Astrolux WP2 LEP Flashlight Review

Astrolux has released the WP2 LEP flashlight, among a number of other LEP flashlights.  Here’s a review of the WP2.  This is a 21700 cell, rotary control LEP with a pencil-thin beam!  Read on!

---

Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the BangGood Astrolux WP2 LEP flashlight product page (referral link).

Versions

There’s just one version of the Astrolux WP2 LEP flashlight.  A similar light is also available, which looks to have the same body but a smaller head.  That’s the Astrolux WP1.

Astrolux WP2 LEP Flashlight Price

The Astrolux WP2 LEP flashlight is selling currently for $269.95 at BangGood.

---

Short Review of the Astrolux WP2 LEP Flashlight

I now have a few LEP flashlights, and this Astrolux WP2 has absolutely the thinnest beam of them all.  I didn’t think a beam could get tighter than those others (without actually being a laser) but here we are.  The rotary control here is great too, and the user interface is simple.  All in all, this is a great LEP option.

Long Review

The Big Table

Astrolux WP2 LEP Flashlight
Emitter:	LEP
Price in USD at publication time:	$269.95 at BangGood
Cell:	1×21700 (included)
High Runtime Graph	Medium Runtime Graph
LVP?	Yes
Switch Type:	Both
Quiescent Current (mA):	–
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Charge Port Type:	Micro-USB (On cell)
Charge Graph
Power off Charge Port	–
Claimed Lumens (lm)	480
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	241 (50.2% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	4894.7
Claimed Throw (m)	2300
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	19320lux @ 7.374m = 1050542cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	2049.9 (89.1% of claim)^
All my Astrolux 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

• Astrolux WP2 LEP Flashlight
• 21700 with micro-USB charge port
• USB to micro-USB Charge cable
• Lanyard
• Spare switch cover
• Spare o-rings (2 sizes)
• Manual

Package and Manual

Build Quality and Disassembly

The Astrolux WP2 has excellent build quality.  Everything here works just like it should and feels great.

If you’re like me, you immediately noticed some design elements from another brand on this Astrolux light.  The rotary control has a “very JETBeam” grip pattern.  Overall the build quality all the way down to the anodizing color speaks to JETBeam.

I don’t know if JETBeam makes this, or Astrolux makes JETBeam and it does not matter to me, it’s just a fun thing to note.

The head has beefy cooling fins.

All the way out on the head there’s also some reading.  You’ll not really need to grab and unscrew here, so this seems to mostly be a design element than a useful feature.

This is a LEP of course, so we don’t have the typical reflector or TIR or anything else.  There’s a big piece of glass!  The front edge is flat, no matter how it looks below.  It’s the backside (the “inside side”) that has shape.

At the tailcap end, there are very smooth anodized and square-cut threads.  They’re long and require a number of revolutions to traverse.  But the tailcap itself has nice knurling to help in that regard.

Here you can see the tailcap spring.

The cell tube is removable fully, but not reversible.  Threads on the head are unanodized, and the diameter here is greater than at the tail.

Both head and tail have springs.

Size and Comps

Size: 185mm x 61mm x 28.3mm (Lenth x Head Dia. x Body Dia.)
Weight 360g (Exclude 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.

And finally, the LEP we all want:

Retention and Carry

The primary means for carrying the Astrolux WP2 LEP flashlight is likely the included lanyard.  This lanyard attaches through either of a set of holes in the tailcap.

Connection here is easy, and I appreciate there being two holes.

Two holes means tailstanding is a possibiltiy.

Also included, and installed from the factory, is this “tactical grip ring.”  This is a soft grip much like what ships with the KDLitker E6 P60 host.  Nothing wrong with it at all, and it provides a nice anchor point for grip.

It’s also easily removable (even without removing the tailcap).

There’s no belt clip or pouch or anything else.  The shipping box does have a nice handle of course, and could reasonably be seen as a “normal carry” mechanism, too.

