Tag: EDC Flashlight

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Acebeam E70 Mini Review(Triple Nichia 519a, 2000 Lumens, 18650)

Acebeam has a new light, in the E70 Mini, it’s a smaller version of the E70 but this time it’s running on an 18650, and runs triple Nichia 519a LED’s. The Nicha 519a LED is the new hotness in the enthusiast flashlight communities. It’s the successor to the popular Nichia 219b, but the new version is brighter, and more importantly, has become known for being very neutral and rosy if you want. Thanks to Acebeam for sending this to me, and these thoughts and opinions have not been influenced by anyone. 

 

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Pickup the Acebeam E70 Mini from Acebeam Direct at https://shrsl.com/3m7bt and save 10% (on any Acebeam) with the code “Liq10”

Or get it on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3AUDYrF

Package & Accessories

The E70 Mini arrived in a white retail package with a clear window showing the light inside. Pretty minimal info on the package, but it is surprisingly compact. Inside the accessories and extras included, a 3100mAh button top protected 18650 battery with onboard USB-C charging, Short USB-A to USB-C charging cable, Acebeam Lanyard, spare o-rings, warranty card, and manual. 

 

Construction & Design

The E70 Mini for all intents and purposes a scaled-down version of its larger brother the E70 with a few minor exterior changes. For now, it’s available in aluminum that’s anodized matte black. It’s a premium feeling of anodizing, and the inner tube is the same blue aluminum we have seen on other E70 versions and the RX Ryder. I would expect to see different colors or materials of the E70 Mini at some time but for now just aluminum.

 

The tail features the same style of a flat metal button over the eswitch, it has a shiny finish that matches the clip well and is probably made of stainless steel like the clip. It has some interesting mounting options at the rear I will cover a bit later in the review. The light will tailstand too but it’s not magnetic.

The body tube has the same milled pattern as the E70, with a similar inner liner of blue aluminum and at the top 6 slots for 1 x 6mm tritium tubes, where the head has slots for 6 more. Threads on the body are square cut, and anodized. Inside you can see the spring at the tail, and head. Longer batteries or protected batteries are required, here, unprotected flat top 18650s are just too short to make contact. The bezel on the head is made from the same steel as the clip and rear switch. It has a crenulated bezel but it’s not sharp. The bezel does unscrew pretty easily too which should make maybe dedoming those LEDs (A popular thing to do with the Nichia 519s) possible without too much effort. The TIR optic sits behind an anti-reflective coated piece of glass with an o’ring keeping everything watertight.

 

Retention

The rear of the light has 3 wing like parts spaced out evenly around the light, and each is unique, you have the stock clip that comes on the light, with spacing that’s slightly wider than the more standard “Steel Flame” style clip, but to the left, there are threaded holes that fit the standard “Steel Flame” sizing, and then the third has larger unthreaded holes for the lanyard. 

The clip itself is stamped steel but slightly curved and uses a milled piece to make it stand out a bit. I found this to be a fantastic clip. It reminded me more of a custom light with this clip than a production light. It carries pretty deeply in the pocket too. I like the glossy finish here, it seems to almost take on a little color with oils from your hands. I carried this around the 4th of July holiday and found it to be nice and secure in shorts. 

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 111.34mm in length, 25.96mm at the head, and 23.39mm at the body. Weight with the Acebeam battery and clip installed came in at 124.8g or 4.4oz. It’s impact resistant to 1M and water-rated to IP68 (2 Meters). Here are a few photos of similar sized or spec’d lights that I have in my collection. 

 

LED & Beam

As mentioned the E70 Mini is using the latest LED from Nichia the 519a. This LED has quickly gained a cult-like following over on /r/flashlight and on the BLF forums because of its great neutral tint, that leans to the rosy side of things and high CRI. With my Opple meter, I measured 4973k and 97 CRI. The DUV of the light is very neutral as you can see. It’s the most neural emitter I have seen in a production light this year for sure. No PWM was observed either.

The TIR optic here produces a large even hotspot with basically no spill. It’s in that middle ground between thrower and flood, good for EDC type users, and the optic does a good job of diffusing that there are 3 LEDs here. I will be interested to see if people dedoam the light as that show make it throw a bit more, and rosy up the tint. I measured the parasitic draw at 72.1µA.

