Acebeam Pokelit Copper Flashlight Review
The Acebeam Pokelit Copper is an AA-sized flashlight supporting 1.5V and 4.2V cells and it includes a 14500! It’s 5000K and high CRI, too!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s an affiliate link to the Acebeam Pokelit Copper flashlight product page.
Versions
Other than this Nichia 519a copper version of the Acebeam Pokelit flashlight, there’s an aluminum version in various colors. That version uses a Nichia 219f emitter though (which is also great). There’s even a 2xAA version!
Price
The Acebeam Pokelit Copper flashlight sells for $44.90 and is available through my affiliate link.
Short Review
First off, thanks to Acebeam for sending this personalized version as a Christmas gift – I don’t think they even wanted testing of it. But that’s my jam, and I love the light, so it is logical to test. The point there is a short review is I still love it! I loved the other Pokelit (in orange) but that one had a different emitter. It was great, too!
This copper version is great. I probably prefer the Nichia 519a emitter, and the copper used here is polished to a fine shine. The Acebeam Pokelit Copper flashlight is just a great light.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Acebeam Pokelit Copper Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Nichia 519a (5000K, High CRI) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $44.90 |
| Cell: | 1×14500 |
| High Runtime Graph | Medium Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes (on cell) |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C (on cell) |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 500 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 443 (88.6% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 3.3 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 86 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 77lux @ 4.468m = 1537cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 78.4 (91.2% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | 5000 |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 4700-5000 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Acebeam |
| All my Acebeam reviews! | |
| Acebeam Pokelit Copper Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Nichia 519a (5000K, High CRI) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $44.90 |
| Cell: | 1xAA |
| High Runtime Graph | Medium Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No (not for AA cells) |
| Charge Port Type: | – |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | – |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 230 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 216 (93.9% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 3.3 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | – |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 59lux @ 3.667m = 793cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 56.3 |
| Claimed CCT | 5000 |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 4500-5000 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Acebeam |
| All my Acebeam reviews! | |
^ Measurement disclaimer: I am an amateur flashlight reviewer. I don’t have $10,000 or even $1,000 worth of testing equipment. I test output and such in PVC tubes!! Please consider claims within 10% of what I measure to be perfectly reasonable (accurate, even).
What’s Included
I included this photo as a notice that the light ships sealed!
- Acebeam Pokelit Copper 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
Check out that personalization, thanks to Acebeam! Yes, my gift copy (not really “review copy”) of this light has “Zero Air’ engraved right there in the middle! Thank you Acebeam!
The build quality of the Acebeam Pokelit Copper flashlight is just fine. No issues or concerns to mention. The copper used here is super shiny! (That also makes it a bit of a fingerprint magnet.)
These threads are great – nice and smooth copper threads. The head has just a button for positive contact.
The tail end has a spring, of course.
Size and Comps
Length: 94.8mm
Diameter: 18.8mm
Weight: 94.1g with battery
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll also show that (usually in 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.
Also above is 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
Included for carry of the Acebeam Pokelit Copper flashlight is this two-way friction fit pocket clip. The pocket clip has a lanyard hole in the shoulder, too.
Clip hug!
Attaching a lanyard to the clip is acceptable. I’m not the biggest fan of attaching lanyards to friction-fit pocket clips, but it seems to work. I didn’t try it but I’ve read that this pocket clip might be secured to the light in some way (glue? or whatever.)
Power and Runtime
Included with the Acebeam Pokelit Copper flashlight is a lithium-ion 14500 cell. However, the Pokelit will also run on a single AA cell, too (that is, a 1.5V cell – primary or NiMH.)
The cell goes into the light in the usual orientation: button (positive end) toward the head.
The included 14500 cell is a standard button top, with a capacity of 920mAh. Just inside the cell tube is a little sticker with the cell orientation shown.
Below are a set of runtime graphs. Output with a NiMH (or any 1.5V cell) is lower than with the included 14500 cell.
Overall I’d say performance is good, and I really appreciate that the Acebeam Pokelit AA flashlight runs on both lithium-ion and 1.5V cells.
Charging
While the Acebeam Pokelit AA 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.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps (@4.2V) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 500 + 190 | 45s + 2m20s | 443 | 3.10 |
| Medium | 190 | 5.5h | 91 | 0.86 |
| Low | 5 | 58h | 0.01 |
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps (@1.5V) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 230 + 120 + 70 | 30s + 90s + 2h40m | 216 | 2.01 |
| Medium | 70 + 50 | 2h45m + 15m | 64 | 0.40 |
| Low | 0.5 | 7d | 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.
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, with 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
A single switch controls the Acebeam Pokelit Copper flashlight. While the action is like the Rider RX, the actual switch itself is very much (exactly?) like the Olight i5T Plus (for example), or the Olight i3T Plus Bamboo (for example), but the light as a whole is probably most like the Olight i5R, which I’ve reviewed in the Plum color. The user interface is pretty much the same, too!
The switch seems a bit unusual in that it seems to have hard sides with an internal soft-stippled contact point. And in this case the hard sides are actually matching copper! The hard sides make the action very smooth, and the stippled center bit makes it easy to grip. The action is very good. It’s smooth and direct and also very clicky.
Here’s a UI table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | On (Mode memory) |
| Off | Tap | Momentary On (Mode Memory) |
| On | Click | Off |
| Off | Repeated taps | Mode advance (LMH) |
LED and Beam
In the Pokelit Copper is a single Nichia 519a emitter. Nichia 519a is absolutely the latest and greatest, and the usage in this little Pokelit is very good. 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 at or above 90 CRI for every mode.
Beamshots
These beamshots are always with the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. As in the lists above, below the top row is output with the 14500 cell. The bottom row is using an AA cell.
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
- Very pretty and shiny copper (with not too much copper smell)
- Nichia 519a seems like a great emitter (high CRI, good CCT)
- Complete package (includes 920mAh 14500)
- Runs on both lithium-ion and AA (alkaline and NiMH) cell types
- Very simple user interface
- Great price point (especially for a solid copper light)
What I don’t like
- PWM (but it’s fast, so does this really matter?)
- Mode memory (the light should always start in low)
- Just three modes (one more would be nice)
Notes
- 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!
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