 bucks.
CON:
The larger size means the fit is better for jacket pocket, and maybe very loose pant’s side pocket.
There is no clip which I need mainly to prevent light from rolling off the table. I ended up using Convoy’s universal clip-on clip, AFTER bending the arms out to make it larger and doesn’t scratch the finish as much.
Slight green in the beam, not bothersome at all.

Olight M2R Pro Warrior ~$120 and more due to price gouging for Patriot and Orange model
BEAM: CCT of 4900k results in wonderfully warm tone. I had 3 copies of the M2R, one has wonderful beam color, the other is the worst green hell I’ve seen, so there is no consistency to LED quality. TIR optic is well chosen by Olight: nice large hotspot results in wide area of illumination far field. The spill as expected of a throw-oriented TIR optic is dim, but still bright enough so near field illumination (the area immediately in front and around you) is still pretty good. This was my favorite walk light, until I the Convoy twins M21F and E with Getian GT-FC40 showed up.
PRO: Exudes incredible quality everywhere you look. Feel solid and the finish is first class. Magnetic charging is the most convenient. Patriotic finish is cool, orange is amazing.
CON: Tint lottery: some light is great, some is horrible green hell. I don’t like the recessed and shallow rear switch nearly as much as Nitecore’s, which protrudes a lot more and is so much easier to activate. The side-switch is not the best: too heavy to click, very short travel, and not nicely “clicky.” I don’t like it as much as Sofirn switch for example, which feels lighter and “clicks” nicer and more clearly. I do understand Olight’s side switch’s design is deliberately heavy to prevent accidental in-pocket activation.

Nitecore MH12S ~ $90 but was on sale 20% off
BEAM: CCT 6500k means a harsh blue color that provides excellent illumination at the same time that it flattens depth, but this is not unusual for a thrower. Distant illumination/throw is excellent, better than Olight. Spill is bright, result in very good near field illumination as well. IMHO the small size, bright beam, and excellent throw make this one of the best and most capable lights for security function on the market today.
PRO: Rear switch is easy to access and have a great old-school mechanical feel. This light grows on me because of its small size and light weight. It actually feels nicest in the hand vs the other 2. With battery and clip, this light weighs 5.6 oz, versus Olight 6.2 and Sofirn 6.8.
CON: Can’t tail stand unless you use the enclosed plastic holster which is big and awkward. Thin metal - the battery cap is razor thin versus Olight and Sofirn for example and looks to be easy distorted if squeezed accidentally. OTOH the thin metal leads to less weight, which I like, so maybe I shouldn’t complain too much. Premium pricing. Unlike the other 2 lights, the light could only be turned on by rear switch (the side switch doesn’t turn on/off, only adjusts brightness).
Overall though the more I use this light the more I love it.

Sofirn IF22a ~$40
BEAM: Also 6500k - harsh bright blue tone that flattens depth and obliterates colors, but this is not unusual for a super thrower. Incredible throw for a small light: all output is concentrated by the 5° TIR optic into a bright but very small hotspot. The weakness: it has what I consider an unbalanced/one-dimensional beam: very small hotspot, with almost no spill. If this type of illumination is what you are looking for, it’s the perfect light. Personally I don’t use the IF22a often.
PRO: Construction not Olight level but excellent nevertheless. Very low cost for the quality it brings and for the fantastic throw. For what I paid for one Olight M2R I could get an IF22a PLUS nearly 3 Convoy Nichia’s lol.
CON: See beam discussion above. The larger size doesn’t bother me because I put it in my jacket’s pocket, if you wear loose pants with side pocket, it would easily fit there. At 6.8 oz it is a bit heavier than the best of this group, the Nitecore.

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These are measurements off of the excellent 1lumen reviews of these lights. The original table didn’t have data for Sofirn IF22a so I added that to the first line.

Nothing really stood out, oh except for the throw of that bad boy IF22a :slight_smile: . That 660 meter throw is for real and makes this the one stand out feature of the IF22a. I don’t like big flashlights and have always wondered what 600 meter plus throw looks like. Now I have some idea it’s nuts for such a small light.

