For today’s review let’s look at the new Thrunite Archer Mini, an AAA-sized light with a tail switch, sealed 10400 lithium ion battery, and integrated charging. Thanks to Thrunite for sending this to me to take a look at with you.
Here is the packaging it’s just a thin white box with a pull-out plastic tray. The only accessories that come with the light are the pocket clip, USB-A to C charging cable, and manual. The battery is preinstalled and sealed (nonreplaceable).
Construction and Design
This is a simple flashlight in terms of design. It looks like the head or tail might unscrew but they are sealed. The light is smooth with no knurling or grip, to be honest, I don’t miss it here. The eswitch in the tail does stand proud and this can cause some accidental activations in the pocket so you will want to use lockout.
The head of the light unscrews enough to expose the USB-C charging port and LED indicator light. It’s a captured design so it doesn’t screw off entirely. There is a retention ring that can be unscrewed on the front of the light to remove the TIR optic and expose the LED.
Retention & Carry
The light features a snap on dual direction pocket clip that fits only in the tail position. It carries in the pocket deeply. I will note that with the raised and exposed button, I had issues with this light coming on in my front pocket unintentionally fairly frequently if the light was not in lockout mode. The good news is lockout is easy to access by just holding the button while the light is on until it shuts off and blinks twice. There is also a lanyard in the package if you wish to use it.
Size & Weight
I measured the length of this light at 83mm, diameter at the minimum on the body at 14mm, and maximum diameter on the head at 17.2mm. Weight with the battery and clip came in at 35.9g just 1.26oz. The light is IPX8 water-rated and drop rated to 1.5M.
LED & Beam
The Archer mini is using an SST20 LED with a TIR Optic. I measured the tint at 5594 CCT on my Opple meter and a RA (CRI) of 63. So surprisingly on the cool side of neutral white. However, the LED does have a tint that’s pretty green, especially on lower output modes, a known characteristic of the SST20. The beam is a pleasant chape out of the TIR optic, good for the range of tasks this light will be doing. There is a very minimal amount of PWM here on low, and none on high.
Output Table
Heat & Runtime
I did my runtime tests with the internal 320mAh battery. Turbo stayed near the rated number just shy of 3 minutes before stepping down to 150 lumen output for 50 minutes and then stepping down to zero for a full runtime of 1:07:00. Heat during this time peaked at about 31C.
I also did a comparison with high vs low modes. As you would expect low at only 20 lumens lasts a considerable amount of time 8:26:00 and is very consistent.
UI
The UI here is very simple but different from what I have seen on most other lights. It’s a 2 mode light and from off a single quick press turns the light on in low, to get to High, you just double press while on or from off. To step down to low from high you have to shut the light off and start from the beginning. While on if you long-press when turning it off, the light will go to lockout mode without a visual indicator. So for me, this is frustrating, only because it’s not how I expect the light to use. Most people won’t have an issue with this.
Recharging
The Archer Mini has onboard USB-C charging that can be found, after partially unscrewing the captured head of the light. Underneath you will see the charging port, and a small LED opposite it to give charging status when recharging. It stays red when charging, and goes blue when charged. The light charges with no issue via C to C cables as well.
Recharging the sealed 320mAh 10400 battery from when the light shuts off to full took 1:06:00 at a maximum speed of 0.32A, so right at a 1C charging speed. The light will operate while charging.
Final Thoughts
It’s good to see something different than just a traditional AAA style light. I like Thrunite has chosen to conceal the USB-C charging port here as it is more secure than a more traditional silicone cover. That said it’s a sealed design so you can’t replace the internal 10400 battery, or use Alkaline/NiMH batteries in a pinch which is nice thing to have for a light this size.
The LED here is just slightly cool white, but with a pretty strong green tinge. The beam pattern with the TIR is good. I find the user interface here to be a little frustrating, just because it’s different than 99% of the other flashlights I own and test. This has gotten better the more I use it, and it’s an issue most people won’t have. I think it’s pretty well thought out but for me will take more practice.
