# Acebeam EC50 Gen II (XHP70, 1x26650, Micro USB charging) Rechargeable Review



## candle lamp (Sep 18, 2016)

Acebeam updated their EC50, named the EC50 Gen II, featuring XHP70 emitter and USB in-light charging system, powered by 1×26650. The light comes in a thick cardboard box with cutout foam. You can see the important features and specifications on the side of the packaging. The XHP70 color temperature has an option of 6000K or 5000K. My review sample is 6000K. 
EC50 Gen II comes with micro-USB cable, warranty card, manual, wrist lanyard, Acebeam 26650 (5000mAh) rechargeable Li-ion battery, spare o-rings, and holster with velcro closing flap.
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*Manufacturer Specifications* from Acebeam's website & manual :

• CREE XHP70 LED with a lifespan of 50,000hours
• Max Output 3000lumens Use 1*26650 battery (included) 
Level 1 (1lm, 900hr), Level 2 (80lm, 35hr), Level 3 (500lm, 5hr), Level 4 (1500lm, 2hr), Turbo (3000lms, 1.5hr), Strobe (1500lm, 4hr)
• Working voltage : 3V~6V
• Max runtime : 900hr
• Max beam distance : 302m
• Peak beam intensity : 22,800cd
• Impact resistant : 1.2m
• Waterproof : IPX-8 Standard (2m)
• Size : 132mm (Length) × 40mm (Head) × 30mm (Tube) 
• Weight : 128g (without battery)
• Orange-peel reflector gives perfect beam and throw 
• Digitally regulated output maintains constant brightness
• Side switch on the body
• Overheat protection to avoid high temperature of the surface
• Made of durable aircraft grade aluminium
• Premium Type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish
• Toughened ultra-clear glass lens with anti-reflective coating
• Battery reverse protection function. 
• Battery low indication (it will flash when voltage down to 3v)





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The hard(type III) anodizing is a slightly glossy black and no flaws on my sample. The labels are minimal, with manufacturer, model name, and serial number on the head. All labels are sharp and clear in bright white against the black background. The diamond-shape knurling is present over body tube and tailcap. The light has no tail switch. Fit and finish looks very good.
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The light has 2 parts. The battery tube is one piece with the head. The light opens at the tailcap only.
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The head tip has four-point stainless steel crenellations allowing light to shine through when left placed head down. The head is a clean looking cylindrical design with many cooling fins for heat dissipation. There's an electronic side switch for on-off and mode changing. The side switch cap is large metal. There is a spring mounted on the positive contact board in the head, so flat-top cells work fine in the light. The EC50 Gen II has a reverse polarity protection to protect from improper battery installation (i.e., the electronics of the light has in-built reverse polarity protection for both normal use and charge). 
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The light uses AR coating lens where the purple hue is reflected on it. The reflector has an orange peel pattern. The reflector is well polished with no noticeable finishing flaws, and almost perfectly well-centered XHP70 LED sits at the bottom of the reflector cup. 
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The switch cap is just a little protruded from a head surface surround, but set lower position than the head part. This means that the risk of accidental activation should be reduced. The light has not only electronic but also physical lockout function as well.
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One of the distinctive aspects of the light is built-in micro USB charging port for 26650 Li-ion cells. The micro-USB port is hidden behind a cover which seems rubber material. The charging port and charging status indicator are on the opposite side of the switch. 

