Acebeam T27 review

roma58 · 2018-11-18T23:20:52.000Z

ACEBEAM T27
1X21700 – 1X18650 – 2xCR123

The Acebeam T27 was sent to me directly by Acebeam for the review.
For the description of the product: http://www.acebeam.com/t27

The Acebeam T27 is a tactical flashlight with double switch, lateral and in the tail, equipped with a great shot. It develops a maximum power of 2500 lumens and its beam reaches a distance of 1180 meters.
The T27 is equipped with the CREE XHP 35 HI LED (the test version is 6000K) and offers 5 levels of brightness plus strobe mode.
The Acebeam T27 is powered primarily by a rechargeable 21700 5100 mAh Li-ion battery (included in the sales package), but can also work with a 18650 battery with the included adapter or a pair of CR123 batteries. It is equipped with an integrated recharge with integrated USB-C connector for faster charging (up to 3 times compared to normal USB charging) that also allows the power bank function.

Initial impressions are excellent. The quality of construction, as well as the thicknesses and switches, is high. It is the first shooting torch that happens to me in my hand, of such compact size, powered by a 21700 battery.

Main characteristics:

LED CREE XHP35 HI LED with maximum power of 2500 lumens
Maximum beam distance: 1180 m
Maximum beam intensity: 348.000cd
Recharge from USB-A to USB-C for 3 times the speed
Charge other USB devices with the flashlight battery with the powerbank function
Side switch and rear switch combined for change of mode and direct access to the turbo
Impact resistance: 1.2 m
Water resistance: 5m submersible
Battery type: 1 x 21700/1 x 18650/2 x CR123

mode:
1/150/550/1400/2500 ~ 1400 / STROBE (1400) lumen
Duration:
30d / 15h / 4.5h / 1.5h / 1.6m-> 78m / 2.5h

Dimensions:
Length: 174.7 mm (6.88 ")
Head diameter: 70mm (2.76 ")
Body diameter: 25.4 mm (1 ")
Weight: 229.5 g (8.10 oz)

Included accessories:
1 x USB-C cable with output capability, 1 x IMR21700NP-510A Li-ion battery, 1 x 18650 battery adapter, 1 x removable pocket clip, holster, lanyard, rubber button cap, 2 x o-ring replacement

Manual (English):

The packaging:

The Acebeam T27 arrives inside a rigid orange / black cardboard box. On the four sides are listed the main features that distinguish the torch.

inside we find the T27 with its accessories:

Acebeam T27 with Clip inserted
Two-way USB-C cable
IMR 21700 Li-ion battery
Adapter for 18650 battery
Holster
Lanyard
Rubber button cap
Replacement O-ring x 2
Manual, warranty and warnings

The battery supplied with the T36 is a 5100 mAh 21700 Li-ion battery. First long-throw flashlight I see with this battery. On the 21700 are remembered the maximum and minimum voltage of use.

With the Acebeam T27 we have the possibility, using the included adapter, to also use a 18650 battery or two primary CR123 batteries. This adapter fits perfectly into the battery compartment of the Acebeam T27. In my test I used a 3100 mAh Acebeam IMR battery.

The holster supplied with the T27 is of good quality. It protects the part of the head well, leaving the body partially exposed and the tail completely uncovered. It is in cordura, with a velcro closure, and has a double loop, one of which is tear-off and in the upper part a rigid plastic D-ring.

The detachable clip supplied with the T27 is short, rigid and well anchored to the torch body.

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The Acebeam T27 is held well in hand, having a small size, it is composed of two parts: head with body and tail. The only part that can be unscrewed is the tailcap.

On the head of the T27 we have in evidence the satin steel bezel and the smooth parabola with the CREE XHP35 HI LED in the center. The lens is made of ultra-clear tempered glass with anti-reflective coating.

At the base of the head we find the side switch on one side. The excellent raised texture of the rubber button allows a good grip as well as allowing the switch to be found easily in the dark and with gloves. The click feels in the right measure and is really fast and accurate. Beautiful frame that surrounds it.
Through this switch we can completely manage the Acebeam T27 UI.

On the opposite side of the side switch is the USB-C fast charging socket (2A). The socket is protected by a flap rubber that adheres perfectly in its seat ensuring the submersibility of 5 meters. Next to the socket there is an LED notification to indicate the status of the battery being charged or in discharge. This LED is small and to see it is essential to stay there front.

