Wurkkos TS30

Introduction

With the multitude of companies that make torches nowadays, it is getting very hard to distinguish between the true value for money offerings and the overpriced, low quality ones. Price alone, certainly cannot be the determining factor as there are a lot of cheap lights out there that are not worth even a small fraction of their seemingly bargain of a cost.

Wurkkos is known as a good value for money brand and I thought it would be interesting to test one of their lights and see if they live up to their reputation. The model we will be reviewing is the Wurkkos TS30, which is one of their higher spec lights.

So without further delay, let's see what the Wurkkos TS30 has to offer and how it will do under our microscope.

Unboxing

The Wurkkos TS30 comes in a a nice cardboard box with the company logo and colours. The box appears not to be specific to the Wurkkos TS30 as the model is only indicated on the sticker at the bottom.

Opening the box, we are greeted with a very nice presentation. Everything is neatly arranged and protected within laser cut outs in the black protective foam. That is a really nice touch and stands out from some of the other budget offerings.

Inside the box, besides the light itself, we can find the manual, a tab instructing the owner to remove the insulator from the battery negative before using the light and the accessories.

The accessories consist of a lanyard, 2 spare O-rings, a battery spacer if anyone wants to use a 18650 battery in this 21700 light, a 1m USB A to USB C charging cable and a very aggressive strike bezel with 4 very long spikes.

The Wurkkos TS30 is made of black anodized aluminium and is a medium sized light. It is definitely not an EDC, pocket friendly little torch, but it will easily fit in a backpack or large jacket pocket.

It features a side switch surrounded by cooling fins, on the other side of which there is a rubber flap protecting the USB C charging port. The head is wider than the body, measuring at 49mm diameter, and features a stainless steel bezel with crenulations so you can see if the light is on when placed on its head.

The body has a pattern which offers some grip, without being very aggressive.

The flap is easier to open and close than some other lights I have used and seems quite secure.

The Wurkkos TS30 features a smooth triple reflector for its 3 Luminous SST40 emitters.

The tail cap has 2 lanyard holes and can allow the light to tail stand, somewhat precariously.

The battery tube can be unscrewed from both the head and the tail cap. The threads are smooth and the diameter is different on each side so the tube cannot be reversed. The Wurkkos branded 21700 battery comes inside the light and there is the mentioned black insulating disk blocking the negative contact, for safe shipping.

The head features a brass protrusion to make contact with the positive pole of the battery. The tail cap has a thick double spring, which looks more than capable of transferring a lot of current, with minimal losses.

The 21700 battery that comes with the Wurkkos TS30  is wrapped in a white sleeve that features the company logo. Despite the fact that the Wurkkos TS30 is advertised with a 4800mAh 21700 battery, the one in my sample claims to be 5000mAh. We are going to test that.

Strike Bezel

One of the accessories that come with the Wurkkos TS30 merits special mention. It is none other than the very aggressive strike bezel.

This is milled from a solid bar of stainless steel and cannot be too cheap to manufacture. Personally, I find it superfluous and it cannot be legally carried in the UK where I live and I guess in many other countries. But I get that some people may be into this kind of "tactical" stuff.

In my opinion, the cost of manufacturing this bezel could go into improving something else, as the torch already comes with a very nice bezel.

Exchanging the bezels is really simple. Just unscrew the one the light comes with and screw in the other.

The light looks... quite unique with the strike bezel installed.

Wurkkos advertises this bezel for self defence and breaking glass in an emergency.

Quality

The build quality, fit and finish of the Wurkkos TS30 is definitely beyond its price range. I was quite impressed by the fact that even the cooling fins are chamfered and the anodization is flawless everywhere, even on all the edges.

The blowout of the Wurkkos TS30 in the image below shows that everything is laid out as it should be. All materials seem of high quality and fit for purpose.

Specifications

The specifications of the Wurkkos TS30, as found on the company's website, are as follows:

As you can see, the Wurkkos TS30 uses 3 Luminous SST40 emitters to deliver its light output, which is rated at 5950 Lumen for the 6000K version, which we are testing and 5000 Lumen for the 5000K version. The maximum throw is rated at 480m.

The light uses the included 21700 battery but can also be used with a high drain 18650 battery, with the included sleeve. It is IPX-8 rated for water resistance.

