Acebeam E70 Mini Flashlight Review

Acebeam released a mini version of the E70 flashlight! This version is a triple emitter High CRI 18650 version, and packs a punch! Read on!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a referral link to the Acebeam E70 Mini flashlight product page on killzoneflashlights.com.

Versions

I believe this is the only E70 Mini at this time. Of course, there’s the E70 which I already reviewed. And that (bigger) E70 comes in many formats – different body materials, different emitters, etc. But this E70 Mini seems to be just one version (for now!)

Price

KillzoneFlashlights.com has the E70 Mini flashlight at $79.90 right now.  That includes the button top 18650 cell you see in this review. If you really don’t need a cell, the light alone can be had for $69.90. You can buy the Acebeam E70 Mini flashlight on Amazon.com!

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Short Review

I liked the Acebeam E70 just fine, but always thought it was too big. This 18650 version answers not only that complaint but offers high CRI and 5000K output. And in a triple! I love all of those things. Now if Acebeam would just make that inner blue sleeve in orange…..

Long Review

The Big Table

Acebeam E70 Mini flashlight
Emitter:	Nichia 519a (5000K)
Price in USD at publication time:	$69.90 on KillzoneFlashlights.com
Cell:	1×18650
Turbo Runtime Graph	High Runtime Graph
LVP?	Yes
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA):	?
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Charge Port Type:	USB-C (on cell)
Charge Graph
Power off Charge Port	–
Claimed Lumens (lm)	2000
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	1376 (68.8% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	4
Claimed Throw (m)	153
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	253lux @ 4.602m = 5358cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	146.4 (95.7% of claim)^
Claimed CCT	5000K
Measured CCT Range (K)	4800-5000 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 E70 Mini flashlight
• Acebeam 3100mAh 18650
• Spare o-rings (2)
• Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
• Lanyard
• Manual and papers

Package and Manual

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! I’m happy with the size of this light. Generally because I’d say I’m happy with the size of 21700 cell lights. But this is an 18650 cell light…. What I mean by that is that it’s “probably big” for an 18650 light, but the size isn’t offputting (You should be off pudding!), because the size is still acceptable. But look at the size comparisons below to make your mind up. (It’s shorter than a Convoy S2+, and everyone should have many of those!)

 

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. Also, note the toothed bezel.  It feels like stainless steel.

I find the tritium slots to be a great addition to the Acebeam E70 Mini flashlight.  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 Mini.  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.

 

Size and Comps

Size: 4.37”/111mm (Length) x 1.02”/26mm (Head Dia.) x 0.92”/23.4mm (Body Dia.)
Weight: 72g (2.53oz) without battery, 120g(4.23oz) 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.

Here are the two E70’s compared. The E70 (Big) is much bigger than the E70 Mini.  Much bigger in fact, and probably bigger than “proportionally bigger.” Which is great because that means the E70 Mini is actually proportionally smaller, making it fairly reasonable! Probably some of that is due to it being a triple, and not having the height of a reflector in there.

Retention and Carry

There are two means of carry for the Acebeam E70 Mini flashlight included.  First is this pocket clip, which is a fairly standard-looking steel clip.

I say only “fairly standard” as it’s still sort of different. And it’s definitely different from the E70 clip, which is bent. This one is actually fairly straight and has a surprising amount of stiffness.

These two holes appear to be an alternate mounting point for the pocket clip. It’s also possible that they offer different hole spacing for use of a different type of pocket clip (ie a Steel flame clip). There are also two other holes, which I missed for pictures in this section, which are not only different, they’re not threaded and bigger, and are for the lanyard.

Here’s the included lanyard. I attached it to the pocket clip, which works fine. There are also holes in the tailcap (not seen below!)

Power and Runtime

The Acebeam E70 Mini flashlight is powered by a single lithium-ion cell.  The cell tube is suitable for a single 18650 cell.

For $10 you can add on the cell seen here. This is a standard button top cell but does offer USB-C charging. If you don’t need that and have your own cells, using your own will definitely save you a few dollars.

The cell goes into the light in the usual way: positive terminal toward the head.

Below are three runtime graphs.  The output looks pretty good but does step down quickly.  After the stepdown, the Acebeam E70 Mini maintains >400 lumens for over an hour and a half.

High (second-highest output) maintains over 600 lumens for over an hour. Not too bad.

The next graph is the third-highest is very stable at around 290 lumens.

The fourth-highest output is very stable at around 130 lumens.

Charging

The cell offers charging by way of a USB-C charging port in the positive terminal.

A USB to USB-C cable is included.

While charging, the top (positive end) of the cell is red. When charging is complete, the indicator turns green.

Both USB and USB-C power can charge the cell. The profile is about the same for either, and requires around 3 hours to complete.

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
Turbo	2000~600	40s~2h	1376	?
High	900~600	2m~1h55m	645	?
Mid2	380	3h15m	286	?
Mid1	170	7h	131	?
Low	60	19h	52	?
Ultra-Low	12	100h	9.9	?

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 Mini flashlight.  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. I believe the UI to be exactly like the big E70 except that you can now cycle into the modes from Ultra-Low!

Here’s a UI table!

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

LED and Beam

Acebeam smartly used a triple emitter array here, and also smartly used some of the newest and best emitters. These three are Nichia 519a emitters in 5000K and high CRI.  They’re really fantastically great.

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

LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)

Just look at those circles! At a glance you can evaluate how closely the big red circle matches the big black circle – the closer these two are the more you’re going to like the output from any flashlight. These two are VERY CLOSE. Acebeam’s claim of “5000K” is supported by these tests, as is their claim of High CRI. This is a very very good report.

Beamshots

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 and great little brother to the E70
• Tritium slots
• Excellent High CRI output
• Great beam profile (defined broad spot with even output)
• 5000K claim is met
• Hits throw specs

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 $10 to the cost – this is an unreasonable cell price

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Notes

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