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Recommended Accessories for Wurkkos TS30S w/ SBT90.2

Battery: Battery with high current capability is an absolute must for the SBT90.2 LED. Using ceiling bounce test (with numerous runs/repetitions :slight_smile: ) I’ve found in both Turbo and High modes, the gain of Samsung 40T over Wurkkos OEM battery is about 15%.

AR Lenses: Another absolute must for the Wurkkos as the OEM lens is not coated. UCL made two AR lenses that fit perfectly, one acrylic and one glass. Either one fits perfectly and impressively they achieved ~98.4% of max brightness (ie no lens), and ~4% improvement over Wurkkos’s OEM non-coated lens.

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Some comments as to how these white-wall shots predict the result of how these lights look during my walk. Olight and Sofirn use TIR optics. Nitecore smooth reflector.

Olight M2R Pro Warrior Limited Edition: Note the warm pleasant tone of Olight - it’s one of the very few (or maybe the only one?) 300 meter throwers with on-body charging AND a warm tone. Throw lights tend to have high CCT, 6500K or so, which gives them a uniformly harsh & flat bluish tone. Not so with this Olight, which has a warmer ~5000k LED. The Olight’s warm tone is crucial to me and is the reason I bought (& collected :person_facepalming: :slight_smile: ) these Pro Warrior 2 lights even after knowing Warrior 3 had been released. The warmer tone allows leaves and flowers along our walk to stand out clearly and pleasantly to the eyes. Objects without doubt appear more 3D. As typical of Cree LED, the green tint is there especially with white wall hunting , but it is not noticeable during actual use. The spill is not as bright as Nitecore for example, but still good. TIR optic means spill is very wide and in this case it is bright so the area immediately in front of us is well illuminated. This is a great walk light and one of my most favorite. My only wish is for the step-down not to be so aggressive (too dim).

Sofirn IF22a has a VERY narrow pencil-beam spot that cuts through the night like laser. The throw of this bad boy is utterly amazing for its size and cost. It’s one of those lights that regardless of whether you need it, you want to buy it. Keep in mind, the hotspot is smallish so it doesn’t illuminate a wide area. The spill of this TIR optic is wide, but in this light VERY dim. It illuminates the immediate area around you, but faintly, meaning it’s ok but could be better. The IF22a is a fun light to play with, but because of the small hotspot and faint spill the width of illumination is limited. IMHO it is just average as a walk light.

Nitecore MH12S - Throw is better than Olight and the spot is wider and much more useful than Sofirn’s pencil beam. The spill is brighter than average and illuminates the area immediately in front of you very well. It has a wide illumination area as a result of bright hotspot AND bright spill. It’s a very good walk light except for that harsh blue tone. IMHO it should truly shine as a light for security work because of its excellent brightness and throw, and nicely small size.

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Brightness

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Close-up view of a tree about 50 yards away to show the different CCT tone of Olight, versus Nitecore. Throwers tend to use 6500k LED, which results in a harsh and flat view of 3D objects such as a tree or shrub. Warm throwers such as 5000k LED Olight are rare, and this warmer CCT makes objects appear more 3D, with depth and details.

The Sofirn IF22a uses a similar LED to Nitecore so would look the same as Nitecore, except that IF22a’s pencil beam pattern would illuminate less of the tree.

FWIW I’ve learned from beamshots of a review that apparently only the limited edition of the Olight M2R Pro Warrior such as my Patriot, Orange, and Purple models (yes I have 3 of them - went a little overboard there :smiling_imp: :person_facepalming: ) has the warmer tone. Cannot confirm this 100%.

