Acebeam E70-AL Flashlight Review

Acebeam released the E70-AL, an aluminum, 21700 powered flashlight with a Cree XHP70.2 emitter, with other interesting features too, read on!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a referral link to the Acebeam E70-AL product page at killzoneflashlights.com.

Versions

If you consider the Acebeam E70 product line as a whole, there are two versions.  This version (specifically the “-AL”) and the stainless steel version.  The E70-SS is much more costly.

There are also two emitter options:  5000K and 6500K.  I have 6500K – when I got mine, 5000K wasn’t on the market yet!

Price

The Acebeam E70-AL is selling for $74.90 at this time.  They are available at Acebeam’s official site.  You should obviously be buying the 5000K version from KillzoneFlashlights.com, though!

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Short Review of the Acebeam E70-AL

This is a very interesting design on a neat 21700 flashlight by Acebeam.  The E70-AL has a bunch of unusual features (namely slots for tritium).  Output is great, the user interface is fine (double click for on!).  But why oh why is the inner sleeve blue and not Acebeam’s color of orange.  Come on Acebeam!!

Long Review

The Big Table

Acebeam E70-AL Flashlight
Emitter:	Cree XHP70.2
Price in USD at publication time:	$74.90 at acebeam.com Same price at KillzoneFlashlights.com
Cell:	1×21700
Turbo Runtime Graph	High Runtime Graph
LVP?	Unclear
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA):
On-Board Charging?	No
Claimed Lumens (lm)	4600
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	3822 (83.1% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	3.3
Claimed Throw (m)	240
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	600lux @ 4.913m = 14483cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	240.7 (100.3% 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 E70-AL Flashlight
• Velvet carry pouch
• Spare o-rings (2)
• Manual and papers

Package and Manual

Acebeam E70-AL Build Quality and Disassembly

First of all, how much stuff is going on here with this light.  There are body spirals.  More than just spirals – there’s an inset body, with blue anodization.  There are tritium slots in the shoulder.  There are cooling…. circles… in the head.  It’s a lot to take in!

Once you’ve drunk that juice, recall that this is a 21700 cell light.  It’s really not a small guy.  The build quality is great, with no issues to speak of.

One thing that I note about the body-on-body is that the outside body, due to having raised edges, (or whatever?) has a sound.  It doesn’t sound cheap, and it’s not a bad sound, but it’s an unusual sound because most flashlights don’t have exposed inner sleeves like this.  It’s neither bad nor good but it’s noteworthy enough that I felt like mentioning it.  I have a feeling that the stainless version doesn’t exhibit this.  (If you’ve ever run a fingernail across the fins of a processor’s cooler, then … it’s that.)

I’ll say again – there’s a lot going on in this body.  Circles on the head.  Tritium slots.  Spirals in the body.  Color in the body.  If it was one or the other (circles or spirals) I might like it more but still, this is a good-looking light.  I like the circles, aside from their obvious “Oveready-ness.”  I am unsure how these circles aid in cooling.  That long slot betwixt the circles does not seem to be a tritium slot – it’s not deep enough.

Here are the actual tritium slots – these seem to be 1.5mm x 6mm, and there are 6 slots total.

I find the tritium slots to be a great addition to the Acebeam E70-AL.  Now’s an unfortunate time to be looking for tritium, of course, since it’s as rare unicorn tears.  But when it’s available….

Only the head comes off the E70-AL.  I have a feeling with the right tool that the tailcap will come off too, but let me assure you that it won’t happen accidentally.

 

You can see that the threads are square-cut, anodized, and appropriately lubed.  They start easily too, and because of the anodization, a light loosening of the head will mechanically lock the light.

Inside, there are springs on the head and tail.

Also inside is this inner sleeve.  The tail switch is an e-switch.

Finally, note the toothed-bezel.  It feels like stainless steel.

