[Review] ACEBEAM L30 - XHP70.2 - 20700

Review Acebeam L30 - Rechargeable - 1*20700 – 1*18650 – 2*CR123

I apologize for my approximate English. I had the help of google translator but I do not know how much it served.
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The Acebeam L30 is equipped with the new CREE XHP 70.2 LED; In this test we are talking about the Neutral White (5000 K) version. Thanks to the new LED and the 4250 mAh lithium 20700 battery, the L30 reaches 4000 lumens in Turbo. Tactical torch with dual switch, side and tail.

THE PACKAGING:

Nice packed cardboard box with book opening thanks to the right side calamitized. They are highlighted frontally the 4000 lumens of luminous output and the new CREE XHP70.2 are powered by the new 4250 mAh 20700 lithium battery. The L30 is rechargeable and has IPX8 water seal. It is recommended for mountaineering, hunting, camping, first aid, construction and all the specialties of the adventure.

Within the box:

- Acebeam L30 with mounted clip

- Lithium 20700 battery protected by 4250 mAh

- USB / microUSB cable for charging

- Battery Adapter 18650 and CR123

- O-ring and spare rubber button

- Lanyard

- Holster

- Manual in English

  • Guarantee and Warning Brochure on Lithium Battery

Manual:


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Features:

LED: 1*Cree XHP70.2 LED with a lifespan of 50,000 hours
Max. output 4000 lumens by using 1*20700 battery (included)
Firefly: 1 lm, 59 days
Low: 200 lms, 12 hours
Mid: 1000 lms, 2.5 hours
High: 2000 lms, 1.1 hours
Turbo: 4000 lms, 2 mins + 1 hour
Strobe: 2000 lms, 2 hours
Working voltage: 3V - 8.4V
Max. runtime: 45 days
Max. beam distance: 373 meters
Peak beam intensity: 34800cd
Impact resistant under water: 1.2 meters
Waterproof to IPX8 standard, 2m
Size: 162mm (length) x 48mm (head dia.) x 25.4mm (body dia.)
Weight: 168g without battery
Aircraft grade aluminum body structure
Premium Type III Hard Anodized Anti-abrasive finish
Ultra-clear tempered glass lens with anti-reflective coating
Strobe mode for tactical emergency use
Smooth reflector for max. light output
Tactical knurling for firm grip
Streamlined body design
Intelligent highly efficient circuit board design for max. performance and long time time
Specially designed for Military, Law Enforcement, Self-defence, Hunting, Search & Rescue and outdoor activities

ACEBEAM L30 HOW IT IS MADE:

The Acebeam L30 is made up of three removable parts: head, body and tail. Indeed, it is also possible to release the bezel on the head to access the projector.

The first thing to do before using the L30 is to remove the tab under the negative battery pole and the transparent protective plastic of the glass lens.

The generous size head and the large aluminum bezel come to the eye in this new Acebeam. At the center of the SMO parabola we find the perfectly centered Cree XHP70.2 LED. The lens is anti-reflective glass.

On the one hand there is the aluminum side switch lightly hollowed in its seat. You can find it quite easily even with gloves or in the dark. With this switch we have access to all levels of Acebeam L30 light. The click is fast and silent. On the other side, we have a micro USB connector for charging.

The micro USB connector is protected by a rubber tab that adheres perfectly. Next to this is the LED indicating the battery charge level. Excellent lettering and finishing grade. Also the cooling fins around the base of the head are highlighted.

Charging is done by inserting the supplied USB cable and connecting it to an energy source such as a PC, powerbank etc.

In my case, charging ended with the battery measuring 4.16v. For a full charge the required time is about three hours or so. The indicator light at the end of charge becomes green. Unfortunately for the moment I do not have any battery charger capable of charging this type of Acebeam protected battery over 74mm long.

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At the bottom of the head there is a spring plated to the positive. You will notice a special groove around the spring where the particular battery holder tube of the L30 body will terminate, allowing the separate contact of the two switches in the torch (side and tailcap).

On the body of the L30 we find knurling with a diamond pattern for a better grip and a small, removable clip that still allows a discreet insertion in the jeans belt.

A cigar grip ring is screwed in at the bottom, which can only be unscrewed after removing the O-ring from the anodized threads that are of good thickness and well lubricated. Because they are anodised, they allow the mechanical locking of the supply by slightly unscrewing the tailcap. In the ring we find the hole for the lanyard.

At the tailcap we find a large mechanical switch with a rubber button. This protrudes slightly and does not allow the use the torch in tail stand. Also highlighted is the circular knurling of diamonds and the anti-rolling shape.

To the negative, as positive, there is a plated spring with a good thickness and a copper welded base for contact with the battery tube.

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The holster supplied with the Acebeam L30 is of discrete quality.