 

Outputs

I measured outputs in my Texas Ace PVC Lumen tube and came a bit short in most of the categories, but everything was within 80% of the claimed lumens after 30 seconds.

 

Heat & Runtime

I tested my runtimes with the optional 3100mAh Acebeam battery. Turbo was good for right at a minute before stepping down to around 500 lumens. The heat peaked at 57C (135F) at the 1:15 minute mark, so this is mostly a thermal-based step-down. You can trigger turbo manually again and I did this during filming some night shots a few times and the light did get hot enough where it was too hot to hold. Running from turbo after the initial step down is pretty flat for 1:45:00 then gradual step downs for another 45 minutes till it shuts off.  

I did runtime measurements for Turbo, High, Mide 2 and Mid1 as well and plotted them all on one graph here. Turbo and High give the same total runtime which was a little bit of a surprise. Mid 2 was good for 3:51:00, and Mid1 shut off just shy of 8 hours. 

 

UI

The UI here is as far as I can tell the same as what was in the full-size E70. It’s a little different from other lights but easy enough to understand once you know you have to double press to turn on and it’s this element that builds safety into not turning on accidentally. 

 

To turn the light on you can double press the tail switch to turn the light on in low, the light does have a memory so if it’s recent it will turn on in the last mode used excluding turbo. Once on, long press and hold to advance into the 4 available modes. Double press to turbo, triple to strobe. The light also has moonlight mode which you can access from off by long pressing, as well as lockout. Lastly, to turn off it’s a simple quick press to turn off.

 

Recharging

The Acebeam E70 Mini doesn’t have onboard USB charging. Instead, it has an optional Acebeam battery with onboard USB-C charging on its side. I had no issues charging via USB-C PD, or C to C cables on a variety of chargers. The battery is a 3100mAh button-top protected cell that I measured at 3049mAh in my Vapcell S4 Plus charger. 

I measured LVP of the cell at 2.931V and charged the battery to full at 4.131V in 3:02:00. Charging curve looked good and the battery charged at an average of around 1A, definitely on the conservative side. The battery does seem to have a powerbank feature, that I can charge my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra with. With a meter and load, I was able to pull 2A without a problem. 

 

Final Thoughts

I had a positive review of the Acebeam E70, mine was in brass and has the High CRI LED, but it was too big and heavy for a front pocket EDC for me. The E70 Mini solves that problem, with the smaller size it still fits nicely into my hands, but the smaller diameter and lighter weight make it much more carryable. It’s still not a small 18650 light with its dual-wall construction but it’s a lot more doable. 

The best part for me might be the LEDs and beam pattern. The Nichia 519a LEDs live up to the hype for me. I have done LED Swaps on one of my Reylight LANs and a Reylight Pineapple Mini in Timascus where I dedomed it too and the result is just a pretty much perfect tint in my opinion. If you are a tint snob it’s a fantastic LED. It’s not the brightest LED available but it produces one of the best quality light/tints in my opinion right now. The TIR optic makes for a very usable beam too.

It’s not perfect, the UI here with the long press to turn on takes getting used to but it’s really only that small change. It’s not ideal in my opinion but it does provide extra protection so that it won’t come on accidentally in your pocket. It also doesn’t accept flat top unprotected batteries which I happen to have a fair number of. I do wish turbo lasted a bit longer before stepping down on its own too without retriggering, and the markings on the light don’t line up with the clip on my light. I do really like how they put some markings inside the battery tube to hide them.

This is probably going to be my new pick for someone wanting to spend between $50-100 on a 18650 sized flashlight with a tail eswitch, especially if LED and Tint is important to them. While there are cheaper ways to try a Nichia 519a LED this would be a great way to get into one with a great light around it. 

Pickup the Acebeam E70 Mini from Acebeam Direct at https://shrsl.com/3m7bt and save 10% (on any Acebeam) with the code “Liq10”

Or get it on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3AUDYrF

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Wuben X-0 Knight Review (EDC, LH351D, Kickstarter Preorder)

Wuben has a new EDC light they are currently offering via Kickstarter. It’s the X-0 Knight and it’s a twist on the right-angle light we typically think of in headlights but this time around more focused for EDC. It’s a modern design and a big chunky boi. Thanks to Wuben for sending this to me, if you are interested I will have a link to the Kickstarter preorder in the description below. The Kickstarter will be running through July 16th 2022.