On the body and tailcap of the Acebeam T27 we find a nice diamond-shaped knurling that facilitates the grip, while at the base of the head we have, on both sides, some cooling fins.
Do not miss the tactical ring with a hole to insert the supplied lanyard. This ring is kept stationary, not being screwed, from the clip and the tail cap.

For the contacts at the two poles, we have good-quality plated springs and stiffness. The Acebeam T27 has the block electronic and the mechanical one by unscrewing the tailcap by a quarter of a turn.

The threads where the tail cap will be screwed have a good thickness and arrive well lubricated. The Acebeam T27 can be submerged up to 5 meters.

The tactical switch on the tail is partly protected from accidental switching on, this switch needs a decent pressure to be operated and allows the momentary on.
It is not possible to put the T27 standing (candle).

The Acebeam T27 supports fast charging via any device with 5V / 2A output. To fully recharge the 21700 battery supplied with the T27 took about 3 hours.

When the T27 is charging the notification LED next to the USB-C socket lights up in red. When the charge is complete, the light is green.

The Acebeam T27 can be used as a power bank for charging other devices. For this it is equipped with a new cable two-way charging that allows this operation. During the landfill the notification LED lights up blue. When the T27's battery is when it is low, the LED turns red.

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The Acebeam T27 user interface (UI) is simple. It is operated by two switches, one in tail (Tactical Tail Switch) and one side (Side switch). We have five available levels plus the strobe.

Ultra Low 1 lm – 30 day
Low 150 lm – 15 h
Mid 550 lm – 4.5 h
High 1400 lm – 1.5 h
Turbo 2500~1400 lm - 1.6 min.~78 min.
Strobo 1400 lm – 2.5h

SIDE SWITCH:
Click on the side ON/OFF switch to turn the T27 on or off.
When the flashlight is off, press and hold the side switch for 1 second to switch in Ultra Low mode.
When the flashlight is on, press and hold the side switch to switch to cycle from Low-Med-High modes, loosen the switch in the selected mode. The cycle modes can be stored.
Double-click on the side switch to enter Turbo mode and triple-click to access the Strobe mode, regardless of whether the torch is on or off.

TACTICAL TAIL SWITCH:
Press the tactical tail for the momentary turbo and click to activate the Turbo mode in a constant way regardless of the state of the torch.
Please note that if you click on the Tactical Tail switch at the beginning, any operation on the side switch is useless.

Block:
When the torch is off, press and hold the side switch for 3 seconds, the torch it will flash and it will be blocked. It is useless for the operation of the side switch, but by clicking on the tactical queue button, you can still access the Turbo mode.
To unlock the torch, press and hold the side switch e for 3 seconds turn it on in Ultra Low mode.

Low Battery Warning:
When the light flashes three times every five seconds, the battery is low and must be replaced or charging.

The Acebeam T36 near other torches:

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BEAM, RUNTIME AND BEAMSHOT:

Good beam of the T27 without strange aberrations, we note only a ring in the side of the spill that does not disturb the vision. White tint without blue dominants and beam with narrow angle also seen the type of dish. Tried to me on a foggy evening, I was very impressed. Great shot and spill very exploitable and bright.

The runtimes were performed in a closed environment made with an internal temperature of approx 20 °C.

Note: I would like to point out that the values expressed by the graphs must be taken, above all, how reference because made with different environmental means and conditions from those used in laboratory.

The first test was made by placing the Acebeam T27 in TURBO mode (battery 21700 5100 mAh fully charged) while in the second chart I used the mode HIGH. The runtime is slightly lower than the value declared by the house, this can depend on various factors such as the new battery without discharge cycles. Good however the general trend. The maximum value in CD of 340000 found is close to that declared by the house.

The descent occurs after about two minutes, remaining so until it turns off after 72 minutes.

In HIGH mode, the T27 emits fast flashes before completely discharging.

By putting a fan close to the T27, the trend of the discharge curve changes little. Let's see in particular the first 10 minutes.

Finally, using the included adapter I tested using an 18650 Acebeam battery from 3100 mAh. Duration has naturally decreased. The T27 has finished working after 38 minutes.

Beamshot and Video:

VIDEO.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/thAGA1nlJHM

CONCLUSIONS:

What to say, another nice product of Acebeam. The T27 has a great shot but almost the size of an EDC if we do not consider the 70mm head.
Excellent, as it has accustomed us, construction and electronics. Not missing then the fast recharge and the possibility to be used as a power bank.
Definitely an excellent purchase for lovers of the genre.