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Beam shot

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thanks for the photos

ArtieT59 knows how to upgrade the LED to High CRI… suggest you consider asking about his modding service… recommended to improve color contrast on your walks

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Wait are there hapless nutty people out there who actually COLLECT Pro Warriors? I thought I was the only one. :innocent:

Kidding aside, thanks Jon for the rec but the 5000k XHP 35 HI is perfect for my use so no mod. Limited edition Pro Warriors like these in comparison to the “regular” ones have lower CCT to begin with anyway, plus I’d like to keep them original. My Patriot actually had all the red stripes lined up, so it’s going to be a garage queen LOL. BTW desert tan is nice, but if you’re from the US IMHO Patriot is the one. Orange was once voted most desirable by Olight fans I think, and it IS stunning. The price gouging is ridiculous for these 2, especially Patriot.

At a younger age I was into the modding game with my cars and cameras (Bilstein suspension, race exhaust, removing the AA filter of my Canon DSLR, etc.). Not anymore. Enough headache :).

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I have no business ordering another light, but this Wurkkos with SBT90.2 was on sale and I couldn’t resist 3760 lumens and 865 meter throw in a (hopefully) jacket-pocketable light. (Review here: Wurkkos TS30S Andúril Flashlight Review - ZeroAir Reviews .) It seems to be a monster of a bright light, and it’s somewhere in LA waiting for me. :innocent:

The SBT90.2 (note the .2 - that’s the more desirable second generation version) is no Nichia or GT-FC40 when it comes to beam tint and color rendering, but has created some wave because of its tremendous output. I had A LOT of difficulty deciding between this and Convoy L8, but in the end I prefer smaller lights and the Convoy’s head diameter is just a little too big. Wurkkos appears to be the least expensive host with excellent review for this LED, so it made decision a little easier. I like to compare lights to give some perspective, and hope comparing it to these 3 throwers should be an interesting one.

2022-05-03 16:48
Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA, US, In transit - Inbound
2022-05-02 13:07
Los Angeles, CA, US, In transit - Inbound
2022-04-30 14:29
Port of destination - Arrival
2022-04-29 17:30
Port of departure - Departure
2022-04-27 04:52
Yanwen facility - Outbound

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The light is here - will get some beam shots when I have time. But basically it’s like a lighthouse with tremendous brightness. :+1: :slight_smile: The throw is unreal even compared to the excellent IF22a.

One curious aspect of this light is how expensive just the LED is - $32 compared to just a few bucks for most other LED’s. LUMINUS SBT 90,2 LED 25mm 20mm|Tragbare Beleuchtung Zubehör| - AliExpress

With the LED costing $30, the Wurkkos at $60 is quite a deal. I couldn’t resist.

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Wurkkos TS30S: Quality is not just good, but outstanding especially considering cost is so reasonable. For a SBT90.2 light that meet my requirement of on-board USB-C charing and consistently good reviews, I feel this IS the both the least expensive and best choice on the market presently. Size wise, although big and looks a touch unwieldy, it actually feels great and balanced in the hands. The big top is absolutely necessary to deal with the monster LED for better cooling capacity - I wouldn’t want anything smaller than this. The closest comparison size-wise is to Sofirn SP36 BLF: Sofirn at 15 oz is 4 oz heavier. The SP36’s beer can sizing and heavier weight make me hesitate to carry it on my walk, but this Wurkkos is easy enough to carry in my jacket. Once I have experienced the tremendous beam of this light, really I didn’t mind ANYTHING :stuck_out_tongue: .

All surfaces are anodized; the anodized finish is a touch too shiny for my taste (I prefer matte) but other than that it’s excellent. The quality is outstanding both inside and out: large contact surface on top, double spring in tail cap. The light comes with Wurkkos 5000 mAh battery and because something like high-current Samsung 40T is recommended, I will do an A:B battery shoot-out. Pocket clip is not provided, so I use my trusty Convoy clip-on clip after bending its arms outwards so it doesn’t scratch the finish too much. There is one bezel of modest size, model sold on Amazon has a second bezel of that is ridiculously huge. That huge bezel is NOT included with this AliExpress sale and it’s not missed at all.