 

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Check out the Wuben X-0 Knight on Kickstarter at https://bit.ly/39vySXB

 

Packaging & Accessories

This is a preproduction sample and really only came with a charging cable and spare orings. The clip and battery are preinstalled. The packaging and accessories will be different in the production version.

 

Construction & Design

The Wuben Knight is a twist on the right angle we more commonly see on headlamps. It has sharper, hard angles to it that to me are modern. They have 4 color options, the Black and white versions are made from aluminum with the black being normal hard anodized and the white being what they call Micro Arc Oxidations which is what I have. I thought this was a Cerakote finish at first and it has a silver tint to it. The other dark gray and Green are both made from titanium. The green is my favorite because it has a circuit board pattern anodized into it. 

The top has an operating and battery status indicator as well as a metal cover that acts as the USB-C port cover and the switch pad. It’s an interesting design, and while it doesn’t offer much water protection for the port, the port itself is waterproof. I will note, that because of this design using lockout is a must as this large switch is easy to press when carried. The hinged lid for lack of a better word is magnetically attracted. There are 2 sprung brass-colored magnets that it rests on. There was definitely some engineering that went into this. I will talk about the pocket clip in the retentions section and the lens in the LED section.

The body also features 4 milled slots and 2 on top, for 6mm x 1mm tritium slots if that’s your thing. At the bottom is the round magnetic cap. This is a strong magnet and has no trouble holding the light up. It does unscrew but they have chosen to make it a little difficult. I ended up using an adjustable jewelry wrench to get it open. Once unscrewed you can replace the 18350 battery inside.  

 

Retention

The W0 Knight is designed to be an EDC light and comes with a milled aluminum pocket clip preinstalled. It was quite close to the body and retention was good, however, I bent it pretty easily pulling it out of my pocket one day. It’s just slight and something I could probably fix if I removed the Torx screws and rebent it. It’s a reasonably deep clip but still kind of a chunky carry in the pocket due to the diameter here. The tail is magnetic here as well. There are milling marks in the clip, not sure if those will be tumbled out in production or not.

Using lockout is an absolute must if you’re going to EDC this in the pocket. When carried the lens is facing your pants, and it’s very easy to turn on with the large loose paddle over the switch. This will burn holes in people’s shorts and pants if you’re not careful. You can lock and unlock with 4 quick clicks. 

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 57mm, width at 33mm (From clip to lens), and depth at 24mm. I measured the weight at 2.94oz with clip and battery. The light is IP68 water rated. Important here to say that it’s the port itself is water-rated due to the construction. Here are a few comparisons with lights that I have that are most similar. 

 

LED & Beam

The Wuben X-0 Knight has 2 LED options, an Osram P9 LED, and a Samsung LH351D which I believe I have. I tested the light with my Opple meter saw 4950k tint with a CRI of 96. It’s a pleasant neutral white and the TIR optic is good for EDC tasks because you get that hot spot for a bit of throw, but also get a significant amount of flood while in a compact package. Mode Spacing here is reasonable from the moon at 1 lumen, to high at 250. However, Turbo is a huge jump up to 900 lumens. To the eye, it’s not as big as it seems but it’s still big. There was no PWM detected.

 

Output Measurements

Heat & Runtime

Turbo on the LH351D was good for right about 50 seconds before it reached it’s normal output around a measured 200 lumens. This lasted out to 2:15:00 which isn’t too bad for a 1100mAh battery. I did another runtime test comparing Turbo, to High, and Medium. Runtimes are expected with less bright modes being more efficient. The heat peaked around 35C which is just above body temperature so comfortable to hold in the hand.

 

UI

Default UI is pretty similar to many other flashlights. From off a quick press turns the light on in the last mode used, and then long-pressing causes the light to cycle in from moon to low to med to high. Double press to go to turbo. Direct to low can be accessed by long pressing when off. To get to strobe just double click when the light is off or on turbo. 

There is also a programable mode where you can slightly adjust the outputs of each mode, however, the manual only told about this and not actually how to do this. I presume they will fix this before the Kickstarters ship.

