Contents

• Pricing & Availability
• What comes in the box?
• Design & Construction
• Size & Measurements
• User Interface
• Emitter & Beam
• Mode Chart
• Runtime
• Driver & Regulation
• Switch
• Carry & Ergonomics
• Batteries & Charging
• Competition
• Conclusion

Pricing & Availability

Wuben sent me this light in exchange for an honest review. Here is the official product page where you can see current pricing.

What comes in the box?

The box is really nice. The lid hinges open in two halves with a magnetic closure. Inside is a pouch with paperwork and below that is a nice foam cutout to hold the light and accessories in place. The following items are included:

• The light itself
• User manual
• USB A-to-C charging cable / neck lanyard / measuring tape
• Red silicone diffuser

Design & Construction

X2 is a striking light with lots of hard edges. It’s a rectangle so it’s far from a stereotypical flashlight shape. There are lots of visible screws and it looks industrial and futuristic. I just wish the head didn’t flare out so it was a perfect rectangle. Overall it’s really cool looking and unique.

Build quality is excellent. All the edges have been slightly broken so they aren’t sharp, but they’re still sharp enough to provide grip. It’s a small light but it feels dense and durable. None of the screws are glued so you can disassemble it yourself if needed, though that may void your warranty. It’s great to see that Wuben hasn’t chosen to glue everything together and make modifications impossible.

Size & Measurements

Skilhunt H300 | Lumintop FW3A | Wuben X2 | Mini Maglite | Wuben X1

Measurement	Measured (mm)
Thickness	20.0
Length	84.5
Head Width	39.1
Body Width	35.0
Switch Proudness	0.7
MCPCB Size	Custom
Ride Height (sticking out of pocket)	15
Pocket Clip Space (for pants material)	4.5
Pocket Clip Space (at mouth)	4.5
Pocket Clip Width	15.9
Driver Diameter	Custom

Weight: 120g

User Interface

This is a good UI that gets most of the basics right with no confusing fluff.

The actions are # of presses followed by a hold (H) or a release (C). So, “1C” is one click and release. “2H” is two clicks but you hold down the last one.

State	Action	Result
Off	1C	On (mode memory)
Off	1H	Low (memorized)
Off	4C	Lockout
On (except Strobe sometimes)	1C	Off
On	1H	Cycle mode (Low-Med-High, memorized)
On	2H	Adjust brightness of current mode
Any	2C	Turbo (not memorized)
Any	3C	Strobe (not memorized)
Turbo	2C	Return to previous mode (except off)
Strobe	3C	SOS (not memorized)
Lockout	1C	Indicator LED blinks
Lockout	4C	Unlock and turn on Moonlight

What they got right:

• Clicking turns the light on/off and holding the button changes modes. That’s the way almost all e-switch flashlights should work. It’s intuitive and quick.
• The common shortcuts work. Lowest mode, Turbo, and Strobe all have shortcuts that work the same way as most other lights. They work very well and there’s no learning curve for these when switching lights.
• Turbo and Strobe are not memorized. They each have their own dedicated shortcut, so you can access them quickly without overriding your memorized mode.

What they got wrong:

• No Moonlight! Every EDC flashlight should have a good moonlight mode (~0.5lm) that’s directly accessible from off. This also means there are only 4 brightness levels instead of 5, which I prefer.
• 1C does not always turn the light off. If Strobe was accessed while the light was already on, clicking will return to the previous mode instead of turning the light off. This is a very minor issue but I’d like to see it addressed in future releases because 1C should always turn a light off.

Emitter & Beam

X2 is available with two different emitter options: Osram P9 (brighter, cool white, standard color properties) and Samsung LH351D (not as bright, neutral white, great color properties). The black version that I chose comes with Osram P9 emitters. At the time of writing, all other body colors and materials come with Samsung LH351Ds.

The beam is wide, almost like a car headlight. It’s not round like a typical flashlight. The hotspot is a little bit oval-shaped and so is the corona. The spill is almost rectangular. It’s not a pretty beam but it works fine.

In the beamshots below, the green concrete near the hotspot is 39M away and the power pole in the center is 185M away.

Wuben also includes a red silicone diffuser in the box. It’s got little stops inside so it always sits at the perfect height. The light it produces is closer to a deep orange than a true red.

Mode Chart

Disclaimer: All of my measurements are taken at turn-on. Lumen measurements were taken on a Texas Ace 3.5″ Lumen Tube. A candela measurement was taken at 10 meters with an Opple Light Master III on the highest brightness, and other candela figures were calculated relative to that. CRI, CCT, & DUV data were taken for each mode from a few feet away at the center of the hotspot with the Opple Light Master and Waveform DUV Calculator. Runtime tests were performed with the Ceilingbounce app on my smartphone. All of these tests were performed with a fully charged battery unless otherwise specified. I cannot measure moonlight directly, so moonlight readings are calculated based on the brightness relative to the next-lowest mode. None of this is professional equipment, so take all of these measurements with a grain of salt.

