Skyraider59
Newly Enlightened
ITUO WIz1 800 lumens cordless, 26650 replaceable battery, USB rechargeable bike light evaluation
Just before Christmas I was contacted by a ITUO, a Chinese brand for which I had I entered a "bike light give away draw on MTBR" last November.
I was not a winner but they were prepared to send me a per-production light for a short evaluation on CPF.
I was not a winner but they were prepared to send me a per-production light for a short evaluation on CPF.
Due to weather here in the UK I have not been able to squeeze one of our MTB evening club ride, but the Wiz has been used daily while cycling to work.
Please note, this is not one of my usual review, but more of a user feedback on a pre production model.
Please note, this is not one of my usual review, but more of a user feedback on a pre production model.
What I received was a WIz1 in retail box with their own 26650 battery and a WIz2 body in some bubble wrap. The box despite from being plain was unusual in it designed
with what I would call a 3D effect which was a brake away from the usual black box often found with Chinese lights.
with what I would call a 3D effect which was a brake away from the usual black box often found with Chinese lights.
My sample looked flawless, apart from a very small (casting?) mark and the thread like many lights needed a good lube up.
The Led is a XM-L2 and the 26650 is 4500mAh Li-ion battery bearing their own name ITUO, which needed to be fully charged via the light own USB port.
From their instruction leaflet this can be done via a computer USB port or mobile phone charger, which I did, using my HTC charger.
The rubber plug on the USB port was easy to open and easy to close but looked tight enough to stop rain water getting in!
Like every lights, it is always difficult to visualize how big a light is until it is physically in your hand and I must say that ITUO have done a very good job of keeping this 26650 type light on the small size!
And this is even smaller with their 18650 battery body!
Bellow with 26650 battery body
And this is even smaller with their 18650 battery body!
Bellow with 26650 battery body
So here are my finding:
Compact and not too heavy giving a lot of lights ATF,
My sample had a XM-L2 LED with an orange peel reflector, the tint is a little on the greenish side shinning onto a white wall but not noticeable in normal use or cycling.
*
Anodizing a little soft,, I have been very careful and treated her like my new toy, but I have a small chip on the bezel , don't know how!
(I understand from ITUO that the pre-production models do have softer anodizing and this will be a lot harder during production)
*
Power levels are good, 800,600,300,100 lumens (the 100 in my mind is to be used as a marker light or while carrying some bike repairs)
3 hidden flash modes, one of them is a pulse mode good for town night driving.
The interphase need some adjusting regarding the switching off!
My sample had a XM-L2 LED with an orange peel reflector, the tint is a little on the greenish side shinning onto a white wall but not noticeable in normal use or cycling.
*
Anodizing a little soft,, I have been very careful and treated her like my new toy, but I have a small chip on the bezel , don't know how!
(I understand from ITUO that the pre-production models do have softer anodizing and this will be a lot harder during production)
*
Power levels are good, 800,600,300,100 lumens (the 100 in my mind is to be used as a marker light or while carrying some bike repairs)
3 hidden flash modes, one of them is a pulse mode good for town night driving.
The interphase need some adjusting regarding the switching off!
You need to be in the steady mode and need to cycle via al the modes to turn off.
For the moment a short click will turn the light on, other clicks will cycle from 800/600/300/100 then off.
A long click will take you into flash mode, then further long clicks will cycle via the 3 flash modes,
you can not switch off from the flash mode and need to return to steady mode by a single click to what ever steady modes you was in prior to going into flash mode, then you can resume the steady mode switching off procedure. So in short, you need to go through the steady modes to turn off, cant get use to this!
For the moment a short click will turn the light on, other clicks will cycle from 800/600/300/100 then off.
A long click will take you into flash mode, then further long clicks will cycle via the 3 flash modes,
you can not switch off from the flash mode and need to return to steady mode by a single click to what ever steady modes you was in prior to going into flash mode, then you can resume the steady mode switching off procedure. So in short, you need to go through the steady modes to turn off, cant get use to this!
( I would think a long click for switching ON or OFF, the steady modes to be cycled via a short push 800/600/300/100/800 etc and the flash mode to be access via a double click and turn off by long press in any modes!
*
The Clamp looked solid and made of alloy but only came with one plastic sleeve to convert to the smaller bar OD.
So with over size bar, we have metal to metal contact unless you wrap your bars with electrician tape,
I would like to see the addition of a small rubber sleeve to avoid marking the bars!
*
The Clamp looked solid and made of alloy but only came with one plastic sleeve to convert to the smaller bar OD.
So with over size bar, we have metal to metal contact unless you wrap your bars with electrician tape,
I would like to see the addition of a small rubber sleeve to avoid marking the bars!
The adjustable clamp jaws are also made of alloy so we have again a metal to metal contact on the light and jaw.
I personally not very fond of this as in time this will mark the WIz anodizing.
may be a set of rubber insert or ABS jaws would avoid that problem?
The clamping on the WIz1 body is fine but does cause a slight problem on the WIz2 due to the battery tube shape.
There is a very small flat band on the WIz head which is where I have position the clamp while in 18650 configuration, it does not look wide enough for the large clamp but hold ok on the road as long as thumb screw is tight.
*
The battery warning light is a little dim and would benefit from being a little brighter. The switch need to be raised a little more so to give a more positive feel while wearing gloves.
I did find it hard to find just by touch while cycling.
I personally not very fond of this as in time this will mark the WIz anodizing.
may be a set of rubber insert or ABS jaws would avoid that problem?
The clamping on the WIz1 body is fine but does cause a slight problem on the WIz2 due to the battery tube shape.
There is a very small flat band on the WIz head which is where I have position the clamp while in 18650 configuration, it does not look wide enough for the large clamp but hold ok on the road as long as thumb screw is tight.
*
The battery warning light is a little dim and would benefit from being a little brighter. The switch need to be raised a little more so to give a more positive feel while wearing gloves.
I did find it hard to find just by touch while cycling.
*
This is about all for the moment. So far, I have not done any forest rides with the WIz, but my road impression is good.
Since the days I bought a Cyclone C88 flashlight to try as a bike light (unsuccessfully), I have been wondering if manufacturers will ever produce a 26650 light for cycling.
Since the days I bought a Cyclone C88 flashlight to try as a bike light (unsuccessfully), I have been wondering if manufacturers will ever produce a 26650 light for cycling.
Well, I think the Wiz1 is not far off of being a good single LED bike light and there is some features that I really like:
USB rechargeable
26650 replaceable battery
cable less with high output
good useable steady and flash modes
good beam/output
good run time (on my test exceeded manufacturer run times 190mn on 800l setting but not with a constant regulation) (I will post results later on)
26650 replaceable battery
cable less with high output
good useable steady and flash modes
good beam/output
good run time (on my test exceeded manufacturer run times 190mn on 800l setting but not with a constant regulation) (I will post results later on)
A few things in my mind will need looking at (see main text above) and the main one is the way their light is switch off!
I know that there is also a thread on the MTBR forum about this light and I think it will be interesting to see how much of our feedback goes into the end product?
I will be uploading more photos asap
Skyraider59
I will be uploading more photos asap
Skyraider59
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