Acebeam L16 Flashlight Review

The Acebeam L16 flashlight has a dual switch interface and uses a Cree XHP35 HI emitter for amazing throw. It uses USB-C charging, too! Read on!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a referral link to the Acebeam L16 Flashlight product page on killzoneflashlights.com.

Versions

There are two versions of the L16. KillzoneFlashlights had a special 5000K edition made, and that’s what I have here. The box doesn’t indicate that, and I just missed it on the product page. The other version is a 6500K emitter version. The 5000K version is only available at KillzoneFlashlights.com!!

Price and Coupon

KillzoneFlashlights.com has this one for $99.99, which is 12% off the MSRP.

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Short Review

This is a well-built tactical thrower, and the dual switches are good to use. It’s also a complete package, which is a nice touch.

Long Review

The Big Table

Acebeam L16 Flashlight
Emitter:	Cree XHP35 HI (5000K)
Price in USD at publication time:	$99.99
Cell:	18650
Turbo Runtime	High Runtime
LVP?	Yes
Switch Type:	Dual E-Switch
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Chargetime
Power off Charge Port with no Cell?	No
Claimed Lumens (lm)	2000
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	1800 (90% of claim)^
Claimed Throw (m)	603
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	2160lux @ 6.215m = 83433cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	577.7 (95.8% of claim)^
All my Acebeam 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

• Acebeam L16 Flashlight
• Acebeam 3100mAh 18650
• Lanyard
• Charge cable (USB to micro-USB)
• Spare o-rings (2)
• Spare rubber switch cover
• Nylon pouch
• Manual and paperwork

Package and Manual

Acebeam’s nice packaging; black and orange with photos and specs and UI.

The box flips open and latches with magnetic closure.

The lens is protected with a peel-off sticker.

Same thing I said about the EC65 manual: The manual is just fine. I would love for the table that’s on the back of the box to be in the manual too; seems like just an oversight. Based on my experience with Acebeam, I think manuals might not be their top concern.

Build Quality and Disassembly

The build and feel in-hand is very good. In particular the anodizing is very good. It’s a mix between the more standard anodizing, and Armytek’s matte finish. So it doesn’t feel quite like a chalkboard (which I find gross) but isn’t slick, either.

Straight to a minor disassembly: The bezel comes off easily, revealing the emitter. The reflector doesn’t just fall right out, though.

Three main parts make up the light. Head, body (cell tube), and tailcap. The cell tube is directional, with one end (tailcap end) having unanodized, thick square-cut threads, and the other having anodized fine threads. The tailcap threads do mean that this light can’t be mechanically locked out easily (and you wouldn’t really do this on the head end). It does allow mechanical lockout, it just requires more turns than normal (almost one full turn).

The internals are… quite unusual…. There are a number of reasons for this. Internal charging, unique user interface (with the mechanical switch never really being “off”), and so on.

Even though unanodized, these threads are very smooth.

Size and Comps

Officially:
Size:155mm(length)x40mm(head dia)x25.4mm(body dia.)
Weight: 128g without battery.

This isn’t a small light, but I think it’s comparable to other lights in its class.

Below, beside the GT Mini, which isn’t in its class, but still generally comparable inside (and you should own one of those, so you should be able to compare.)

And beside the Convoy S2+. It’s much longer than the S2+, which is saying something, since the S2+ is already quite a long 18650 light.

Retention and Carry

The primary means to carry this light is the nylon pouch. The light really only fits bezel up, though with enough motivation you could probably flip it.

There’s also the included pocket clip, which attaches only on the tail end (of the non-reversible body tube.) Realistically a pocket clip on a light like this is not all that useful, since the head is big enough to get in the way.

It’s a friction clip and would be useful on a belt more than a pocket.

The included lanyard can only attach on the tactical ring. The pocket clip attaches snugly enough, and has the proper holes, for attaching the lanyard there.

Power and Runtime

The L16 is powered by a single 18650. The package includes a single 18650, too. It’s a button top 3100mAh cell, with no mention of protection. Both ends of the light have springs, so there’s no good reason any type of cell won’t work (flat/button top, protected/unprotected).

Turbo doesn’t step down officially until 5 or so minutes into use, but the output does trend downward in those 5 minutes. I read 30 second output at around 1800 lumens, which is reasonably within the 2000 lumen claim. Note the blue blobs at around 40 minutes. That’s the main emitter giving low voltage warning, and then the light finally shutting off. Later, I turned the light back on to turbo (60/70 minutes) and the light shuts off nearly immediately. The stepdown at 5m is a stepdown to High.

The runtime on high looks essentially the same as Turbo but lasts a little longer.

The cell is black and orange, and Acebeam branded.

Charging

On-board charging is done via a micro-USB port in the head, and there’s a snug rubber cover over the port for protection.

Charging is good, proceeding at over 2A, and requiring barely 2 hours. Bonus is that it’s not a proprietary mechanism; any normal 18650 can be charged in this light. The charge port has a very small indicating emitter beside it. When charging, it’s red. When charging is complete, the indicator turns green. Unfortunately this indicator is used for nothing else.

Using the bench power, there seemed to be no LVP. But when testing the light with a cell, there seems to be LVP somewhere around 3.22-3.0V.

User Interface and Operation

There are two switches on the L16. There’s a metal switch like is on the EC65, in the center of the head.

It’s a very flush button, and very positively clicky (but not loud). I like this switch a lot.

Also included is a “mechanical” switch on the tail cap. Because of how the light actually works, I’m not willing to call this a mechanical switch. I think it might be an e-switch disguised as a mechanical. But it lacks many of the niceties of an e-switch.

Here’s a user interface table!

State	Action	Result
Off	Click Side Switch	On (Mode Memory)
Any	Click Tail Switch (Even during Lockout)	Turbo (Steady) (and precludes Side Switch use)
Any	Tap Tail Switch (Even during Lockout)	Momentary Turbo
Any	Double Click Side Switch	Turbo
On	Hold Side Switch	Mode advance (FLMH)
Any	Triple Click Side Switch	Strobe
Off	Hold Side Switch	Firefly
Off	Hold Side Switch >3s	Lockout
Lockout	Hold Side Switch <3s	Unlock

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
Turbo	2000	1.1h	1775	6.25
High	1000	1.2h	1032	2.18
Mid	500	2.2h	400	0.68
Low	150	9h	140	0.21
Firefly	1	500h	–	–

LED and Beam

Acebeam has a Cree XHP35 HI in the L16. A great choice for a small thrower, of course. And the reflector is deep and smooth.

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.

Conclusion

What I like

• Complete package
• Good Acebeam charge port cover
• Throw and Output are [within measurement error] of specification

What I don’t like

• Much too long
• Pocket clip is of questionable use

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Notes

• This light was provided by KillzoneFlashlights 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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