Wuben G5 EDC Torch Review
Wuben G5#
- Specifications
- Introduction
- Torch in use
- Build quality
- Teardown
- LED, bezel, lens, reflector and beam
- Size and comparison
- User interface
- Batteries and charging
- Performance
- Beamshots
- Thermal Images
- Conclusion
- Price
- Product page
Specifications#
| Brand/model | Wuben G5 |
|---|---|
| LED | White, RGB |
| Maximum lumens | 400 lm |
| Maximum beam intensity | 1,681 cd |
| Maximum throw | 82 m |
| Battery | 3.7V LiPo 450mAh |
| Onboard charging | Yes (USB-C) |
| Material | Aluminium |
| Modes | 3 (9 step ramping) |
| Blinkies | Beacons, Red-Blue, Red-Green, Red-Yellow |
| Reflector | TIR |
| Waterproof | IP68 |
| Review date | April 2025 |
Introduction#
Mr Tan has been coming up with some cool designs at Wuben!
The Wuben G5 is a Zippo-sized EDC torch packed with a lot of features. It has white and RGB lights inside a rotatable head. Lets take a look at the rotary wheel, side button and sliding switch and see how this thing works!
Wuben sent this torch for review. I have not been paid for this review nor have I held back my opinions of this torch.
Packaging#
The Wuben G5 comes in a white and blue Wuben branded box with an image of the light on the front.
The following was included in the box:
- Wuben G5
- Lanyard
- Keyring
- USB-A to USB-C cable
- User manual
Unboxing it feels a bit like unfolding origami.
User Manual#
Torch in use#
The Wuben G5 is tiny! It feels a bit like a fidget toy.
There is a slider with a hall effect sensor, a side switch and a rotary wheel to control the Wuben G5.
The slider can be moved from the locked position to unlocked.
Or the slider can be moved to a fully-open position to allow for USB-C charging.
The pocket clip can be moved to the front, side or back positions by first sliding it toward the side and then by rotating it forward or backward.
There is a magnet in at the base near a hole for the included lanyard.
Wuben kindly included a pin.
Build quality#
The build quality of the Wuben G5 looks and feels good.
It has a matte black anodised finish. It may also be available in green.
The side switch feels firm and it has a little bit of tactile feedback.
The rotary wheel has tactile feedback where I can feel it clicking through the steps.
The head feels stiff while rotating it. It also has tactical feedback where the head clicks.
The sensitivity of the hall effect sensor has some issues. The early review sample of the Wuben G5 that I received sometimes doesn’t detect when the slider is in the locked position and I can turn the light on. I reported this to Wuben and they were already aware and have fixed it for the first batch.
LED, bezel, lens, reflector and beam#
The Wuben G5 has two emitters behind a TIR optic. A white emitter and an RGB emitter.
The head can be rotated 180 degrees.
The colour of RGB light can be selected by rotating the wheel.
CCT, CRI, and duv#
I have taken Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) and Colour Rendering Index (CRI, RA of R1-R8) measurements with the torch positioned one metre away from an Opple Light Master Pro III (G3).
The CCT is around 6200K, the CRI is around 65 and the Delta u, v is slightly positive (green) for the White Light.
The beam has a smooth white spot with some artefacts around the edge from the TIR optic.
| LED | Mode | CCT (K) | CRI (Ra) | x | y | Duv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | Low | 6153 | 64.5 | 0.3178 | 0.3463 | 0.0094 |
| White | Turbo | 6285 | 65.6 | 0.3155 | 0.3409 | 0.0078 |
Calculate Duv from CIE 1931 xy coordinates
Dimensions and size comparison#
Dimensions#
I took the following measurements using a digital caliper.
| Measurement | Unit (mm) |
|---|---|
| Height | 61.86 |
| Length | 37.22 |
| Width | 13.06 |
Weight#
I took the following measurements using a digital scale.
| Weight | Unit (g) |
|---|---|
| Wuben G5 | 53.04 |
Size comparison with its competition#
From left to right: Wuben G5, Wuben E7, Wuben X0
User interface#
The Wuben G5 has a slider, a side switch and a rotary wheel to control it.
The white light has 9 brightness levels.
The RGB light has 7 colours: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue and purple. Beacon mode can be activated for each colour by double pressing the side switch.
There are three flashing modes: Red-Blue, Red-Green and Red-Yellow.
