JETBeam BC20 TAC Tactical Flashlight Review
The JETBeam BC20 TAC Tactical flashlight offers a single Cree XP-L HI emitter and a simple, versatile user interface. Read on for more!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the JETBeam BC20 TAC tactical flashlight product page at flashlightgo.com.
Versions
I believe there’s just one version of the JETBeam BC20 TAC tactical flashlight.
Price
The JETBeam BC20 TAC comes in at a list price of $49.99, a reasonable price for a tactical flashlight such as this one.
Short Review
Often people wish for a single-mode flashlight. If you need that in a tactical way, this is a great choice. Provided you have the head tightened you can always have the highest output (and only the highest output). If you do need other modes, you can just loosen the head a bit. It’s an interesting and effective setup. I would love a less cold emitter, and this one seems particularly cold. USB-C charging works acceptably on this light, too, but is quite slow.
Long Review
The Big Table
| JETBeam BC20 TAC tactical flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Cree XP-L HI |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $49.99 at flashlightgo.com |
| Cell: | 1×18650 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Questionable |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 1100 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 994 (90.4% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 21.57 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 263 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 870lux @ 4.844m = 20414cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 285.8 (108.7% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 8100-11000 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | flashlightgo.com |
| All my JETBeam 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
- JETBeam BC20 TAC tactical flashlight
- Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
- Lanyard
- Spare 0-rings (2 types)
- Spare switch cover
- Manual etc
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
The JETBeam BC20 TAC tactical flashlight build quality seems fairly on par with the $50 price. It’s a tactical tube light but has grip in the body and tail areas.
Below you can see the tailcap removed. The threads on the body are nice and smooth and very long. That matches a nice long spring in the tailcap, too.
The head comes off as well, but we’ll cover that more in a later section.
Size and Comps
Length: 140mm
Head Size: 26.5mm
Weight: 97g (Exclude 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 is 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 titanium Todai 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.)
Retention and Carry
A pocket clip is included and ships already attached to the JETBeam BC20 TAC tactical flashlight. The clip is a standard one, and sufficient.
Also included is a lanyard that attaches through one of these holes in the tailcap.
The pocket clip has holes that could conceivably accommodate the lanyard, too, but since it’s a friction-fit clip, that’s less than ideal.
Power and Runtime
There are two possible power sources to run in the JETBeam BC20 TAC tactical flashlight. First is an 18650 cell. JETBeam doesn’t include an 18650 with the package. Also, an option for powering this light is two CR123 cells.
The cell goes into the BC20 TAC in the usual direction – the positive end toward the head.
Below are a couple of runtime tests. Output is fairly good, but not quite hitting the claim of 1100 lumens. However, and importantly, it’s close – it doesn’t seem like JETBeam is trying to game the numbers here.
I do note that the light does not seem to shut down with low voltage protection. But the output will get so low that you’ll notice it for sure, and know it’s time to charge the cell.
Charging
The JETBeam BC20 TAC tactical flashlight uses an interesting charging mechanism. It’s a typical USB-C charge port, but the head must be completely removed in order to gain access to this port. While this does protect the integrity of the charging port, it also sort of defeats the purpose of a built-in charging port in general.
Also note that the head doesn’t really have any extra grip, whereas the tailcap does. So between removing the head (to use built-in charging) and removing the tail (to use a bay-style charger or whatever), it does seem like removing the tail is an easier option.
A USB to USB-C charging cable is included.
As I said above, JETBeam didn’t include a cell. That could explain the charge rate you see below – around 0.75A. JETBeam might be playing it safe, not knowing what cell you’ll use, and going with a reasonable charging rate for any 18650. I find that less likely than the charge rate just being slow – it takes a long time! The “Time to Charge” may be a bit skewed, too, since charging never really seems to properly stop…
While charging, a red indicator LED on the top of the charge tube is lit. When charging is complete (or nearing completion), the indicator turns … “yellow” or some combination of red and some other color. It’s a bit confusing. But mainly, when it switches from red it’s time to take the light off charging.
It should also be noted that while two CR123 cells can work in the light, they should not be charged in the light!
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 1100 | 1.7h | 994 | 3.48 |
| Medium | 400 | 2.6h | 392 | 0.90 |
| Low | 22 | 52h | 20 | 0.04 |
Pulse Width Modulation
None of the outputs indicate the usage of PWM.
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 mechanical clicky controls all interaction with the JETBeam BC20 TAC tactical flashlight. The switch is proud but protected by the two lanyard loops. The light will tailstand.
Access is possible from the sides, and the BC20 TAC should be usable with gloves.
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off (Head fully tightened) | Click | High |
| On | Click | Off |
| Off (Head fully tightened) | Tap | Momentary High |
| Off (Head not fully tightened) | Click | On (Mode memory) |
| Off (Head not fully tightened) | Tap | Momentary on and mode advance (Strobe > High > Medium > Low) |
| On (Head not fully tightened) | Fully tighten head | High |
You might be wondering, as I did if you can lock a lower mode from a loosened head into being the one mode of a tightened head. This would allow you, for example, to reliably always have a single-mode Low (22 lumens) light. That is not the case – when you tighten the head from any mode, the light switches to high. I understand it electronically, I just would love it to be another way.
LED and Beam
JETBeam has used a single Cree XP-L HI emitter in the BC20 TAC. This is usually one of my very favorite emitters, but in this case, the output is just too cold white. The beam shape is great, though.
The emitter is coupled with a smooth, fairly deep reflector.
The bezel is flat, so light doesn’t escape when headstanding. This also means that there are no teeth, a feature commonly seen on tactical flashlights.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
As stated above, the output here is very cold white. On the highest level (which isn’t even driven that hard), I’m reading well over 10,000K. That’s cold-white, or blue. It’s very cold. That’s also the center of the beam, and toward the edges, it’s not nearly as cold. Lower levels are much less cold comparatively, but at over 8000K, still very cold. CRI is low, at around 70.
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.
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
- Relatively low cost for a tactical flashlight
- User interface is good and also interesting
- Good build quality
- Great beam shape
- Nice that it can use two CR123 cells, too.
What I don’t like
- Does not include 18650 cell
- VERY cold white output
- Just 3 steady modes
Notes
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
- Please use my Amazon.com referral link to help support zeroair.org!
- Please support me on Patreon! I deeply appreciate your support!