Wurkkos TS28 Flashlight Review
The Wurkkos TS28 flashlight runs a single 21700 cell (included) and has a Luminus SFT70 emitter. Great throw and output, and a ramping option! Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Wurkkos TS28 flashlight product page.
Versions
I believe there’s just one version of Wurkkos TS28 flashlight.
Price
The Wurkkos TS28 flashlight has a Black Friday sale price of $32.99, but it’s likely you can get a better combo deal. Check out the product page! Here’s a referral link to Amazon, which does offer a coupon, but I am not sure this is the best price overall.
What’s Included
- Wurkkos TS28 flashlight
- Wurkkos 5000mAh 21700
- Charging cable
- Lanyard
- Spare o-rings (2)
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
The Wurkkos TS28 flashlight has nice build quality, especially considering it costs just $33 and includes the 5000mAh 21700.
Only the tailcap comes off the body. It has a nice beefy spring and anodized threads.
Inside the cell tube, you can just make out another spring for contacting the positive end of the cell.
Size and Comps
129mm x 36mm and 112g
Here’s the light in hand:
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. The version below is a custom laser-engraved Convoy S2+ host by GadgetConnections.com. I did a full post on an engraved orange host right here! Or go straight to GadgetConnections.com to buy your Convoy S2+ now!
Also in the photo above, my Standard Reference Material (SRM) flashlight is the Hanko Machine Works Trident, an 18350 light. While I have not reviewed or tested the Gunner Grip version seen here, I have tested a Hanko Machine Works Trident Total Tesseract in brass. I love the Trident, and it’s a striking contrast to the inexpensive Convoy S2+, another great SRM.
Retention and Carry
Wurkkos includes a pocket clip. It can attach only to the tail end and is a one-way clip. So the Wurkkos TS28 flashlight is bezel-down carry only!
A lanyard is included, and it attaches through a hole in the tailcap.
The tailcap also has a magnet, which is strong enough to hold the Wurkkos TS28 flashlight easily.
Power and Runtime
The Wurkkos TS28 flashlight runs on one 21700 cell. A flat top 5000mAh cell is included.
The cell goes into the light in the usual way – positive end toward the head.
Below are a few runtime tests. The light does have low voltage protection, which kicks in around 2.9V. These are tests for the stepped modes, but the Wurkkos TS28 flashlight does offer a ramping mode group, too.
The switch also gives an indication when the voltage gets low.
The temperature lines in these charts are included as general context, not precise measurements. The values represent the range (min to max) during testing, but should not be taken as exact readings. A temperature sensor is not always attached to the bezel (or even the hottest spot, assuming that could be defined). Even with ideal placement, too many variables affect temperature to definitively state a specific max value.
Charging
Charging is built in. There’s a USB-C port in the head. This port has a press-in cover. I don’t love this cover, but it does seem secure.
A USB-C to USB-C charging cable is included, too.
Below you can see a C to C and A to C charging test. Both are fine, with charging at around 2.6A (or 1C), which is just fine for this 5000mAh 21700.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 3200-950-400-250 | 1m+1.92h+0.58h+0.33h | 3167 (0s) 2790 (30s) |
11.87 |
| High | 950-400-250 | 1.48h+1.42h+1.58h | 935 (0s) 931 (30s) |
1.99 |
| Medium | 250 | 13.75h | 240 | 0.39 |
| Low | 45 | 72h | 46 | 0.06 |
| Moonlight | 3 | 330h | 3.4 | [low] |
Pulse Width Modulation
The product page for this Wurkkos TS28 flashlight promotes “Constant Current Drive (Not PWM) and I find that to be the case. This is great!
Click here to 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 Wurkkos TS28 flashlight is controlled by a single indicating e-switch.
This switch isn’t just the standard “indicating circle” – it’s actually the Wurkkos logo that lets the indicator colors go through.
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | On (Memory) |
| On (Except Turbo) | Click | Off |
| On | Hold | Mode advance (L>M>H) |
| Off | Hold | Moonlight^ |
| Any | Double click | Turbo |
| Turbo | Click | Return to the previous mode |
| Turbo | Double click | Moonlight |
| Any | Click 3x | Strobe |
| Strobe | Click | Return to the previous mode |
| Strobe | Click 3x | Strobe advance (SOS> Beacon> Strobe) |
| On | Click 4x | Iterate between stepped and ramping |
| Off | Click 4x | Lockout |
| Lockout | Hold | Momentary moonlight |
| Lockout | Click 2x or 3x or 4x | Unlock to Low |
| Off (Ramping Group) | Click | On (Memory) |
| Off (Ramping Group) | Hold | Eco |
| On | Hold | Ramp (increasing). Release and hold again for ramp (decreasing). |
| On | Click | Off |
^This is just a tiny note about how moonlight works from off. It’s unusual – there’s practically no delay between beginning to hold the switch and moonlight coming on. This is not a problem! Just an interesting difference from many lights.
LED and Beam
The Wurkkos TS28 flashlight uses a Luminus SFT70 emitter. I don’t know if Wurkkos makes a claim about it, but it’s cool white. The reflector is smooth, deep, and the right width to make a great beam profile.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
The Wurkkos TS28 flashlight starts cool white, and as it’s driven harder on higher modes, it gets cooler and cooler. CRI is low on all modes.
CCT (Correlated Color Temperature) refers to the measurement of the color appearance of light, expressed in Kelvins (K), which indicates whether the light is warm (yellowish) or cool (bluish). A lower CCT (below 3000K) is considered warm light, while a higher CCT (above 5000K) gives cooler, bluish light.
CRI (Color Rendering Index) is a measure of how accurately a light source renders colors in comparison to natural sunlight. Scored on a scale from 0 to 100, higher CRI values indicate that colors appear more true to life and vibrant, similar to how they would look under the sun.
Beamshots
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.
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. These photos are taken around 18 inches from the door.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Summary and Conclusion
The Wurkkos TS28 flashlight is a nice, low-cost light that offers flat regulation after a significant stepdown. That stepdown is only on Turbo, though, and the modes lower than Turbo offer at least a reasonable duration of steady output. The user interface is consistent with other similar Wurkkos lights. And that’s good, since the user interface is reasonable.
The Big Table
| Wurkkos TS28 Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Luminus SFT70 (Cool White) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $32.99 and available on Amazon.com |
| Cell: | 1×21700 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | E-switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 3200 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 2790 (87.2% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 30.8 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 506 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 2460lux @ 5.531m = 75256cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 548.7 (108.4% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 6100-7200 Kelvin |
| 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 I like
- Low cost
- Great beam profile
- Very throwy
- Complete package
- Uses a standard cell
What I don’t like
- Low CRI
- Very high CCT on higher modes
- Big stepdown in Turbo
Notes
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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