The specifications state that the Wurkkos TS30 is 182 +/- 1g. I weighed my sample exactly at 178.7g. The battery weighs 74.1g, bringing the total to 252.8g. Not too bad for the power it packs.

User Interface

The user interface of the Wurkkos TS30 is quite simple and intuitive. The light features 2 modes, Stepped and Ramping. Out of the box, the light comes in Stepped Mode.

Stepped Mode:

• From Off
  • Click for on, click again for off.
  • Click and hold from off to turn on at  Eco (moonlight) mode. Keep holding until if flashes to change into Ramping Mode. Click again for off.
  • Double click for Turbo. Click to turn off.
  • Triple click for Strobe. Click to turn off.
  • Quadruple click for lockout. Repeat to deactivate.
• From On
  • Click to turn off.
  • Hold to cycle through the main modes (Low, Mid, High).
  • Double click for Turbo. Click to return to previous mode.
  • Triple click for Strobe. Click to return to previous mode.
  • Quadruple click for lockout. Repeat to deactivate.

Ramping Mode:

• From Off
  • Click for on, click again for off.
  • Click and hold from off to turn on at  Eco (moonlight) mode. Keep holding until if flashes to change into Ramping Mode. Click again for off.
  • Double click for Turbo. Click to turn off.
  • Triple click for Strobe. Click to turn off.
  • Quadruple click for lockout. Repeat to deactivate.

• From On
  • Click to turn off.
  • Hold to ramp up or down. Ramping changes direction when the button is pressed again within 1,5 seconds. The light flashes to indicate reaching the lower or upper end of the ramp.
  • Double click for Turbo. Click to return to previous setting.
  • Triple click for Strobe. Click to return to previous setting.
  • Quadruple click for lockout. Repeat to deactivate

The brightness, runtime and beam distance of each mode can be seen in the following table.

The Wurkkos TS30 features Mode Memory. This means that it memorizes the last brightness level used (except Strobe). Mode Memory cannot be deactivated.

While the light is in lock out mode, you can access the Eco mode momentarily by holding down the button.

If you prefer a mechanical lock, you can just unscrew the tail cap half a turn. This will disconnect the battery and is recommended for long storage.

Beam-shots

The beam pattern of the Wurkkos TS30 is exactly what can be expected from a triple light with smooth reflectors and 5x5mm emitters. Very close up the pattern shows a triangular shape but at any working distance it becomes perfectly round. There are several rings, typical with smooth reflectors and a well defined hot spot.

Installing the strike bezel effects the shape of the beam a lot.

I tested the Wurkkos TS30 outside, over a distance of 70m.

The following video shows a comparison of the Wurkkos TS30 with the Sofirn SP36 Pro (also with Luminous SST40 emitters) and the Fireflies E07 (with Nichia 219b sw45k emitters).

Driver

The driver of the Wurkkos TS30 is not regulated and uses PWM to dim the light, on all levels, except, of course, on full. The PWM is visible to the camera but not visible to the naked eye, on any level.

Even though I prefer constant current drivers, PWM is an efficient and cost effective way to achieve LED dimming and if it is done at a high enough frequency, as seems to be the case here, it is not a problem.

The Wurkkos TS30 driver also features Advanced Temperature Regulation (set at 60 degrees Celsius), Low Voltage Protection and Reverse Polarity Protection.

Tint and Size Comparison

The tint of the Wurkkos TS30 is cool white at 6000K (5000K option is also available) and even though it is above BBL, it is not significantly green. This is actually quite a nice tint for a 6000K Luminous SST40 emitter.

In the comparison photo below, you can see the Wurkkos TS30 in the middle, compared to the much greener tint of the Sofirn SP36 Pro (also with Luminous SST40) on the left and the much rosier tint of the Fireflies E07 (with Nichia 219b sw45k) on the right. The SST40 used in the Wurkkos TS30 are not high CRI.

The above photo also offers a size comparison between the lights.

Charging

The battery included with the Wurkkos TS30 is a 21700, rated at 5000mAh and I measured it at exactly 4922mAh. The light has Low Voltage Protection and turns off when the battery voltage drops to 2.7V. The battery's internal resistance was measured at 42mΩ. These measurements show that a high quality battery is actually included with this light.

