Disclaimer: Wurkkos provided this light to me free of charge. This has had no influence on the review.
All measurements were done using hobby-grade equipment, inaccuracies and deviations are therefore possible
Introduction
Wurkkos sent me this light along with the Wurkkos HD05 . I had already followed some discussions beforehand, mainly regarding the light's UI. These were very mixed, so I was somewhere between excited and skeptical about how the light would actually perform. The form factor itself is very promising!
Unfortunately, my first sample was defective (the LED didn't switch from red to green when charging the battery), so I didn't have the best start with this light.
Specs by Wurkkos
At the time of this review, there is only the one version shown here.
You can buy the light directly from Wurkkos or at Amazon with code ND9QEQLO.
Package Contents and Impressions
The light arrives in the typical white Wurkkos box featuring a picture of the light and all the important tech specs. The box is larger than I expected, which is due to the accessories. In addition to the light, a headband, a clip, spare O-rings, and a multilingual manual are included.
Visually, I like the light quite a bit. The anodization is slightly glossy and smooth and the laser engravings are nice and clear.
The TIR lens is not covered by glass. The spot section is smooth, while the small areas for the red LEDs and the flood section are faceted.
According to Wurkkos (and the sticker on the box), the main LEDs are SST-40. I have no information regarding the red LEDs. They sit together on one board that also houses driver components. Anyone thinking about modding the light should be aware of this.
The USB-C port is located on one side, sealed with a rubber cover. As with many lights, this is the only seal for the USB-C port. However, the light is only rated IPX6, presumably due to the switch design. Next to it sits the charging indicator.
The battery indicator shows red during charging and green when fully charged. When you turn the light on, it displays the battery level for about 5 seconds:
100-75%: Solid green
75-50%: Flashing green
50-25%: Solid red
25-0%: Flashing red
The aforementioned switch, like the rest of the light, is nicely made. The rotary ring clicks into place cleanly and offers good resistance. It certainly won't turn accidentally. The adjustment at the head worked well for me.
The adjustment at the head worked well for me. The pushbutton feels a bit mushy and offers little tactile feedback, but it still operates reasonably
The grooves on the back serve as detents for the headband but also provide a solid grip in the hand. To be honest, I’m quite surprised by how well this light works as a "standard flashlight." Sure, the form factor is unusual, but throughout my testing period, I found myself reaching for the light repeatedly even without the headband.
The light also proved its worth when clipped to a backpack or sling bag. I’m already a fan of using right-angle lights this way, but if you find a way to mount the HD17 horizontally, you actually get the full adjustment range of a headlamp.
Size
My scale shows 127g with battery and 164g with battery and headband.
I measured a length of 96mm, a depth of 36mm, and a body height of 25mm (36mm at the caps).
Carrying Options
Lanyard: No lanyard is included.
Clip: The clip is nice. It has enough clearance for thicker fabrics and sits securely on the light. The tension is strong, yet allows for one-handed clipping
If mounted with the opening toward the switch, there’s only a 1-2 mm gap to the tailcap edge, which qualifies as deep carry. If flipped, the switch protrudes. I liked this layout.
Magnet: The magnet is located in the tailcap opposite the switch. It is strong and holds the light easily at any angle.
(Jacket)pocket: Surprisingly, the light carries very comfortably in a pants pocket (with the clip). The freely rotating clip is very beneficial here, as is the largely flat design.
It is also completely unobtrusive in a jacket pocket.
Headband The headband sits well on the head with the good fitting plastic plate. The elasticity is just right for a secure fit without needing to overtighten. The holes provide good ventilation. A silicone strip for better grip would have been great, but even without it, I never worried about the light slipping off.
The light clips into the holder easily in both orientations and is held quite securely. The adjustment range is large. Mounting it on my climbing helmet was no problem.
UI (Bedienung)
First off, in my opinion, the UI is the light's biggest weakness. It works and isn't "bad," but it could have been great. I’ll first describe the current UI and then take a brief detour into how I wish it had been implemented.
Currently, you turn the light on and off by setting the ring to one of the three positions.
Clicking the button cycles to the next level. Holding the button ramps stepless.
Double-click takes you to Turbo for the respective light source; from there, another double-click activates Turbo with both LEDs.