It’s pretty affordable for everything it brings, but this isn’t going to be the light I reach for when I want a AAA sized light, just because of the UI and LED tint. That’s not to say this is a bad light, it’s just not something that’s currently going to displace others from my pocket with more traditional UI’.
Today I have one I am excited to bring you, it’s from a New brand on the Channel with Fenix and the TK20R V2. Through the years I have gotten a lot of questions on Fenix and what I thought of specific models and I and I just didn’t have the experience to answer, so I was excited when Fenix reached out to start working together. This is the first of 2 reviews for Fenix you will see in the coming weeks.
The TK20R V2 is an updated light that’s using a Luminis SFT70 LED, producing 3000 lumens, has onboard USB-C charging of the 21700 battery. You can check out more at https://www.fenixlighting.com/The light I was sent is preproduction, and actually has a Luminus SST70 LED, however that has been changed in the production light to a Luminis SFT70 LED.
I received a preproduction light, and final packaging was not ready at this time. Accessories that came with mine included a USB-A to C charging cable, the light, and the branded button top protected 21700 battery (ARB-L21-5000). Mine came with a velcro patch as well, not sure if this is normal or not. Other things that are expected to come with the production model include a lanyard, holster, 2 spare orings, user manual and warranty card.
Construction & Design
I am only going to hit the high points here, and let the photos and video do the rest of the talking. The light is made from T6061 aluminum and nicely anodized black. At the tail cap you have 2 protruding buttons, a larger round mechanical switch that takes a good amount of force to push, and then a smaller rectangle mode button. The light does not tail stand as a result.
The pocket clip only mounts on the rear of the light. The body tube has concentric ring knurling like texture on the body, this provides a good amount of grip and looks nice I think.
The recharging port cover is worth noting here, instead of using silicone rubber covers like many manufactures do to seal the USB-C ports, Fenix’s solution on the TK20R V2 is to have a retained aluminum cover that twists one full revolution to reveal the port. It has orings at the top and bottom and lots of anodized threads, so it’s silky smooth. Also under this port cover is the battery level indicator and recharging status LED. This just makes sense to me and has nothing to catch, or get in the way like the silicone covers sometimes do.
Internally there is a stiff spring at the front of the light as well as in the tail, threads are smooth, square cut and a bit dry. Up front the head is glued in place but the bezel is removable. There is a crenulated bezel made of aluminum protecting the AR glass lens, deep smooth reflector and nicely centered LED.
Retention
Since this is a pre production prototype I don’t have the lanyard or holster that the light will ship with in it’s final form. What I can talk about is the pocket clip. It only attaches at the rear of the light and is relatively narrow for the lights size. It’s stiff and does a good job of retaining the light in my front pocket, with about 1” of the light sticking out.
Size & Weight
I measured the length at 152mm, maximum diameter at the head at 34.1mm, minimum diameter in the body at 26mm. I measured the weight here with the battery and clip at 203.2g or 7.17oz so a little on the heavy side. The light is IPX8 water rated and drop resistant to 1.5M.
LED & Beam
The Fenix TK20R V2 is using the Luminis SFT70 LED in cool white. The light I was sent is preproduction, and actually has a Luminus SST70 LED, however that has been changed in the production light to a Luminis SFT70 LED.My Opple meter shows it as 6035k and 67 CRI when on in turbo. In lower lumen modes it warms up slightly to around 5600k and has a notably green tinge to the beam to my eye. The beam has a pronounced hot spot in the center and minimal spill with some tint shift noted. Parasitic Drain was measured at a very low 1.8uA. There was very minimal PWM here, it’s basically constant current.
Below are the official outputs from Fenix. I will note the mode spacing is pretty good to the eye here.
