u/Lawrence_skywalker

Wuben reached out to me review the new Wuben X5, so I enthusiastically replied hell yes. I a big fan of flatlights and fan of Wuben too, but is it enough to dethrone my current EDC, the Nitecore EDC17?

My first flatlight was the Streamlight wedge, and that scratch the itch for a while. I was hooked on the form factor but functionality and UI was lacking on the wedge. All thought its advertised as a 1000 lumens light its realistically a 350 lumens light with a 1000 lumens boost for 30 seconds. Good enough for night walks but having to hold the switch for 30 seconds was quite annoying when trying to spot critters at the tree line.

I finally jumped on the Olight bandwagon with the ArkPro but returned it few days later. I liked the kitchen sink mentality but found the UI immensely annoying and beam artifact distracting. I hate how the different modes didn't have their own memory and the laser was way off kilter, it was so off kilter that pointing with a finger was more accurate. That and the fact that a friend's Olight pistol light kinda blew up next to his dick soured my trust in Olight's QC

When Nitecore released the EDC 17 it seemed perfect. The beam is a medium spot, the laser was true and the UV was perfect for my job, spot curing UV resin. The side switch interface was quick and accident proof. But there is a elephant to address in the room, batteries.

The biggest down side of flatlights are the non replaceable batteries.

The Wuben X5 is has all the core functionality of my EDC17 but with replaceable batteries and a novel UI.

Lets talk about the UI:

The Wuben X5 has tail 2 buttons, a dedicated laser button and a 2 stage button for the main emitter. There is also a dial on the side to select UV, lock, and White light. They dial is self explanatory but the tail button are a more interesting. The laser button is single stage and is always available unless locked. One click turns it on, one click turns it off. The main power button is 2 stage. Half click is momentary on. A full click keeps it on. When on, a half click changes through 4 modes. 2 rapid half click will activate strobe mode and a full click again turns it off. One issue I had is that I keep accidentally activating the strobe while cycling through the modes. I have to deliberately slow down while cycling through the modes. Another quirk is that when full pressing the light to turn off it that it will cycle to the next mode then turn off but it will remember the mode you were using. On UV it is only one mode.

The white light:

Wuben claims 1300 lumens using the included 1200 mah li-ion battery and my crude ceiling bounce test seems to confirm that. The beam shape is comparable to the Stream light wedge but warmer. My calibrated eye ball suggest its about 4500 - 5000k.

The Gimmicks:

Wuben X series has a cool Gundam aesthetic to them. Its also feels like the best built flatlight I have. The machining is crisp and all the moving parts fits perfectly. Wuben really refined the haptics and clickiness. The USB port cover slide into its detent like the safety on a Beretta 92. The battery cover latch operates like a bolt release on a AR-15, except instead of letting the bolt close, it launches the battery out. The lanyard is actually a USB Type C cable and it's decently fast. I tested it with my phone and it at least reached 15 watts. And finally the main gimmick with this light is the dual fuel capability. It can take 4xAAA batteries in place of the Li-Ion Battery and still pushing 900 lumens. Im quite impressed at that.

My nitpicks:

The UI is so close to being flawless. I never use the strobe and I wished Wuben would've left it off. It would've made the mode faster to cycle through. I wished the laser button was on the side like Olight ArkPros. I think the second rear button is wasted on just the laser. I also wished there was direct moonlight mode without cycling through the mode, perhaps a half click is always moonlight or low. I also wish there was a direct turbo shortcut like double clicking the power button. Maybe they could've have implemented reverse charging for the phone? IDK that one seems hard to do considering it might be running on AAA's sometimes plus I don't know of another flat light that does that.

Overall this thing has earned a spot on my Battle belt. Its also perfect for my go bag. The Dual Fuel is a big plus for long term storage. The clip is excellent and reversible (a big irk I have with my Nitecore EDC17's is that the clip is not reversible)

Use my affiliate link to get 10% off. https://www.wubenlight.com/?ref=tmovkrss

I've built my perfect S2+ collection, the high CRI, the Pocket Rocket, and the Thrower

First is my Copper s2+ rocking the classic Nichia 519a in 3500k and 60⁰ TIR

Second is the dark green Pocket Rocket in LHP531 pushing out 3000 lumens

Last is the classic Osram W2 in a tan host and knock off They Switchback.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk .

The actual button pops out the bottom but I can't figure out how to push the outer ring out to change to a lit button.

I've edited the contrast and brightness to demonstrate the issue but it does look like this in real life.

I found this for 200 on ebay for 200 and immediately alarm bells starting going off.

The slotted adjustment screw

The mirrored glass

The Metal plate on the bottom

The finishing

Since when did they started knocking off Romeo X'es thats insane.

The whole pistol also seems to feel rough and unrefined unlike the old 21a. Maybe it's just new. Overall I am overjoyed Beretta spent resources to update the bobcat very cool.

When I sent off I had an understanding that I was gonna lose my rear sight, their website said so. I planed on countering this my simply using a SIG Romeo X Compact which has a built in rear sight. When I got it back I was disappointed that my Romeo X wouldn't fit. I test the Holosun 507k which did fit and chalked it up to SIG being SIG. So I resorted to sanding the Romeo X shorter until it fits. It was about 0.5mm too long.

The when mounted I was also disappointed to find the Romeo X didn't cowitness. Not a big deal but I choose the Romeo x because it has the lowest deck height.

Overall Im satisfied with the cut especially because its only $100. But disappointed that they changed he specs of the cut without telling me. How do I know this? Because the website specifically states that 9mm P30s and USP will lose the rear sights and when I called them for an update they said they were evaluating there CNC program.

A part of me still wondered if they cut into the rear sight dovetail would it have been lower? Which would've been better in my situation but I understand this cut is better for most people. Now i just need to fine slightly taller sights. Anyways ways what sight should I keep on it? RomeoX or Burris Fastfire E?