JETBeam Jet-UV Flashlight Review

The JETBeam Jet-UV flashlight uses a single AAA cell. It has a twisty interface and a nice blue body color! Read on!

Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the JETBeam Jet-UV flashlight product page.

Specifications

LED type: 3535-UV-365nm
Lens’s Glass: Tempered glass
Shell Materials: aviation aluminum-alloy
Body: Military type III hard anodising
Battery: 1*AAA
Waterproof Level: IPX8
Impact-resistant: 1 Meter
Length:70.4mm
Head diameter:14.8mm
Tail diameter:14.2mm
Weight:13.2gram(without battery}

Versions

Just this one version and two colors (red and blue) of the UV. There are other JETBeams that look the same – same AAA-size, but they have Cree XP-G2’s, for example, and I believe TIR optics.

Short Review

If you’re in need of a UV light for checking bills or other “smaller” tasks, I think this is a great option.

Long Review

The Big Table

JETBeam Jet-UV
Emitter:	Cree UV-365nm
Price in USD at publication time:	?
Cell:	1xAAA
Runtime
LVP?	?
Switch Type:	Twist
On-Board Charging?	No
All my JETBeam reviews!

What’s Included

JETBeam Jet-UV
Lanyard
Spare o-ring
Manual
Warranty/approval card

Package and Manual

This is the packaging I’ve come to expect from these smaller JETBeam lights. It’s a clamshell plastic container, which is display-ready.

Pop it open, and the light and goods come out easily. Included is a manual that includes the usual information and is a typical JETBeam manual.

Build Quality, Disassembly, and Durability

Build quality is one of the reasons I asked for this JETBeam from the outset.

I have been very pleased with this brand and expected this UV light to be well-built, too. It did not disappoint. It’s a well-built light. Of course, it should be, as there’s a huge base it’s growing from JETBeam already has an AAA light that is not UV, so this was probably a fairly simple transition.

The UV comes apart inasmuch that the cell can be exchanged.

The driver may be screwed out, but I don’t have the right tool.

Size

Around 71mm long and 15mm across the head – it’s a very small light. Pretty regular size for an AAA light, and consistent with the other JETBeams.

Vs Astrolux A01

Vs Chapstick

Vs money

Retention

There’s a pocket clip included and installed.

Included too is a lanyard, which may be attached through holes in the tailcap.

Power

The UV is powered by a single AAA-sized cell. I used Eneloops exclusively. Sorry to say I don’t have any 10440 cells, but the specs don’t mention Li-Ion compatibility, and no voltage range is given: I’d stick with actual AAA cells here.

The runtime terminated at 0.856V. Now, I’m not sure what a good shutoff voltage is for eneloop AAA’s, but that seems a little low.

User Interface and Operation

Twist for on. Twist for off. Yeah, fairly simple!

LED and Beam

JETBeam names the emitter as a “Cree Ultraviolet Light3535-UV-365nm.”

I found a few references to that emitter. Here’s one that compares it to a much more expensive emitter and found it to come fairly close to the advertised wavelength (365nm).

I have some reference 365nm lights, and this light comes close enough to those, in my unmeasured opinion. Furthermore, the wavelength it is, whatever that is, lights up the fluorescent strip in US dollars just fine and makes other glowy things glow brightly.

So as advertised, this LED does its job well.

The beam has a tight hotspot but a surprising amount of spill. I’d really love for the beam to be much more of a TIR type beam (though I don’t think that’d work at all since I believe the polycarbonate of the TIR would block most of the UV output.) Even a UV mule would be a potentially more useful output since everything would be fluoresced more evenly.

Beamshots, Runtime, and Lux Measurements

The runtime is with an Eneloop AAA.

Of course, my lux meter isn’t really designed for UV, but it’s a fair approximation anyway (since starting output, whatever it is, is counted as “100% output relative”). So the graph will look bad, but it’s noteworthy that the output stays fairly consistent for about 50 minutes, then begins to drop off.

Of note is that the lens on this UV light isn’t a bandpass filter lens, so more than just UV gets through. Likely it’s those other emissions that my lux meter is picking up, but that’s really fine for my purposes on runtimes. (And actually, if it hadn’t been for that, my lux meter mightn’t have read anything at all.) But as far as a clean UV signal goes, it’d be great if this light had a bandpass filter lens.

I did take some UV beamshots on actual fluorescent things, so you can get a feel for how the Jet-UV works.

And dust. So much dust.

Turns out my old Zebralight H31 has an integrated glow-ring, and the emitter fluoresces slightly under UV!!

Random Comparisons and Competitive Options

The only other UV I have experience with is the Convoy UV, a light I owned for a while. I am very UV-sensitive, and I honestly could not use that light for any length of time without getting a headache. This Jet-UV is much less powerful, and that’s a thing I like about it. It’s also cheaper.

Conclusion

This will be a handy tool, and I’m pleased to have it around. For the price, I think it’s hard to beat, and I recommend one just for kicks.

What I like

Build quality
Not terribly overpowering UV
Close [enough] to the advertised wavelength

What I don’t like

The beam profile could be more diffuse
A clicky version would make my day

Final Thoughts

I recommend it. Fun light, and useful!

Notes

This light was provided by GearBest for review. I was not paid to write this review.
This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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