Official Total Outputs for the SFT70 verison
Turbo – 3000 Lumens
High – 1000 Lumens
Medium – 350 Lumens
Low – 150 Lumens
Eco – 30 Lumens
Strobe – 3000 Lumens
Heat & Runtime
For all of my runtime tests I used the included 5000mAh battery and measured the % of relative output change, not total output (lumens). Starting with Turbo it lasts for about 2:20 before reaching equilibrium. During this time the light peaks at about 45C. It runs at this equilibrium very steadily out to the 3 hour mark.
I ran the same test and compared turbo to high and to medium modes for total runtime. You can see in the graph that High in green had a few more stepdowns but ended up at a very similar total runtime as turbo. Medium is a very flat output curve out to 7:40:00 mark where it begins stepping down several times, eventually shutting off at 9:18:00 when LVP on the battery kicks in at 2.89v.
UI
UI here is very simple. The light has 2 buttons on the rear tailcap of the light. There is the larger power button which Fenix is calling the Tactical switch, it’s a forward clicky switch with momentary, and then the smaller button which they are calling the function switch. You can half press the tactical switch to turn the light on in the last mode used before locking fully on. Once on you use the function switch to cycle through the 5 modes in a linear manner. The light does have memory mode. At anytime you can press and hold the function switch to get to strobe mode.
Recharging
I already talked about how the recharging port works on the TK20R V2, it’s under the aluminum nut that unscrews from the base of the head. It’s nice robust design. Also inside that port is your LED battery status indicator and charge indicator. When recharging it starts as red, and goes green when charged. The light is not capable of being used when charged. It does support C to C charging but has no PD charging support.
The light is powered by a Fenix branded button top, protected 21700 battery (ARB-L21-5000) with a capacity of 5000mAh. I tested the capacity with my Vapcell S4 Plus charger and came away with 4863mAh. I tried the light with an unprotected button top battery and had no issues.
Charging itself using the onboard USB-C port and included battery from LVP at 2.89v to full at 4.226v took 2:38:00. The light has a soft start charging when the battery is low before it jumps up to about 3A at the very beginning, and it falls as the battery charges. So a bit of a different curve then what I typically see.
Final Thoughts
I am excited to see Fenix on the channel. It’s a brand that I can find locally at two different sporting goods stores, and a LGS, which I think can be appealing to many people if you need something of quality and don’t have the time to wait for an online order. Of course they can be found online as well.
As for the Fenix TK20R V2, It’s a pretty nice semi tactical light. The controls are easy to use, and strobe is easy to access if you want it. It has a useful beam that’s a good combination of flood and throw without making too many compromises. That said it is still cool white, and at lower tints the LED does have a pretty strong green tinge neither are my personal preference but at the higher end of the consumer market where this light is aimed won’t care like enthusiasts do. The USB Port cover design here is really nice, and I am surprised more lights don’t do something like this.
You can pickup this new release and other Fenix products at https://www.fenixlighting.com/ I will have a link in the description.
Folomov is back on the channel after a few years break with their new EDC C2. It’s a very small “EDC” style light running a 14300 battery, and a Cree XT-E LED producing 525 lumens. I am going to try and keep this one short but still through. Thanks to Folomov for sending this to me to take a look at.
The name of this light is confusing. So to understand this you have to understand that in 2019 Folmov released a small light called the EDC C2. The new light is has printed on it “EDC” however the marketing material and manual say it’s the C2. I asked Folmov about this and they said it’s the same name as the old but a different design, LED, UI, with a similar battery. A real head scratcher why they would call the two the same when they are similar but quite different. So prepare for confusion in the market place for the purposes of this review I am going to call it the EDC.
Packaging is a small retail box in orange and gray will all the relevant info on the outside. Included accessories are the pocket clip, the 520mA 14300 battery, 2 extra orings, manual and USB-A to MicroUSB charging cable.
Construction and Design
The light is made from aluminum, anodized black, with no construction or anodizing issues. The overall design is basic, the tail is flat and non magnetic. There is no knurling on the light and all the surfaces are smooth. Only the rear tail cap is removable and it’s not interchangeable with the previous model. Internally only the rear has a short spring, the front is a brass post.
