review – I have always been fascinated by flashlights. LEDs have intrigued me ever since they appeared and kept getting brighter. Wuben is a company I’ve heard of before, but I’ve never used any of their flashlights. Today, I have the opportunity to test the daily portable flashlight of Uben C3. Let’s see what it has to offer.
What is it?
Wuben C3 is a compact and lightweight everyday carry flashlight, made of black-coated aluminum alloy and powered by an internal rechargeable 18650 battery.
What’s in the box?
- C3 Flashlight
- 2,600 mAh 18650 rechargeable battery
- Type-C charging cable
- lanyard
- Spare waterproof ring
- User Manual
Hardware Specifications
- Osram P9 LED
- 6 adaptive light modes: High/Medium/Low/Eco/Strobe/SOS, up to 143 hours in Eco mode
- Type-C fast charging
- Water resistance: IP68 (2 meters underwater for up to 1 hour)
- brightness: 1,200 lumens (max)
- Beam Distance: 587 ft (179 m) (max)
- weight: 4.34 oz (with battery)
- aspect: 4.78″ x 1″ (121.5mm x 25.4mm)
Design and Features
At less than 5 inches in length and less than 1 inch in diameter, the C3 is a compact flashlight that you can take anywhere. With the integrated clip, it can be placed on the waist belt or in a pocket or purse without adding too much weight. There’s also an optional holster if you don’t want to clip it to your belt.
The light features a single OSRAM LED engine with five different brightness levels: High – 1,200 lumens for 1 minute, 500 lumens for up to 2.5 hours; 400 lumens medium; low down to 80 lumens; and a 5-lumen eco mode that can A reading or safety light that lasts up to 143 hours while camping. There’s also a 1,200-lumen strobe mode and a 200-lumen SOS mode. All of these modes are selected by a single tailgate switch. After turning on the lights, pressing the switch “softly” (not all the way down) changes between four main brightness levels. Double-tap the switch to turn on the flash, triple-tap to turn on SOS mode. The light has a memory mode that remembers the last brightness setting every time you turn it on.
The included 18650 battery can be charged inside the flashlight via the integrated USB-C connector. The USB-A to USB-C charging cable lets you charge from any standard USB power source; there’s no power brick in the package, but you can use the one in your phone or another similar charging brick. The battery includes reverse polarity protection circuitry, but can also be powered by a standard 18650 battery without protection circuitry as well as a pair of non-rechargeable CR123A batteries.
The C3 has an LED charge indicator that glows red when charging and green when fully charged. This LED also indicates the remaining battery charge each time the light is turned on. Steady green means the battery is 90% – 100%, flashing green means the battery is 40% – 90%, steady red means the battery is 15% – 40%, and blinking red means the remaining battery is less than 15%. This is a quick and convenient way to know how much battery power is left each time you use the light.
installation and setup
The light comes with batteries already installed in the package. A small piece of plastic is inserted between the battery and the tail cap to ensure it doesn’t accidentally activate during transport. Aside from making sure the battery has enough power, the only thing that needs to be done is to remove this battery to get the light ready for use. The pocket clip is also pre-installed, so if you choose to use it, the only thing to do is attach the lanyard. Since I often work with a ladder or lift at work, I decided to attach a lanyard to help me make sure I don’t drop this light and damage it or injure others.
Wuben says it takes up to three hours to fully charge the battery. As with many other things, your mileage will vary based on your battery’s starting level and charging source.
is using
Using the Wuben C3 flashlight couldn’t be easier. With just one switch to control all settings, all you need to do is make sure you have enough battery power and are ready to go. I decided to compare this flashlight to the Fenix PD32 that I’ve been carrying everyday for the past five years. The Fenix is very similar in design, shape, size, and brightness, at 900 lumens compared to the C3’s 1,200 lumens. This light has quickly become my everyday carry torch, and I’ve been using it regularly for the past few weeks. I sometimes use the flashlight dozens of times at work, and this light is nearly half an inch shorter than the Fenix, which fits better in my fanny pack.
It’s handy to know that the light will go back to the same brightness level I used last time, but when I do want to make it brighter or darker, I just hit the back button a few times and set it to what I want s position.
In a side-by-side comparison of the two lights, the Fenix appears brighter at first glance, but that boils down to the PD32’s tighter beam, so it’s more focused on the wall in the comparison photos I took. The Fenix has a lighting range of up to 787 feet (240 meters) compared to 587 feet (179 meters) for the C3. This set of numbers might make PD32 look better than C3, but it depends on your use case. If you need something that can cast farther, something like the PD32 might be a better choice, but the C3’s wider beam angle can illuminate more of the area around you, which can help you see where you’re going when camping or walking Something dark ahead is better than a light with a tighter beam.
In general, the beam angle of the C3 is more convenient for me because while I do sometimes need to see great distances, more often I need a better view of the immediate area around me, so this light Worked well for me for a long time running. With the extra brightness, I can still see what I need for general use.
Overall, I’m impressed with the build quality, feature set, sturdy feel of the aluminum case, and value for the low price.
what do I like
- USB-C rechargeable without removing the battery
- long battery life
- Affordable
- Single switch operation
- Brightness memory function
what would i change
- Includes optional holster in the package
final thoughts
There are brighter flashlights available, but not many at this price level.Usually for the price of a Wuben C3 flashlight you get a cheap light, or one that isn’t bright enough for the task at hand, but the C3 is the perfect combination for everything I need Electronic data center flashlight.
price: $29.99
Where to buy: Wuben Optical Network (Save 20% when using code GAD20 will not expire)
source: Samples for this review are provided by Wuben. For more information, please visit their website.
