Astrolux WP1 Review (A rebadged LEP thrower from Jetbeam?)

Today I have the Astrolux WP1 LEP flashlight. It’s capable of 250,000 candela, and 480 lumens out of the included 21700 Liion battery and it’s UI is a control ring. If you have seen my review of the Jetbeam RRT M1X Raptor you might notice a few differences more on that further on in my review. Thanks to Banggood for sending this light to me and providing a discount for my viewers. 

 

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Packaging & Accessories

The Astrolux WP1 comes in a large plastic case with a handle, on the front is a large sicker showing the light and listing a few headlining stats. On the back is another sticker showing a runtime chart and links to various social media platforms. 

As far as accessories the light comes with an unbranded 5000mAh, 21700mAh battery with MicroUSB recharging onboard, A basic lanyard, an extras bag with 2 red orings, and spare tail cap, manual and a basic holster.

 

Construction

Astrolux brought out 2 LEP style flashlights earlier in 2021 that appear to mirror the Jetbeam RRT M1X and  M2S WP-RX, in physical appearance and closely in performance with the main difference being the engraving on the body. I suspect the parent manufacturer for Astrolux is Jetbeam. The anodizing Jetbeam useses is a somewhat distinct gray in the flashlight industry, and it’s being used here as well. Side by side they look the same anodizing wize.

Starting at the tail you have a forward click mechanical switch and 2 tails where you can attach a lanyard. It will tail stand but it’s not very stable. There is minimal knurling on the tail and body tube that add some grip. Threads are square cut, nicely greased and anodized.

You do have a rubber tactical ring which is nice to allow you to cigar grip the light if you wish. The body tube has flats milled in for the labels and a little added grip. The body tube is also removable from the head, but not reversible. I was able to swap around the head, body, and tail from the Jetbeam RRT M1X as well. The orings on the WP1 are the same distinct red color as the Jetbeam.

The head features the rotating ring controls, with a total of 5 detents that are just over 180 degrees in total movement. They feel ok, not super crisp but not mushy either. I like rotary control on a light like this, they are simple and they work great with gloves on which is important this time of year. The bezel of the light is non removable. It does stand proud of the “lens” and the cuts in the side allow for some light to leak when head down.

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 158.3mm, minimum diameter at 24mm on the flats of the body, and maximum diameter of 36.7mm on the control ring. Weight with the supplied battery is 230g. The light is IPX8 Water rated. Here are few photos of similar lights or competitors that I own.  

 

Retention

Retention options with the WP1 are the included lanyard which can be attached at the tail cap and then the holster. The holster has a velcro front cover and is made with a neoprene lined ballistic nylon. On the rear it has a belt loop that’s attached with a button and velcro. 

 

Emitter & Beam

So instead of an LED, the WP1 uses a LEP or Laser Excited Phosphor. Astrolux calls this the WP-T2 LEP (Same as Jetbeam). LEP’s work by using a blue laser emitter on a layer of phosphor to create a “whitish” beam that is then sent through a convex lens. 

The result is a beam that’s extremely concentrated. At 8ft it’s less than a 5 inch circle, it also has basically no spill like your traditional flashlight does. This concentrated beam does spread out a little at distance but it’s not as much and my night shots show that. When I compare it to my Jetbeam RRT M1X the beam here is larger, in shorter distances, but still quite small by LED flashlight standards. The tint here definitely has a blueish tint to it. There was no visible PWM to the eye or camera.

 (Astrolux on the Left, Jetbeam on the Right)

 

Heat & Runtime

I expected that this light would produce more heat because of how intense it was but it doesn’t Maximum heat I saw was about 36C during testing, and that’s a regulated temp. With the smaller body it does get about 4 degrees warmer than the larger Jetbeam model. It does seem to have a timed stepdown, to 40% relative output after 3 minutes. Compared with other LED based throwers I have this is good, given the other LED based throwers generally produce a lot more heat. 

Total runtime starting on high with the included fully charged 5000mAh battery was 5:14:00 with several step downs along the way. After 12 minutes your running at about 30% relative output but you can bump back up manually. When the light shut off I measured LVP at 2.974v. You don’t need a high output battery for this light either with the maximum amperage requirement I measured under 3A. So since this light is using a non proprietary button top protected battery (Long in length) you can choose based off of capacity rather then performance. 