The button is an eswitch, with a silicone/plastic cover, with no LED under. The front bezel is brass, very flat and holds in the diffused TIR style optic.
Retention
Your main retention is the pocket clip on this light. It’s a captured snap on style clip, and is in a tip up configuration only. The clip has plenty of room for pocket material. Mine is secure however its slightly away from the body. The very end of the clip is flared out and this makes it easier to snag on things like a seat belt.
The you could attach a lanyard (Not included), although there isn’t a dedicated mounting place on the light itself, I think the idea is to attach via the hold in the clip. Not the most secure design. You could put a split ring here to attach as a keychain light but again not the most secure option.
Size & Weight
Length is 42.4mm, minimum diameter on the body is 16.1g, maximum diameter is 17mm at the head. Weight with battery and clip is 24.2g. The light is IPX 8 water rated and drop rated to 2 meters.
LED & Beam
The LED being used here is a Cree XT-E LED in a very cool white behind a TIR style reflector to diffuse the light. My Opple meter measured between 5400 and 6100k with a 77 CRI but to my eye it’s cooler then that, probably closer to 6500k. The beam coming out of the TIR reflector is fairly diffused with a huge hot spot creating the flood and minors spill. A good beam for EDC. PWM is very minimal on all modes and fast.
Parasitic Drain was measured at 135uA which is pretty significant. This was a problem with the previous model and this light actually has a slightly higher drain rate. That said Folomov says this light is still good for 166 days of standby, but my recommendation would be to mechanically lock out the light instead to avoid the drain issue. There is a pretty big jump between high and turbo here, other then that mode spacing is good.
Official Output numbers
Turbo – 525 Lumens
High – 150 Lumens
Medium – 50 Lumens
Low – 10 Lumens
Moon – 1 Lumen
Heat & Runtime
For my Runtime tests I did my usual tests of comparing the percentage of relative output of the light while measuring runtimes here. Starting in Turbo it lasts a good 3 minutes before it starts dropping all while heat climes to 45C out at the 4ish minute mark. Turbo steps down considerably and then starts a very linear decline starting at about 30 minutes. Runtime out to FL1 at 10% is roughly 1:20:00 however the light still produces light out to 5 hours, just very very little between 0-1% of relative output. LVP Kicks in at 2.806v.
I did the same comparison test but with Turbo compared to high output. High on this light is only 150 lumens so it was able to sustain this for longer, the output here is very linear so possibly not regulated or it didn’t make enough heat to actually regulate itself. FL1 is out to 3:20:00, but again it keeps running just making very little light out to 7 hours.
UI
The light has a low, medium, high, turbo mode progression. It has a memorized mode feature as well. Double click unfortunately takes you to strobe instead of turbo. Once in strobe you can double click again to cycle between Strobe, SOS, and beacon modes. Personally I find these blinking modes unnecessary on a light this small and would have preferred a shortcut to turbo.
Moonlight mode can be activated by long pressing when the light is off. To turn the light off from any mode you have hold the button for half a second.
Recharging
The light runs off of a 14300 battery with a capacity of 525mAh. It has onboard microUSB charging built into the battery. 14300 batteries are not common, a quick google search doesn’t bring up any listings for them and Folomov doesn’t sell replacements direct but mentions their resellers may in the future.
Charging is slow here which is what you want. It took 1:53:00 to charge from LVP at 2.806v to full at 4.128v. Max changing speed I saw was about 0.26A. No problems detected with the charging curve.
Final Thoughts
My final thoughts on the EDC C2 (2022 Version) is that it’s an interesting space to be in due to it’s size. It’s small enough yet functional that this would make a great keychain light, but it doesn’t have a solid keychain attachment point.
