Acebeam L19 Long Range Hunting Flashlight Review
Acebeam has released the L19 Long Range Hunting flashlight, an Osram flat white light, using a single 21700 (included). Read on for testing!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the official product page (affiliate link).
Versions
There is just one body available for the L19, but two emitter options. White (seen here) and Green. Green offers more throw and more lumens but is otherwise the same.
Price
Both versions of the Acebeam L19 Long Range Hunting flashlight are $149.00. This does not include the cell – the cell adds around $20.
Acebeam L19 Long Range Hunting Flashlight Short Review
What an incredible thrower! Great user interface too, and an all-around fantastic flashlight.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Acebeam L19 Long Range Hunting flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Osram “PM1” – probably Osram KW CULPM1.TG (White) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $149.00 |
| Cell: | 1×21700 |
| Turbo Runtime Graph | High Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Both |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C (On Cell) |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | – |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 1650 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 1082 (65.6% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 319.6 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 1300 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 9360lux @ 6.015m = 338647cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 1163.9 (89.5% 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 L19 Long Range Hunting flashlight
- Acebeam 5100mAh 21700 (if you purchase it separately)
- Spare o-rings (2)
- Spare switch cover
- Charge Cable (USB to USB-C)
- Nylon pouch
- Lanyard
- Manual and papers
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
Like practically all other Acebeam lights, this L19 has fantastic build quality.
You might note some similarities with the L19 and the L35 – they’re in fact very similar lights. The big difference is the emitter – the Acebeam L19 Long Range Hunting flashlight is just that – long-range. The L35 is much more of a high-output light (with a Cree XHP70.2 emitter).
You’ll see the crenelated bezel, which I like.
There are minimal depth cooling fins down the head, too.
The e-switch on the head has a metal cover. More on this switch later!
What’s on the cell tube isn’t knurling, but is a nice “grenade grip.”
This tactical ring ships installed.
Threads on the cell tube are very smooth. They’re anodized, square cut, well lubed (maybe a bit extra lube), and somewhat long. All in all, very good user experience when removing the tailcap.
The tailcap has a spring and some other contacts there for the e-switch magic.
This little indicating LED in the head is not directly opposite to the e-switch, it’s only 90 degrees to the side. This is a good indicator and gives access to the switch without covering the indicator.
Here’s what I like so much about the figured bezel – it allows light to escape while headstanding.
Size and Comps
163.8MM (LENGTH) X 60MM (HEAD DIAMETER) X 25.4MM (TUBE DIAMETER)
Weight: 196g (6.91OZ.) W/O BATTERY
If a light will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If a light will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually 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.
And here’s the light beside my custom engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats.
I mentioned the L35 above – here’s the L19 alongside the L35, and L17.
Retention and Carry
Your main means of carry for the L19 is going to be the nylon pouch.
This is a directional pouch and allows for bezel-up carry only. The light will not go into the pouch in the other direction.
You’ll note that this means the tactical ring goes through the small end of the pouch. When removing the light, the tactical ring will catch a bit. The tactical ring is removable (though it is very reluctant to slide over one of the o-rings (a good thing)), and if you use the light in this pouch but don’t really need the tac ring, you’ll likely want it removed for ease of access.
Speaking of the tactical ring, it’s the second means of retaining the light. It’s good for a tactical grip, but also has a hole, which is where the included lanyard attaches.
Being that this tactical ring is a collar style, and held in place firmly, the lanyard can be considered extremely reliable.
There is no pocket or belt clip.
Power and Runtime
Power to the Acebeam L19is from a single lithium-ion cell. My package included a cell, but you’ll have to click a radio option on your purchase and pay $19.90 for this cell you see below. The cell is a 5100mAh 21700.
The cell is a button top.
The cell is installed into the L19 in the usual way – positive terminal toward the head.
The included cell fits well, but a flat top unprotected cell also fits and works if you add a magnet or two to the negative end (otherwise it seems just a shade short, despite dual springs).
Here are a few runtimes. First Turbo. Once the light steps down, the output is very stable at around 750 lumens. While I love the bezels like this, which have flutes that allow light to escape when headstanding, this does affect runtime tests in a way that I haven’t yet been able to correct for. When any light escapes this way, it’s not captured in these tests. As a result, the total output is definitely higher than what I see below, but by how much I am not sure.
This stepdown from Turbo is to “High” level. The High runtime is very well regulated throughout the run until the shutoff for low voltage protection at around 3V.
And here’s the third-highest mode – technically “Med2” I believe. I ran this test uncooled, so you may be interested to see the difference in High and Med 2 temperatures.
On bench power, the low voltage characteristics are as follows:
3.1V: red indication
2.9V: red flash indication
2.7V: light is off
While we’re on the topic of power, note that this LED indicator does provide cell power information.
The LED on the head near the switch also indicates power, as follows:
Green: >30% power
Red: Between 10 and 30% power
Red Flashing: <10% power
Charging
This cell has a USB-C charge port in the head!
Not only that but there’s a charge indicator on the positive end of the cell.
Also included is a charge cable. It’s a short cable with USB on one end, and USB-C on the other. The USB end has a female USB port too, for using the cell as a powerbank (!!!).
