Intro
Let’s be honest, there are an awful lot of flashlight brands. Some of them get a lot of attention here on BLF, some don’t. I think that mostly comes down to the “budget” part of Budget Light Forum. We see a lot of less-expensive options (Sofirn, Wurkkos, Astrolux, etc) and plenty that are just great values, even if they’re a little more expensive. When it comes down to it, though, you usually get what you pay for. Don’t get me wrong - I love budget lights and have a ton of them; but usually corners have been cut, especially in terms of driver quality (cheap FETs vs buck/boost). This is where my appreciation for some of the more expensive brands comes in. Brands like Acebeam tend to put out high-quality lights with good drivers that help maximize efficiency and runtime. The new Acebeam E75 is a good example of that. The current list price of the E75 is $99.90, but you get a really nice flashlight in exchange for that Benjamin.
A bit about Acebeam: Established in 2014, ACEBEAM is a pioneer in the development and production of high-power portable lighting products. With expertise in both optical design and lighting application, ACEBEAM has become a leader in the industry. Renowned for its unwavering commitment to product quality, ACEBEAM has earned a reputation for delivering reliable and stable lighting solutions.
Side note: that means Acebeam is nearly 10 years old! I don’t have any insider information, but I hope to see some really cool 10th anniversary releases next year.
Packaging
The Acebeam E75 arrived in a nicely compact, stylized black box with all of the goodies neatly packed inside. Alongside the box, Acebeam also threw in red and white of traffic wands which are an option to have included when you go to check out on their website. In the box was: the flashlight (duh), Acebeam 21700 battery, charging cable, lanyard, spare o-rings and USB cover, and the instruction manual.
Build Quality & Usage
Build quality is sometimes difficult to put your finger on exactly what is different, but some flashlights just make you feel like they’re built better. The anodizing feels nicer, the machining is more thought out, etc. I’d say all Acebeam flashlights that I’ve held have fallen into this category, including the E75. It just looks really well put together. For instance, I find that on a lot of flashlights the cuts for the lanyard hole in the tailcap are quite sharp and could tear up your pocket. Not so with the E75 - it actually sits below the lip of the tailcap and so there are no protruding edges.
The single button (an e-switch) is situated on the side of the head and is surrounded by a slightly raised ring that helps prevent accidental activations. That ring appears to be a translucent plastic and has indicator LEDs underneath it to display battery voltage. The bezel is a blackened stainless steel, which is great from a durability point of view and it also adds a little bit of accent.
There’s a very strong magnet in the tail of the Acebeam E75, which can be useful in a variety of situations, like working around machinery, in the garage, etc. It appears that you can remove the magnet, if desired, but popping out the tail spring.
The pocket clip is big and sturdy, but definitely not deep-carry. And I’m ok with that. I find the E75 to be a bit too bulky for EDC carry, as with most 21700-based lights. But the pocket clip is still handy. For instance, I clipped the Acebeam E75 onto my pocket while walking through a field to get to a hunting spot. I didn’t need the flashlight to disappear into my pocket. Rather, I needed it to be easily accessible.
So just what can you use the Acebeam E75 for? A lot, I’d say. I would deem it to be a great general-purpose flashlight. Ya know, for walking the dog, searching for stuff around the house, going for a hike, tracking an animal, etc. Being a quad-LED flashlight, it has a moderately floody beam, so it’s certainly not for long-range duties.
LED & Beam
The E75 uses four LEDs that are situated in a shallow, smooth quad-reflector. Acebeam provided us with two LED choices that I think are sure to please a lot of people. Those chasing after a crisp light and lots of lumens might want to check out the 6500K Cool White version. And for those of us who have clamored for the Nichia 519A that is taking the enthusiast flashlight market by storm will be excited to know that Acebeam is offering the E75 with CRI>90 5000K emitters.
As mentioned earlier, there are 4 LEDs here in a fairly shallow reflector. So the beam is reasonably floody. But I will say that the hotspot is more defined and a bit tighter than I was expecting. It’s no thrower, but it’s not pure flood either.
Beamshot: the building is 30m away, taken with a Pixel 7 set to 1/12 sec exposure and ISO 852.
User Interface
I like the UI that Acebeam provided us with. I’d say it’s pretty standard and easy to pick up on. Click on, click off. Hold to change modes. Long hold from Off to access Moonlight. Double click any time to get to Turbo. Triple click for Strobe. Extra long hold from Off for Lockout. Easy enough, right?
I’ve seen some people grumble about “too many modes”. I politely disagree with that. There are 6 brightness levels. However, considering that Moonlight and Turbo are only accessed through shortcuts and the “normal rotation” is only 4 modes, I don’t find that to be too many at all. Granted, I wouldn’t want more than that, but I think it’s a perfectly suitable number.
Batteries & Charging
The Acebeam E75 uses 21700 batteries, and a 5000 mAh protected button-top cell came pre-inserted into the flashlight. I did try a non-protected flat-top battery and it worked just fine. It did rattle a little bit when I shook the flashlight, but otherwise there weren’t any problems.
The E75 has built-in USB-C charging, with the port situated right above the pocket clip. The cover seems to seal really well and is very small and discrete. You won’t be accidentally catching it on things or worrying about it flapping around. In charging the battery via USB-C, I observed a 9.40 Watt (5.06V, 1.86A) charge rate. The cycle completed in 4 hours and 19 minutes, transferring 22.95 Wh (including circuitry losses).
Performance
When a company offers a flashlight with multiple LED options, they usually pick the model with the highest output and just publish those specs. So good on Acebeam - they gave us a full rundown with both LED choices. The 6500K Cool White model is claimed to put out 4500 lumens on Turbo with a throw of 260m (16,900 cd). The 5000K 90CRI model is spec’ed at 3000 lumens and 210m of throw (11,025 cd).
So does my Nichia model hit those specs? Yup! I measured 3070 lumens at turn on and 2942 lumens at 30 seconds, so that’s good in my book. The runtime length was accurate as well. And I love to see the nice, regulated, stable output. To me, that’s one of the biggest things that separates the budget lights from higher quality flashlights like you’d get from Acebeam. Anybody and PWM a MOSFET. But designing a proper constant-current drive is more expensive, requires more engineering work, and reduces waste heat / increases runtime.
Verdict
I really like the Acebeam E75. It’s a very handy general-purpose flashlight with very high-quality Nichia LEDs (or Cool White if that’s your thing). This thing seems well built, handles well, has a straight-forward UI, USB-C charging… there’s just so much to like. As with so many things in life, you get what you pay for.
Links
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