Wuben H1 Headlamp Review

In my hands today is the new H1 headlamp by Wuben.  This is the H1, an 18650 light with two white emitters, and red.  Read on for some thoughts and testing!

---

Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the official product page.

Versions of the Wuben H1 Headlamp

I believe there is just one version of the H1.

Price

These are currently on sale for $32.99, down from the MSRP of $49.99. Here’s a 20% off coupon, too:
zeroair20

---

Short Review

This is a solid little headlamp, especially at $33.  I would probably pick something other than the Osram P9 emitter, but again, for the price, this is hard to beat!

Long Review

The Big Table

Wuben H1 Headlamp
Emitter:	Osram P9 (CW)
Price in USD at publication time:	$32.99 Here’s a 20% off coupon, too: zeroair20
Cell:	1×18650
Turbo Runtime	High Runtime
LVP?	Yes
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (A):	0.00088
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Charge Port Type:	micro-USB
Chargetime
Power off Charge Port?	Without Cell? 3 modes With Cell? 3 Modes
Claimed Lumens (lm)	1200
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	1118 (93.2% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	4.8
Claimed Throw (m)	125
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	441lux @ 3.687m = 5995cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	154.9 (123.9% of claim)^
All my Wuben reviews!

^ Measurement disclaimer:  Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.

What’s Included

• Wuben H1 Headlamp
• Wuben 2600mAh 18650
• Headband
• Charge cable (USB to micro-USB)
• Spare o-rings (2)
• Manual

Package and Manual

Build Quality and Disassembly

One random thing I happen to really like on this little headlamp is the tailcap knurling.  It’s very grippy but also not deep.  Almost looks decorative, except that it’s extremely useful.

These lights are surprisingly serialized.  The Open/Close text is a little superfluous.

The end with the switch is also the end with the charge port.  The switch cover is connected to the charge port cover.

I find the threading on this tailcap to be unusual.  The threads are very big, and it takes only ~1.75 turns to remove the tailcap.  I like this aspect.

The tail cap has a spring, but there’s just a brass button in the cell tube for contact.

The cell tube also has these deep grooves.  I’m not sure what these are for exactly, but I’m sure it’s related to indexing the guts on the front.

Size and Comps

Size 85mmx 26mmx 33mm
Weight 54g without battery

 

If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo).  If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually the fourth photo).

Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+.  Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple.  A very nice 18650 light.

And here’s the light beside my custom engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light.  I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats.

Retention and Carry

This is a headlamp, and likely won’t serve as much else.  The light being directly in the center of the side means it’s not a typical “right angle” light.

The headband has grippy silicone over all the parts that touch your head – around the sides and over the top.  The over the top part isn’t removable

The headband is comfortable and grippy.

The top strap is an integral part of the system.

The light slips into these silicone holders fairly easily.  These are slightly more stiff than other brands, but do seem quite snug and secure.

There are no other means of carrying the light.  There isn’t a pocket clip or magnet.

Power and Runtime

The Wuben H1 is powered by a single lithium-ion cell.  An appropriate 18650 is included by Wuben.  It’s named the ABE2600C.

This Wuben cell is not required – any 18650 should work.  There is an adequate length for longer 18650 cells and adequate spring for the shortest unprotected flat tops.

It’s a button top cell, but standard.

The light has a battery status indicator, too – when the light is turned on, for 5 seconds the secondary emitter indicates as follows:

Blue Steady: ≥90%
Blue Flashes: 90% to ≥40%
Red Steady: 40% to ≥15%
Red Flashes: <15%

Here are a couple of runtimes.  The manual says different things in different languages, but in the English part, the highest mode mentioned is “High” (and not “Turbo” as in other parts of the manual.  So I’ve labeled the graphs according to the manual.  High steps down dramatically after around 30 seconds, but gets fairly near the claim of 1200 lumens.  And not only that, it’s holding the 1120 or so lumens very steady for those 30 seconds.  Little consolation, but some.  After the stepdown, the output is extremely stable, until a low voltage termination.

Medium is equally as stable and also shuts off with LVP.

Charging

As stated, the H1 has onboard charging, by way of a micro-USB port.  A cable is included:  USB to micro-USB.

The charge port cover is just a press-in cover.  Seems secure enough, though.

Charging looks very good, at around 1A in both tests.  Charging is to 4.20V, too (which some lights fall short of).

While charging, the red secondary emitter is constant.  When charging is complete, the secondary emitter is blue constant.

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
High	1200/500	1m/2h	1118	3.40
Medium	400	2.6h	413	0.84
Low	80	14h	87	0.16
Moon	1	500h	–	0.02
White Secondary	10	25h	–	0.09
Red Secondary	10	30h	–	0.07

Pulse Width Modulation

There isn’t really PWM on any mode, but the middle two modes on the main light do have a bit of sawtoothing.  Nothing to worry about though.

White secondary:

Red Secondary:

Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor.

Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.

User Interface and Operation

The Wuben H1 is controlled by a single switch, which is on the same end of the light as the charge port.  The switch is highly textured, so it’s moderately easy to differentiate the charge port cover from the switch.

Either way, they’re small enough that giving the whole tailcap a smash gets the job done.

Here’s a user interface table!

State	Action	Result
Off	Click	On (Main emitter, mode memory)
Off	Hold	On (Secondary emitter, mode memory)
On	Click	Off
On	Hold	Mode advance (Moon,L,M,H for main; White, Red, Red Flash for secondary)
On (but not in Turbo)	Double Click	Turbo
Off (or secondary emitter on)	Double Click	Strobe
Strobe	Double Click	Strobe Advance (Fast strobe, SOS, Beacon)
Off	Triple Click	Blue breathing secondary emitter
Turbo	Double Click	Strobe
Off	Click 4x	Lockout (Signified by 3x flash of main emitter)
Lockout	Click 4x	Unlock to Moonlight

LED and Beam

The main emitter is an Osram P9, with a small smooth reflector.  It’s cool white.  The secondary emitter area is to the right of the main emitter in the photo below.  Behind this opaque cover is a neutral white, red, and blue emitter selection. These are of course all flood and details about them aren’t included.

These beamshots always have the following settings:  f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level, and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.

White Secondary:

Red Secondary:

Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)

I keep the test flashlight on the left and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.

White Secondary:

Red Secondary:

I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!

Conclusion on the Wuben H1 Headlamp

What I like

• Low price
• Complete package
• Very easy user interface
• Good and stable headband
• Very nice tailcap
• Charging is reliable
• Charging (or use) is not proprietary

What I don’t like

• CW main emitter
• Access to blue (used for breathing and battery check) in the secondary mode group would probably be fun.

---

Notes

• This light was provided by Wuben for review. I was not paid to write this review.
• This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
• For flashlight-related patches, stickers, and gear, head over to PhotonPhreaks.com!
• Please use my amazon.com referral link to help support zeroair.org!