The UC3A has been a very special light for me, since I have known of its existence. In the Acebeam Discord feedback was requested regarding the brightness levels and the UI. After the original UI did not appeal to me at all, I submitted a proposal. Acebeam adopted large parts of it – so the light carries a bit of my own signature.
All my reviews can be found on my website.
Disclaimer: ACEBEAM provided this light to me free of charge. This had no influence on the review.
All measurements were done using hobby-grade equipment, inaccuracies and deviations are therefore possible.
There will be different colors of this light, I know for sure about orange and black so far.
You can buy the light directly from Acebeam.
The light comes in an orange packaging, in which it is nicely presented. Except for the 900lm specification, no further details are included on it.
Inside, the light is securely kept in a plastic tray, in the bottom of which there are also the manual, a short USB-A-C cable, two spare O-rings and a carabiner with a key ring. A warranty and a quality certificate are also included.
My first impression of the light itself was „wow, it’s remarkably small!“. It must be said, I knew the light was small, but somehow I was still very surprised!
The orange of the light is satin-matte and smooth, the switches, screws and the clip are black. Added to this is the white sidelight and the white labels. The design is pleasing and appears well thought out.
The switches have a cover made of hard plastic, not rubber. They are easy to find with bare hands. Both are slightly raised above the housing, approx. 1/2 mm. You probably won’t feel that with gloves, but it also prevents the light from being turned on accidentally too easily.
However, I have one mini-criticism of the switches: it feels a bit as if they were two-stage. First there is a bit of pre-travel, then another resistance that must be overcome to trigger the actual switching process. Not bad, but definitely unfamiliar during the first use. The pressure point itself is good and after the initial confusion I had no more problems with it.
In the front, two Luminus SST-36F work behind two individual TIR lenses (it could also be one large lens covered in the middle by the metal bridge). The sidelight is hidden in a round plastic shell and has a beam angle of 270°. I find the integration into the light to be very successful.
There is no USB port on the light itself. It is located in the battery. (10440 – button top – 400mAh)
There is no battery indicator, but with the small battery and short runtimes, that is acceptable for me.
The light features reverse polarity protection (at least mechanical). The low voltage protection is, as far as I can see, realized via the battery. The light can be operated with AAA-1.5V-cells, therefore that makes sense.
As you can see on the picture, the threads are anodized. A mechnical lockout is therefore possible.
The manufacturing quality is outstanding. Not only is the anodization flawless, but there are also no sharp edges. The gap dimensions are even, the tailcap has a nice knurling and runs perfectly. Combine that with the small size, you quickly realize that the light feels like a palm stone.
Acebeam Tac AA 2.0, Wuben E8, Sofirn ST10, Acebeam UC3A, Wurkkos HD03, Sofirn SE1
I weighed the light at 62g incl. battery.
As dimensions incl. clip I could measure 71.5mm x 19.5mm x 31mm.
Lanyard: A lanyard is not included, but a small carabiner with key ring instead. This can be attached to a separate eyelet in the housing
Clip: The clip has a good tension and an opening that makes clipping in easy. It only rests halfway on the light body, but that disn’t a problem.
Only the two screws can, especially in combination with thicker fabrics, make the complete insertion difficult.
I would call the clip not full deep carry. Approx. 1cm of the light still peeks out of the pocket. Optimal for me, then you still have something to grab.
Magnet: The magnet sits in the tailcap and has no problems at all with the weight of the light. It is strong enough that the light has no tendency to rotate in any position, unless the contact surface is really small.
(Jacket)pocket: Both in the pants, as well as in the jacket pocket, the light is absolutely inconspicuous. Weight and size play their full strength there.
I already mentioned it in the introduction, the UI of this light brought me together with Acebeam. Many, although not all, of my suggestions were adopted. I would like to put my only point of criticism, which also deviates from my proposal, right at the beginning: 3 or more clicks for Strobe is the biggest deviation from my proposal. I would have preferred that as Lock.
