Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray Flashlight Review
The new Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray is an AA-sized flashlight. It supports 1.5V and 4.2V cells and includes a 14500! At 1000 lumens, it’s around 6500K.
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a referral link to the Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray flashlight product page at killzoneflashlights.com.
Versions
It appears that the name here is specific: “Gray” (the body color) also indicates that this is the higher output version of the Pokelit. There are many versions of the Pokelit. There’s the “regular” high CRI and 5000K version. There’s a copper version of that same light. There’s also a two-cell version, the Pokelit 2AA.
Of this specific light, however (the Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray flashlight) there seems to be just one version.
Price
The Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray flashlight sells for $34.90 and is available now.
Short Review
I already loved the Pokelit – I love my orange one and I love the Acebeam-customized copper one. If I need a higher output option, this Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray flashlight is a great choice. It retains the great user interface, cell compatibility, and size of the other AA versions. I like it!
Long Review
The Big Table
| Acebeam Pokelit AA (New) | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | unstated (Cool White) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $34.90 |
| Cell: | 1×14500 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C (on cell) |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | – |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 1000 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 835 (83.5% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 2.52 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 105 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 112lux @ 4.892m = 2680cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 103.5 (98.6% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | 6500K |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | |
| Item provided for review by: | Acebeam |
| All my Acebeam reviews! | |
| Acebeam Pokelit AA (New) | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | unstated (Cool White) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $34.90 |
| Cell: | 1xAA |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Basically |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | – |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 349 |
| Candela per Lumen | 2.66 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | – |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 47lux @ 4.792m = 1079cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 65.7 |
| Claimed CCT | 6500K |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | |
| 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 Gray flashlight
- Acebeam 920mAh 14500
- Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
- Spare o-rings (2)
- Lanyard
- Manual
- Two diffusers (these are optional purchases)
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
The Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray flashlight is built exactly like my orange Pokelit. It’s just about like the Rider RX but without the sleeve and without the fidget business. It’s about like that, but not exactly. You can read more about the (great) Acebeam Rider RX here. I’ve actually reviewed two of those (aluminum, too).
I loved that light and still carry it often, but this Acebeam Pokelit AA flashlight is a nice slimmed-down version. The build quality of the Acebeam Pokelit AA flashlight is just fine. No issues or concerns to mention.
Only the head is removable here. That means the tailcap reeding is a bit silly, and would be great if the head had that same detail. But the head is easy to remove when needed, anyway. The threads are unanodized but still very smooth.
Inside the cell tube, you can see a spring for the negative contact.
Size and Comps
Length: 94.8mm
Diameter: 18.8mm
Weight: 54.6g 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 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
Included for carry of the Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray flashlight is this two-way friction fit pocket clip.
The pocket clip has a lanyard hole in the shoulder, too. This is acceptable. I’m not the biggest fan of attaching lanyards to friction-fit pocket clips, but it seems to work.
Power and Runtime
Included with the Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray 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 included 14500 cell is a standard button top, with a capacity of 920mAh.
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 AA Gray flashlight runs on lithium-ion and 1.5V cells.
Charging
While the Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray 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 is a charge cycle using C to C. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 1000 + 600 | 35s + 49m | 835 | 2.91 |
| Medium | 330 | 1h50m | 273 | 0.81 |
| Low | 5 | 58h | 2.5 | [low] |
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | – | – | 349 | 3.04 |
| Medium | – | – | 103 | 0.91 |
| Low | – | – | 0.2 | [low] |
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. Below (and below through the remainder of this post, in grouped photos) the top row is L>H 14500 and the bottom row is L>H AA (NiMH).
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 Gray 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. 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 | On (Mode memory) |
| Off | Tap | Momentary On (Mode Memory) |
| On | Click | Off |
| Off | Repeated taps | Mode advance (LMH) |
LED and Beam
In the Acebeam Pokelit AA Gray flashlight is a single emitter but I can’t see anywhere that Acebeam has stated what it is. To get the higher output, Acebeam opted for the 6500K emitter.
That emitter is paired with a smooth and not-all-that-deep reflector.
An additional purchase option are these two diffusers. One is white and one is orange. The just slip right over the front of the light.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
The higher output benefits come with a sacrifice: CCT is much cooler than the other Pokelit flashlights, and CRI is also lower. But that’s the tradeoff we accept for higher output.
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.
The 14500 output is noticeably brighter than the AA output, and the photos below adequately demonstrate that. The AA output is still quite usable though.
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
- Runs on both lithium-ion and AA (alkaline and NiMH) cell types
- Very simple user interface
- Great price point
- That there’s a higher output version of Pokelit available
What I don’t like
- PWM (but it’s fast, so does this really matter?)
- Mode memory (the light should always start in low)
Notes
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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