 

UI

The UI here is simple with the rotary switch at the front. It’s 5 position switch with detents at every point, total rotation is just over 180 degrees. Starting from the left most detent and working clockwise you have low, medium, high, strobe, SOS. The switch at the rear is a your on and off control without a momentary mode as it’s a forward clicky switch. Strobe is very fast here, almost to the point of it not being useful as a strobe. 

 

Recharging

Recharging here is accomplished with the included unbranded (My guess is it’s the same battery Jetbeam supplies with their lights) 5000mAh 21700 battery. The battery itself has microUSB built into it, with a small LED at the positive side. Red when charging, green when charged. I would have loved to see USB-C instead here, especially on a premium light. It took a lengthy 7:31:00 to fully charge this battery which is quite slow, the fastest charge rate I saw was .75A, and it only decreased from there for the remaining 6 hours. Fully charged the battery measured 4.206V. 

My recommendation would be to use your own charger like the Vapcell S4 Plus or Xtar VC4SL and charge at a more reasonable rate. This battery can very safely handle a 2A charge rate and that will cut the charge time to more than half. I tested the capacity of this battery with my VapCell S4 Plus charger at 4719mAh. 

 

Pro’s & Con’s 

Pro

  • Simple Name
  • Good size for in the hand use & filters are available to make the LEP more practical for more tasks
  • The control ring is easy to use especially with gloves
  • Beam here is wider and slightly more practical.

 

Con’s

  • Strobe is too fast
  • Wish it came with the optional diffusers to make it more practical
  • Not inexpensive. 
  • LEP tint isn’t great, very cool white.

 

Conclusion

Given this lights apparent similarity with it’s sibling Jetbeams cousins, I would say go with whichever you can find the best deal on. Banggood is known for it’s coupons so it might end up being the Astrolux versions. From a physical and performance stand point I can’t tell a lot of difference. I don’t have both to do direct comparisons on but from reading in the forums and looking at them, and comparing the Astrolux WP1 to my Jetbeam RRT M1X Raptor I think they are likely the same. 

The big difference between the two models are their size of head and a bit of styling. The Astrolux WP1 here is a much smaller design thats easier to fit in the hand 

While LEP’s are really fun, and the performance is incredible, I struggle to find many uses for them in general. The hot spot here is a bit larger then my other LEP’s which makes it better, but realistically this isn’t something most people need and still quite small with no spill. It does work well for that smaller hand held search light application, signaling, and possibly on a hunting rifle at lower settings or with filters but this isn’t something you would want to take camping or be super useful in a power outage. That said it has pretty solid performance, and a LEP is something every flashlight obsessed individual should have in their collection.

Acebeam L17 Review (160,801 Candela, 1400 Lumens, Awesome Thrower)

Today I have a new compact tactical thrower from Acebeam. They boast that the L17 which easily fits in your hand will throw out ot 802 meters. It runs off an 18650 and features a Osram LED. Thanks to Acebeam for sending me this new model. Let’s take a detailed look. 

 

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Packaging & Accessories

The light does come in 3 different versions, a white or Green LED version both capable of 800 and 820M of throw respectively, and a Red LED version that’s capable of 460M of throw. T

The standard package is a nice retail box with a line drawing of the light and the LED lumen and distance ratings on the box. On the back side there is a lot of stats and detailed info, good for any retailer looking to sell this. Accessories that are included is the light with the clip and tactical ring installed on the light. It comes with a lanyard, spare button cover and 2 spare orings as well as the standard paperwork and manual. You also get a nylon holster that’s branded Acebeam that has a D ring and belt loop with a button. 

Acebeam offers a couple of additional accessories on their website that will work with the L17 but are not sold in the standard version. First is a 10A rated 18650 battery with microUSB charging and a remote pressure switch for only $10 which is a good price. 

 

Construction

The L17 is made from aluminium and is hard anodized in a flat black. In the tail is the e-switch for the light and it’s truly silent. The cover is a rubber boot that has medium texture that sits just under the bezel. Internally, the tail has a single stiff gold coated spring and then an additional contact to the inner tube of the light. Threads are anodized, square cut and smooth. 