You can connect to the USB port of your PC by a bundled micro USB cable (or to your electric outlet by a AC/DV USB adaptor). The adaptor was not supplied from Acebeam. I use my Galaxy S4 USB adaptor (output DC5.0V, 2A). 
Note the charging solution is to be used only with 1x26650 cell. You will be able to charge other 26650 Li-ion cell of good quality. You can use the light during charging as well, but it will take a longer charging time.
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There is a tiny LED indicator near the micro-USB port cover. This presumably serves as a charging indicator during a charge cycle. It does not indicate low voltage warning during use.
An LED indicator shows you two charging status. It lights up constant red under normal charging condition. When charging is complete, the indicator will turn green.
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The battery tube and the tailcap are covered in aggressive diamond-shape knurling. The grip is very good. Cooling fins and micro-USB port cover on the head would have helped grip further too.
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The screw threads are square-cut of good quality. Threads are well machined, and anodized which allows the light to be locked-out when the tailcap is slightly loosened. As supplied, threads are well lubricated. Screw threads action is smooth with no cross-threading or squeaking on my sample. 
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The tailcap is simple structure. There is a removable negative spring on the inside of the tailcap. There is a band of knurling, and a tiny hole on the tail side for lanyard (or split ring) attachment. The EC50 Gen II can tailstand stably in its default stock form.
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Acebeam supplied a 26650 (5000mAh) rechargeable cell in the light. You will see the description "built-in circuit board prevents overcharging, over-discharging and over-discharge current". This means the battery is protected Li-ion cell. 
Again, you can use other 26650s of good quality in the light for operation and recharging them in the light. 
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Insert the batteries into the light as shown above (i.e., the EC50 Gen II takes the battery with positive terminal to the head).
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*Charging in the light*

I did charging test with an Acebeam 26650 (5000mAh) protected and a Keeppower 26650 (5200mAh) protected in the light. The voltage before, under and after charging are as follows :











The above shows the Acebeam 26650 (5000mAh) charge summary. 
I used the Xtar USB Detector "VI01" to measure charging current and input voltage.
The resting voltage was 3.26V. As shown in the above table, the initial charging and input voltage were respectively 1.58A and 5.46V. You can see the charging current and input voltage over time. Max. charging current was 1.93A at 2hrs 13mins charge in my test.

After 3hrs 34mins, the current was down to 0.18A. After 3hrs 35mins, charging was completed and the LED indicator went green. The resting voltage of the cell was 4.19V at this point. It is reasonable and good for terminated charge voltage.

I left the charged 26650 cell in the light to see if the light does charge it continuously once fully charged. After 13hrs 43mins, the resting voltage of the cell was 4.17V. This means the light will not charge the cell after full charge. 
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The above shows the Keeppower 26650 (5200mAh) charge summary. 
The resting voltage was 3.14V. As shown in the above table, the initial charging and input voltage were respectively 1.53A and 5.46V. You can see the charging current and input voltage over time. Max. charging current was 1.93A at 2hrs 7mins charge in my test.

After 3hrs 32mins, the current was down to 0.18A. After 3hrs 33mins, charging was completed and the LED indicator went green. The resting voltage of the cell was 4.19V at this point. It is reasonable and good for terminated charge voltage.

I left the charged 26650 cell in the light to see if the light does charge it continuously once fully charged. After 21hrs 13mins, the resting voltage of the cell was 4.17V. This means the light will not charge the cell after full charge. 

Note that the light features an overcharge protection function (charge precision up to 4.2V±1%).
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*User Interface* 

There are two modes (i.e., general mode & strobe mode). 

On-off and output switching is controlled by the electronic side switch. A quick press and release (i.e., click) turns the light on, and another quick click turns the light off.

Holding down the switch will proceed Firefly (L1) -> Low (L2) -> Med. (L3) -> High (L4), in repeating sequence, when on. To select your desired mode or output level, just release the switch. The light has mode memory, and remembers the last output level used when you turn the light off and back on. Note that it turns on in last output. A single click from Off will access to the memorized output level.

Note that a long press for one second will activate Firefly (L1) directly from Off.

A double quick click will activate Turbo, whatever mode the light is on (even Off). Turbo has no memory. Turbo is not available on the main sequence, but by a double quick click only.

A triple quick click will activate Strobe directly, whatever mode the light is on (even Off).
A single click will turn the light off. The strobe has no memory.

The light has an electronic lock-out function to prevent accidental activation. Hold the switch down for more than 3 secs from Off, the light will activate Firefly mode and will flash 3 times to indicate the lockout state. 
To unlock switch, hold the switch down for about 3 secs., the light will activate Firefly mode and will flash 3 times to indicate the unlock state. 