Power and Runtime

Power is provided to the Astrolux WP2 by a single lithium-ion cell.  The cell tube fits a 21700 cell, and an appropriate cell is included.

Included is a button top cell, but since there are springs on both ends, any type 21700 cell should work just fine.

The cell is installed in the usual way:  positive end toward the head.

Here are a couple of runtime graphs.  There is a pretty big stepdown on the higher mode, despite the temperature never getting too high (externally, at least).  I’m reporting only 241 lumens here, which is well below the claim.  But lumens aren’t the real story, nor are they why you’d buy this light.  I measured the high output at over 2km, which is massive throw!  This is within the 10% rule, so that’s what’s important.

Medium doesn’t have any initial drop and holds quite well.  There are stepdowns at the end, and finally (as with High), a shutoff of low voltage protection.

Charging

While the Astrolux WP2 LEP flashlight itself doesn’t have built-in charging, the cell it ships with does.  This is by way of a micro-USB port on the cell’s positive end.

There’s also a charge indicator (the white dot at around 3 o’clock below).

An appropriate cable is included: USB to micro-USB.

Charging looks fine but is very slow.  This charge cycle required almost 8 hours in both tests.  That’s much slower than I would have expected.

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
High	480	4.4h	241	2.67
Medium	75	7h	53	0.59
Low	15	11.5h	10	0.33

Pulse Width Modulation

No pwm is used on any of the three steady modes.

For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor.  Also, here’s the light with the worst PWM I could find.  I’m adding multiple timescales, so it’ll be easier to compare to the test light.  Unfortunately, the PWM on this light is so bad that it doesn’t even work with my normal scale, which is 50 microseconds (50us). 10ms.  5ms.  2ms.  1ms.  0.5ms.  0.2ms.  In a display faster than 0.2ms or so, the on/off cycle is more than one screen, so it’d just (very incorrectly) look like a flat line.  I wrote more about this Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight and explained a little about PWM too.

User Interface and Operation

There are two ways to control the Astrolux WP2 LEP flashlight.  First is the mechanical tail switch.

This is a forward clicky, so there’s a momentary option, too.

Secondly is the rotary control on the head (or more “middle head”).

This rotary is very nice and has a positive click for each setting (of 5) and a nice detent that prevents just random passing through the modes.  Also, one-hand operation is very easy.

Here’s a UI table!

State	Action	Result
Off	Click Tail Switch	On (Rotary Setting^)
On	Click Tail Switch	Off
On	Rotate Rotary Clockwise	Mode advance: Low > Medium > High > Strobe > SOS
On	Rotate Rotary Counterclockwise	Backward toward Low.

^It’s perfectly possible to change the mode while the light is off so “mode memory” isn’t technically the most accurate term.  Nor is “last used” since the light can be changed while off.  The most accurate is “Rotary Setting.”

LED and Beam

Inside the Astroulx WP2 is a LEP.  There’s a big glass front to the light, but the front is flat and doesn’t protrude.

Thus headstanding is possible, and with the lightly fluted bezel, some light can escape, too.

Uncalibrated beamshots below (the next 4) but just to give you an idea of the absolute thinness of this beam – it’s ridiculously pointed.  Much more so than any other LEP I have (and I have a few!)

The beamshots below are always with the following settings:  f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.

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.

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

Conclusion on the Astrolux WP2 LEP Flashlight

What I like

• Ridiculously pencil-thin beam
• Great throw!
• Includes the required cell
• Excellent built quality
• Rotary control is very well implemented
• Simple user interface

What I don’t like

• I don’t see the need for SOS or Strobe, and certainly not in the 5 available slots.
• Very slow charging with the micro-USB 21700

---

Notes

• This light was provided by BangGood 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!
• Use my amazon.com referral link if you’re willing to help support making more reviews like this one!
• Please support me on Patreon!  Feeding flashlights is expensive!  And funding Fun Fund Friday even more so.  I deeply appreciate your support!