Locking is critical in this light and is easy to use, click four times quickly from off to lock and again do this to unlock.

 

Recharging

Recharging is done via the USB-C port on the top. It’s a semi-exposed port but has been waterproofed although debris could be a problem. The total charging time of the 1100mAh 18350 battery was 1:33:00 with a total charging rate right at 1A.

I will note here again that the battery is removable but tools are required to do so. I used a watch wrench but I think a pair of snap ring pliers would work but your chance of scratching would be much higher. It would be nice if Wuben included a simple tool here to help, or changed the milling in the bottom of the light so that you could use a coin. 

 

Final Thoughts

The Wuben X-0 Knight is advertised primarily as an EDC light. While most people think of right-angle lights more as headlamps they work pretty well as EDC too. For me this is probably a little bulkier than I want to carry with shorts on due to its diameter at least with shorts on. 

 

That said I think this is a unique design. I like the exterior look myself, and I like it’s being offered from the beginning with different colors and materials. It’s great they are offering it a neutral white and what appears to be a high CRI LED. I will again remind you if you pocket carry this please use lockout (4 fast clicks) or you have a strong risk of melted pockets)

I do think it would be great to see a small headstrap included so you could use it as a headlamp if you wanted. I do think some type of wrench should be included to help open the tail cap to change the battery out, otherwise, you really need a tool here to help you. 

One small note here is this is being offered as a Kickstarter preorder. Call me old-fashioned but I still think of Kickstarter as a way for small companies to get funding to turn around and make their first product. Wuben is a midsized flashlight manufacturer, well established for many years now. They don’t exactly fit the mold for a startup company, but they are not alone in using Kickstarter as a marketing platform. It seems to be the standard these days. The project has exceeded it’s funding goal so the risk of not getting your light should be minimal.

So some interesting design choices on this one make the exterior kind of unique but the inside seems to be a pretty solid EDC offering if the diameter isn’t an issue for you. Let me know what you think of it in the comments below.

 

Check out the Wuben X-0 Knight on Kickstarter at https://bit.ly/39vySXB

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Thrunite TN12 Pro (18650 EDC Thrower for under $50, 1900 Lumens)

Today I am looking at the Thrunite TN12 Pro, it’s a slim form factor 18650 light, optimized for a throw, and tactical applications, but can serve that EDC roll as well for those that prefer a tail cap switch and turbo shortcut. Thanks to Thrunite for sending this to me to review and show you guys.

 

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Buy the Thrunite TN12 Pro at Amazon https://amzn.to/3HikEpp

 

Packaging & Accessories

The packaging here is standard Thrunite, protective, nice but not over the top. Accessories that come with the light, is the 3400mAh button top protected 18650 battery, lanyard, orings, spare port cover, pocket clip, nylon holster, USB-A to C charging cable, and manual.

 

Design & Construction

The TN12 Pro is made of hard anodized 6061 Aluminium and features a mechanical switch in the rear with a textured button that is a shortcut to turbo. It has protective rings around it which feature a milled-out area for the lanyard. The pocket clip mounts at the rear. The body section has small, deeply milled lines that provide a significant amount of grip but shouldn’t rip things up. The head section is glued to the body. The head is similar to most other Thrunite designs with the same style silver button, with a voltage indicator LED in the middle with an antiroll ring around it. The bezel is not removable but does have rounded crenulations to allow light to leak out if placed face down. Inside the reflector is smooth and deep. The lens is AR coated. Inside the light has a fairly stout spring at the rear as well as the front. It’s a dual wall light to allow for the use of the front and rear buttons. 

A note on the name here, Thrunite has traditionally used the TN naming for lights that didn’t have onboard recharging and used TC for lights that had onboard charging. They through out history when choosing the name here as it’s a TN but does have onboard recharging. Labeling here is minimal just the brand and model number on the front, and directly opposite the required markings and serial numbers. Other brands should take note of how small and minimal this branding is. 

 

Retention

Retention options are several here, first, you have the branded lanyard that can attach at the tail if you wish. You also have the nylon holster the light comes with, it’s one that Thrunite uses with other lights this size, plastic Dring, sewed dring, elastic side, and soft interior. 