Note that this lock-out function will not be persisted after a battery change. 
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*Standby Current Drain*

Due to the electronic switch design, the EC50 Gen II is drawing a small current when the batteries are installed and the tailcap fully connected. I measured a persistent standby current of 110μA (after jumping to 452μA). It means that 5000mAh Li-ion would be fully drained in about 5 years. This is not a concern. 

Note that the standby current under the lockout mode is 110μA as well. So the lockout function doesn't seem to have an effect on the standby current. But I would recommend you store the light physically locked-out or store the cells outside of the light when not in use for a long period. 
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From left to right, Acebeam 26650 (5000mAh) protected, Acebeam EC50 gen II (XHP70 CW), Olight R50 Seeker (XHP50 CW), Fenix TK35UE (MT-G2), Acebeam K40M (MT-G2), Acebeam T25 (XHP50).
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*Measured Dimensions*




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The light comes with a basic nylon holster with a velcro strap on the head. The light fits in the holster either head-up or head-down.. 
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It is a compact light. The light has a bit longer head region than the Olight R50 Seeker. The wall thickness of the body is reasonably thick (1.5mm), and the light feels solid. *Overall build quality* is excellent.
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*PWM*





The light shows no sign of flicker by PWM at all output levels. I notice there is no buzzing sound at any levels. The light seems to be current controlled.
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*Runtime*





The runtime to fall to 10% of its initial output from 30 seconds after the point the light is first turned on (i.e., based on ANSI FL-1) for Turbo with fan cooling is as above graph.

With continuous external cooling, the EC50 Gen II has a multi step-down pattern on Turbo. It seems that higher capacity batteries will have much longer runtime at the lower levels. After first step-down, the light is flat-stabilized, with defined step-downs as the battery nears exhaustion.

Note that IMR cell gives you longer max. turbo-level runtime (before first step-down) than other ICR cells do. Instead, it doesn't give you High output level after first step-down (i.e., it tends to step down to Med. output directly). 
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The manufacturer claim the light is intelligent temperature controlled in the manual. 
You can compare the runtime graph pattern with and without cooling as above. With no cooling, the light steps down to about 31% of the initial max. output after 4 mins run. After letting the light sit with cooling for few mins (from 5 to 8 mins run), the output increases from 31% to 35% of the initial max. output (but, doesn't recover the initial max. output automatically). So I did a double click to access Turbo under no cooling. After few mins, the light stepped down to High level automatically and showed a slight reduction in output. 

I then again turned the cooling fan back on, and found the light recover the High output thanks to fan cooling. I tried to access Turbo several times, but can't do that. The light has a low battery warning indication with two stages : The light will flash three times when the battery voltage is down to 3.2V, then steps down to High (1500 lumens) automatically. After that the light blocks Turbo mode to give out light continuously for an emergency. When the battery voltage is down to 2.8V, the light will continue to flash. 

You can see reduction in output in output will, of course, increase the runtime as expected.
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The thermal probe was set in place just near the side switch for no cooling and fan cooling run. The room temp. was 27.2~27.8 degrees, and window was ajar on the test room. The resting temp. of the EC50 Gen II was 27.5 degrees. 

Note that left y-axis is the relative output. The brown dotted line represents surface temperature of the light in degrees centigrade (celsius) should be read off the right y-axis. The max. surface temperature of the light reaches a 65.8 degrees. The light on Turbo gets hot quickly.
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Overall output-runtime efficiency seems very good comparing to other 2×18650~4×18650 lights and 1×26650~2×26650 lights.
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*Beamshot*
1. White door beamshot (about 50cm from the white door) on max. output on Keeppower 26650 (5200mAh) protected and VicLite 18650 (2600mAh) protected
- ISO125, F/8.0, 1/25sec, Auto white balance 














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- ISO125, F/8.0, 1/100sec, Auto white balance














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- ISO125, F/8.0, 1/800sec, Auto white balance














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- ISO125, F/8.0, 1/2000sec, Auto white balance















