Acebeam Pokelit AA Titanium Flashlight Review
Acebeam has a special titanium version of the Pokelit AA flashlight! It has a cool anodized swirl finish as well as still offering the Nichia 519a. Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Versions
There are a few versions of the Pokelit! I think it’s a popular light. There’s a 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 a “New” Pokelit AA that has a different emitter and higher output. There’s even a 2xAA version!
Price
The Acebeam Pokelit AA Titanium flashlight sells for $79.90 and is available through my affiliate link.
Short Review
This is a neat entry into the Pokelit lineup. It’s really titanium, and the swirls that cover the light are pretty neat, too. I’m not sure how they’re on the light, really. It could be some special anodizing or other treatment.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Acebeam Pokelit AA Titanium flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Nichia 519a (5000K, High CRI) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $79.99 on at killzoneflashlights.com |
| Cell: | 1×14500 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Yes (on cell) |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C (on cell) |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 500 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 388 (77.6% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 3.72 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 86 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 57lux @ 4.787m = 1306cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 72.3 (84.1% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | 5000 |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 4600-4800 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Acebeam |
| All my Acebeam reviews! | |
| Acebeam Pokelit AA Titanium flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Nichia 519a (5000K, High CRI) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $79.90 |
| Cell: | 1xAA |
| High Runtime Graph | Medium Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | – |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 230 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 181 (78.7% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 3.47 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | – |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 42lux @ 3.871m = 629cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 50.2 |
| Claimed CCT | 5000 |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 4500-4700 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 Pokelit AA Titanium flashlight
- Acebeam 920mAh 14500
- Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
- Spare o-rings (2)
- Lanyard
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
I’ve tested a number of the Pokelit flashlights now, and just a quick summary: I love them! I like this titanium version too. The swirls featured prominently are very interesting. I am not sure how they’re applied. It could be anodizing, or it could be a coating of some sort. The light has a bit of a glossy feel on the outside, but on the inside, there’s clear proof that the material is titanium.
A nice touch is that the little metal sleeve around the switch is also coated!
The build quality of the Acebeam Pokelit AA Titanium flashlight is just fine. No issues or concerns to mention.
In the threads, you get the real sense that this is titanium. Not that it wouldn’t be – I trust Acebeam to use what they said. Titanium threads are often grainy. Even good ones can be easily identified by feel as “clearly titanium.” And you get that here. The threads are great, but identifiably titanium.
The tail end has a spring, of course. The head has just a button for positive contact.
Size and Comps
Length: 94.8mm
Diameter: 18.2mm
Body diameter: 17.8mm
Weight: 66.7g 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. I also reviewed that specific edition, the “Oveready BOSS FT Collector Vintage Brass” 35. I love it!
Retention and Carry
Included for carry of the Acebeam Pokelit AA Titanium 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. The pocket clip is removable, but still quite snug.
Power and Runtime
Included with the Acebeam Pokelit AA Titanium 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.
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 Pokelit 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.
Charging looks fine but is a bit slow at around 0.5C.
I didn’t log an A to C cycle, but I have in previous reviews that include this cell (like this one).
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps (@4.2V) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 500 + 190 | 45s + 2m20s | 421 (0s) 388 (30s) |
1.98 |
| Medium | 190 | 5.5h | 79 | 0.35 |
| Low | 5 | 58h | 3.9 | 0.01 |
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps (@1.5V) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 230 + 120 + 70 + 60 + 50 + 40 + 30 | 30s + 90s + 45m + 12m + 18m + 16m + 25m | 198 (0s) 181 (30s) |
3.16 |
| Medium | 70 + 60 + 50 + 40 + 30 | 50m + 12m + 18m + 16m + 25m | 65 | 0.69 |
| Low | 0.5 | 7d | 0.2 | – |
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 Acebeam Pokelit AA Titanium 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 user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | Low (if the light has been off for >2s) |
| Off | Tap | Momentary On (Mode Memory) |
| On | Click | Off |
| Off | Repeated taps | Mode advance (LMH) |
LED and Beam
In the Pokelit AA Ti 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 well 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.
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
- Neat design on the titanium body
- 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
- User interface seems to have switched to a “start-on-low” order
What I don’t like
- PWM (but it’s fast, so does this really matter?)
- Just three modes (one more would be nice)
Notes
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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