The last is the pocket clip which mounts at the rear of the light. It’s a dual direction clip so it can be clipped to a hat if you want. While this isn’t as deep of carry as I typically want on an EDC, you rarely get that on a tactical light, so the 0.85” that sits above the clip is ok. 

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 5.15”, minimum diameter at 0.94”, and maximum diameter at 1”. I measured the weight at 5.07oz with battery and clip. Thrunite rates the TN12 Pro as drop resistant to 1.5 meters and IPX-8 water rated.

The main competitor to the TN12 Pro is probably the Olight Warrior Mini 2. The Thrunite is larger in all dimensions as well as weight which came in 0.82oz heavier, without the magnetic tail cap properties of the Olight, although these are mainly for charging.

 

LED & Beam

The LED being used here is the Luminus SFT40 LED in cool white. I measured it with my Opple Meter at 6000k 65 CRI. It’s a flat top LED in a relatively small package. The resulting beam is a small hotspot and very minimal spill. The throw is this light’s main thing and it does that well out to a claimed 380 meters. Some people have complained about coil whine on high mode, but it’s not something I can personally hear here. There is PWM but it’s very fast. 

 

Output Measurements

Here is a chart for my measurements of outputs using my DIY Lumentube. Everything was pretty close except for Turbo I couldn’t quite get to the claimed 1900 lumens. 

 

Heat & Runtime

I will try to let the graphs do most of the talking in this section and point out a few high points. Turbo runtime was good for about 2 minutes, jumping from near 1800 lumens to 800, in what looks like a thermal regulation with temps reaching 56C. There is one more step down to 400 lumens gradually out to the 7-minute mark which is where Thrunite gets the 7-minute runtime number from.

Turbo and High modes had very similar output curves with the only difference is really where they start at. Medium mode ran out past 6 hours. In all modes, the light runs at the end in low/firefly for several hours. 

 

UI

UI is similar to Thrunite’s standard UI, but with direct access to only Turbo on the tail cap. The light has the normal Eswitch up front and mostly normal UI there. Long press from off to go to firefly, however long pressing again shuts it off instead of going to low. Once in low, you can press and hold to cycle between low, medium and high. To access turbo double press the front switch or just turn on the rear tail switch. To get to strobe triple-click the eswitch. There is memory mode, here when the eswitch is used for low, medium and high only. As a result of the construction here there is no mechanical lockout. 

 

I did notice one UI feature that I think maybe a bug. When in medium mode if you leave the light for a few seconds, hit the button again expecting to bump up to high mode, instead the light bumps down to low. 

 

Recharging

Recharging here is accomplished via USB-C port that is capable of charging via C to C and or PD. Max charge rate I saw was 1.7A without issue in a near-constant current charge mode till the end. The total charge time of the included 3500mAh 18650 from LVP at 2.93v was 2:46:00. Full charge was measured at 4.18v.

The port cover here is worth mentioning. Like many, it’s rubberized silicon that pushes in place. They have a little dovetail to help keep it in place, but I find it kind of hard to push in and keep in place when in use. I found if I push the cover in and then pull it to the front of the light, it’s easier to put it in the dovetail and keep it in place. 

 

Final Thoughts

I have mixed feelings on the TN12 Pro, it’s not radically different from other models, but it’s a pretty great value if you’re looking for a throwy 18650 with onboard USB-C charging, cool white, and instant-on Turbo via the tail cap. 

 

For me, this doesn’t meet my EDC needs, but this isn’t really where the design is focused, as I feel like it’s more on the tactical side of things with EDC being a second thought. I had a hard time putting the port cover in place and keeping it there, it’s like the silicone is just slightly too long.

Overall it’s a good value right now with the coupons that are being offered on Amazon for a complete kit light if this niche is what you’re looking for and I think you will be happy with it. However, this isn’t different enough that I would rush out and buy it if I had a previous version or a light that did something similar. 

Buy the Thrunite TN12 Pro at Amazon https://amzn.to/3HikEpp

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Wuben G2 Review (500 Lumen, P9 LED, Flat Keychain Light)

Wuben has a new flat keychain style light out with the G2. It’s a little different with the LED being on the flat side, with a wide large reflector, USB-C rechargeable, and can crank out up to 500 lumens in turbo.

