Acebeam Rider RX flashlight review. After 6 months of use.

I don’t remember how many clips I bought and made about flashlights. But the flashlight left a lot of emotions and made me have to choose which flashlight to bring when I go out in the collection that cannot help but mention Acebeam Rider RX.

This is my test clip

If I had to comment very briefly about this light, I would say: Good wood, good paint.

Maybe some of you don’t know, Acebeam is a very famous company in the field of flashlight production. Their lights are often quite expensive compared to the ground because of their quality and beautiful design.

As for the Rider RX, it costs $ 48, maybe high or low, but with what this flashlight brings, I think it’s worth it.

1- Design

  • The bolt-action clip design - similar to the bullet loading mechanism of a sniper rifle is the most unique feature of Acebeam Rider RX.

The clip will be pushed to the right (Figure 2) and then pushed down (Figure 3) like the loading of a rifle

With the bolt action design, I see that there are 2 most prominent points that are:

  • It avoids accidentally activating the light when in the pocket because the tail button is hidden in the light body
  • Helps relieve stress quite well with funny sounds. Holding the light, I kept flicking it back and forth.
    For me, the bolt action design is delicious because it is completely mechanical, does not use magnets, does not worry about affecting other electronic devices when in the bag. The sliding mechanism works thanks to 2 steel balls and the design of 2 shells of the lamp.

This is a picture of a steel ball on a lamp. It will slide into the available positions on the lamp housing.

  • 2 shells is also a very unique point. The blue inner shell is made from aviation aluminum. The outer shell is made from 304 steel with many colors. Special edition with outer shell made from Titanium always.
  • My color is Sophisto Gray. This gray color is quite beautiful you can see on some BWM cars.
  • The outer shell of the lamp not only has a beautifying effect, but it also works to make the process of using the lamp more comfortable. Because with a small lamp like the Rider RX, but with a brightness of up to 650 lumens, the heat generated is quite a lot.
  • Here, you will wonder why the expensive lamp heats up so quickly because the lamp head is made of copper to help dissipate heat faster.
  • The 2-way steel clip of the lamp is also quite interesting. It’s tight to hold the light firmly. It’s deep enough to keep the light in a pocket without being exposed. And especially this clip will help you work hands-free when attaching the light to the hat.

You can attach it to the top or bottom, so I have a headlamp

  • The 2-layer design on the Rider RX makes me wonder, when dirt will stick between the 2 shells. But in the process of using, I found no problems. If yes, then just use the spray to clean because our flashlight has IP68 waterproof standard.
  • A very valuable point on the Rider RX is that it uses Nichia 219F leds for color rendering up to 90CRI. You all know that when filming at night, the colors are not as true as during the day if the backlight has a low CRI. If sunlight has a CRI of 100, the number 90 on the Rider RX is very impressive, isn’t it. I have a color test in the clip, please check it out.
  • I also appreciate the Nichia 219F led because it has a high color rendering, but the color temperature around 5000K is also great - It’s balanced. Some leds have high color rendering like SST20 but color temperature 4000K - the light will be slightly yellow so it feels darker.
  • With an EDC light to take with you every time you leave the house, the Rider RX really has fulfilled its role when it can use all types of batteries with AA size. The most familiar is the battery rabbit. Alkaline batteries are cheap and easy to find, but when using alkaline batteries, the brightness of the lamp is only 200 lumens.

  • Acebeam Rider RX comes with a 14500 battery with a capacity of 920mAh operating at a voltage of 3.7V higher than 1.5V on alkaline batteries (disposable) and 1.2V on Ni-MH batteries.

The included battery is very good when integrating the USB-C charging port on the top of the battery.

I use the power bank to charge the battery

2. Usage function

  • Rechargeable batteries, compatibility and ease of access, we already know. The use mode is also a pretty good point on Acebeam Rider RX when it is equipped with a momentary mode (temporary light) when touching the tail button the light will light up and no sound will be emitted. Perhaps this regime with law enforcement will be more necessary. But I like it.
  • Our flashlight will remember the last light level used which is very convenient. For example you use the brightness of 280 lumens and turn it off. The next time the light is turned on, the light will always enter the brightness of 280 lumens.
  • In addition, Rider RX also has SOS mode. With an EDC lamp designed to always be carried with you, SOS is the mode I think is necessary in emergency situations. By default, SOS mode will be hidden. To activate SOS mode, you will press 8 times. Repeat 2 times from low to high - because the light has 4 brightness levels.
  • The Acebeam Rider RX isn’t the smallest to carry around with an AA size flashlight but it’s really compact and convenient.

  • Using smooth lenses, the glasses are covered with AR, so Acebeam Rider RX projects quite far up to 96m. Small but still martial, brother.

Purple light is an AR layer that is coated to prevent light from bouncing back to increase optical efficiency

  • The lamp is packed full of accessories: O’ring, charging cable, battery, lanyard
  • The light can work after the battery is reversed, which is also a plus.

3. Summary
Perhaps still need 1 more version for Rider RX to be perfect for me. This is a personal opinion, it probably won’t matter to you.

  • I can’t check the remaining battery capacity inside the lamp
  • There aren’t any light emitting spots on the lights so finding the lights in the night would be a bit inconvenient.
  • Accessing SOS mode takes a bit of time. 2 clicks or 3 clicks to access SOS mode would probably be better.
  • The lamp does not have low voltage protection but the battery supplied with the protection circuit will feature low voltage protection.

Thank you for reading, hope through this article you will choose the right product for your needs.

Another great review. Thanks for the info.
All the Best,
Jeff

Thank you my friend

Just thought I’d mention two things (second was more important for me)…

1. I bought a RiderRX + Pokelit combo recently. The RiderRX had a slightly greener/off tint compared to the Pokelit, but I’m guessing it’s probably luck of the draw with the tints.

2. That being said… I unscrewed the pocket clip off and took the internal flashlihgt out of the external sheath (and placed the pocket clip back on). I much prefer the lighter internal flashlight, as I wasn’t planning on using the higher modes for this flashlight (so I’m not really worried about the heat issue). I’m unsure if I will keep the pocket clip, but it is cully functional without the outer metal shell. The downside to the factory pocket clip is the size and weight.

Bonus!!! The Rider RX’s flat switch still allows tailstanding without the outer shell!!!

So far, neither has replaced my SL Macrostream for general EDC, and I’m still experimenting with potential use for replacement of my Microstream USB for minimalistic carry. However, I understand everyone’s usage and mode needs differ.

I was very pleased with the SS version of the Rider RX, so I ordered one of the aluminum versions as well, and the beam tint between the two is night and day. The SS produces quite a nice white light, and the aluminum one produces light that is greener than a pepper tree. It’s one of my ugliest tinted lights, probably 2nd worst in my entire collection behind the old Zebralight SC52 L2.

I don’t know if it’s a thing where they select more neutral-tinted LEDs for the premium versions of the light, and leave the worse ones to the cheaper versions or what. We’d probably need a larger sample size to support this theory.

Ouch. Isn’t the emitter supposed to be the same, with the premium price just for the titanium shell? I can’t stand hearing about tint lotteries like this. It totally kills my interest.