Acebeam Defender P17 Tactical Flashlight Review
Another tactical flashlight in the Acebeam P series is the Defender P17. Using a Cree XHP70.3 HI emitter, it has astonishing output! Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Versions
Only one version of the Acebeam Defender P17 tactical flashlight is available.
Price
As shown in this review, the P17 is $119.90.
Short Review
Very much like the Acebeam P18, the Defender P17 tactical flashlight is a very nice light. The output from the single Cree XHp70.3 HI emitter is incredible and the user interface is nice and tactical. The dual switches function wonderfully and have a nice clean action. I don’t love that it’s the cell that has USB-C charging, especially since a similar light like the P18 has built-in charging. But it’s fine, and it’s one fewer thing to break on the light itself.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Acebeam Defender P17 Tactical Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Cree XHP70.3 HI (6500K) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $119.90 |
| Cell: | 1×21700 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| 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) | 4900 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 3489 (71.2% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 12.2 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 445 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 1295lux @ 6.138m = 48789cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 441.8 (99.3% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | 6500 |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 6800-8300 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 Defender P17 tactical flashlight
- Acebeam 5100mAh 21700
- Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
- Spare o-rings (2)
- Manual etc
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
Like practically all other Acebeam lights, this Defender P17 has fantastic build quality. The light also has a great shape for a handheld thrower.
Threads on the cell tube are fairly smooth. They’re unanodized, square-cut, well-lubed, 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.
The head end also has a beefy spring, too.
The head end has cooling fins of some depth – maybe deeper than some other recent Acebeam lights. The cell tube is completely removable, but the cell can’t be installed through the opening on the positive end. The cell is “captured” in this direction.
There are differences in the head and tail threads, too – the cell tube is not reversible.
Size and Comps
147mm x 41mm x 26mm (tube) x 26mm (tail)
227g (with cell), 185g (without cell)
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 on the left is a new feature light!! Laulima Metal Craft sent this Todai in tumbled aluminum for some size comparison photos like the ones above. Laulima has a bunch of incredible items. I’ve tested one (the Laulima Metal Craft Hoku) (the official site for Hoku is here) that was a Friend Fund Friday review. I was impressed enough by that Hoku that I bought a Laulima Metal Craft Diamond Slim (also in tumbled aluminum) (review is upcoming!) These lights by Laulima have impeccable build quality and not only that, they’re quite configurable. There are some (great, actually) default configurations, but Joshua Dawson (of Laulima Metal Craft) is open to ideas and emitter options and the like. I haven’t reviewed this Todai, but I have to say, it feels absolutely fantastic and I love it thus far. (Notably, I love how warm and eggy those emitters look through the TIR.)
Shorty P17!!
Retention and Carry
A pocket clip is included (and installed by default) with the Acebeam Defender P17 tactical flashlight. This clip is a fairly standard two-way friction-fit clip.
In the clip, there are a couple of holes where a lanyard could be attached.
No carry pouch or lanyard or anything else is included, but there is a place to attach a lanyard on the tailcap.
Power and Runtime
Power to the Acebeam Defender P17 tactical flashlight is from a single lithium-ion cell. My package included a cell, and this cell is included at the purchase price. The cell is a 5100mAh 21700.
The cell is installed into the P17 in the usual way – positive terminal toward the head.
Below are a few runtime tests. The light blinks (main emitters!) when cell voltage is low (around 3V) and then finally shuts off.
Charging
While the light itself does not have built-in charging, the included cell does. That’s by way of a USB-C charging port on the positive end, seen below.
An appropriate (short) cable is included. It’s USB to USB-C.
Charging works fine with both A and C versions of USB, and requires around 4 hours to complete.
When charging there’s a little charge indicator on the positive end of the cell. While charging, it indicates in red – when charging is complete, this indicator turns green.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 4900 + 1250 + 90 | 40s + 1h55m + 1h | 3736 (0s) 3489 (30s) |
| High | 2200 + 1250 + 90 | 6m + 1h50m + 1h | 1596 |
| Medium | 580 + 90 | 5h30m + 20m | 420 |
| Low | 90 | 1.5d | 66.5 |
| Ultra-Low | 3 | 20d | 2.57 |
Pulse Width Modulation
The P17 does not have PWM in any mode! That’s great. And one of the things I love about Acebeam flashlights.
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
No surprise with this tactical light, there are two switches on the tailcap. One is a standard mechanical forward clicky, and the other (shorter) switch is more of a “paddle switch” feel (but it’s actually an e-switch button.)
Both switches are very nice. In fact, the “paddle” switch is one of the things I especially like about the P18!
There are actually three user interface groups on the Acebeam Defender P18 tactical flashlight. One is a Daily Mode and the other two are both tactical. One of those is sort of “very tactical,” with limited access to some of the output levels. The other tactical still allows access to all (or nearly all) of the output levels but has more tactical access.
Here’s a UI table for the Daily mode. Acebeam calls the bigger, round, mechanical switch the “Tactical Switch” (regardless of which user group you’re in). The other (which looks like a paddle switch) is called the “Function switch.” I will call them by those names in the table below.
The groups share user interface characteristics except where noted in the table.
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Tap Tactical switch | Momentary on of memorized mode |
| Off | Click Tactical switch | On in memorized mode |
| Off | Tap Function Switch | Daily: Momentary on of ultra-low
Tactical mode 1: Strobe Tactical mode 2: High |
| Off | Hold Function switch >3s | Daily: On in ultra-low
Tactical mode 1: On in Strobe Tactical mode 2: On in High |
| Daily: On in ultra-low
Tactical mode 1: On in Strobe Tactical mode 2: On in High |
Tap either | Off |
| On | Click Tactical switch | Off |
| On | Click Function switch | Daily: Low>Medium>High>Turbo
Tactical mode 1: Low>Medium>High>Turbo Tactical mode 2: Ultra-Low>Low>High |
| On | Hold Function switch | Daily: SOS
Tactical mode 1: Strobe Tactical mode 2: High |
| Off | Hold function switch 3s, click tactical switch (while still holding function switch) | Light enters mode switching |
| Mode switching | Click function switch | Emitters blink and await user input through the function switch |
| Emitters blinking in mode switching | Click Function switch | Strobe: Tactical Mode 1 High: Tactical Mode 2 SOS: Daily Mode |
| Strobe or High or SOS (per desired mode group) | Click Tactical switch | Mode group is selected |
LED and Beam
Acebeam has used a single Cree XHP70.3 HI emitter in the Defender P17 tactical flashlight. That’s a great choice for high output and great throw, too!
The beam profile benefits from this lightly orange peel reflector that is deep and generally fairly big.
The bezel has a bit of shape to it, so when headstanding, some light can escape. There are three glass breaking beads on the bezel, too.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
CCT is in the [very] “cool white” range, and CRI is low at around 74.
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
- Excellent build quality
- C to C charging works well
- Complete package (includes cell)
- Great (and throwy) beam profile
- Versatile user interface(s)
- Design language matches other lights by Acebeam from this generation
- Uses a standard 21700 cell (which is included!)
- I also love the grey color!
What I don’t like
- Price
- Cool to very cool CCT
- Low CRI
Notes
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