Agro · 2018-11-19T09:11:11.000Z

Nice review, thanks.
I see on the runtime charts that you measured ~340 kcd. The charts show that the measurement was at 1 m….that seems too close to be reliable. And for a measurement at 1 m the result actually looks very good.
Could you clarify if you measured at higher distance and calculated the 1 m or actually measured at 1 m? If it’s the latter could you please measure at longer distance?

roma58 · 2018-11-19T10:11:00.000Z

Agro:

Nice review, thanks.
I see on the runtime charts that you measured ~340 kcd. The charts show that the measurement was at 1 m….that seems too close to be reliable. And for a measurement at 1 m the result actually looks very good.
Could you clarify if you measured at higher distance and calculated the 1 m or actually measured at 1 m? If it’s the latter could you please measure at longer distance?

Hi, I measured at 10 meters and then brought to 1 meter.

Sirius9 · 2018-11-19T16:27:53.000Z

Here’s an led on mine T27…

Btw. good review.

komeko · 2018-11-19T17:46:31.000Z

Sirius9:

Here’s an led on mine T27…

Good start :person_facepalming:

Rdubya18 · 2018-11-19T18:18:09.000Z

Nice review , thank you. Made me just buy one .

Agro · 2018-11-20T15:08:42.000Z

Either one die is not working or they sent you an L27 instead.

Frumious · 2018-12-05T17:22:29.000Z

Thank you for the review Roma 58. And thanks to Agro for alerting me to this light. I just purchased one, the XHP35 HI 5000K version. Several vendors offer the choice of 5000K or 6000K. There are more versions available on at least one vendor’s site:
XHP35 HI 6500K
XHP35 HI 5000K
XHP35 HI 4000K
XHP35 HI 3000K
XHP35 HD 6500K
XHP35 HD 4500K

wolfdog1226 · 2018-12-05T17:40:33.000Z

Thanks for the review.

This is MY experience,to each his own.

I sent mine back. It had Two defects.

1. It would NOT consistently go back to turbo regardless of which switch I used.

2. I am totally aware that WE must turn off one switch before we use the other. Numerous times when I shut down one switch[especially the side switch], the other switch would not activate. For example. when I turned off the side switch, the Tail switch would NOT activate turbo. I tried a few times. I had to take the battery out and put it back in for it to work. I CLEANED the contacts and still had this issue.

I love turbo and knew that this light had ~ 90 seconds of Turbo b/4 it stepped down. I accepted that. But when the failures above continued, I had no patience left for this light!

It has power, but the UNNECESSARY 1, 2 minute step downs these manufacturers started ~ 4 years ago, have ruined these lights for guys like me who enjoy TURBO on the trail for 90% of their hikes! Why not a 5 minute step down?? When the step down[2 days worth] was working properly and I stepped it back up, the light did NOT get hot after 30 minutes of this!

ANOTHER REASON WHY I LOVE MODDED LIGHTS MORE AND BECAUSE OF THAT I HAVE VERY FEW STOCK LIGHTS, EXCEPT EDC’S.

Rdubya18 · 2018-12-05T23:25:27.000Z

I like mine

DENGOH · 2018-12-06T04:11:21.000Z

I think you have resize the picture too much, I have to click into the picture in order to see the number on the graphs.

Nice review. Do you have the standby current measurement?

Frumious · 2019-01-26T01:40:03.000Z

Thank you Roma58 for your very thorough review.

I received my T27 yesterday and after a top-up charge, took it out for a late night test.

This is my new favorite thrower. I love the tightly focused lonnnnng beam, the small form (for a long thrower) and the two-switch UI. The tail switch provides instant access to turbo - excellent! The side switch is for all brightness levels and strobe. The UI is straightforward.

The T27 is a BIG step up in range and brightness over my other single-cell throwers* which are rated from 640 to 720 meters and over a three-cell thrower rated 1000 meters. If you are a night bird/game watcher like I am, this is an excellent torch.

My T27 is fitted with the XHP35 HI 5000K emitter; the tint is pleasing to my eyes: bright white; good rendition of colors.

It has exceptionally good ergonomics. There is nice balance when using either switch. Weighs less than 300g with the battery.

Superior heat management.