Above are the official specs, followed by my own measurements below.

Level	Lumens	Candela	Throw (Meters)
Turbo	2100	6300	159
High	340	1020	64
Medium	84	252	32
Low	4	12	7

Moonlight: This light does not have a moonlight mode and that’s a shame. Every EDC light should have a ~0.5lm moonlight mode that’s directly accessible from off.

Mode Spacing: is not great out of the box. There’s a large gap between High and Turbo. Fortunately, you can adjust the brightness of any of the three lower modes by clicking twice and holding the second click. They are set to their lowest brightness by default.

Runtime

Performance: is impressive for a small light like this. 2100lm Turbo is maintained for 1 minute before it steps down and settles at a remarkable ~700 lumens for over an hour. I can’t think of any other lights this small that can sustain 700 lumens.

Thermal regulation: There is no active thermal regulation here. There is only a timed step-down at 1 minute on Turbo mode. That means the light will perform very consistently but may also overheat in hot weather or leave some performance on the table in cold weather.

Driver & Regulation

According to Wuben, X2 uses a Buck driver, which should make it efficient and well-regulated.

Regulation is excellent. The only mode affected by battery voltage is Turbo, and it’s only significantly affected when the battery is nearly empty. Well done, Wuben!

Note: All regulation measurements are taken at turn-on so they do not reflect any thermal or low voltage stepdowns that may occur. A value of 0 indicates low voltage shutoff immediately upon activation.

PWM: No PWM is visible to my eyes or camera, nor audible to my ears.

Parasitic Drain: I was unable to measure due to the built-in battery pack.

Switch

The switch implementation in X2 is something I’ve never seen before. The switch is a large hinged flap. It’s held down by magnets so it doesn’t flop around. When pressed, it actuates the actual microswitch underneath. When you lift up on the flap it reveals the USB-C charging port! The switch is super easy to find in the dark but it’s quiet and a bit mushy, so it can be hard to do multiple clicks precisely.

Carry & Ergonomics

X2 fits really well in the hand for its size. Most small lights are a little fiddly to hold but this one sits securely. All the angles and machining on the body are actually contoured to the hand. It’s very comfortable to hold and use in a forward grip.

There are two carry methods included with X2: a pocket clip and a lanyard. The pocket clip could use some improvements. It doesn’t carry very deep so a significant portion of the light sticks out of the pocket. The ramp at the mouth of the clip is a little too steep so it’s hard to get the clip over your pocket without lifting up on it.

Below is a sketch of how the clip design can be improved. It should mount to the same screw holes so Wuben could make this a rolling change or they could sell this as a replacement clip.

That lanyard I mentioned is long, so it’s clearly designed to be worn around the neck and not the wrist. There’s a quick detach at the end so you can detach the light and use it as needed. The lanyard also has a metric ruler on one side which is thoughtful. The coolest part about it is that it’s also the charging cable.

Tail standing works well and is stable. I wish the tailcap had a strong magnet inside though.

Batteries & Charging

X2 has a built-in 2000mah battery pack. Unfortunately, it’s wired in place and not user serviceable. I wish that Wuben had used two standard 14500 cells in parallel here. Then users could do battery swaps when the stock battery gets worn out. The built-in battery pack means this light has a limited lifespan.

Charging is facilitated by a USB-C port hidden under the switch. Wuben claims this light is IPX8 rated so this must be an internally water-resistant port. Be sure to let it dry out before charging if the light gets wet. Both A-to-C and C-to-C charging work just fine. There is no powerbank function. The light is fully functional while plugged in, but you have to press the tiny micro switch next to the USB port to control it since the main switch flap is lifted up. There’s a clear silicone boot over the microswitch that glows red or blue to indicate the charging status.

Competition

This is a really unique light and I can’t think of any obvious direct competitors. It’s more like it competes with different classes of lights. Small 18650 lights can provide similar brightness and runtime at a similar weight, but they’ll be longer and larger in diameter. Single 14500 lights will be the same thickness and length with less weight, but they won’t be able to provide the same level of output and runtime. The new class of “flat” EDC lights like Streamlight Wedge or Olight Arkfeld are a lot slimmer and longer than X2. The closest thing might be a Frelux Synergy 2, but that’s a very different light with different goals and it’s $150 more expensive at MSRP. There just aren’t any other flat/rectangular EDC lights of this size, output, and price.

Conclusion

This is a neat light. There’s nothing that it does objectively better than more traditional lights, but this is way cooler. Its performance and build quality are top-notch. The clip and UI leave just a bit to be desired but they aren’t deal breakers for most people. If you’re looking for a unique EDC like nothing you’ve seen before, give Wuben X2 a try!

Thanks to Wuben for sending me this light for review!