 

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Pickup the Wuben G2 at https://www.wubenlight.com/products/wuben-g2-mini-flashlight

Use code “LRG220” to save 20%

 

Packaging  & Accessories

The packaging is a nice clear box, with the product labels being stickers on the top and bottom. Inside the box includes the light, USB-A to C charging cable, a gray plastic clip, and manual. 

 

Construction & Design

The G2 is flat light, with the reflector on the flat side. Its body is made from aluminum and is available in 3 colors currently, black, Blue, and Green which I have here. The ends are both plastics. At the bottom end there is a plastic keychain ring that twists on and off, it can be a little tricky to put back on. Under this is a magnet that is strong enough to hold the light vertically on a painted metal surface without an issue. 

In the middle is the P9 LED and TIR optic. On the sides there is the connection point for the pocket clip which I will talk about more in a minute. 

 

At the top is the USB-C charging port. It has a silicone flap covering it. It’s not a very tight fit. The light doesn’t have a dust or water rating as a result. This is an area for improvement in future versions. Next to the charging port is the switch. It sits nearly flush and I had no issues with accidentally activating it.

 

Retention & Size

Size here is 2.3” x 1” x 0.36” thick without the clip. Weight is 1 ounce without clip. There is no water or dust rating officially for the light. With that flap I think it would probably struggle to meet the standard specs.

Retention options include a plastic clip that clips on the rear of the light in some indentions. This isn’t necessarily a light or clip designed for front pants pocket EDC but more to strap on to a bag, hat, etc. The clip is stiff. It also has a split ring attachment that twists off to reveal a magnet underneath too. 

 

UI

The UI on the G2 requires a Long press to turn on when the light is off. This really mitigates accidental activations in my experience. The light has a memory mode to the last previously used setting. To adjust between the 4 modes when turned on, just press the button. The double press goes to turbo.

 

LED & Beam

The LED being used here is an OSRAM P9 LED. My Opple meter measured 6050k at 68 CRI as well as some PWM on high. The beam is mostly flood with a small hot center thanks to the TRI style optic. A good beam profile for up-close work for a light this size. 

 

Outputs, runtimes, temps

Official outputs on Turbo were 500 lumens, and I measured 437 lumens initially, with a fast decline in under a minute to around 190. High is rated at 200 lumens, I measured 190. Medium is rated at 65 lumens I measured 61 at 30 seconds. Max heat I saw on the body of the light was 36C near the end of the runtime. Total runtime starting in Turbo was 40 minutes as well as in High mode. Medium lasted out to 2 hours of runtime which is longer than quoted. 

 

Recharging

Internally the light contains a 280mAh lithium polymer battery. When I tested the capacity I got slightly more than this at about 314mAh. The total charge time here via USB-C was 1 hour. The light is USB-C PD compatible but you don’t get any benefits of the charging speed here with such a small battery. There is a small LED near the button that goes red when charging, and blue when charged. 

 

Final Thoughts

At less than $20 with my discount coupon, the G2 is a decent keychain light. I like the small thin nature, it’s smaller and thinner than most car key fobs and produces a good amount of light for its size. It’s smaller than some of the Nitecore lights I have like the TIP which is similar but larger than some of the Royvon lights. 

I don’t like that the silicone port covering the USB-C port is more of a flap. It’s not really a seal, and the light carries no water rating as a result. I did pour some water on it in the sink and it was ok, but it definitely won’t survive a full submersion. Hopefully, they can come up with a better cover in the future. 

 

It has a really broad floody beam but with a super small center hots spot, thanks to its TIR optic. It works for the close-range tasks it’s designed for pretty well. The cool white LED isn’t my favorite but it works. Overall a decent keychain light for the money.

 

Pickup the Wuben G2 at https://www.wubenlight.com/products/wuben-g2-mini-flashlight

Use code “LRG220” to save 20% 

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Thrunite Archer Mini Review (400 Lumens, SST20, USB-C, Value)

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. 

 

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Pickup the Thrunite Archer Mini on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3MlIJwK

 

Packaging & Accessories

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’.

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Acebeam Ryder RX Review (Nichia 219F, Fidget Toy Flashlight, 14500)

In this review I am looking at the Acebeam Ryder RX, a 14500 or AA sized EDC light, with a neutral white, high CRI with a feature you don’t see on many flashlights, a built-in bolt action fidget toy. Now I had a fidget spinner back in the day but used it for about 10 minutes before it founds it’s way to my drawer to collect dust. Acebeam did send this to me to take a look at and for that I am thankful. 