Here is the comparison of the Acebeam L30 with other torches:


From the left: Battery 18650 keeppower, battery 20700 Acebeam, Zebralight SC600w II, Nitecore P30, Acebeam EC60, Nitecore SRT7GT and Acebeam L30.

The 4250 mAh Li-ion 20700 battery supplied with the Acebeam L30 is in a new format compared to the classic used so far.

The protected 20700 is over 74 mm long. It is difficult to find for now a battery charger that can support this length. Surely in the future things will change if this format will be adopted by other companies.

An Acebeam L30 is supplied with an adapter tube for 18650 and CR123 batteries in anodised aluminum. On one side it has a groove with an O-ring that avoids movement inside the torch body.

Unfortunately, due to the lower length of 18650 compared to the new 20700 with which the L30 is powered, in my case only the protected 18650, approximately 68 mm long, can make contact with the L30 springs.

The 18650 Nitecore, Keeppower and the two Olight are able to run the acebeam L30 but not in Turbo. The batteries in the photo Sony VTC5 and Samsung 30Q are able to go the L30 in Turbo but being too short I had to use neodymium magnets to make contact with the negative spring.

The manufacturer specifies that “L30 could work Peak Performance 4000lms when power by ACEBEAM 20700 (4250mAh) or ARC18650H-310A (3100mAh) battery or the the same batteries of other brands.
Please try to use ACEBEAM original 18650/20700 battery with PCB protection which installed 4 MOSFETs or high drain 18650/20700 battery without PCB protection.
(When using the normal 18650 battery with PCB protection which installed less 4 MOSFETs,it will work 1000-2000lms;using 2 x CR123A batteries, the Max output could reach only 1500lms.)”

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USER INTERFACE (UI):

These are the levels available in the Acebeam L30:

Firefly: 1 lm, 59 days
Low: 200 lms, 12 hours
Mid: 1000 lms, 2.5 hours
High: 2000 lms, 1.1 hours
Turbo: 4000 lms, 2 mins + 1 hour
Strobe: 2000 lms, 2 hours

The Acebeam L30 has two switches, one side and one tail tailcap.
The side switch allows you to manage all levels available in the L30, while the one in the queue only accesses the momentary or fixed Turbo.

Side switch:

ON / OFF: To turn on the torch, press the switch. When the torch is on, press and hold to cycle between the Low, Medium, and High mode. Leave when the desired level is reached. Press the switch to turn it off. At the next power-up, the Acebeam L30 will start in the last selected mode as it is equipped with memory.
This also happens if you replace the battery.

Firefly: When the torch is off press and hold the switch for a second to go to the Firefly mode. Press to turn off.

*Turbo: *When the torch is turned off or on, click twice quickly to go to Turbo. Press and hold to cycle in the Low, Middle, and High modes or click to turn it off.

Strobe: Flashlight turned off or on to click three times quick to go to Strobe. Press and hold to cycle in the Low, Middle, and High modes or click to turn it off.

Lock / Unlock: When the torch is off, press and hold for three seconds. After two blinking in Firefly mode, the flashlight goes down.
To unlock, hold down the switch for three seconds. After two flashes the torch lights up in firefly mode.

Tactical queue switch:

Press the tail switch to switch from momentary turbo to constant regardless of the state of the torch. Re-press or release to turn off.
If you press the tactical switch first, any operation on the side button is unimpressive.

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BEAM, RUNTIME and BEAMSHOT:

As you can see from the beam, the spot is fairly pronounced and the crown around it is tending to the yellowish color that shines on the cool white at the sides of the spill. Slight angle of opening of more than 90 °. The distance from the foot of the start of the spill is about one meter.

A comparison with the Imalent DN70 at 25 cm from the wall:

In the cellars:


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The runtime test was made at home with a temperature of about 20 ° C, at a distance of three meters then brought back to one for the Lux / 1m calculation. The cd reached the peak of just over 30000.
For the tests I used the 20700 battery supplied with the L30 loaded to 4.16v and a Sony 18650 VTC5 with the help of two neodymium magnets to facilitate contact. I also did a test using a small fan.
At the end of the test, the Acebeam 20700 measured about 3 volts.

In “Turbo” mode, the Acebeam L30 drops fast after 3 minutes from the start of the test. In fact, we have just over 28,000 cd to almost half on 14300 cd. Now the flashlight is set steadily until the shutter turns off at 58 minutes.

In “High” mode, the L30 has a constant setting up to 64 minutes. From this minute up to minute 67 when the torch goes off, the flashlight flashes three times every three seconds to alert the cell to the drain.

It is interesting to compare the first 15 minutes in “Turbo” using a small fan to help cool the L30. In this case the sudden fall occurs after 5min 30sec.

