Wurkkos TS21 Andúril Flashlight Review

The Wurkkos TS21 is a 21700 cell flashlight using the Andúril interface. The indicating switch and triple Luminus SST-20 make it great!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Wurkkos TS21 Andúril flashlight product page.

There’s also a newer version than Wurkkos sent me… Here’s a link to the Wurkkos TS21 Flashlight with Andúril 2!

Versions

There seems to be only one version, but it’s available as a kit (with or without 21700 cell).  Actually, three colors are available:  Champagne, Metal Gray, and Black.  Three emitter temperature options exist too:  4000K (seen here), 5000K, and 6500K.

Price

As seen here (with Anduril), these sell for $32.99 without a 21700 and $35.99 with a 21700.

The Andúril 2 version is $2 more, at $35.99.  And the 21700 cell as seen here adds $4.  For $4, it’d be silly to skip the 21700!

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Short Review

TS21 using Andúril makes for a great bigger EDC flashlight.  Mine has 4000K and in the Luminus SST-20, 4000K is just fantastic.  All in all, this is a wonderful deal of a flashlight!  I’d probably pick the Andúril 2 version.  I would also love to see more accurate specifications from the manufacturer, and specifications per emitter temperature.

Long Review

The Big Table

Wurkkos TS21 Andúril Flashlight
Emitter:	Luminus SST-20 (4000K (Triple))
Price in USD at publication time:	$32.99
Cell:	1×21700
Turbo Runtime Graph	High Runtime Graph
LVP?	Yes
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA):	0.07
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Charge Port Type:	USB-C
Charge Graph
Power off Charge Port	with cell: all modes without cell: 5 or 6 lower modes without body: 5 or 6 lower modes
Claimed Lumens (lm)	3500
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	1091 (31.2% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	4.5
Claimed Throw (m)	217
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	98lux @ 4.54m = 2020cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	89.9 (41.4% of claim)^
Item provided for review by:	Wurkkos
All my Wurkkos 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

• Wurkkos TS21 Andúril Flashlight
• Wurkkos 5000mAh 21700
• Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
• Spare o-rings (2)
• Lanyard
• Pocket clip
• Manual etc

Package and Manual

Build Quality and Disassembly

The build quality here is great.  Really not much more to say about it than that –  The whole product is a high-quality package.

Threads, as you can see below, are square cut, anodized, and lubed.

The tailcap has a spring.

On the head end are the same threads – in fact, the cell tube is reversible.

Only a button is here on the head though.  No spring.

Size and Comps

Dimension: 113.4mm (length) x 28mm (head diameter)
Weight: 78 grams (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.

Super shorty TS21! (Not really, of course; the parts don’t even screw together like this.)

Retention and Carry

Wurkkos includes a pocket clip.  It’s a friction-fit two-way clip and connects in the grooves of the TS21.  It’ll go on the mid-body part, and also can go on the tail end, too.

This pocket clip is just like the one seen on the HD20 headlamp.  In fact, these two have many things in common!

Clip hug!

That clip will go on the tail end (as above) or in the middle section (as below).

Also included is a lanyard, which attaches through this hole in the tailcap.

You can see that the pocket clip has a hole where the lanyard could attach, too.

Not pictured here, but there’s a magnet in the tailcap, too.  It holds the Wurkkos TS21 Andúril flashlight securely, even on horizontal surfaces (like a file cabinet).

Power and Runtime

A single lithium-ion cell powers the TS21.  The proper size is 21700, and one can be included with your purchase if you opt for that package.  The cell is a 5000mAh 21700, and is not special or proprietary, or customized in any way (except the nice Wurkkos wrapper).

This does mean that other 21700 cells can be (fully) used in the TS21.  They’ll power the light and they can be charged in the light.

As depicted on the tailcap cell orientation image, the cell goes into the light in the “normal” way – positive end toward the head.

Below are a few runtime graphs.  The claim of 3500 lumens is almost certainly for the 6500K emitter version, but even for the 6500K version, 3500 lumens seems a bit far-fetched.   I’m recording at 30 seconds, which is well after the stepdown.  Even the initial output is only around 2000 lumens, well under what I might expect when allowing for “lower output from the warmer emitter.”  I’ll add (in text, since it’s not searchable on the photo) that I did calibrate the thermal settings on this light before the tests.

Low voltage protection is observed at least in some of the runs.  The light didn’t always shut off, but the switch indicated in every case that the voltage was low.  The switch will also indicate the power level for around 5 seconds after the light is turned on.  Indications are as follows:

Green: >30% power
Red:  <30% power
Flashing Red:  Low power

Charging

Another feature of the TS21 is built-in charging.  There’s a USB-C port in the head, which has a press-in cover.  This cover is quite thick, and when installed properly, very secure.  It has a thick edge and must be deliberately pushed into the opening.

An appropriate charge cable is included.  It’s USB to USB-C.

