WONDSUNSON Shortwave 254nm UVC & Longwave 365nm 395nm UVA LED Flashlight, Yooperlites Fluorescent Minerals Phosphor, Banknotes, Tagged Stamps Detector LED Torch with Optical Filter

It’s really hard to find a good portable UV flashlight for mineral hunting, let alone a LED option! Doing research trying to find the right one, probably the biggest help for me in filtering through all the noise were the great reviews posted here, but also this site: https://geology.com/articles/fluorescent-minerals/ which explains that novelty store blacklights are not enough for serious appreciation of flourescent minerals. Scientific lamps are expensive and usually not portable. So I was excited to try the LED UV flashlights sold by WONDSUNSON Stores. I actually bought three, to compare their features, and to help me decide what would work best for me. Here are the pros and cons of each, and then you just have to decide for yourself which would work best for you. I will way this about all three: it is great to find a legit short (UVC) and mid (UVB) wave UV light that is portable and rechargeable. All three are excellent, but here are a few distinctive features that separate them:—Shortwave 254nm UVC LED Flashlight, SW UV Torch Lamp (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D7ZNZMSN?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title#customerReviews): This is the most economical, a great bargain, and works amazingly well. It only produces the shortwave 245nm, but it has the ZWB3 Optical Filter, so the flourescent minerals (works well on scorpions too). Some might think it is dim, and comparing it to a novelty blacklight, sure, but it is actually working perfectly, it is supposed to be filtering out the extra visible light that interferes with accurate observation. This is perfect for close (not long distance) observation of fluorescent minerals. I’m going to use it to show off my mineral display to others, it really makes the mineral colors stand out.Pro: Love the single button, single purpose use.Cons: have to take the battery out whenever you want to recharge in it. Not a big deal, just unscrew and put the batter in the charger, but not as easy as just plugging in a USB-C cable, like you can do with the next two flashlights.—Shortwave 254nm UVC & Longwave 365nm 395nm UVA LED Flashlight (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKSVYHGS?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title#customerReviews): Probably my favorite of the three, but that’s just me. Why? It’s a two sided flashlight, one side 3pcs UVC 254nm LEDs, so all the power of the light reviewed above, but the other side also has the long wave settings. Those are nice extras for just $20 more. The lights on both sides are strong.Pros: if you can use the range of short and long wave light, this does both very well. It’s easy to recharge with the USB-C cable.Cons: the power buttons and the charge indicator lights illuminate, which can be distracting, especially when you’re trying to view minerals in an otherwise dark environment. I just put that side of the flashlight in the palm side of my hand so that it blocks the light.— Longwave & Midwave & Shortwave UV Light Flashlight 254nm 310nm 365nm (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DP2GQ2VR?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_dt_b_fed_asin_title_0_1) This one offers everything, and was a little more than I needed. I’m not doing a lot of jade detection so the 2 tips and white LED light was a little lost on me. It is not the most expensive flashlight they make (the lamps, of course, will be even more costly), but still an amazing price for the features. I’ll be honest, it might be trying to do too much, as I found the 254 nm lights a little underpowered. The white LED light, however, is very strong.Pros: if you need the range (long-, mid-, short-wave,) combined with a white LED light, this is a good option. Also, it’s easy to recharge with the USB-C cable, and I like the power indicator shows in percent.Cons: the power buttons and the power percent indicator lights illuminate, which can be distracting, especially when you’re trying to view minerals in an otherwise dark environment. I just put that side of the flashlight in the palm side of my hand so that it blocks the light.Alls things said, I got all three and I’m happy with all three. I’ll probably gift one to another rockhound friend, and keep my two favorite ones for personal use.

Long wave has multiple intensities and it really makes a difference compared with a "standard" (urine detection) long wave torch/flash light. Some minerals I have don't appear to fluoresce with flash light but do so very strongly with this product - both long wave! As is typical the short wave isn't very "bright" but it is brighter than anything else unless you pay BIG bucks... so it is useful for those minerals that need short wave to fluoresce. With this lamp I discovered I have more fluorescent minerals than I suspected. It isn't perfect, but for the cost it does the job very well. I didn't know that rose quartz can fluoresce, or fluorite as they didn't with a "cat" lamp. Amateur mineral collector, very happy.

I design LED units. I have my own UVA and UVC dedicated units, but not a combination one, and I am currently too lazy to make my own combo unit. This one had no reviews, but the product information was rather precise, so I decided to give it a go and order, fully-prepared to be underwhelmed.And I was wrong. The UVA combo section is typical, nothing to write home about, bright enough for regular night time fluorescent minerals exploration in all scenarios, and fine for checking fluorescence in moderate light. What got my attention (and my original desire) was the 254nm UVC. My rig is 270nm, and many minerals don't react as well to that wavelength. This appears to be much closer to 254nm, as my typical tester minerals (scheelite and some classic Sterling Hill calcite/willemite/franklinite) were much brighter under this handheld light versus my 270nm handheld.The throw/output on the UVC is nothing to write home about, but this is to be expected, as state of the art for UVC LEDs is unfortunately at a low efficiency. If you want a lot of UVC output, you would generate a lot of waste heat as a result, something this small unit is not designed to handle.My three typical use scenarios for UV lights like this are in a mine shaft, in dark open field, and hand-distance usage in moderate light at mineral and jewelry/gem shows. For use in a mine, the UVC light is more than adequate for checking highly-reactive minerals in those typically-confined spaces up to a distance of around 2 feet, and less-reactive specimens at around 1 foot. In open field usage during the night, the UVC light is about 3 feet from the ground for a person of my height, and only really reactive minerals like adamite, high uranium content minerals, reactive calcites, and such will make themselves apparent. Shorter people will find this light more usable as the light will be closer to the ground. For mineral shows, this UVC light works fine at hand distance in moderate light against all of my tested specimens.What I have not tested (as I have just received it) is the durability. I have one concern right now - knocking gently on the unit makes it rattle. A gentle shake makes something slide around a tiny bit. I think the construction might be a tiny bit loose for the LED/lens/filter assembly, and the internal battery might not be fully-secured.Otherwise, this has performed better than I was expecting, and right about where I was hoping. I am pleased with this light, and it will become my new replacement mine exploration unit to replace my two separate units, which will now get desk-mounted and used for dedicated examination stations.

I've been waiting for LED technology to get to this point for years, but when I saw this product show up on Amazon, I was skeptical. Having had this now for a few weeks and tried it on a variety of rocks, it appears to be the real deal. Calcite lights up nicely under the longer wavelengths, and hyalite opal under the shortwave. The intensity is not powerful, but it's functional, lightweight, and goes hours on a single charge.