JETBeam III M Ultra Tactical Flashlight Review
The JETBeam III M Ultra Tactical flashlight offers great throw as well as a dual-switch interface for tactical use. USB-C charging is built-in, too!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the JETBeam III M Ultra flashlight product page on flashlightgo.com.
Versions
I think there is only one version of the JETBeam III M Ultra tactical flashlight specifically, but there are at least two versions of the JETBeam III M Pro. One of those is a very cool antiqued edition!
Price
The JETBeam III M Ultra tactical flashlight sells for $84.99 and is available now.
Short Review on the JETBeam III M Ultra tactical flashlight
There’s a lot to like about the III M Ultra. (One of those things is not the annoying name…) I love the anodization on this light – it’s unusually good! The throw is great, and while I don’t love a three-output user interface, this one isn’t! Turbo is hidden behind a double click (which is ok).
Long Review
The Big Table
| JETBeam III M Ultra tactical flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Cree XHP35 HD |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $84.99 |
| Cell: | 1×18650 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Both |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | with cell: all modes without cell: lowest 3 modes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 2000 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 1298 (64.9% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 16.6 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 270 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 630lux @ 6.085m = 23327cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 305.5 (113.1% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 7600-8900 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 III M Ultra tactical flashlight
- JETBeam 3500mAh 18650
- Charging cable (USB to USB-C with powerbank feature)
- Lanyard
- Spare o-ring
- Nylon pouch
- Manual, etc.
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
The anodizing really stands out on the JETBeam III M Ultra tactical flashlight. It has an interesting shine. Sometimes that feels cheap, but in this case, it feels great! It seems like high-quality anodizing.
Around the light, the quality is good, too.
These are some of the smoothest threads I can recall – both because they’re well-made and also properly lubricated.
Above, you can see the beefy spring in the tailcap. Inside the cell tube (below), there’s also a spring. Dual springs – just what you’d want on a tactical light!
Size and Comps
Dimensions: 142mm (Length) x 35.3mm (Head Diameter) x 26.4mm (Tail Diameter)
Weight:120g (Without 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 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.)
Retention and Carry
JETBeam put a standard pocket clip on the III M Ultra tactical flashlight. It’s a friction-fit pocket clip, and is fine.
Clip hug!
Another option for carry, and probably more useful for tactical users, is the lanyard, which attaches through either of these two holes in the tailcap.
A final option for carrying the JETBeam III M Ultra is this nylon pouch. The light is not intended to be used while inside the pouch.
Power and Runtime
Included with the JETBeam III M Ultra tactical flashlight is a single 18650 cell. It’s a button top cell, with a rated capacity of 3500mAh.
The cell goes into the light in the usual way – cell positive end toward the head of the light.
Below you can see three runtime tests. Output is below specification, but still fairly high for a single emitter light. Output on Medium is very stable for hours.
The light does exhibit low voltage protection.
Charging
Built into the head of the III M Ultra is a USB-C charging port. It’s covered with a press-in rubber boot.
An appropriate cable is included – it’s USB to USB-C. The cable has an out port built-in as well – this is one way that the light can be used as a powerbank but more on that below.
Near the charging port is a charge indicator – below you can see this lit in red, which indicates charging is ongoing. When charging is complete, this indicator turns green.
Charging (via USB or USB-C) is fairly quick, reaching nearly 2A, and completing in around 3 hours.
Powerbank
The powerbank feature of the JETBeam III M Ultra tactical flashlight is just like other JETBeams I’ve tested before (the JETBeam TH10R, for example). That data is included here.
The USB-C port can be used to discharge the 18650 inside the TH10R too. It can do this two ways – by using the included cable and plugging a USB (A) cable into the female port. The TH10R can also be discharged (aka “used as a powerbank”) with C to C. Here’s a test of fully discharging the included 18650. First a bit of a stress test – output voltage really drops on high output.
But at around 1A, the voltage will stay very steady and maybe a bit lower than USB specification. Should work fine, though. That bit of blue at the end is nothing to fuss about. My logger was turning the powerbank on and off. Shut off voltage was around 3V; that’s good too.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 2000 | 2.5h | |
| High | 950 | 3h | |
| Medium | 250 | 7.5h | |
| Low | 40 | 26h |
Pulse Width Modulation
None of the modes use 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
Two switches operate the III M Ultra tactical flashlight. The main switch is a proud mechanical clicky right there in the center.
Note that this is exactly the same setup as is seen on the JETBeam TH10R. In fact, those two lights are so similar, they really seem to differ only in the size of the head with this (III M Ultra) being the “throwy” option.
The paddle switch is an e-switch and can be accessed from two sides.
The switch is accessible from two sides and plays at allowing tailstanding (but that doesn’t really work in my experience.) (Not that you’d really want to tailstand this light.)
The second option, and the option you’ll use for mode changes and accessing strobe and the like. This is what I (and most everyone) call a paddle switch.
The switch is a sort of seesaw – that is it’s hinged in the middle but is one piece – because when you depress on one side, the other side rises.
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click mechanical switch | On (mode memory) |
| Off | Tap mechanical switch | Momentary mode memory |
| Off | Hold paddle switch | Momentary strobe |
| Off | Long hold paddle switch (>3s) | Steady strobe |
| Off | Tap paddle switch | Battery indicator^ |
| On | Click mechanical switch | Off |
| On | Tap paddle switch | Mode advance (LMH) |
| On | Hold paddle switch | Momentary strobe |
| On | Double click paddle switch | Turbo |
| Turbo or SOS | Tap paddle switch | Return to previous |
| On | Click paddle switch 3x | SOS |
^ Battery indicator flashes only in red, and works as follows:
Four flashes: >91% power
Three flashes: 50% power
Two flashes: 25% power
One flash: <10% power
LED and Beam
JETBeam has used a Cree XHP35 HD emitter. It’s coupled with an orange peel reflector.
The bezel has teeth, so light escapes when headstanding.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
There’s quite a bit of tint shift across the beam, which I think you can clearly see in the beam photos below. This CRI and CCT information represents nearly the center of the beam, which is in fact the coolest part. CRI is in the low 70s, too.
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
- Complete package, including high capacity 18650
- Uses standard 18650
- Simple user interface
- Good for tactical duty (two beefy springs)
- USB-C charging (and C to C works fine)
- Powerbank feature
What I don’t like
- Cool white beam
- Turbo (really “the fourth mode” sort of “hidden” behind a double click. (I don’t actually care that it’s turbo that’s hidden, but I’d rather the double click be a fifth output level.)
Notes
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