Here’s a charge graph with the USB to USB-C setup.  It’s fairly normal, and charges at around 2A.  The cell should handle that easily – it’s under 0.5C for a cell of that capacity.

And here’s a single graph of C to C charging.  I am not sure what those blips are during the CC phase.  I believe it’s a logging issue though, and not a charging issue.

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
Turbo (Double Click from on)	3500 (likely claim for 6500K emitter option; this is 4000K)	–	1091 (after stepdown!)	7.75
Highest Stepped	–	–	1081	2.75
	–	–	622	1.56
	–	–		0.73
	–	–		0.43
	–	–		0.18
	–	–		0.06
Lowest Stepped	–	–		15.6mA
Lowest Ramped	–	–		2.02mA

Pulse Width Modulation

There is PWM on all modes except Turbo.  On all but the lowest output level, it’s not PWM that I can call “noticeable.”  It’s plenty fast PWM.

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

The switch seen on the Wurkkos TS21 Andúril flashlight is an indicating e-switch.  It is a hard and proud switch with a translucent center that shows one indicating emitter.

This switch is much more like Sofirn’s switch covers than other covers we’ve seen from Wurkkos.  That’s good – I prefer these harder switches.

You can see below that the indicating feature is nice and bright.

The UI here is ToyKeeper’s Anduril, which at this point is very well covered.  I’ve reviewed other lights with it, too.  Here’s ToyKeeper’s UI graphic:

Here’s a UI table anyway!

State	Action	Result
Off	Hold	On (Low)
Off	Click	On (Mode Memory)
Off	Click 2x	Highest Hybrid Mode
Off	Click 3x	Blinkie Mode Group
Off	Click 4x	Lockout
Off	Click 5x	Momentary
Off	Click 6x	Muggle
Off	Click, Click, Hold	Strobe Group (Mode Memory Strobe)
Strobe Group	Click 2x	Strobe Cycle (Candle > Bike Flasher > Party Strobe > Tactical Strobe > Lightning Storm)
Blinkie Mode Group	Click 2x	Blinke Cycle (Sunset > Beacon > TempCheck > BattCheck)
On	Click 3x	Switch between Stepped and Smooth Ramp
On	Click 4x	Ramp Configuration
TempCheck	Click 4x	Thermal Configuration
Beacon	Click 4x	Beacon Configuration
Lockout	Click 4x	Off
Strobe Group	Click	Off
(Basically) On	Click	Off
Candle	Click 3x	30-minute timer to off
Strobe Group	Hold	Heighten selected mode (Make faster or brighter)
Strobe Group	Click, Hold	Lessen selected mode (Make slower or dimmer)
On	Click 2x	FET Turbo
Ramp Configuration	[Wait for Single flash] Click N time for level N.	Selection of the “Low” you like best by clicking 1, 2, 3, etc. where 1, 2, 3, etc are different levels of low.
Ramp Configuration	[Wait for Second flash] Click N time for 1+Turbo-N.	Selection of the “Ceiling” you like best by clicking 1, 2, 3, etc. where 1, 2, 3, etc are different Ceiling levels.
Ramp Configuration	[Wait for Third flash] Click for how many steps you want in Stepped mode.	Sets Number of Steps.
Thermal Configuration	[Wait for First flash] Click for N times for N degrees C.	Displays Current Temperature.
Thermal Configuration	[Wait for Second flash] Click for N times for 30C + N.	Sets Temperature Limit.
Beacon Configuration	[Wait for First flash] Click for N times N seconds per flash	Sets Beacon Speed.

If you want to see how to calibrate the thermals, see this part of the FW1A review.

LED and Beam

In my review copy of the Wurkkos TS21 Andúril flashlight are three Luminus SST-20 emitters.  Three because it’s a triple…  What you see below is the 4000K version, but cooler versions are available (5000K, 6500K).

I don’t think the optic used here is stated, but based on the beam profile it’s almost certainly the narrow optic.  That’s perfect for me!

LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)

I can’t see the product page specifying CRI but I’m seeing this as a High-CRI emitter.  In the mid-90s for CRI, which is great.  Also, it measures under 4000K by some margin.  Again, that’s great for me personally, but you might have a different opinion.  If the 5000K is similarly below the claim, then it should be very, very, good too.

Beamshots

These beamshots 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

What I like

• Great value
• Cell included for $3!
• Excellent use of Andúril2 user interface
• Triple emitters with the narrow optic give a great beam profile
• 4000K emitter option (and they’re a little warmer than that, too!)
• High CRI (at around 96 or so)
• Hardcover e-switch
• USB-C charging works well
• Great “out the front” brother to the HD20

What I don’t like

• Shorty tube isn’t included
• Andúril PWM
• Performance doesn’t hit claim on output (not even close to 3500 lumens)
• Throw specification is not nearly met, either.

Parting Shot

Check out this spoopy sticker by PhotonPhreaks!

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Notes

• 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!
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