Unfortunately what I loved about the older Folomov EDC C2 was the warm (3000k) high CRI (98 CRI) Nichia 21A LED. The new light however uses a far inferior LED in my opinion, as it’s low CRI and very cool white. It’s user interface is less useful for a light this size, with a double click going to strobe instead of turbo. This is a small enough light your not going to use it to blind someone and practically I don’t know anyone that actually uses strobe for signaling.
The new light is smaller, has a better pocket clip, and a nice TIR reflector, while not giving up any battery capacity. It’s still plagued by the high parasitic drain though that the older model had. So I have mixed feelings on the new EDC C2, it’s not bad but I don’t think the sum of the parts are an improvement for me over the outgoing model, mainly due to the LED being used here. However I am a tint snob and prefer warmer tinted lights to cooler tint lights and that’s a personal preference and your opinion may vary.
Today I have a fun one that I think you will want to stick around and watch, with the Wurkkos TS21. This is a newish light that Wurkkos has come out with, it’s a compact design, has 3 emitters, runs off a standard 21700 battery, uses the Andruil 2 firmware, and has onboard USB-C charging. Wurkkos did send this to me to look at and review, and they have offered a 20% discount on Amazon which is in the description if you’re interested in picking one up.
Black from Amazon WARNING THIS IS RUNNING Anduril 1 Read the listing carefullyhttps://amzn.to/3Jb3byH Use code 5SDBMRK8 to save 20%
More options from Wurkkos direct are at the end of the review.
Packaging & Accessories
Wurkkos has a pleasant but basic white box with orange ends that largely displays their name in the middle. On the side is a sticker telling you what model you have inside, body color as well as emitter choice. Inside the light was in bubble wrap and continued the 5000mAh 21700 battery, pocket clip, Lanyard, extra orings, a USB-A to C Charging cable, and literature.
Construction & Design
The TS21 is made from aluminum and in anodized in a variety of colors. It’s currently available in Champagne (A metallic tan color), Metal Gray, Black, Red (What I have here), and a splatter camouflage. The anodizing here is god, but I have noticed my red isn’t super durable, this isn’t uncommon with aluminum anodizing because black is the most durable color available.
The tailcap is flat, and magnetic, not super strong but enough to hold the weight of the light. The lanyard hole is an eyelet and is a little sharp. The body tube is nicely scalloped and completely reversible. It has groves milled in to accept the pocket clip on either end.
The head grows in side, and contains minimal heat syncing. The button press feels about what you would expect from an eswitch, but the button itself kind of rattles around some, not the best feeling in the world. There are LED indicators under the switch that are used to show the charge status, and act as a locator LED. They go Red, Blue, and Amber in color. At the front there is a stainless steel bezel with large but shallow crenulations, a glass lens and a triple TIR optic. Note this isn’t the standard size you have seen in other lights like the FW3A, etc, it’s slightly larger.
Thread are anodized, square cut and nicely lubricated from the factory. Internally, the front is just a button contact, out the rear there is a large gold coated spring, and the tail cap is magnetic. It’s just strong enough to hold the light on a painted metal surface with a slight amount of slippage.
Retention
Retention options are the dual direction pocket clip, which allows you to put the light on a hat and run a makeshift headlamp, or use more traditionally as a pocket clip. It’s reasonably deep carry and will mount on the rear or front of the light. Your lanyard attachment points are either on the tailcap of the light, or on the pocket clip. As mentioned the mount on the tailcap is a little sharp and can be a hot spot for larger hands. Speaking of fit in the hands it’s pretty good, It’s a reasonably compact design and provides a modest amount of grip.
Size & Weight
I measured the TS21 at 113.3mm (4.46”) in length, maximum diameter at the head at 28mm (1.1”) and minimum diameter on the body at 26.06mm (1.02”). Weight with the battery and clip installed came in at 158.7g or 5.10oz. The light is IPX water rated and here it is compared with a few similar style lights and the popular Wurkkos FC11.