The light comes with everything - as it should for the relatively premium price: 5100Mah capacity/20A/protected 21700 battery, adapter fo 18650 batteries, fast-charging USB-C cord, holster, clip, lanyard, O-rings, spare button. The attractive box has a magnet clasp. Classy.

A thumbs-up observation: The head, wide as it necessarily is, fits nicely in an automobile cup holder.

I purchased mine from HKEquipment. It was very well packaged for the long journey from Hong Kong. Comes with a five-year repair warrantee.

*Emisar D1S, U Torch 02, Astrolux C8 and Klarus G35

Kit_Latura · 2019-01-02T19:57:23.000Z

I made these photos yesterday with my phone.

It’s a amazing flashlight

Frumious · 2019-01-06T05:00:48.000Z

Kit Latura:

I made these photos yesterday with my phone.

It’s a amazing flashlight :+1:

Nice beam shots Kit. Yes, I’m doing a happy dance with this light too. My thanks to Agro for alerting me to this light with his spreadsheet of throwers. The T27 is in a class of its own.

Xeen · 2019-01-20T19:04:48.000Z

Greetings. Thanks for review.
Unprotected 21700 would work fine? i think yes cuz two springs here.
Same question about unprotected18650 with adapter.

BlueSwordM · 2019-01-20T20:23:04.000Z

Yes unprotected 21700 should work, and unprotected 18650 with adapter should work well.

In fact, using an unprotected 21700 will result in a bit higher average performance since unprotected 21700, or any unprotected battery, has a lower resistance than the protected batteries of the same grade.

Frumious · 2019-01-20T23:30:26.000Z

Xeen:

Greetings. Thanks for review.
Unprotected 21700 would work fine? i think yes cuz two springs here.
Same question about unprotected18650 with adapter.

Maybe, but it already comes with a high capacity 21700 battery. If I needed a spare, I’d go with a twin to what it came with. Acebeam sells those.

I don’t know know if there is an adapter for using the T27 with a 18650 battery. Anyone know? The adapter would have to have extremely thin walls or have some configuration other than the typical slipover tube.

Xeen · 2019-01-21T16:02:36.000Z

Frumious:

Xeen:

Greetings. Thanks for review.
Unprotected 21700 would work fine? i think yes cuz two springs here.
Same question about unprotected18650 with adapter.

Maybe, but it already comes with a high capacity 21700 battery. If I needed a spare, I’d go with a twin to what it came with. Acebeam sells those.

I don’t know know if there is an adapter for using the T27 with a 18650 battery. Anyone know? The adapter would have to have extremely thin walls or have some configuration other than the typical slipover tube.

Acebeam 21700 quite long about 75 mm and does not fit in most chargers. So i would prefer to have an unprotected spare cells.
Yes, there is an adapter in the kit.

roma58 · 2019-01-21T19:30:53.000Z

Xeen:

Frumious:

Xeen:

Greetings. Thanks for review.
Unprotected 21700 would work fine? i think yes cuz two springs here.
Same question about unprotected18650 with adapter.

Maybe, but it already comes with a high capacity 21700 battery. If I needed a spare, I’d go with a twin to what it came with. Acebeam sells those.

I don’t know know if there is an adapter for using the T27 with a 18650 battery. Anyone know? The adapter would have to have extremely thin walls or have some configuration other than the typical slipover tube.

Acebeam 21700 quite long about 75 mm and does not fit in most chargers. So i would prefer to have an unprotected spare cells.
Yes, there is an adapter in the kit.

True, I’m also using the 21700 samsung 40T because then I can recharge them with my Opus BT-C3100.

Frumious · 2019-01-26T01:40:27.000Z

Xeen:

Acebeam 21700 quite long about 75 mm and does not fit in most chargers. So i would prefer to have an unprotected spare cells.
Yes, there is an adapter in the kit.

Xeen - Thanks for the heads up about there being an adapter in the box. Yup! It was buried under the lanyard and O rings. Great!

This does open up lots of 18650 options.

Yes: Acebeam’s 21700 does not fit any of my chargers (but its USB charging cord works fine).

roma58:

I’m also using the 21700 samsung 40T because then I can recharge them with my Opus BT-C3100.

Roma58 - Are you getting a performance boost by using the 4000mAh Samsung 40T? I would think it has greater continuous amp output than Acebeam’s 5100mAh provided battery.