Aside from Turbo, the last used brightness level is saved individually for each position of the rotary dial.
It’s simple and offers plenty of output levels, but there are zero shortcuts from Off. Therefore, here is my suggestion for a better UI—Sofirn did a good job with this on the HS21:
The rotary switch should be a pre-selection, with actual activation via the button (using the usual shortcuts: "Hold for Moon" and "Double-click for Turbo"). The current "Off" position could become a lockout or, better yet, a mode that activates both white LEDs simultaneously. Changing levels could still be done by holding the button while on - I personally prefer stepped modes over ramping.
This would make the UI slightly more complex but the light much more versatile!
Beam Profile and Measurements
All measurements were done in my 30cm integrating sphere. The temperature was between 20 and 24°C. Additionally, an Opple Light Master III and a TASi TA636B lux meter were used. Please note that this is hobby equipment, so inaccuracies and deviations are possible!
Output and Beam
Both Spot and Flood offer a clean beam. The Spot is defined, the Flood is very uniform and wide enough for close-up work.
There is also nothing to complain about regarding the red light beam.
The following diagram shows two interesting details:
1. Two samples were used for different runs - one delivers slightly more output in Turbo.
2. The thermal regulation seems good. The yellow line shows the runtime diagram when placed directly in front of a 12cm fan. While the uncooled light delivers pretty much exactly what Wurkkos promises, the cooled run stays significantly above that.
Overall, the performance in my measurements is quite close to the Wurkkos specs.
| Specs / measurements | eco | low | med | high | turbo | Turbo Flood + Spot |
| Spot | 5 / 5 | 75 / 78 | 360 / 360 | 1030 / 1050 | 1650 / 1560 | 2500/2500 |
| Flood | 5 / 5 | 75 / 76 | 360 / 360 | 1080 / 1090 | 1660 / 1620 |
Wurkkos only provides one throw specification on the box—without stating the mode - which is 12,150 cd. I measured 12,900 cd at 1m in Flood+Spot Turbo.
Beamshots
The images were all taken with the same camera settings from the same position.The camera was on a tripod, and the lights were on my head.
CCT, CRI, DUV, PWM
| Spot (low/high) | Flood (low/high) | |
| CCT | 5900K / 5900K | 5900 / 5900K |
| CRI | 67 / 66 | 65 / 69 |
| DUV | 0.011 / 0.008 | 0.010 / 0.004 |
Flicker is in the green zone.
PWM was not detectable on any level, neither by eye nor with a camera.
Batteries and charging
Charging tests were conducted with a Fnirsi FNB C2 on a 100W charger with a 100W cable.
The charging behavior of the light is not the prettiest. In the CC phase (constant current phase), the current is not kept constant but makes a hump. This suggests that the charge controller steps down, presumably due to temperature. This is not dangerous in the sense of a fire hazard or similar, but it can certainly affect the lifespan of the battery.
The current drop in the CV (Constant Voltage) phase is also not ideal, as it is relatively flat. This mainly drags out the charging process and stresses the battery.
This all sounds quite dramatic now, so I want to put it into perspective briefly: In the worst case, you sacrifice a few cycles of battery life when using the internal charging function compared to using an external charger - in the best case, you won't notice any difference. Those who don't have a battery charger don't need to worry in my eyes and can charge the battery in the light without any problems.
I measured the battery capacities of the two samples at 3340 and 3344 mAh.
The battery tube has springs on both sides. Reverse polarity protection and low voltage protection are present.
Summary
Drawing a conclusion on this light isn't easy. The build quality is good and the dual-switch concept is interesting. The light wears comfortably on the head, and the beam profile works well both indoors and out.
The UI unfortunately lacks any shortcuts—if you can live with that, it works perfectly and offers diverse adjustment options. In exchange, the performance is solid, and the included accessories are useful and varied.
The SST-40 wouldn't have been my first choice, and I would have preferred High CRI in the flood channel, but the setup works surprisingly well.
My conclusion is likely already apparent: I like the light better than I expected before the review. Wurkkos got a lot of things right and designed a versatile headlamp—a V2 with a revised UI and High CRI flood would be a definite "buy" for me again!