Here’s a charge graph. This is from USB power (not USB-C). Charging is good, but just a bit slow at around 1A. That’s around 0.2C, which is fantastic for your cell life but requires five hours to complete. Also charging seems to stop at around 4.14V. In all my tests, I topped the cell up to 4.19-4.2V in a charger before runtimes!
The data below is from the L35 test, but the cell being used is the same model.
You may wonder, with a charging cable of that sort, can this cell be used as a powerbank?! Well, the answer is YES. The L19 product page does not cover this (probably because the cell is technically a separate product). And the cell product page does not cover it either, so I just had to poke around for maximums. Looks like the cell is good to around 1.2A output while staying at (or nearly) in USB spec. With the 5100mAh capacity, you’re likely to get a cell phone charge out of it. Here’s a couple of graphs. This covers a ramp-up to max before the output shuts off, and also (then) a steady run of around 1.2A output from the cell powerbank.
Here’s some detail just of the first ~1m. I take the discharge up to the point it shuts off, and then restart it. Then I set the output to around 1.2A. When the voltage dropped out of range, I lowered the draw to around 0.8A.
In powerbank mode, the cell will stop outputting current at around 2.9V.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 1650 | 1h30m | 1082 | 7.95 |
| High | 870 | 2h15m | 669 | 2.34 |
| Mid2 | 470 | 5h | 362 | 0.99 |
| Mid1 | 220 | 12h | 177 | 0.42 |
| Low | 60 | 47h | 63 | 0.13 |
| Moonlight | 1 | 94d | 1 | 0.00 |
Pulse Width Modulation
The L35 does not have PWM on any mode! That’s great. And one of the things I love about Acebeam flashlights.
For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor. Also, here’s the light with the worst PWM I could find. I’m adding multiple timescales, so it’ll be easier to compare to the test light. Unfortunately, the PWM on this light is so bad that it doesn’t even work with my normal scale, which is 50 microseconds (50us). 10ms. 5ms. 2ms. 1ms. 0.5ms. 0.2ms. In a display faster than 0.2ms or so, the on/off cycle is more than one screen, so it’d just (very incorrectly) look like a flat line. I wrote more about this Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight and explained a little about PWM too.
User Interface and Operation
The user interface here is exactly the same as on the L35. I do think these two would be a good pair. L35 for massive output, and L19 for massive throw.
There are two switches on the Acebeam L19. First is this tailcap switch, which feels to me to be a mechanical switch. It clicks very positively and has a forward clicky action. This means there’s a momentary option.
This switch sits under the tailcap, and so tailstanding works just fine. The tailcap is nice, in fact – it’s a “tripod” style, and not the bi-pod popular on many other lights (such as the Convoy S2+).
There’s also a replacement tailcap that adds a remote pressure switch to this Acebeam L19. I don’t have that, but I can say that it’d probably be great for long(er) gun usage!
Also for the operation of the L19 is a side e-switch. The switch has a metal cover and is completely flush with the body. It’s possible to find the switch without looking, because the opposite side has cooling fins, and is therefore not smooth.
The UI’s a little interesting, but quite easy. The tailswitch takes absolute precedence. No matter if the light is on or off, or on through one of the e-switch modes, clicking the tailswitch into the on position will always yield turbo. Reliable switches are useful.
Here’s a UI table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off (and unlocked) | Click Tail Switch (TS) | Turbo |
| Off (and unlocked) | Tap TS | Momentary Turbo |
| Off | Click Side Switch (SS) | On (Mode memory (excluding Moonlight and Turbo)) |
| Off | Hold SS | Moonlight |
| On (by TS action) | Any SS action | No change in state |
| On (by SS action) | Hold SS | Mode advance (L>M1>M2>H) |
| Off | Double Click SS | Turbo |
| On (by SS action) | Double Click SS | Turbo |
| Turbo (from SS) | Double Click SS | Previously used mode |
| Any (except Turbo from TS) | Triple Click SS | Strobe |
| Off | Hold SS 5s | Lockout (Indicated by triple flash in Moonlight) |
| Lockout | Hold SS 3s | Unlock to Moonlight^ |
^ The tailswitch must be in the off position to unlock! The manual states that the power indicator can show whether the tailswitch is “on” or “off” but doesn’t state how, and I’m unclear on this. It’s possible to do this by feel though. When “off” the tail switch button is quite firm. When “on” the tailswitch has around 1.5mm-2mm of give.
LED and Beam
Acebeam only states this emitter as a “PM1.” That’s certainly an Osram emitter, but there are two PM1 versions, and Acebeam doesn’t specify.
Based on my searches, I think this is probably the Osram KW CULPM1.TG (White) emitter.
This emitter benefits from a TIR. I believe the TIR has a lens over the top, but I can say for certain that the front is smooth (ie you can’t feel that little center circle).
Due to the bezel, light does/will escape when headstanding.
These beamshots are always with the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.
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 beam profile
- Good user interface
- Very good throw
- Alternative emitter option that gives more output and more throw (and is green)
- The optional cell can be used as a powerbank
- Modes are well regulated
- No pulse width modulation
What I don’t like
- Cell is extra, at $20.
- Cell charging is a little slow
- Tactical ring makes removal from nylon pouch difficult
Notes
- This light was provided by Acebeam for review. I was not paid to write this review.
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
- For flashlight-related patches, stickers, and gear, head over to PhotonPhreaks.com!
- Use my amazon.com referral link if you’re willing to help support making more reviews like this one!