LED & Beam
The TS21 has 3 Luminus SST-20 Emitters, mine shipped with the 4000k tint but 5000k and 6000k are also available. These are behind a narrow TIR optic and it creates a very nice narrow semi floody beam. It’s a very practical and useful beam for a variety of tasks in my opinion. The bezel does interfere ever so slightly at short ranges with the very outside of the spill with the narrow optics here. With my not so scientific Opple meter I registered 3780k with 95 CRI. You have to take those CRI numbers with a grain of salt, but they are high enough to consider “high CRI” for me. It’s a pleasant warmer tint.
Officially Wurkkos rates this as making 3500 lumens with 217M of throw. That may be a little optimistic with these specific warmer LED’s and I suspect they achieved this using the cooler tint LED’s that typically have a small performance advantage. This is a FET driving light and there is PWM here, it’s how ramping is achieved. It’s not noticeable to the eye for me but my equipment can pick it up. Personally I didn’t notice any whining during ramping. For me Turbo pulled 7.8A at the tailcap with the included battery, so you don’t need a particularly high drain battery for this light. See my night shots section of the video version of this review for a full demonstration of the beam and some comparison with other lights.
Heat & Runtime
So for my heat and runtime tests I used the included Wurkkos branded (standard non proprietary) 5000mAh flat top battery. I calibrated the light to a 60C and ran two rounds of tests. The graphs are using the FL1 standard so 100% of relative output is taken at the 30 second mark. First was my standard Turbo test, where I take the light to its absolute top output and just let it go. In doing this I saw the light almost immediately start stepping down at about 25 seconds it then ran at about 100% output for a minute and a half as heat peaked just under 50C. This makes me rethink my thermal calibration may need to be revisited. I won’t lie if I said I didn’t struggle with this a bit. Anyways output continues to decrease and it stabilizes between 30-45% of relative output for another nearly 4 hours. Total runtime down to 1% relative output was just shy of 5 hours.
I then ran a runtime which was the top of the default ramp curve. For this is was able to sustain 100% relative output for a little longer and the total output graph was pretty similar. Active thermal management shows itself in both modes well with the light increasing output as it cools even though the battery voltage is declining. This is something Andruil does well. LVP was measured at 2.994V.
UI
The TS21 when it came out originally came with the Andruil 1.0 firmware by Toykeeper, but they are now shipping it with Andruil 2.0. This is my first light with Andruil 2.0 so it had a bit of a learning curve. I won’t pretend to be an Andruil expert, but I will say the diagram on how to navigate the light is absolutely critical to learning it and doing more advanced settings like setting the thermal calibration which I highly recommend doing.
The light ships in Simple UI mode and this is a benefit of Anduril 2.0 as it’s your basic flashlight functions like turning on, increasing and decreasing brightness, battery check and lockout. It’s much easier to not end up in an advanced mode or get lost. Much better for more novice users or someone who wants something easier, that said it’s not calibrated so you can expect your runtimes to be less, especially at high outputs.
Your basic functions are ramping (Which can be switched to steps with 3 Clicks once on), double press to go to top of ram (Technically not turbo). In advanced mode you have the full range of features including all the blinking modes, changing the color of the auxiliary channel which on the TS21 is on the button, etc. You can see I somehow unintentionally turned my button LED to be on all the time in orange. You can of course go in and disable this. I think in time as I use Andruil 2 more I will like it but right now it’s a little confusing and not muscle memory yet.
Recharging
Recharging is done via the onboard USB-C charging port built into the light. The silicone port cover here fits well but is rounded so it does help it roll on it’s side. A note on the battery here, it’s a flat top 21700 that’s non proprietary which is fantastic to see. The light supports charging via USB-C PD but doesn’t benefit from a speed increase as a result.
Recharging from LVP at 2.994v to full at 4.17v took 2:53:00 at a maximum of 1.85A at the very beginning of charging, with the bulk of charging a bit lower then that. This is well under 1C for this battery and safe for long term use.