The indicative LEDs on the switch of the Wurkkos TS30 show the level of the battery charge. Green means that the remaining charge is at least 30%, red that it is below 30% and flashing red that it is critical and the light will soon turn off.

Charging the Wurkkos TS30 is very easy. Just lift the rubber cover and insert the provided (or any) USB type C cable to charge the light. Both USB A to USB C and USB C to USB C cables can be used as well as any charger, including the ones that support PD. This is very convenient as you can charge the Wurkkos TS30 with any USB C cable and charger you have at hand.

The indicative LEDs on the switch flash red to indicate the light is charging. They turn green when the charging is completed, at 4.16V.

The Wurkkos TS30 took 3 hours, 13 minutes and 28 seconds to charge the included battery from 2.7V to 4.16V. The maximum current drawn was 1.7466A, so a charger that can provide at least 2A is recommended. A charger is not provided with the light but you can use your phone charger.

Current Draw

The Wurkkos TS30 has a low parasitic drain that is below the ability of the clamp meter to measure. The Eco (Moonlight) Mode only draws 4mA. The Low, Mid and High modes need 352mA, 1.24A and 6.63A respectively and Turbo required 16.99A.

Output & Runtimes

The Wurkkos TS30 6000K is rated at 5950 Lumen and 480m of throw.

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 separate, professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

According to my measurements, the maximum output (at turn on) was 5000 Lumen, which is short of the advertised 5950 but still very respectable for the size and cost of the light. ANSI output (at 30 seconds) was 4563 Lumen and at 1 minute the output had dropped to 4401 Lumen. At 2 minutes the output had decreased to 2943 Lumen and then declined rapidly to reach 747 Lumen at 00:02:44, where it stabilized and slowly decreased to 454 Lumen from 00:02:44 to 01:45:10.

Then a strange thing happened which I cannot fully explain. A slow oscillation in output started to occur, with its floor exactly where the declining curve of output would have been and its amplitude steadily rising. This means the output was at least equal and mostly higher than it would have been otherwise, even exceeding 1000 Lumen at some points. Then the gradual decline of the output resumed and the light turned off at 02:29:36, while it was still holding an output of 171 Lumen.

All in all, a very useful output profile, managing heat, battery capacity and output quite well.

The following graph shows the first 10 minutes of the Full Runtime Graph in greater detail.

I did discuss the strange oscillation with a couple of electronics experts but without a look at the driver components (the driver is glued in place and not removable) they could not offer more insight into the cause. I think it is happening around the time the battery voltage is near the Vf of the emitters, but why that could cause this behaviour, I cannot say.

If any electronics experts can offer an explanation, I would appreciate leaving it in the comments.

Conclusion

The Wurkkos TS30  is a value for money light that will not disappoint. Its aero grade aluminium body is well made and hard anodized and the fit and finish are beyond its price point. The attention to detail is also there, with chamfered cooling fins and impeccable anodization.

The size and weight are great for its output rating and the provided 21700 battery allows for ample runtime. The output is more than enough for most purposes and the beam profile is well balanced.

The tint of the Luminous SST40 LED is a cool, slightly above BBL but without being too green tint. The CRI is low, but this is countered by the high lumen output these emitters allow the light to achieve.

The driver uses PWM to dim the output, so PWM is present at all output levels, except on full. The frequency of the PWM is high enough to not be visible to the naked eye and did not tire me when using the light.

The Wurkkos TS30 can be purchased directly from the Wurkkos Website and the cost at the moment this review is written is $45.99, including shipping, worldwide. That is a lot of torch for the money!

Let's list the Pros and Cons of the Wurkkos TS30:

Pros

+ Value for money

+ High output and throw

+ Aerospace grade Aluminium Alloy construction

 + Impeccable anodization and fit and finish

+ USB type A to C and type C to C charging

+ Low Voltage Protection

+ Advanced Thermal Regulation

+ Well balanced beam

+ 21700 Li-Ion 5000mAh battery included

+ Low power and charging LED indicators

+ Simple and intuitive stepped and ramp UI

+ IP68

+ At least 2.5 hours of usable light per charge

+ Compatible with all high drain 21700 batteries

Cons

- The driver uses PWM to dim the emitter. A regulated, constant current driver could have been used instead of including the strike bezel.

Thanks to Wurkkos for providing the light for review

Polymeros Achaniotis 05/08/2021