The Verge's Andrew Liszewski just crowned the $25 Wuben G5 his best purchase of 2025. This Zippo-sized EDC flashlight delivers up to 400 lumens with clever features that solve the biggest flashlight problem: accidentally draining itself in your pocket.
The Verge's Andrew Liszewski just declared the Wuben G5 his best purchase of 2025, and for a flashlight enthusiast who admits to owning "more than any one person could ever need," that's saying something. The $25 EDC light is solving a problem that's frustrated everyday carry enthusiasts for years: flashlights that turn themselves on and drain dead in your bag. Amazon lists it for $24.99, while Walmart undercuts at $21.99.
Liszewski replaced his Nitecore TINI 2 specifically because of this issue. "The TINI 2 would regularly turn on by itself while bouncing around inside my sling bag, draining its battery without me realizing it," he explains in his review. That's the kind of real-world failure that renders even the best gear useless when you need it most.
The G5's solution is elegant: a sliding switch that doubles as a cover for the USB-C charging port. After months of testing, Liszewski reports zero accidental activations. The form factor hits the sweet spot too - just slightly taller than a Zippo lighter but still completely pocketable for daily carry.
But it's the brightness control that sets this apart from typical EDC lights. Instead of cycling through preset modes, the G5 uses a physical dial to adjust output from 2 lumens up to 400. That granular control means you can dial in exactly the right amount of light for finding dropped keys or reading in bed without blinding yourself. At minimum brightness, the battery stretches to 65 hours of runtime.
The feature set goes deeper than basic illumination. A second multicolor LED cycles through the spectrum via the same brightness dial, offering RGB colors that could prove useful for emergency signaling. The light head rotates 180 degrees, while an adjustable clip can mount front, side, or back. A built-in magnet on the base enables hands-free use - perfect for working under the hood or in tight spaces.
This isn't just another gear review making waves. The EDC community has increasingly focused on lights that actually work daily rather than just impressing with raw lumen counts. Products like the G5 represent a shift toward practical design over marketing specs. When seasoned reviewers start calling budget lights their "last" purchase in a category, that signals real market disruption.
The timing couldn't be better for Wuben, a Chinese manufacturer that's been steadily gaining ground against established players like Nitecore and Streamlight. With holiday shopping in full swing, practical gifts under $25 that solve real problems tend to become viral recommendations. Liszewski's endorsement gives the G5 exactly the kind of credibility that drives Amazon bestseller lists.
The broader EDC market has exploded in recent years, driven by remote work and urban preparedness trends. What started as tactical gear for professionals has become mainstream lifestyle accessories. Flashlights sit alongside pocket knives, multi-tools, and compact batteries as essential items people actually use daily rather than just collect.
Wuben's approach mirrors successful brands across consumer electronics: take established product categories, identify common user frustrations, then engineer elegant solutions at aggressive price points. The G5's sliding lock mechanism and variable brightness dial address the two biggest complaints about compact flashlights - accidental activation and brightness control.
The Wuben G5 represents something rare in consumer tech: a budget product that actually solves problems better than premium alternatives. At $25, it's positioned perfectly for impulse purchases and gift-giving, while delivering features that address real EDC frustrations. For a market segment that's often driven by hype over functionality, genuine expert endorsement carries serious weight.