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Pickup the Acebeam Ryder RX on Amazon (10% off coupon on the listing page)

Silver – https://amzn.to/3EvBJdU

Sophisto Grey – https://amzn.to/3uZ8gWM

Rainbow – https://amzn.to/3MjKA58

Blue – https://amzn.to/3rDVISq

Titanium – https://amzn.to/3vyYJVk

Other Acebeam models on sale

L17 White (20% off) – https://amzn.to/3OpHWN9

TK17 (25% off) – https://amzn.to/3OoL1No

Packaging & Accessories

The packaging here is a small color print white box, with a slide-out plastic tray holding the light and the accessories. The light comes with lots of accessories, 4 extra O-rings, a wrist strap that’s branded, a short USB-A to C charging cable, a 920mAh Button top Protected Acebeam 14500 battery with onboard USB-C charging, and a user manual. 

Construction and Design

The Ryder RX comes in many different cosmetic finishes (Polished Stainless, Sophisto Grey, Rainbow PVD, Blue) and a growing number of materials (Stainless Steel, Titanium) for the outer shell, with 4041 Stainless steel, with a blue aluminum inner part. A titanium model is also available for a small upcharge. It’s a robust design and I think it will be very durable, thanks in part due to that one piece thick stainless steel outer casing. The design of the body here reminds me of the Acebeam E70 with the inner and outer tube design and the cuts made to show it. 

Let’s talk about the fidget factor here, the pocket clip is attached to the inner blue aluminum tube, An L slot is cut into the outer tube, and there are detent balls installed that give a very positive sensation and nice mechanical click when you actuate the clip side to side or down. It’s fun, but kind of loud, this isn’t something you could do in a meeting or while on a Zoom call. 

When in the down position it exposes the flashlight head, allowing you to unscrew the tip of the head to access the battery for recharging, etc. Doing this does hide the button at the top which is how you turn the light on and off though. The front bezel stands proud slightly of the AR coated lens which is in front of the small smooth reflector. 

For me the Fidget factor is fun but almost requires 2 hands at times to really get good use out of it, for my medium-sized hands and to slight the light into the down position. Side to side is easier to actuate, and you can see they even thought ahead and put an area in the tube to relieve the clip, to prevent it from scratching through lots of fidget use. One thing to note is that to actuate the light you want it in the up, and left position, when it’s in the up and right position I find there isn’t quite enough resistance to make pressing the tail button easy.

Retention

The Ryder RX has a stainless steel dual-direction clip, similar to the Acebeam P15, here though it’s optimized for EDC use instead of a weapon mount. The clip stands out from the body here more than most normal flashlights but it ends up working well. Retention on the pants is above average and despite the clip being a little larger than normal I had no issues with it snagging on things like a seat belt during the week+ I exclusively carried it. There is a lanyard hole at the top of the clip where you can attach it if you wish.

Size & Weight

I measured the length of the light in the retracted position as 96mm, and 103.4mm in the extended position. The diameter is 18.6mm excluding the clip. Weight with the included 14500 battery was 82.3g. The light is IP68 water-rated to 2 meters submerged. Here are a few photos with similar-sized 14500 lights, like the Reylight Lan and Pineapples. 

LED & Beam

The Ryder RX is using a Nichia 219F a new LED from Nichia and this is my first time seeing it, Acebeam says this is at 5000k and High CRI. My Opple Light Meter Pro I measured the tint at 4981k and a 96 CRI. The beam doesn’t have any tint shift across the beam, although the medium-sized hot center isn’t perfectly round. I would be interested to see what this light would be like with a TIR optic since I tend to really like those on EDC style lights like this, but the lens here works pretty well. I also think the new Nichia 519a would really shine in a package like this and likely put out a little more output. There is PWM here according to my meter but it’s pretty fast.

Output tested at 30 seconds using a “Calibrated DIY PVC Lumen Tube”.