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Locked | Click the side switch | Nothing |
| Off | Click the side switch | Mode memory (white light or RGB light) |
| On | Press and hold the side switch | Toggle between white light and RGB light |
| White Light On | Rotate the wheel | Change the brightness |
| White Light On | Double click the side switch | Turbo |
| White Light Turbo | Double click the side switch | Return to previous brightness |
| RGB Light On | Rotate the wheel | Cycle (red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple) |
| RGB Light On | Double click the side switch | Beacon Mode |
| Beacon | Double click the side switch | Return to non-flashing RGB Light |
| Off | Double click the side switch | Mode memory (RGB Flash) |
| RGB Flash On | Rotate the wheel | Cycle (Red-Blue, Red-Green, Red-Yellow) |
| RGB Flash On | Double click the side switch | Cycle (Red-Blue, Red-Green, Red-Yellow) |
| RGB Flash On | Click the side switch | Off |
Mode memory#
If the RGB light was last used, then a single press of the side switch from off will turn the RGB light on again.
The brightness of the white light is memorised.
The colour of the RGB light is memorised.
Beacon is not memorised.
Red-Blue Flash, Red-Green Flash and Red-Yellow flash are memorised.
Battery status indication#
The RGB light will display the battery status for 5 seconds when the side switch is long pressed from off while the torch is in an unlocked state.
| Colour | Battery level |
|---|---|
| Blue | Capacity ≥ 90% |
| Blue blinking | 40% ≤ Capacity < 90% |
| Red | 15% ≥ Capacity < 40% |
| Red blinking | Capacity < 15% |
Pulse Width Modulation#
There is PWM but I did not notice any visible PWM (flickering).
I measured the PWM of the light with a Zoyi ZT-703S oscilloscope.
White Light (Step 1 to 9)#
What I like about the UI#
- I like the physical lockout slider to help prevent accidentally turning the torch on.
- The rotary wheel is cool.
What could be improved#
- Stepless ramping would make the Wuben G5 even better. It currently has 9 steps for the white light.
- A moonlight mode with less than 1 lumen would be nice.
- A direct shortcut to moonlight from off would be nice (e.g. long press the side switch).
- The colour cannot be changed while in beacon mode on my early review sample. I have to select a colour and then go into beacon mode. It would be nice if you could change the colour by rotating the wheel while in beacon mode.
Batteries and charging#
Battery#
The Wuben G5 has a built-in 3.7V LiPo 450mAh battery.
Charging#
The Wuben G5 has 5V 1A USB-C charging behind the sliding switch on the side.
Power supply: PinePower Desktop USB-C
USB Meter: ChargerLAB Power-Z KM003C
Room temperature: 21 C
The RGB light is red while charging and blue when charging is complete.
Power supply compatibility#
I tried the following power supplies with the built-in USB-C charger:
| Power supply | USB Type | Protocol | Does it charge? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple 20W Power Adapter | USB-C | PD | Yes |
| Google Pixel Power Adapter | USB-C | PD | Yes |
| PinePower Desktop | USB-C | PD | Yes |
| PinePower Desktop | USB-A | QC | Yes |
| PinePower Desktop | USB-A | Yes |
USB-C to USB-C charging works.
Performance#
Specifications from the manual:
| FL1 Standard | White Light | RGB Light | Red-Blue Flash | Red-Green Flash | Red-Yellow Flash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Output (lumens) | 400 ~ 2 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Runtime | 50min ~ 65h | 45h | 25h | 25h | 25h |
| Beam Distance (metres) | 82 | ||||
| Beam Intensity (cd) | 1,681 |
Lumen measurements#
| LED | Mode | Specs | Lumens @turn on | Lumens @30 sec | Lumens @10 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | Low | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| White | 70 lm | 73 | 71 | 66 | |
| White | High | 400 | 369 | 271 | 172 |
| White | Turbo | 400 | 369 | 270 | 172 |
Note: Lumen measurements may be off by 10% with my DIY lumen tube.
369 lumens is a bit shy of the 400 lumens claim but it is perfectly within the 10% accuracy of my DIY lumen tube. Anecdotally, torches with TIR optics tend to read a bit lower in my DIY lumen tube.
Runtime graphs#
I used my own DIY lumen tube with a TSL2591 sensor and forked bmengineer’s project RuTiTe to record runtimes.
The room temperature was approximately 21 C.