Final Thoughts
Wurkkos has made their name in offering quality lights that appeal to enthusiasts at affordable prices and the TS21 is no different. It’s nice and compact, I don’t generally EDC a 21700 light because of it’s size but this is small and compact enough that I would if I was anticipating needing the output or runtime here. Because of that size though and this having 3 emitters it does build heat quickly and ramps down. This may be a slight disappointment if your not used to that, my advice would be to calibrate the light, raise that ceiling but also don’t run the light on the maximum output if you don’t need it.
Multiple body color options from launch, LED Tint choices including warm, neutral tints, and high CRI are great to see at this price range. The number of manufactures that offer this keep declining and I think it’s an important feature. I hope consumers appreciate this complexity this adds to production and inventory with lots of additional SKU’s.
Andruil is an enthusiasts UI for sure, it’s not super simple, but Andruil 2 with it’s separation of simple UI from Advanced UI improves this so it’s still a easy to use flashlight if you want it to be without all the complications, but those power features are there too if you want. Just make sure you have a diagram handy if you want to venture into the Advanced UI.
So I can recommend this one both to new users, and enthusiasts. It’s a compact light with good performance, emitter tint options, high CRI, and body colors with onboard charging. This updated version I tested here today is a good way to try out Andruil 2 if you don’t have a light with it. With the coupons Wurkkos has provided I can get the light shipped to me for under $40 next day with a battery, which I think is a great deal.
How to Purchase the TS21
Pickup the Wurkkos TS21 from Amazon and save with the coupons below, or from Wurkkos direct (no coupon)
Diffuser for the TS21 https://wurkkos.com/products/wurkkos-white-diffuser-for-ts21-soft-composite-materials-bright-indoor-reading-hiking-tent-lighting-with-malleability?VariantsId=10156
Acebeam has a new dual purpose tactical weapon light that can also double as an EDC with the new P15. It’s designed to easily transition between the two uses and features a number of optimizations to work for both uses. It’s available in 4 colors with a variety of accessories too. Thanks to Acebeam for sending this to me to look at and review.
The P15 comes in 4 colors, Black, Orange, Green, and Dark Green which is what I have here. The colors are really nice, Packaging is well done, with a full color magnetic closure box but not much info on the outside. Inside on my standard edition light I received an Acebeam Lanyard, 2 extra orings, allen key, 2 extra screws, the dual contact (proprietary) 18650 battery, and a proprietary charging cable.
Construction & Design
Let’s talk about the design elements and construction on the Acebeam P15. Construction wise this feels and looks like a nicely built light in my opinion. Everything is nicely machined and finished. Edges are chamfered and the anodizing is flawless. This Dark Green color that I have here is my favorite, I wish more lights were finished this way. There is a good amount of laser engravings on the light, something is visible from almost every angle.
Let’s start at the tail, the light does tail stand, the switch is electronic, metal and flush. It’s hard to feel with gloves on but you can stab blindly and it generally works. There is a rotating locking ring in the rear as well to lock in your various accessories like the charging cable, tactical ring, or remote pressure switch on the side of the light.
The body tube is smooth except for ribbing in the middle that adds a bit of grip and style. Threads are square cut and raw (but with grease). Internally there are springs on both sides. The head is pretty minimal in design with some basic milling for style mainly. The front bezel has some crenulations that allow light to escape when head down. Inside you have that double AR glass, and a smooth reflector.
Retention
Retention is one of the main differences on this light with it’s dual purpose design ethos of being weapon mountable and quickly converted to EDC. Starting first with EDC, there is the large pocket clip that dominates the light. It’s not a traditional pocket clip at all, it stands proud of the light quite a bit more then what we are used to seeing, that’s because it’s mounted on a “Scout” mount. As a result it’s not deep carry, but fairly secure. Given that I think it’s a better fit on a vest than in jeans pocket. The included lanyard can be attached at the rear of the clip or in the middle. The scout mount can be removed by taking the hex screws off the clip and then using your own smaller allen keys to remove it from the light if you wish. Acebeam sells a tactical ring that can be used in place of the clip if you wish too.