The light shows a larger hot spot and wider spill beam against the other lights at this distance. The hotspot looks slightly greenish yellow on my sample. Although the light has a crenelated bezel, the spill beam is clean with no noticeable artifacts. Its tint is slightly bluish white. The overall beam tint is close to cool white in my view. The overall beam profile is good. 
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2. 7m Indoor Beamshot on max. output on Keeppower 26650 (5200mAh) protected and VicLite 18650 (2600mAh) protected
- ISO125, F/2.8, 1sec, Auto white balance




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4. 85m Outdoor Beamshot on max. output on Keeppower 26650 (5200mAh) protected and VicLite 18650 (2600mAh) protected
- ISO125, F/2.8, 1sec, Auto white balance




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The EC50 Gen II gives you high output with wide hot spot and spill, given the size of the head and reflector. Balance between hot spot and side spill looks very good.
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*Overall Impressions*

• Excellent build quality
• The option of 6000K or 5000K XHP70 emitter
• The light can tailstand 
• No special anti-roll indentations on the body (but, can't easily roll) 
• The possibility of accidental activation from Off is quite small, thanks to lock-out function
• Physical and electronic lock-out function 
• Small standby current drain (110μA) is inevitable, but not a concern
• True flat-top batteries work fine
• Charging any 26650 cells of good quality in the light seems fast and safe
• You can use other 26650 Li-ion cells for normal use, and recharge them in the light 
• Charging indication LED is so small to see
• Overcharge protection function (4.2V±1%)
• Battery warning indication when on
• Good mode spacing
• Mode memory for all output levels except Turbo and Strobe
• Output-runtime efficiency seems very good 
• True Moonlight mode is available
• No sign of PWM flickers at any output modes
• Beam profile is clean
• Good balance between hot spot and side spill
• Overall beam tint is close to cool white


The Acebeam EC50 gen II provided by Acebeam for review.


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## adirondackdestroyer (Sep 19, 2016)

Dude, awesome review! I've had my eye on this one since I first saw the announcement for it! In my opinion it seems to be the best single 26650 light on the market. The mode spacing is perfect and runtimes are awesome! 
Do you have any plans on doing a runtime test on high and medium, just to see if high is flat regulation at 1,500 lumens, or if it drops to a lower output (like it does on turbo).


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## candle lamp (Sep 19, 2016)

adirondackdestroyer said:


> Dude, awesome review! I've had my eye on this one since I first saw the announcement for it! In my opinion it seems to be the best single 26650 light on the market. The mode spacing is perfect and runtimes are awesome!
> Do you have any plans on doing a runtime test on high and medium, just to see if high is flat regulation at 1,500 lumens, or if it drops to a lower output (like it does on turbo).



Thanks. adironackdestroyer! 

I did runtime test on High with external cooling. Unfortunately, the data was deleted by mistake. :sick2: :thinking:
But I distinctly remember that the runtime on High is perfectly flat regulation without step-down.
It just steps down to Low (from High) as battery depletes at the end of run.


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## adirondackdestroyer (Sep 19, 2016)

candle lamp said:


> Thanks. adironackdestroyer!
> 
> I did runtime test on High with external cooling. Unfortunately, the data was deleted by mistake. :sick2: :thinking:
> But I distinctly remember that the runtime on High is perfectly flat regulation without step-down.
> It just steps down to Low (from High) as battery depletes at the end of run.



When you say external cooling, you just mean a fan blowing on the light while it's running, right? Is that to mimic the light being held in your hand during use? 
If that's the case, then this is DEFINITELY the top 26650 option, as non of the other lights in it's class can stay fully regulated at over 1,000 lumens without stepping down. VERY impressive! I just wish there was a group buy for this light to get a cost down a little.


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## tops2 (Sep 19, 2016)

Thanks for the review!

Wow. This looks like a winner.

How does this light compare to the Olight R50? From reviews, the R50 sounds good too except for the proprietary cell charging, no moonlight/low mode, no holster and no neutral white option. But the Acebeam EC50 Gen II has all of these. The UI sounds find between both. After you review, I'd go with the EC50 Gen II.

This light almost seems like the "little brother" to the Acebeam K60.