*Explanation 1C, 1H...*
1C: short click, 2C: double click, …
1H: press and hold without letting go
2H: short click, followed by 1H
For the front light:
1C: on (without memory, always medium) - with the light on: off.
1H: ultra low – hold for >3s to lock / unlock - with the light on: change brightness
2C: high – another 2C for return to the previous mode
3C, 4C,…: Strobe
For the side light:
1C: switch the light on in high with the light on: off.
1H: switch the light on in low - with the light on: change brightness
**2C with the light on:**change through the color modes (Red, Red flashing, Green, Green flashing, Blue, Blue flashing, Red-Blue-alternating strobe, Rainbow.)
Overall, despite the many functions, the UI is very simple and there are many shortcuts. The light should be easy to operate even for the average Amazon buyer and still make most enthusiasts happy.
All measurements were done in my 30cm integrating sphere. The temperature was between 22 and 25°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 front light has a few TIR-typical minimal artifacts in the beam pattern. But you can only see these at a short distance on the white wall, I never noticed them, even indoors. There is a distinct spot that transistions smoothly into a wide spill.
The sidelight shines beautifully even. Due to the large surface area it is quite glare-free. There are no factory specifications for the brightnesses, I cannot measure these really good either. I created a runtime diagram for white nonetheless. In addition, I try to visualize the different lighting variants for you.
The sidelight is well regulated. The specification of the lumens in the diagram for the sidelight should be about right, but please take these with caution. I cannot rule out a significant deviation!
The runtimes for the main light look pretty much exactly as can be taken from the specifications. The regulation looks good, more may not be possible to get out of the small battery. The 900lm level is only available briefly, but laudably Acebeam states this quite transparently!
I didn’t measure ultralow, a straight line for 23 hours would blow the diagram.
The following measurements were taken with a full battery directly after switching on.
| specs / measurements | ultralow | low | med | high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| front light | 4 / 3,5 | 80 / 90 | 210 / 228 | 900 / 960 |
The lux measurements do not quite match the 1806cd / 85m that Acebeam specifies. I determined identical values with two lux meters. Measured at 1m each, I got 2780cd / 105.5m at turn-on and 1260cd / 71m after 30 sec.
The thermal images show where the light heats up during operation. Both images were taken after one minute each in the highest level.
The light also works with 1.5V- and 1.2V-cells. Since the runtimes depend heavily on the batteries, there is no diagram. But I measured the maximum output. With both a 1.5V-cell as well as with an Eneloop I reached 82 lumens. Among the beamshots you will also find a comparison image with Eneloop!
| side light | Front Ultralow | Front High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCT | 4600 | 7000 | 7400K |
| CRI | 100 | 76 | 76 |
| DUV | 0,001 | -0,001 | -0,005 |
Flicker looks good both for the front light and the sidelight. The raw data shows a distinct noise in the low modes, which however does not express itself visibly.
front light low
front light high
side light low
side light high
I could not detect PWM with the white light in any mode, not even on camera. I did not test the colors.
As always I took the beamshots for all lights directly one after another with the same camera settings.
All images seperate
I also tried to show the angle of the sidelight as best as possible.
Let’s keep it short: The charging curve is flawless, the capacity was measured by my Vapcell S4+ at 432mAh. There is nothing to complain about there.
Acebeam has created a great little EDC with this light. The minimal blunders (screws under the clip, pressure point of the buttons) are complaining at a very high level. The front light is a matter of taste, cold and low CRI, but for that a pleasant tint and high output.
Let’s not talk about the UI anymore here, even if it is one of the strengths of the light. But all the more on the manufacturing quality, the replaceable 10440 battery, which can also be replaced by 1.2 and 1.5V AAA cells and also the sidelight.
The latter may not be the brightest, but it shines with great illumination, High CRI, neutral light color and little glare. The colors are always a nice gimmick, but due to the large area it is also well suited for warning or as a marker.
The light performed great for me both indoors and outdoors. A spot among my favorite lights is safe for it after the testing period and it will often find its way into my pocket. Especially now, as the brighter season begins here, a great little light comes in just right!