Wurkkos HD20 headlamp review

The Wurkkos HD20 flashlight is a right angle headlamp with a 21700 cell and 2 LEDs.

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The physical light

What’s in the box

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The HD20 comes with:

• a head strap (with over head band)
• 21700 cell
• an adaptor to use 18650 cells
• Manual
• USB C (C-A) cable
• Lanyard
• Clip
• 2 spare O-rings
• The HD20 flashlight

Appearance and quality

Wurkkos seem to have bumps on their flashlights, instead of knurling, This is similar to Zebralight and seems to work well.

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The HD20 has medium springs at each end, which allows it to take a 18650 cell or the supplied 21700 cell. Anodising seems good – I’ve removed the clip a few times now and there’s no marks. There’s no sharp edges, aside from the lanyard hole, which could do with a chamfer.

Physical comparison

Big.

The HD20 is the biggest headlight I’ve used.

It’s also pretty heavy (164g with the cell), so you may not want to use it as a headlamp for long periods of time.

Carrying and everyday use

I’m used to carrying lights that take a smaller 18650-sized cell and generally find 21700-sized lights too big most of the time. The HD20 is too big for EDC but is great for when you need something more substantial.

Even though the light is big, I find that when holding the light naturally, my index finger sometimes covers one of the LEDs slightly. It’s easy to adjust the grip, so this isn’t a big issue.

The HD20 comes with a reversible, 2 way clip. That means you can attack the clip at the top or the bottom of the light and when the clip’s on, you can clip it onto things from the top or bottom.

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The HD20 comes with a lanyard too and can tail stand with the lanyard attached. The HD20 won’t headstand though.

The HD20 has an magnet in the tail. This is strong enough to hold the full weight of the light horizontally on any ferromagnetic material.

The light fits into the headband nicely, with the rubber fitting into the indents for the clip. Some reviewers have mentioned the rubber on the headband not being well made but my one seems fine. Unlike Zebralight headbands, the top strap can’t be removed temporarily. You probably wouldn’t want to though, due to the weight of the HD20. The strap works best with the clip off but you could keep it on just about.

When holding the HD20, my hand naturally got in the way of the flood light slightly. It’s easy to hold it further down but doesn’t feel so natural.

Interface and switch

Basic usage

• Click on
• Click off
• Hold to change brightness (low, medium, high)

Advanced usage

• Triple click (or click and hold) to cycle between throw LED, flood LED and both at the same time
• Double click (when off or on) for turbo
• Double click when on turbo to cycle between strobe, SOS, beacon and back to turbo
• Long press for moonlight. Keeping holding does nothing.

The HD20 has mode memory for both the brightness and the LED selection.

Turbo and moonlight is in which ever LED(s) you used last. Neither moonlight nor turbo are in the main mode group. From turbo, you can click once to return to the last mode you were on or hold for low.

When switching between LEDs, the light will also switch to low, medium or high. That means you can’t switch between moonlight on the 2 LEDs or turbo on the 2 LEDs.

A quick tap and hold while the light’s off doesnt do anything.

3 clicks from off activates the indicator light to show the battery level (green, red, flashing red).

Four clicks puts the light in lockout mode. The light flashes twice whenever you tap. Holding the button when in lockout mode activates moonlight mode on both LEDs. Four clicks again unlocks and immediately turns the light back on the last mode.

Cell and charging

The HD20 comes with a generous 4800mAh 21700 cell. This is the highest capacity 21700 cell I have, with most of them being 4000mAh. The cell is Wurkkos branded and measures 71.1mm long. The box includes a plastic tube so you can use a 18650 cell too. A 65mm 18650 cell worked fine in the HD20, without disconnecting when it was shaken.

Wurkkos have included USB-C charging. This worked first time using an A-C cable on all my chargers. I have one USB-C charger and a C-C cable didn’t seem to work. However, unscrewing the body or tail cap, plugging the charger in then screwing it back on triggered charging. Not ideal but kind of works.

The manual says it can charge at up to a massive 2A. The HD20 can be turned on (even without the cell and body attached) and certainly drew 2A when on. Charging showed up to 0.7A but possibly because the cell was already nearly full. The light can even run on turbo (or close to it) from a 2A power supply.

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Powerbank

The HD20 has an power bank functionality too, which not many flashlights have. The manual says the HD20 can supply up to 1.6A. I’ve had mixed results with this but that could be down to my cables. I’ve got it to charge 2 phones at 0.5A, going C-A-C. I haven’t got a plain C-C cable to work yet.

The HD20 can also charge other flashlights with USB charging. I’ve got this working with a Sofirn SC31B and a Wurkkos FC11. Similar to the HD20, these lights can power the LEDs from USB without a cell present. That means you can use the HD20 like a remote battery pack for other flashlights.

Lots of USB-C devices don’t seem to have 100% compatibility with all chargers and cables. The Wurkkos HD20 does better than most but still doesn’t work with everything. This is more due to the state of USB-C in general, rather than Wurkkos. Getting the HD20 to fast charge (in and out) with a USB cable may be possible but for full compatibility it may need more electronics in the light. I’m not sure if this is feasible. It would also be useful for the indicator light to flash for a bit to show that the light is being used as a powerbank. I’m not sure what would happen if you connected two HD20s with a C-C cable.

As you can use the HD20 for both charging cells and charging other devices, having a clearer indication of the cell voltage from the indicator light would have been useful.

Summary

Potential changes and improvements

If I made the HD20, I’d probably do something silly like pick a high CRI 4000K LED for the flood – maybe as a mule – and an Osram W1 for maximum throw. The HD20 looks difficult to mod, so I won’t be trying that.

The UI is great but there’s a few niggles like not being able to stay on moonlight when switching LEDs. The indicator light could also do with reading out cell voltage more accurately, similar to Anduril flashlights.

Conclusion

This light has so many features!

Whilst it’s not a lightweight headlamp for going on a short run, the 4800mAh cell means you won’t find many headlamps that last as long and it’s ideal for a night hike or similar. The powerbank functionality means it’s a handy light to take on trips for emergencies too.

Having 2 LEDs means the HD20 is great for both indoor and outdoor use.