JETBeam M64 LED Searchlight
The JETBeam M64 is a LED searchlight capable of throwing over 1.2km and has a high output of 6800 claimed lumens. It includes cells, too!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the JETBeam M64 LED searchlight product page on flashlightgo.com.
Versions
There’s only one version of the JETBeam M64 LED searchlight
Price
At flashlightgo.com, the JETBeam M64 LED searchlight is selling for $182.99.
Short Review
The build quality of the JETBeam M64 LED searchlight is fantastic as are the throw and output. I love that the light has 6 modes, and includes one very low mode, too. Including the two 21700 cells is great, but I don’t need them to have USB-C charging (more on that below). This is really a great searchlight!
Long Review
The Big Table
| JETBeam M64 LED searchlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Luminus SBT-90 |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $182.99 |
| Cell: | 2×21700 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C (On Cell) |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | – |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 6800 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 4201 (61.8% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 73.9 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 1200 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 5710lux @ 7.214m = 297159cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 1090.2 (90.9% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 5300-5800 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | flashlightgo.com |
| All my JETBeam reviews! | |
^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.
What’s Included
- JETBeam M64 LED searchlight
- 5100mAh 21700 (2)
- Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
- Lanyard
- Spare o-rings (2 types)
- Manual etc
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
As stated above, the build quality of the JETBeam M64 LED searchlight is just great. The light has somewhat of an old-school Surefire vibe. It’s the very rounded fins in the head that do it, as well as the dimples there, too, I think. It’s a good, classic design!
Those fins are honestly needed because the light is driven fairly hard on turbo!
This is an interesting way to attach the head to the body. Very industrial.
The tailcap has a good bit of quality knurling and is easy to remove. Threads here are well-lubed and also quite long.
On the head end, the threads are unanodized but still lubed nicely. The cell tube is not reversible, and I’d say in general you’ll swap the cells through the tailcap.
Size and Comps
- Dimensions: 249.5mm (Length) x 63.5mm (Head Diameter) x 29.6mm (Tail Diameter)
- Weight: 435g (Without battery)
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll also show that (usually in the fourth photo).
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple. A very nice 18650 light.
Also above on the left is a new feature light!! Laulima Metal Craft sent this Todai in tumbled aluminum for some size comparison photos like the ones above. Laulima has a bunch of incredible items. I’ve tested one (the Laulima Metal Craft Hoku) (the official site for Hoku is here) that was a Friend Fund Friday review. I was impressed enough by that Hoku that I bought a Laulima Metal Craft Diamond Slim (also in tumbled aluminum) (review is upcoming!) These lights by Laulima have impeccable build quality and not only that, they’re quite configurable. There are some (great, actually) default configurations, but Joshua Dawson (of Laulima Metal Craft) is open to ideas and emitter options and the like. I haven’t reviewed this Todai, but I have to say, it feels absolutely fantastic and I love it thus far. (Notably, I love how warm and eggy those emitters look through the TIR.)
Retention and Carry
The only included means for carry of the JETBeam M64 LED searchlight is a lanyard, which attaches only through this hole in the head.
The lanyard that’s included is a very nice lanyard, though!
No pouch or belt carry options are included.
Power and Runtime
The JETBeam M64 LED searchlight is powered by two 21700 cells and the two you see below are included in the purchase price. These are 5100mAh button-tops and have built-in USB-C charging.
These go into the light in the usual way – button toward the head.
Below are a few runtime tests. Low voltage protection was observed in all tests, coupled with a warning from the indicating switch. I am not seeing output hit the claimed 6800 lumens, but since I do measure around the right throw value, I’ll say that’s “good enough.” The fault is probably in my test equipment, and anyway, by eye, you couldn’t distinguish 4200 lumens from 6800 lumens (science confirms it!).
This light runs at 8.4V (max). According to bench power, the switch indicates as follows.
Blinking Green: 7.3V
Blinking Red: 6.5V
Red: 5.6V
Off: 5.4V
Charging
As stated above, the cells of the JETBeam M64 LED searchlight have built-in charging. This charging is by way of a USB-C charge port in the positive end of each cell.
A USB to USB-C charging cable is included. It’s short!
I actually tested only USB-C to USB-C, and that works great.
As noted above, each cell has charging built-in. That means the cells have to be charged separately. That’s not really much or any different from charging the cells in separate bays in a bay charger. But it somehow gives me more confidence to just throw both in a bay-style charger and let them charge. My opinion is that they’ll be more “matched.” And remember, with cells in series, you absolutely want them to be matched. (We call this “married.”) Series cells need to be married! In fact, I’d say you should charge these cells before you even use them in the M64, just so you can confirm that they start out matched. JETBeam will take care of this upfront, but it is not a bad practice to do it yourself, too.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps (@8.4V) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 6800 | 2.2h | 4201 | 8.82 |
| High | 2700 | 2.6h | 2283 | 3.02 |
| Medium | 1200 | 3.2h | 1076 | 1.26 |
| Low | 500 | 4.6h | 472 | 0.50 |
| Ultra-low | 100 | 23.4h | 78 | 0.32 |
| Eco | 1.5 | 1080h | 1.7 | [low] |
Pulse Width Modulation
There’s a bit of squiggle in a couple of the lower modes, but nothing that you’d notice. The other 4 modes do not have any PWM at all.
Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor.
Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.
User Interface and Operation
The JETBeam M64 LED searchlight uses a single e-switch for control. This is a nice metal (or metal-like) switch.
I will say that the switch is pretty hard to locate just by feel. There’s a lot going on in the head in this area. The positive dome helps, though!
Actuation is very low and positive – the switch is very clicky.
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | On (Mode Memory) |
| On | Click | Off |
| Off | Click 3x | Strobe |
| Off | Hold | Eco |
| Any | Double click | Turbo |
| Off | Hold 5s | Lock (flashes 2x to indicate lockout) |
| Locked | Hold 5s | Unlock (flashes 2x to indicate unlock) |
| Strobe Group | Hold | Strobe advance (Strobe – SOS – Beacon)^ |
| Off | Click 5x | Factory Reset^^ |
| On | Click 4x | Switch between stepless and stepped output |
| On (Stepless) | Hold | Mode advance to maximum (blinks to indicate max). Release and click again to decrease to a minimum (blinks to indicate minimum) |
^ The manual says “Strobe – SOS – Beacon” but my review copy does not seem to have “beacon” mode.
^^ I don’t really know what you’d “factory reset” on this light – I guess swapping between stepless and stepped modes, back to default.
LED and Beam
JETBeam uses a Luminus SBT-90 in the M64. It’s a great choice, of course. This emitter is capable of very high output and coupled with this smooth and deep reflector, offers great throw, too.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
The CCT here might surprise you – it’s much less cold white than you might guess! The range is from around 5300 to around 5800K (with Turbo saturating my sensor so thoroughly that no matter where I tested from, I couldn’t get a reading.) CRI is low, at under 70.
Beamshots
These beamshots always have the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level, and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.
Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)
I keep the test flashlight on the left and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Great throw
- Very high output
- Complete package includes two 21700 cells
- Great user interface (I really appreciate six output levels!)
- Positive action switch
- Offers ramped levels (I don’t want that, but I know it’s popular)
What I don’t like
- E-Switch is hard to find without looking
- Cost is quite high
- Cells must be charged separately (fine if you have two USB-C power sources, or just use a bay charger.)
Notes
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