ACEBEAM K30: Measurements and Beamshots

I purchased this light last week and conducted some measurements and beamshots. Now let me share with you my results.

Package and Appearance

This flashlight comes in a colored cardboard box, pretty similar to those you may have seen in recent Olight products. K30 is available in 5000K/6000K tints and Black/Sand colors. I picked a 5000K Sand one.

Six brightness levels (Firefly, Low, Mid, High, Turbo, Turbo Max) and Strobe are available in K30. ACEBEAM is now a member of PLATO.

K30 comes with a holster. A protective film (again pretty similar to some Olights) is attached to the lens and should be removed before first use.

What you can get in the package: the K30 flashlight, a holster, a lanyard, two spare O-rings, a warranty card, the user manual, and a card full of warnings for lithium batteries.

The sand color is beautiful, I like it much.

There is a lanyard hole on the other side of the head.

The serial number and CE approval are on the tailcap.

K30 utilizes a square thread form (nice).

The body itself is simply a tube, offering protection to the internal battery carrier. Therefore the physical lock-out is unavailable.

A battery carrier is attached to the head with screws. Though batteries are installed in parallel, they are actually connected in series.

I use three unprotected Sanyo NCR18650GA cells (3500mAh) to conduct the tests. They fit nicely.

My protected EVVA cells also fit nicely.

Thanks to the XHP70.2, now a smooth reflector can be used. There are threads on the bezel, suggesting that ACEBEAM is about to release filer lenses for K30 in the future.

The battery indicator will start to work as soon as you turn on K30. It indicates current battery voltage in this order: Green - Red - Blinking Red. That green light is quite bright in my opinion. (“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year...”)

The Firefly mode.

Measurements

(Note that these lumen numbers are just rough estimations.)

  • The Turbo Max output of my K30 (5000K version) is ~90% of the claimed 5200 lumens (OTF lumens @ 30s, as stated by ANSI FL-1). This is expected because the neutral white version of a flashlight usually has less output than the cool white one. I also observed this output difference on my ACEBEAM X45 (5000K version).
  • You may still activate Turbo or Turbo Max and get almost the same output as if from fully charged batteries even when the battery voltage is down to 3.5V, though the battery indicator will start to blink in red almost immediately.
  • The battery voltage is slighly higher than 2.9V after these tests. The largest voltage difference among the three cells is less than 0.05V (nice).
  • No PWM detected on any of these brightness levels. (However I did find PWM on the Firefly mode of my X45)

  • Cooling does help K30 offer longer Turbo Max output.
  • I would like Turbo Max and Turbo to converge toward the same brightness level. Current behavior is more like a tactical step-down, rather than a true thermal regulation.
  • K30 will become *really* hot quickly after Turbo or Turbo Max is activated. The body temperature (measured right below the side switch) will stabilize at ~55°C on Turbo Max, ~65°C on Turbo, and ~45°C on High. Do not leave the light unattended when Turbo or Turbo Max is in use.
  • The High mode is fairly useful to me because it can deliver a almost constant output of 1200+ lumens for 4 hours, with a comfortable temperature.

  • A high-drain battery (Samsung INR18650-30Q) is not necessary for K30 to deliver its maximum output, though it may generate less heat and thus give you a bit more Turbo or Turbo Max, before stepping-down.

Beamshots

K30 shot with the other flashlights to be compared with. From left to right:

  • DQG Tiny 26650 3rd (26650 x 1) (Neutral White XP-G2 x 7)
  • Manker MK34 (18650 x 3) (4000K Nichia 219C x 12 and 5000K Nichia 219B x 12, I own both)
  • ACEBEAM K30 (18650 x 3) (5000K XHP70.2 x 1)
  • HaikeLite MT02 (18650 x 3) (Neutral White XHP35 HD x 1)
  • MATEMINCO MT-18 (18650 x 4) (also known as Astrolux MF-01, this one has 5000K Nichia 219C x 18)

All these 18650 x 3 flashlights have a similar diameter (43mm ~ 45mm), a size that is comfortable to hold. As a 18650 x 4 flashlight, MT-18 has a larger diameter (52mm) and is somehow not that easy to be held. DQG Tiny 26650 3rd utilizes a single 26650 cell and is even thinner. I personally love the diameters of 26650 x 1 and 18650 x 3 flashlights because they can fit nicely in my hand.

Thank you!

Thanks a lot for the review! The stable 2000 lumens on turbo from a light this size is impressive.

I like the design that the carrier is mounted on the head, reduces some contact resistances

That is one really nice set of photos for a review! Thank you.

I also appreciated the comparison to the other 18650x3 lights. Like you said, when manufacturers go up to 4 cells, it starts to get too large around the waist.

The only problem I see is that it makes locking the light out physically impossible. The body tube doesn’t contribute electrically and the light works without it just fine. And since the unlocking is done with a long click, there’s a risk of accidental activation. At least activating turbo or turbo max is very unlikely.

just mean to take such a design to a NarsilM light with proper safe lockout
physical lockout is not really an issue on 1S/3P lights with standby currents
with activated side switch LEDs of about 100uA
or 25uA in electrical lockout