Disclaimer: Acebeam provided me with this light free of charge. This had no influence on the review.
All measurements were done using hobby-grade equipment, inaccuracies and deviations are therefore possible.
When I said yes to the light, I only knew that it was a Special Edition of the K1. The surprise was big when a black light arrived in a “standard box.” Until I understood what was different.
The review period for the light was a bit shorter than usual because I wanted to present the good piece as quickly as possible.
All my reviews can be found on my website.
The content is the same, but it might look better on my website 
There are several versions and colors of the K1. The one I have is not yet available.
If you are interested in something similar, it is best to visit Acebeams Discord!
The light comes in an orange-silver box showing the labeling of the UV variant. No further specifications are printed on the outside of the box.
The exterior of my K1 corresponds almost completely to the standard version. Black housing, black switch, white lettering. If you look at these more closely, you can also see the difference to the normal version. Where only UV stood before, it now says RED.
Cree XP-LR, powerful laser and a red LED – I suspect an SST20-DR, but I cannot prove it. Both LEDs sit in a smooth reflector, behind green coated glass.
The rotary switch does not run perfectly smooth, a very slight scratchiness can be felt. This is not unpleasant, it feels more like you are moving gears. It clicks into place slightly at every position, but can be turned easily.
The tail switch is not my favorite. Although it feels quite good, it has a minimal but noticeable delay in operation. It always feels a bit as if you hadn’t pressed the switch far enough at first. Whether this is also the case in the production version, I cannot say.
Speaking of production version – as can be seen in the previous image, the UV was actually “overwritten” with RED.
Everything is powered by a 14500 battery. This is equipped with a USB-C-port, there is no charging option on the outside of the light.
The light is at least mechanically protected against reverse polarity. Whether there is protection against deep discharge or if the light relies on the battery, I unfortunately do not know.
The threads are anodized, so the light can be mechanically locked out.
Acebeam Pokelit, Trustfire L2 Pro, Acebeam K1, Wuben E8, Acebeam Tac AA 2.0, Wurkkos TS10 v2 TiCu
My scale puts the light at 77g incl. battery.
The light is 110mm long. At the head it has a diameter of 25.5mm, at the thicker part of the battery tube directly at the switch it is a maximum of 20.6mm thick.
Lanyard: A simple but high-quality lanyard is included.
Clip: The clip is a bit thin and I would prefer a bit more tension, but it survived my test period flawlessly and clipping it in and out always worked excellently.
Magnet: There is no magnet in the light.
(Jacket)pocket: In the jacket pocket, one should protect the jacket against unintentional activation by a half turn of the head. Apart from that, it is absolutely inconspicuous in a jacket pocket, in a pants pocket you might notice the somewhat thicker head.
The UI is simple. The rotary knob selects the light source, White, Laser or Red.
The tail switch is a forward clicky, i.e. half-pressing gives momentary light. By half-pressing, releasing and pressing again, you select the output level. If you turn the light off and on again within 4 seconds, the output level changes, after 4 seconds it remains stored for the next power-on.
For white there are low, medium and high.
The laser has only one level.
For red there are low and high.
If you fully press the switch, you get constant light. But then you can only change the output level again when you turn the light off and on again.
If the white light is on and you rotate briefly to the laser and back, you activate the strobe.
All measurements were done in my 30cm integrating sphere. The temperature was between 20 and 24°C. Additionally, an Opple Light Master III and a TASi TA636B lux meter were used. Please note that this is hobby equipment, so inaccuracies and deviations are possible!
The white light has a powerful spot that is cleanly separated from the spill. There are no artifacts, no irregularities in the beam.
The laser is green, powerful and nicely focused.
The red light is significantly floodier and on a white wall you can see very slight irregularities in the beam. But you have to look very closely, in normal operation this will never be noticed.
The output is really good for a 14500-light. The light steps down further and further as battery capacity drops, in the last level with 9 lumens I eventually ended the test, the light continues to run for a fairly long time with “emergency light.”
I also measured the medium output level, not the low mode – it is specified for over two days of runtime (60H).
There is also a diagram for the red light.
Specs
/
measurements low med high
max output 9 / 8 200 / 187 1000 / 1023
I measured the throw at 2m, after conversion it results in 238m of throw.
I testet the light with an Eneloop, too. It got up to around 80 Lumens, not bad if you have nothing else available!
| Low | Turbo | |
|---|---|---|
| CCT | 5500 | 6000 |
| CRI | 67 | 71 |
| DUV | 0,007 | 0,002 |
Flicker looks good and is in the green zone.
Fittingly, PWM could not be detected even with the camera.
All images were taken with the same camera settings, white balance at 5000K.
The same camera settings were used for the red light.
The battery capacity is specified at 1000mAh, my Vapcell S4+ shows 1033mAh at the end of the capacity measurement.
The charging curve is not perfect, but for a battery with integrated charging function, the charging behavior is perfectly fine
The K1 is a great, small light. The white light is impressive for the size, the laser powerful and the new red light definitely more than decent!
The UI is simple but effective. Only the slightly delayed reaction of the switch clouds the picture a little bit. The rotary ring feels quite good for that, just the right resistance, a slight detent for the settings – and it will almost certainly not turn by accident.
I suspect that the decision between red light or UV will not be easy for many. I cannot judge the UV light, the red light is definitely well implemented.
Anyone who has now got the urge and would like to learn more about new Acebeam-products, I can highly recommend the new Acebeam Discord.