The Wurkkos FC-11 Flashlight Review.

This is the Wurkkos model FC11. And this flashlight has been in my Everyday Carry (EDC) for about 5 years now. I actually lost my original FC-11 and needed to replace it. This loss has filled me with the sadness of a thousand tears. But alas, I will give you the run down on why I decided to purchase this exact same model and answer the question should you get one?

Well you can probably tell by the fact that I bought a second one that I really like this flashlight. I just really wish I had my original FC-11 with its beautiful 5 year patina full of scratches and scuff marks.

Opening the box you get the flashlight itself, along with a manual, a USB type C cable for charging and a lanyard. So lets get into why I like this flashlight so much and for that we will start with the features. To start it has a button on the side rather than the back which I actually prefer. And it has a nice blue ring around it. This flashlight is actually available in multiple color options but I like this color scheme the best. It has multiple modes. One press of the button gives you what I call normal mode, Two button presses gives you Turbo mode which is the maximum brightness of 1300 lumens, If you press twice and hold the flashlight will repeatedly cycle between which brightness level you want for normal mode. It cycles between 4 levels of brightness, Eco which is 2 lumens, Low which is 50 lumens, Mid which is 300 lumens and High which is 700 lumens. It sounds a little confusing but you get the hang of it. Moving on, 3 button presses gives you the strobe mode and 4 button presses gives you a lockout button mode which is absolutely essential for a pocket carry flashlight. When you try to press the button once to activate the flashlight in lockout mode it will give you a few flashes to say “hey I’m in lockout mode”. To turn off lockout mode, simply press the button 4 times. Remember the frequency of these button presses needs to be pretty quick for it to work. Moving on, you will see under this rubber boot is a built in USB type C charge port. It is a tight seal and this gives this flashlight an IPX-7 waterproof rating. This USB C port charges the work horse battery of all modern flashlights. We are of course talking about the 18650 and it is a Wurkkos branded 18650. And this battery is sealed with an O ring and a cap that has a magnetic base.

This magnetic base is a must have for my EDC flashlight. And yes it is strong enough to to hold its on weight upside down. And it also has a simple pocket clip which I actually don’t use because every time I clip something onto my pocket it either gets snagged or falls off of my pocket. I am a full in the pocket kind of flashlight man. The LED emitter is a Samsung LH351D 90 CRI, the reflector has an orange peel finish, the lens is toughened mineral glass, and according to the manual it has reverse polarity protection in case you accidentally stick the battery in backwards.

But I wouldn’t trust that and just be very careful when you are putting this battery in and do it properly. It also has a power indicator built into the button while the flashlight is on and if the battery is charged it will light up green meaning it has a good charge. If it turns solid red that means the battery has less than 30% charge remaining. And if it is flashing red that means the battery is depleted and needs to be recharged. It is a good idea to charge this as soon as you see the light turn red.

So that does it for the features, what about price. Well I’m happy to report that the price has stayed about the same from when I bought it 5 years ago. It is currently $33 on amazon and during a sale it will drop to $25. And for that price, with these features, this flashlight is an amazing value. I am very sad that I only got 5 years out of this flashlight. Had I not lost it who knows how long this would have lasted.

But is this flashlight perfect? well almost the only suggestion I would make is to upgrade this cheaper 18650 cell to a higher quality Samsung 18650. I get mine from disassembled power tool batteries But I would recommend simply just buying one. They usually come in packs of 2 or more and are about $10 a piece. This also gives you a super quick recharge option for your FC-11. If it dies rather than having your work come to a standstill you can simply slap a fresh battery in and you are ready to rock.

Other than that this is a pretty solid flashlight I used my old FC-11 almost every day for 5 years and I was very happy with it. It has been very reliable and for the price you can’t really beat it.