To convert to a weapon mount, you simply remove the two clip screws to reveal the standard scout mount you can then slide into any compatible mount. While easy to convert it’s not a tooless design.
Size & Weight
I measured the length at 129.7mm, maximum diameter at the at the tail near the clip 34.5mm, minimum diameter on the body at 21.7mm. With the battery and clip installed the light comes in at 5.26oz, or 149.2g. The light is IPX8 water rated.
LED & Beam
The P15 is using the Luminus SFT40 HI LED in an advertised 6500k tint with an advertised maximum 1700 lumens resulting in 330 meters of throw. On my unscientific Opple meter I recorded 6000K in turbo with a Ra (CRI) of about 65 and no measurable flicker. The beam is what you would expect, from a flat top LED, very throwy with a focused hot spot in the center and minimal spill. The crenulated bezel’s edges are visible in the spill but just a little.
Official Outputs
Turbo 1700 Lumens – 27,225 Candela
High 600 Lumens
Mid 200 Lumens
Low 45 Lumens
Ultra Low 2 Lumens
Heat & Runtime
Let’s talk about the runtimes of the P15. Tubo lasts for 2 minutes before stepping down to 40% of relative output. It then continues on like this for 2 more hours till it takes a sharp decline for a total runtime of 2:18:00. During this time peak temp was 50C which is pretty controlled. I also ran a medium mode output and it’s very stable for 2:50:00 and then declines and shuts off for a total output of 3:12:00.
UI
UI is simple on my version here without any of the accessories. From off, long press to turn on in firefly, long press to go into low, and the light will keep cycling up to medium and high. Double click to go to Turbo while on, and triple press to go to strobe. You can’t mechanically lock the light out due to those anodized threads but it does have electronic lockout that works pretty well. The quick function switch and pressures sensitive switch add other UI elements, but since I don’t have those I won’t comment on them directly.
Recharging
Let’s talk about the battery in the Acebeam P15. It’s a 3100mAh 18650 that’s dual polarity on the one end with the plastic separator ring. We have seen other manufactures use these same type of cells usually on larger lights. I think Acebeam is doing it here to facilitate charging and the remote pressure switch without a dual tube light design to keep things slim. The bad news is it’s semi proprietary.
So charging is accomplished via the pogo pins style connectors in the rear of the light. It comes with a special cable that plugs in via USB. It slides in from the rear and is a tight fit. It definitely takes some effort to get it there since the connector is a softer rubber/plastic. Once in place you can lock it in by turning the mechanical switch on the rear switch. This is also used for the other accessories.
Charging took 2:27:00 to charge from LVP at 2.945V to full at 4.215v, so right where Acebeam claims. Fastest charging rate I saw was about 1.4V. The light will not turn on while charging.
Final Thoughts
I like the P15 EDC Tactical and the concept that Acebeam was trying to achieve with it. I like that they brought out multiple colors of the light from the beginning instead of dribbling them out over time. That said the light does make concessions in it’s design to do both tasks. Mainly the clip for me isn’t deep carry enough to create a light that I want to EDC in my front pockets, for me it’s more of a jacket light or something to go on a bag, that’s ok. As a weapon light I think this would do pretty well, they seem to have thought of most things, and it’s probably a little better as a weapon light than an EDC in my opinion.
This is the first light I have tried with the Luminis SFT40 HI LED. It’s pretty great for being cool white, without any major tint shift at lower outputs and creates a nice tight beam to throw well for its size. Hopefully we see this in future lights and from other manufactures.
The numerous different accessories with this light are nice as well, something for everyone aimed at both the tactical side if you wish, the P15 Defender kit will be the model you want to pick up, or the P15 EDC Tactical for more EDC uses but still have the ability to mount if you wish. With the P15 the choice is up to you and I can recommend it with those reservations about EDC use.
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