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## akhyar (Sep 19, 2016)

Thanks for the excellent review and beamshots comparison.
This light ticks all my boxes for a single 26650 light, pity that the price is on the high side as some of the competitors can be had for half the price of this light or else this light will surely be in my shopping cart


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## maukka (Sep 20, 2016)

Thanks for the review! Did you happen to measure the actual lumens on turbo?


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## candle lamp (Sep 20, 2016)

adirondackdestroyer said:


> When you say external cooling, you just mean a fan blowing on the light while it's running, right? Is that to mimic the light being held in your hand during use?
> If that's the case, then this is DEFINITELY the top 26650 option, as non of the other lights in it's class can stay fully regulated at over 1,000 lumens without stepping down. VERY impressive!



Yes, exactly. But, external cooling supplied is not the same as hand holding the light. I applied high speed fan cooling for High output that is the second fastest fan cooling speed in my external fan. I'm not sure how the light activate when you hold the light in your hand. But can assume that if the light on High with no fan cooling doesn't step down, it would show almost the same regulation with hand holding the light.



tops2 said:


> Thanks for the review!
> 
> How does this light compare to the Olight R50? From reviews, the R50 sounds good too except for the proprietary cell charging, no moonlight/low mode, no holster and no neutral white option. But the Acebeam EC50 Gen II has all of these. The UI sounds find between both. After you review, I'd go with the EC50 Gen II.
> 
> This light almost seems like the "little brother" to the Acebeam K60.



Thanks. tops2! Both lights are good for 1x26650 light, showing wide flood beam. 



akhyar said:


> Thanks for the excellent review and beamshots comparison.
> This light ticks all my boxes for a single 26650 light, pity that the price is on the high side as some of the competitors can be had for half the price of this light or else this light will surely be in my shopping cart



Thanks. akhyar! I have no words for the price.



maukka said:


> Thanks for the review! Did you happen to measure the actual lumens on turbo?



Hi maukka, No. I didn't measure the actual lumens of the light as I did review other lights. actually, I have no specialised knowledge and skill on the Lumen conversion. :sweat:


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## narmattaru (Sep 21, 2016)

thanx a lot for such a detailed review.


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## Skeeterg (Sep 21, 2016)

I agree with adiron,this is the best 26650 light that I am interested in. I love the wider hot spot and spill.


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## mntbighker (Sep 21, 2016)

I'm pretty happy with the EC35 I just got. I just wish 26650 power density and development were as far along as 18650. As it is I'm more inclined toward multi 18650 lights than 26650. But I'm a total newb so...


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## ashwally (Sep 22, 2016)

Excellent review :twothumbs I just received my 5000k version and am really happy with it. The UI is great the output is awesome for a light of this size and it has firefly mode. Its definately the most usable beam in my collection.


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## maukka (Sep 22, 2016)

Does your EC50-II make an electrical whine when you first activate turbo after the light has been off for a while? Mine does this and it sounds like there's a capacitor that is recharged, because the whine doesn't happen if you turn off the light and switch it right back on again. Some sort of coil whine maybe? Only happens on turbo.


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## candle lamp (Sep 22, 2016)

maukka said:


> Does your EC50-II make an electrical whine when you first activate turbo after the light has been off for a while? Mine does this and it sounds like there's a capacitor that is recharged, because the whine doesn't happen if you turn off the light and switch it right back on again. Some sort of coil whine maybe? Only happens on turbo.



I am not able to hear any audible whine when accessing to Turbo from Off for a while or from any output modes.

By the way, do you notice any low battery warning indication during run?


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## maukka (Sep 22, 2016)

candle lamp said:


> I am not able to hear any audible whine when accessing to Turbo from Off for a while or from any output modes.
> 
> By the way, do you notice any low battery warning indication during run?



Yes, the light flashes once when the battery gets low. Difficult to notice if you're doing runtime tests. It flashes some more after a while when the battery is critically low. Then the battery protection trips. Thankfully the integrated usb charger can reset the protection, my SkyRC MC3000 couldn't, even though it works fine most of the time.