The body (battery tube) looks even but actually is not reversible. The top end is slightly larger than the tail end. There is no knurling but what’s there is good looking and provides good grip. The side switch, used in other Sofirn lights, might not be the best looking but functionally is the best of all the side switches I’ve experienced: it’s flat, has just the right amount of travel, and clicks easily with a nice tactile feel. Overall, really just an excellent and very good looking light.

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Large battery “button” on top, and double spring at the bottom. This LED is extremely current hungry. The current draw as measured in the excellent Zeroair review is 15 amp in Turbo mode.

It’s great to see the attention to details despite of the very low cost of the light. (To be fair the original cost was $85, not the $60 I paid.)

I am beginning to think out of my 20 plus recent-vintage lights, 3 lights starting with
Wurkkos TS30S, for its incredible brightness and tremendous throw,
Convoy S21D with 219b 4500k for color accuracy and tint, and
Convoy M21E or F with GT-FC40 4500k for color accuracy and throw,
would make an ideal starter kit for someone new to this hobby. Meaning, I probably could eliminate about 17 other lights and still be happy with this trio (or maybe not lol - I love my SP36 BLF also). :+1:

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I swapped SFH55 in my TS30S. Very nice.

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Thermal Calibration: First time using the Wurkkos was a disappointment. Turbo was bright but within seconds the light stepped down, and not only that, the step-down was to a very dim level. From past experience with Wurkkos TS21, I checked the light’s thermal sensor and lo and behold it was reading 36 C when the ambient temp was 21 C. The sensor was off by an unprecedented 15 degrees C. (Assuming linear relationship, this means that when the internal temp is 30 C, the flashlight thinks it is 45 C and shuts down.) I have other Anduril lights and usually found temp to be off by a few degrees, but never this much (what happened to QC?). At any rate correction was easy enough using the Anduril 1’s menu.

Max Thermal Limit: To further prevent premature step-down from Turbo level, I also increased the temp at which ATC (automatic temperature regulation) kicks in. Factory default is 45 C, so my first try was 60 C. At this level, Turbo stayed on longer than all other lights I have, but the Wurkkos became too hot to touch. Next try was 50 C limit, and behavior is now perfect. Step downs from Turbo is not too early, nor too late. About same time as IF22a for example (a few minutes). Light does not become too hot, and brightness and throw remains off-the-chart stunning for a “smallish” light :slight_smile: :+1: .

Pic of the large and beautiful smooth reflector:

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Once brightness gets to a certain super-high level for this particular host (or I guess any host for that matter), it appears the limitation is solely how fast you could drain the heat. Any more brightness would probably cause either
a. light becomes too hot or
b. step down becomes too fast and/or too dim.

What’s interesting to me about Anduril is that if manufacturer drops the ball and doesn’t use it properly, then Anduril is not necessarily a good UI. When users are not nutty hobbyists I could easily see the light being returned. OTOH I am thankful for Anduril because one I love its flexibility and choices, and two, as seen with the TS30S, I could tailor the light to behave exactly how I want it to. I am glad I could find an ideal max thermal limit of 50 C. It’s lighting up EVERYTHING lol - near field (from the bright spill) and far field (intense hotspot); some of the most fun with flashlight I’ve had.

BTW still very cheap on Wurkkos site Wurkkos TS30S USB C Rechargeable 21700 Flashlight Powerful SBT90.2 LED 6000lm Anduril Version . Join the party, you won’t regret this. :partying_face:

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Its a really nice light. I’ve been wanting to put a clip on mine and yet I see you got one but is it sturdy enough?

Also that last link you posted has some nice reviews on their site, are you vic* I noticed the same clip?

Congratulations on getting your review on there.

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I think all the Wurrkos are like this.

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It’s a known thing for Anduril 1. Not only Wurkkos, All brands I’ve seen thru reading, including whatever I have, even Hank’s K1, all temp calibration out from factory are way off.

It’s also a known thing that at some point of time, those who know, 1st thing to do is calibrate the temp for Anduril 1 lights.