Size and Comps

Weight: 102g (3.59OZ.) Without cell
128.3MM (LENGTH) X 30MM (HEAD DIAMETER) X 27MM (TUBE DIAMETER)

If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo).  If the flashlight 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.

As I said, the Acebeam E70-AL is not a small flashlight.  At 102g it’s not heavy.  I’m sure the stainless version has quite a hefty feel though.

Retention and Carry

There are two means of carry for the Acebeam E70-AL included and attached from the factory.  First is this pocket clip, which is a fairly standard-looking bent steel clip.

It’s a two-hole clip, and I’m fairly certain that this hole spacing is “standard” – if you wanted to put some skull clip on this light you should be able.

There is even a spare set of holes, in case you want… two clips?  I’m not actually sure why this extra set of holes is included.

The lanyard holes are different, as you can see.  Bigger, closer, and also do not appear threaded.  The lanyard ships installed, and I have to say it’s a good thing.  There isn’t really any good access to the backside of these holes for a user to install the lanyard.  That is unless the tailcap is removable (and again, I wasn’t able to remove it with just my hands.)

The lanyard is fine, and standard, and doesn’t prohibit tailstanding.

Also included is that velvet pouch seen above.  I actually photographed the backside (accidentally) – the front side has the Acebeam logo.

Power and Runtime

The Acebeam E70-AL is powered by a single lithium-ion cell.  The cell tube is suitable for a single 21700 cell.

My package did not include a 21700 cell, but an appropriate cell is available from Acebeam for $19.90.  I tested the light with a standard flat top 21700.  Mostly the Molicel P42A.  This flat top unprotected cell works fine in the light, but the tube is big enough that there’s just a bit of rattle.

Below are three runtime graphs.  The output looks pretty good but does step down quickly.  After the stepdown, the Acebeam E70-AL maintains >1100 lumens for over an hour.

High is very flat for around 95 minutes, then steps down to very low.  In this case (and above, and on Medium) the graph scale sort of confuses things – the light isn’t off after 95 minutes, it’s just on at around 50 lumens.  In my testing, the light didn’t shut off.

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
Turbo	4600	1h30m	3822	?
High	1300	1h45m	1170	?
Mid2	650	4h	497	?
Mid1	180	12h45m	143	?
Low	50	50h	46	?
Moonlight	1	11d	0.9	?

Pulse Width Modulation

No PWM on any mode.  No surprise with Acebeam lights, though.

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

A single tail switch is used for controlling the Acebeam E70-AL.  This is an e-switch and has what seems to be a metal cover.  The switch has very low action and can be actuated from any point (even the edge).  I like the switch quite a bit.

The user interface is a bit unusual in that it requires a double click from off to get into the regular modes.

Here’s a user interface table!

State	Action	Result
Off	Hold	Low
Off	Double Click	On (Mode Memory, except Moonlight or Turbo)
On	Click	Off
On (Except Moonlight)	Hold	Mode advance (Low>Mid1>Mid2>High)
On	Double Click	Turbo
Turbo	Click	Memorized mode (except Moonlight)
Any	Triple Click	Strobe
Off	Hold 5s	Lockout
Lockout	Hold 3s	Unlock to Moonlight

LED and Beam

Acebeam used a Cree XHP70.2 emitter in the E70-AL.  My copy has the 6500K version, but there looks to be a 5000K version available now.

This emitter is coupled with a small reflector that has a light orange peel texture.

The toothy bezel (I’m not sure it’s really a strike bezel) allows light to escape.

These beamshots are always with 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

• Interesting design
• Tritium slots
• Great sustained output over 1100 lumens for over an hour
• Hits throw specs
• Good beam profile

What I don’t like

• Double click from off?  I don’t hate it but it’s unusual
• Overall size – it’s a big light
• Nonremovable lanyard? Actually removing the lanyard is no problem, but getting it back on without removing the tailcap will be a burden
• The available cell adds $20 to the cost – this is an unreasonable cell price

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Notes

• This light was provided by KillzoneFlashlights.com 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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