There is a tactical ring on the body which serves as a cigar grip point, the lanyard attachment point and adds reinforcement/lock for the clip on pocket clip. Both the tactical ring and pocket clip are removable should you wish. It’s a nice way to add quite a bit of security to the clip without making it permanent. The body tube itself is plain and features no knurling, I would like to see a little more grip here or closer to the head. 

The head itself is glued to the body. The head has some decorative milling around it and it helps dissipate some heat. The bezel is aluminum and has some modest large crenulations for a tactical light. The lens is glass with a Carclo TIR lens inside designed to enhance the throw. 

Size and Weight

I measured the length at 140mm, minimum diameter of the body tube at 25.5mm, and maximum diameter of the head at 40mm. Weight with an 18650 battery is 196.9g,

 

 

Retention

You have a couple of retention and carry options with the L17. It does come with that nylon holster for belt carry. It’s a basic holster but does the job well. You also have that pocket clip. The clip is 1.4 inches from the top of the light so it’s definitely not deep carry. 

LED & Beamshot

Acebeam doesn’t specify which LED exactly is in the L17 only that it’s an Osram. I asked my contact for clarification and they said it was an Osram KW CSLPM1.TG which is a mouthful but good to know exactly whats in it. It’s a very throwy LED that Acebeam has put a TIR optic on top with a glass lens. It’s different looking than your traditional optic and this is designed for all throw. 

The result is a light that has virtually no spill, it’s all focused on the center in a tight pattern. The combination of the optic and LED choice explain the claimed 160,801 candela rating here at 1400 lumens in Turbo mode. Tint here is cool white but I don’t detect much blue in the beam. In my night shots it stands up pretty well to some of the competitors using different LEDs but this has a tighter more focused beam. I didn’t notice any PWM here.

Specs below are for the White Version I have. The Green version throws slightly further. 

  • Turbo – 1400 Lumens – 160,801 Candela
  • High – 370 Lumens – 42,025 Candela
  • Mid – 150 Lumens – 23,409 Candela
  • Low – 50 Lumens – 11,025 Candela
  • Ultra Low – 15 Lumens – 3,600 Candela

 

Heat & Runtime

I did all my runtime and heat tests with the supplied (optional) Acebeam 3100mAh battery that was sent. It’s a 10A battery so keep that in mind for what you decide to put in this light and choose something with at least htis rating. Total runtime was 4:35:00. In my runtime tests I saw Turbo last for 3:30 before stepping down to right at 50% relative output. This is also where I saw maximum heat at 64C (147F) so this definitely gets hot and that thermal protection kicks in to limit output. The light maintained this 50% output for a total of 1 hour before stepping down again to about 4% relative output. My advice would be if you plan to use this light on Turbo for more then once past step down is to wear gloves. It only takes exposures above 60C for more then 3 seconds to get 1st degree burns.

 

UI

The L17 uses a pretty traditional and simple interface. When Off long press on the rear tail switch for ultra low (15 lumen), single click to turn off. Single press to turn on to low, long press to cycle modes. Double click to go to turbo, and triple click to go to strobe. 

 

I will say mode spacing here isn’t super common. Ultra low is 15 lumens and throws really well for not much light. Next is low at 50 lumens, Mid is 150 lumens, high is 370 lumens. Acebeam says this will go 410 meters. Next is Turbo the full 4500 lumens or 160,801 candella. 

 

Pro’s

  • Nice to see colored LED’s being offered here instead of just a filter. I could see this being popular with a hunter with the green tint option. 
  • Very tight and compact beam with great throw
  • A fairly compact bezel which makes this more accessible.
  • Silent Tail Switch & good vibration resistance.

 

Con’s

  • The light gets incredibly hot during turbo before step down. Wear some gloves or hold the back of the light.
  • Big steps between High and Turbo. 

 

Conclusion

I can recommend the Acebeam L17 if you’re in the market for a fairly compact 18650 powered thrower with basically no spill. I am typically not a big fan of tactical lights but the UI on this light is pretty non-tactical so it works out well. 

 

This isn’t the light to take with you when hiking, or for EDC or for walking the dog to see right in front of you. It would be great for a security guard who was needing to point out a specific spot on a house or inspect something from a distance. It’s also just a lot of fun to impress your friends or significant other, it’s a lot of power and so focused. It’s probably the next best thing to a LEP light.

 

https://www.batteryjunction.com/acebeam-l17.html