On the Trails with the WUBEN TO40R
Like its TO46R sibling the WUBEN TO40R is a solid and compact flashlight, with peace of mind guaranteed by a hardy aluminium body. To that effect it boast as IPX8 waterproof rating, meaning it can remain submerged to 2 meters in depth for up to an hour. It is also resistant to bumps and drops from up to a meter and a half high. The party piece for the TO40R though is its massive 220 meter beam range.
Utilising a long reflective cone, which funnels the light emitted by the single CREE XP-L2 LED blub through the mineral glass lens, it provides a powerful concentrated beam. WUBEN’s stated lumens and runtimes range from 1.7 hours in the full 1 200 lumen “Turbo” mode to the 125 hours provided by the 8 lumen “Moon” setting. With the focused bright beam being the TO40R’s primary selling point we suspect that most users will use it on the “Turbo” and “High” modes.
Looks wise the TO40R features a micro-USB charging port is housed behind a thick rubber plug on one side of the top end of the barrel. While the “W” and on/off switches are on the opposite side. The “W” switch when held down provides a blindingly bright pulsing strobe. Below it the on/off switch turns the torch on, while if you hold it down for 1 second it forces the flashlight directly into “Turbo” mode. Once the light is on; pressing the “W” switch will toggle the TO40R through its output modes – from “Moon” past Low, Medium and High to “Turbo”.
While the focused beam of the WUBEN TO40R is by no means ineffective for use during hiking or camping applications we suspect it will of more use for security or spotting applications. That said for game viewing/locating at night it will be ideal. Given the massive range packed into the surprisingly small 140 gram package it will outperform much larger flashlights when it comes to piercing the darkest of African nights.
Summary
The WUBEN TO40R Flashlight is a USB rechargeable, single CREE XP-L2 LED flashlight; designed to cast a concentrated beam up to 220 metres ahead, making it perfect applications where beam reach is paramount.
Gear Review By: Seamus Allardice | Diverge