Runtime#
Here is a summary of the runtime results:
| LED | Mode | User manual | Runtime | Turn off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | Turbo | 50min | 51min 54s | 51min 54s |
| White | High | 50min | 51min 37s | 51min 37s |
| White | 70 lm | 2h 35min 48s | 2h 35min 48s | |
| White | Low | 65h | 24h+ | 24h+ |
“Runtime” is the time until the output reduces to 10% of the output at 30 seconds (as per the ANSI/PLATO FL1 2019 Standard).
“Turn off” is the time until my DIY lumen tube no longer detects more than one lumen.
“+” indicates that the light remained on after recording had stopped.
The Wuben G5 performed as expected.
Turbo drops fairly quickly from around 400 lumens to 200 lumens by 1 minute.
The sustained output on lower modes is good.
Throw#
I took lux measurements with a UNI-T UT383BT at 30 seconds. Turbo was measured at five metres.
| LED | Mode | Specs (cd) | Specs (m) | Candela measured (cd) | Distance (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | Turbo | 1,681 | 82 | 1,175 | 68 |
Beamshots#
I went to a playground and aimed the Wuben G5 at a big apple approximately 2 meters away while using the white light on Turbo.
The beamshot was taken using a Sony RX100M2 using a 1 second shutter speed, f3.2, ISO 100, 5000K WB.
Wuben G5 Turbo#
Red beamshots were taken using a Sony RX100M2 using 0.25 second shutter, f3.2, ISO 800, 5000K WB.
Wuben G5 (Red) 2 metres#
Wuben G5 (Red) 0.3 metres#
Nitecore HA23 UHE (Red) High#
Nitecore NU27 (Red) High#
SPERAS B7 (Red)#
The following red beamshots were taken using a Sony RX100M2 using 0.4 second shutter, f3.2, ISO 800, 5000K WB.
Fenix HL16 (Red)#
ZebraLight H502pr#
Thermal Images#
I used a Zoyi ZT-R01 IR Thermography Multimeter to take thermal images of the Wuben G5 placed facing up on a silicone mat while using Turbo.
| Time (mm:ss) | Max Temperature |
|---|---|
| 00:30 | 31.8 C |
| 01:00 | 36.2 C |
| 02:00 | 38.4 C |
| 03:00 | 40.4 C |
| 04:00 | 41.9 C |
| 05:00 | 43.1 C |
| 05:10 | 46.6 C |
I flipped the Wuben G5 over to take an image of the back of the light at 5 minutes 10 seconds where the temperature reached 46.6 C.
Conclusion#
The Wuben G5 is right up there with the Wuben X3 in terms of innovative tiny EDC torches that you should add to your collection!
The Wuben X3 stands out for having: wireless charging, a rotatable head and a display.
I think that the Wuben G5 stands out due to how well the slider, the rotary wheel and the side button have been integrated.
One word comes to mind: tactile.
I really enjoy being able to adjust the brightness and select a colour by rotating the wheel.
The Wuben G5 came close to the 400 lumen claim at turn on but it dropped off to around 200 lumens after a minute. The output looks pretty stable and it lasts for hours on lower brightness levels. I measured the lowest level for 24 hours and it kept going!
I measured a beam distance of 68 metres while Wuben claim it can reach 82 metres.
I measured a CRI of around 65. I guess Wuben selected a 6500K 65 CRI emitter to try to maximise the lumen output and beam distance. But some flashlight enthusiasts may prefer a high CRI emitter with a warmer colour temperature.
Should you get it? I mean, if you have a torch already, no. One is enough, stop reading now.
It’s such a cool Zippo-sized torch! And the price is pretty good at US$19.99 after a 20% discount.
Pros:#
- Excellent build quality.
- Good runtimes.
- The white light has 9 brightness levels.
- RGB light has 7 colours: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue and purple.
- The head can be rotated 180 degrees.
- Rotary wheel!
- Sliding switch to lock the torch.
- USB-C charging.
- Pocket clip.
- Magnet in base.
Cons:#
- Lumen output was lower than expected at 30 seconds.
- Beam distance was slightly lower than expected.
- Low CRI of 65.
Price#
The Wuben G5 is US$19.99 after a 20% discount.
Product page#
Promo code: 20forg5
Wuben G5 at wubenlight.com (affiliate link)
Wuben G5 at amazon.com (affiliate link)
https://www.wubenlight.com/collections/everyday-carry?ref=Tim
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