Acebeam Rider RX Flashlight Review
The Acebeam Rider RX has been making a splash lately, and with good reason! It’s a 5000K, High CRI flashlight that uses one 14500 or AA cell!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a referral link to the Acebeam Rider RX flashlight product page at killzoneflashlights.com.
Versions
There are quite a few versions by this point. There are four finishes of this metal (which I believe is stainless steel with the internal blue part being aluminum.)
Acebeam has also just announced a stonewashed titanium version.
I believe all these have the same emitter and are otherwise identical internally.
Price
All colors of this version I have (ie the “not titanium” versions) are $44.99. They’re available at killzoneflashlights.com. You can find them on Amazon too! Here’s my referral link to Amazon.
Short Review
I think this light at $55 is a fantastic deal! The build quality is great, and it accepts both AA (1.5V) and lithium-ion (4.2V) cells. Despite being “into” fidgety things, the pocket clip fidgetiness does not actually do anything for me. It’s neat, but not something I’ll use. The output is great from both a numbers perspective and from a CRI and CCT perspective, too. I’m very pleased with this light.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Acebeam Rider RX Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Nichia 219f (5000K, CRI90) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $44.99 on KillzoneFlashlights.com |
| Cell: | 1×14500 |
| High Runtime Graph | Medium Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C (on cell) |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | – |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 650 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 565 (86.9% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 5.2 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 96 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 129lux @ 4.642m = 2780cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 105.4 (109.8% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | 5000 |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 4500-4800 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Acebeam |
| All my Acebeam reviews! | |
| Acebeam Rider RX Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Nichia 219f (5000K, CRI90) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $54.95 on Amazon |
| Cell: | 1xAA |
| High Runtime Graph | Medium Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | – |
| Power off Charge Port | – |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 200 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 166 (83% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 5.4 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | – |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 80lux @ 3.564m = 1016cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 63.8 |
| Claimed CCT | 5000 |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 4500-4600 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Acebeam |
| 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 Rider RX flashlight
- Acebeam 920mAh 14500
- Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
- Spare o-rings (4, two types)
- Lanyard
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
Build quality on the Acebeam Rider RX flashlight is great, as you’d probably expect from Acebeam. The outer shell (the silvery part) is made of stainless steel. That blue inner sleeve is aluminum. There are also copper parts in here.
The pill, seen below, is copper. Because they’re copper, they are uncoated but still smooth.
For lack of a better place to put these photos, below you can see where the moveable pocket clip moves to. There are three detents that latch into place very pleasantly and positively. They provide a fidgety amount of resistance and do in fact slide around very nicely (when you want them to do so).
Size and Comps
Size：95.7mm x 18.6mm x 26.1mm
Weight：82g (2.89oz) with battery
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.
Retention and Carry
As covered above, there’s a pocket clip included and attached. This clip is held in place by two screws and is thus very secure.
The pocket clip is the crux of the fidget factor on the Acebeam Rider RX flashlight and can be twisted around then pushed forward for use as a fidget toy.
This actuation is also necessary for swapping the cell. Otherwise, the head (seen in blue above and below) is inaccessible.
When in the resting state, the pocket clip has a little groove to rest in. When in the extended state, there is no groove.
Repeated actuation of the pocket clip will result in a thin black line on the head of the Rider RX, but it’s a minimal mark.
When the body is extended (or the sleeve is pulled back?), the tailswitch becomes nearly inaccessible.
There’s also a lanyard included. That lanyard attaches to the pocket clip.
Because the pocket clip is screwed on, and the lanyard attaches through a hole, this lanyard attachment is very secure.
Power and Runtime
Included with the Acebeam Rider RX flashlight is a lithium-ion 14500 cell. However, the Rider RX will also run on a single AA cell, too (that is, a 1.5V cell – primary or NiMH.)
The included 14500 cell is a standard button top, with a capacity of 920mAh.
The cell goes into the light in the usual orientation: button (positive end) toward the head.
I tested with both the included cell and one of these Amazon basics NiMH cells as seen below.
Here are some runtime tests. I accidentally tested High with the 14500 twice, but I figured why not show both graphs.
Performance with the 14500 cell is good, and there seems to be reliable low voltage protection.
I also tested the highest two levels with a NiMH, as mentioned above. Output with a NiMH is lower than the 14500 cell.
Overall I’d say performance is good, and I really appreciate that the Acebeam Rider RX flashlight runs on both lithium-ion and 1.5V cells.
Charging
While the Acebeam Rider RX flashlight itself doesn’t have built-in charging, the included cell does. That’s USB-C charging, and the port can be seen below.
Acebeam includes a short USB to USB-C cable.
Here are a few charge cycles. Charging looks fine, but is a bit slow at around 0.5C.
C to C charging works fine, but is no faster than USB to USB-C.
Modes and Currents
14500:
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps (@4.2V) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 650/450/330 | 2m/6m/55m | 565 | 3.07 |
| Medium | 280 | 60m | 268 | 1.10 |
| Low | 70 | 3h8m | 58 | 0.27 |
| Ultra-Low | 7 | 53h | 3 | 0.01 |
AA:
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps (@1.5V) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 200/150/85 | 1m/6m/120m | 166 | 4.25 |
| Medium | 80 | 130m | 63 | 0.95 |
| Low | 5 | 24h | 4.3 | 0.05 |
| Ultra-Low | 0.5 | 7d | 0.3 | 0.01 |
Pulse Width Modulation
Every mode from both cell types uses PWM. It’s not at all bad PWM though, and I don’t find it the least bit noticeable.
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 switch controls the Rider RX. This is a mechanical tail switch and has a nice big metal (“probably metal”) switch cover.
The switch is quite proud, but with enough determination, the light will tailstand.
As you can see below, the action is quite deep. When depressed (or “on”) the switch does rebound. That is to say, it doesn’t stay flush with the steel body.
Here’s a user interface table! The user interface for either cell type is the same.
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | On (Mode Memory) |
| Off | Rapidly Tap | Mode advance (through all four steady modes) |
| Off | Tap 8x | SOS |
| On | Click | Off |
LED and Beam
In the Acebeam Rider RX flashlight is a single Nichia 219f emitter. This is my first experience with the 219f, and I’m happy with it. Acebeam opted for the 5000K High CRI (90) version.
That emitter is paired with a smooth and not all that deep reflector.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
As stated above, Acebeam calls this a 5000K, CRI90 emitter. I’m happy to report that mine seems to be warmer than 5000K (around 4600K-4800K, depending on the mode) and at or above 90 CRI for every mode.
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.
The 14500 output is noticeably brighter than the AA output, and the photos below adequately demonstrate that. The AA output is still quite usable though.
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
- Attractive light
- Neat fidgety factor
- Nichia 219f seems like a great emitter (high CRI, good CCT)
- Complete package
- Runs on both lithium-ion and AA (alkaline and NiMH) cell types
- Very simple user interface
- Great price point
What I don’t like
- I don’t actually care about the fidget factor on this light. It’s neat but I won’t use it that way
Notes
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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