A test was performed using a unprotected Sony 2600 mAh 18650 VTC5 battery without forced ventilation. It can be seen that in 18650 the fall is much earlier and then it takes on the same value as the Acebeam 20700.

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Some shots outside with the Acebeam L30 NW:

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CONCLUSIONS:

I’m happy with the purchase. One step ahead with this 4250 mAh Acebeam 20700 battery. Having 2000 lumens constant for one hour with a torch of this size is a good milestone. Also the L30’s throw is not to be underestimated. Solid construction like other torches of the same house in my possession and fast USB charging. A plus finally the tactical tail switch even if it can only be used for the Turbo.

Thanks for reading the review.

Nice review, English is fine!

The MiBoxer C4-12 can fit a cell 72.2mm long. You could just run non-protected 20700’s in the Acebeam. Says it’s ok to use them in the manual, but don’t know if that means it has low voltage protection or not. Would assume it has at least some kind of LV warning

I must get a Sanyo NCR20700B 4250mAh - 15A. I will update the review after trying it. Thanks for the measures of the MiBoxer C4-12. Interesting.

Nice review, thanks! :smiley:

Great review! Nice that it has constant-current of 2,000 lumens! I may hold out for this one!

nice review looks like a awesome light.

Today I received the Sanyo 20700 unprotected battery. I can insert it into the Opus BT-C3100 battery charger.

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I wonder why they didn’t just bump up the EC50 GEN Ⅱ from 3,000 lumen to 4,000 instead of making a whole new light? Then you would have 5000mah and it would still be fairly small. Is it just because they want it to “tactical”?

I think they are different projects, considering also the new 20700 battery.

Absolutely yes Tactical:

On their website the L30 is listed in the “Hunting & Tactical” category.
20700 allows it’s one inch diameter battery tube that can fit common weapon mounting rings:

“L30 provides an unprecedented blast of 4,000 lumens from a weapons-mountable flashlight!”
“Optional remote pressure switch and range of filters make it an ideal companion for any kind of weapon”

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EC50 is listed under “Every Day Carry” category.

“daily use to outdoor and professional use”

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L30: Tactical flashlight……with Tactical Tailswitch UI, plus weapon-mountable
EC50: Pocket flashlight……security/utility/camping/mini searchlight/etc.

Correct… l16 and l30 are tactical light… because they have a tailswitch and sideswitch…

I have both and love it… L16 xhp 35… L30 with xhp 50.2. Very bright.

I’m not too worried about this light anymore. Once I heard Lexel is coming out with a boost driver running NarsilM I knew I would build my own light to my own specs.

What?? I want one if narsil driver operates both tailswitch and sideswitch… is it for L30 or L16??

What other stuff lexel driver do beside ramping mode??

What? No. I’m not spending $100+ for a host. I’ll buy a Supfire host for $29 and build that up. Like the one in my sig.

Rear switch works as main power cutoff and sideswitch operates the light.

I like Narsil. I want all my lights to use it. Besides ramping, I like the double click to turbo and the triple click to blink out battery voltage. It’s got other features, but I don’t use them.

Got this one for Christmas , from a dear USA friend of mine ... Great gift !!! Up till now , I restrain my self to tear it apart and see what is inside and if could be modded.., but I have little trust in me , so.., Sorry Brian !

Meanwhile , I made some measurements and used it in real conditions , outside ...

On my sample , the turbo is 3790 lumens and decreased very little (3720 lm) after 30 seconds , probably due to the temperature , were -18 degrees celsius outside !!!... An other interesting thing was that it didn't step down , and hold the turbo for about 20 min. , when I had the 3 flashes ,telling me that the battery is drained !

Not bad at all ,but don't forget this was happening in a freezing cold...

The 20700 Acebeam battery measured 4124-4160 mAh ,going up each charging , so very close to the stated capacity .Happy with that !

About using 18650 cells : clearly , the protected ones can not be used to get turbo mode , so I made a spacer ( copper screw and nut , bolted on a fiber glass disc , 18 mm diameter , to fit inside the battery adapter , on the negative side , and used a 3000mAh , unprotected !( sorry , I do not remember what cell was , I rewrapped it some time ago \.., maybe a LG ?...).

It worked perfectly in turbo mode for about 14 minutes .., three flashes , battery drain , and when I took it out was just slightly warm ! So , if you are short on money ( as I am !...always !) , high drain 18650 could be used !

On my sample , the charging current was about 1.75 A , no matter what cable and charger ( 2.4...3.0 ...5.0 Ampers ) I used...That's it , you cann't have everything , and this ,somehow , lower charging current doesn't bore me too much...

Even if the shape and the tint of this light is not very dear to me ( I hope Brian is not gone read this !...) I have to say that is a hell of a torch , I 'm impressed !!!