Acebeam Ryder RX Claimed Lumens As Tested Lumens
14500 High 650 473
14500 Medium 2 280 221
NiMH High 200 135

Heat & Runtime

For my runtime graphs I used my “Calibrated DIY PVC Lumen Tube” and the included 14500 battery the light came with. On high we can see the major step downs at 2 minutes going from around 480 lumens to 350 lumens for about 6 minutes, and then for an additional hour slowly decreasing from about 250 lumens down to zero. The heat peaked at 9 minutes at about 55C. 

I also compared High to Medium modes, we can see medium was very steady for the full 1:22:00 runtime all covering between 220-100 lumens. 

I also did a heat and runtime test with an Ikea LADDA 2450 NiMH battery since this is a dual fuel light, This provided the longest overall runtime of 3:06:00 but also the least amount of light with the bulk of that runtime being around 50 lumens. 

UI

The UI for the Acebeam Ryder RX is simple with no programmable options. The light has 4 modes plus SOS and has memory mode. It has a forward clicky button that means a half-press gets the light to turn on or to change modes before you do a full press to lock the light on. This means you can get it to come on in a momentary mode silently. 

The light will come on in the last mode used as long as it’s not SOS and progresses through the 4 modes in a linear fashion. Getting to SOS it’s a little different. You have to do a full cycle through the 4 main modes twice fairly quickly, and then the light will start blinking. 

Recharging

To recharge the light, you need to remove the battery from the light by putting it in an extended position, unscrewing the head, and sliding the cell out. From here you can put it in an external charger, or use the onboard USB-C port on the battery to recharge. When charging there is a Red LED on the positive end that’s red when charging, and green when charged.

Charging the included 920mAh 14500 battery the light came with took 2:42:00 with a maximum charge rate of 0.45A. A pretty conservative charge rate of ½ C with most of this time being in the constant current phase of charging. When fully charged the battery measured 4.149V, and the cells LVP kicked in at 2.874V. NiMH LVP was 1.082V

You can use another button top 14500 batteries in this light, but Flattops, don’t make contact. It’s also worth noting that the head itself doesn’t have LVP because this light is capable of running lower voltage NiMh or Alkaline batteries too. So worth mentioning so you don’t damage your 14500s by running them to exhaustion, and on that note, the light can’t charge NiMH cells.  

Final Thoughts

The Acebeam Ryder RX really ticks a lot of boxes for me on an EDC light. If you follow me on Instagram and see the pocket dumps I post from time to time, you will know I like the 14500 sized lights for front pocket carry, and the Ryder RX is just in that sweet spot in terms of size and output in my opinion. 

I thought the pocket clip here was going to be too bulky but after carrying it, I have decided it works extremely well, is a nice tight fit on my pants and adaptable to many different thicknesses of materials. That dual-direction clip also means you can use it as a make shift headlamp on a hat if you want too. 

Best of all might be the LED choice here, Neutral white and High CRI! It’s like someone was finally listening to many enthusiasts who were tired of all the cool white and low CRI lights from major manufacturers. 

Overall as an EDC light I really like the Ryder RX. While I won’t use the fidget factor of it often, it’s kind of a neat bonus and has created something different which is nice to see too. Pricing here is at the time of the review seems pretty fair too for the quality your getting here, and to upgrade into the titanium light is only $10 more, so a bargain if you are a Titanium junkie. So on that note, I can recommend the Acebeam Ryder RX as a solid buy in my opinion. 

Pickup the Acebeam Ryder RX on Amazon (10% off coupon on the listing page)

Silver – https://amzn.to/3EvBJdU

Sophisto Grey – https://amzn.to/3uZ8gWM

Rainbow – https://amzn.to/3MjKA58

Blue – https://amzn.to/3rDVISq

Titanium – https://amzn.to/3vyYJVk

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Fenix TK20R V2.0 Review (3000 Lumens, SFT70 LED, 21700, USB-C)

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. 

 

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Here is a link to the USB-C Cable I used in the video https://amzn.to/3Dwt0rA

 

Packaging & Accessories

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.

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Folomov EDC C2 Review (2022 Version, Cree XT-E, 14300)

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. 

 

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Pick up the Folomov EDC C2 (2022 Version) at  Amazon: https://amzn.to/36y3fdP 

 

Packaging & Accessories

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. 

Pick up the Folomov EDC C2 (2022 Version) at  Amazon: https://amzn.to/36y3fdP