And btw, the low voltage cutoff is dangerously low for battery health. I measured 2.30V from a Liitokala 5000mAh right after the light shut off.

Here's the whine: https://www.dropbox.com/s/lyaimondcobt2r6/acebeam_26650_5000mAh_noise.mp3?dl=0


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## candle lamp (Sep 22, 2016)

maukka said:


> Yes, the light flashes once when the battery gets low. Difficult to notice if you're doing runtime tests. It flashes some more after a while when the battery is critically low. Then the battery protection trips. Thankfully the integrated usb charger can reset the protection, my SkyRC MC3000 couldn't, even though it works fine most of the time.
> 
> Here's the whine: https://www.dropbox.com/s/lyaimondcobt2r6/acebeam_26650_5000mAh_noise.mp3?dl=0



Thanks for your information. It's good to know in-light charger reset the protection circuit of the cell. Audible whine is heard from your recording. It's strange.


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## carl (Oct 12, 2016)

thanks for the review!

The one thing I wish it had is a small LED beacon next to the switch so the button can be found quickly in the dark.


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## SG Hall (Oct 12, 2016)

Thanks for the review candle lamp, very good job! [emoji1]


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## candle lamp (Oct 13, 2016)

carl said:


> thanks for the review!
> 
> The one thing I wish it had is a small LED beacon next to the switch so the button can be found quickly in the dark.



Thanks. carl!



SG Hall said:


> Thanks for the review candle lamp, very good job! [emoji1]



Thanks for your support. SG Hall!


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## PaladinNO (Jul 8, 2017)

Thank you very much for this excellent review! :thumbsup:
_Especially those images of you actually  holding the light - no amount of listed dimensions can create an accurate visualization on how something would be to personally hold and/or use._

I have been wanting something..._more_ than my current Fenix PD35 (non-tac) EDC, and after reading this one and this:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-5000K-review-with-measurements-(XHP70-26650)

...I recently deciding on buying one of these (5000K version).

I desired something more powerful at the top-end than the 960 Lm the PD35 provided, and at the exact same dimensions (though 50% thicker) 
and ~3x the power, I was sold on this.

I haven't received it yet, as it's in the mail, but every time I re-read these reviews to remind myself of its specs and features, 
I give a slight nod to myself and think "Yes, I've made the right choice."


EDIT:
One question though: Would the included 5000 mAh battery be considered enough, or would a _Keeppower ICR26650 5200mAh_ be 
recommended either as a spare (I love redundancy/backups - in all things - for total peace of mind) or replacement?


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## candle lamp (Jul 10, 2017)

PaladinNO said:


> Thank you very much for this excellent review! :thumbsup:
> _Especially those images of you actually  holding the light - no amount of listed dimensions can create an accurate visualization on how something would be to personally hold and/or use._
> 
> I have been wanting something..._more_ than my current Fenix PD35 (non-tac) EDC, and after reading this one and this:
> ...



Thanks for your support. Wish you would be happy with the light.

I think the bundled 5000mAh cell is great, and the Keeppower 5200mAh would be a good option as a spare as well. 

https://goo.gl/9iWVtL is a excellent test review by HKJ.


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## qqqqqqqman (Jul 15, 2017)

$119 in the U.S......any better deals out there?


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## qqqqqqqman (Aug 31, 2017)

Well, Andrew-Amanda.com has a Labor Day sale....20% off everything, with Free Shipping (over $25, or something like that). The code is: *aa4laborday2017
*
I caved in and bought the one I had at the top of my list, between the Klarus G20, Olight R50 Pro, and the Acebeam EC50 Gen ll. Got the Acebeam for $119 - $24, or $95 delivered :thumbsup:*
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The light is awesome....nice build, Very Bright, and FLOODY! Perfect for walking, riding, garage, backyard, and emergency/vehicle breakdowns.

Smaller than I imagined, easily pocketable to me. This will live in my truck and motorcycle....where it can also be recharged via USB easily in emergency. Makes my 4Sevens AA Quark feel like a penlight, lol.


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