Acebeam TK16

Acebeam TK16 review: 3* Osram LEDs

Introduction:

This flashlight has been discontinued. Check out the list with all our Acebeam Flashlight Reviews for a good alternative.

This is my first Acebeam light, and to be honest I didn’t have any experience with their products. So after doing some online research I found out that AceBeam started since 2014 and designs and manufactures premium portable lighting equipment and offers a wide range of flashlights.
From very small Every Day Carry lights such as the TK16, Searchlights such as the TK70, Tactical Lights (Such as the W30 with 2.4 km throw) Headlamps, Diving Lights, Bicycle Lights and many more.

In this review, I will review the Acebeam TK16, which is a tiny cool EDC flashlight and operates on a single 16340 cell. The light arrived in a beautiful heavy quality, printed box, with a drawer-type inner box. After opening, we find that the box is covered by a white cardboard cover with an opening to display the flashlight.
After removing the cardboard cover, the light can be taken out of the white, high-density laser-cut foam, which really gives this light a ‘premium’ feel. This really impressed me.

The accessories included:

  • Acebeam TK16 with pocket clip
  • 2 spare O-rings
  • 1 spare switch cover
  • Acebeam 16340 cell (550 mAh)
  • Warranty card
  • Manual

Acebeam TK16 Specifications

LED 3x osram (kw cslpm1.tg )
Lumens 1300 Lm
Beam intensity 28500 Cd
Battery config. 1 x 16340 / 1 x CR123A
Material Aluminium
Modes 4 modes (5 with Turbo)
Blinkies Strobe mode
Reflector TIR optics
Waterproof 2m submersible (IPx8)
Review date August 2019

Handling of the light

The first impressions, after receiving this light, were very positive. The package is pretty impressive, but the light itself impressed me even more. The Acebeam TK16 has an excellent grip, and because of the shape of the light, it is very easy to operate the (electronic) tail switch, which works very intuitively. Since the light utilizes a TIR optic, the beam of the light is very pleasant and is more floody than a traditional reflector shaped light.
The TK16 is perfect for an EDC flashlight for its size, it provides excellent grip, and it’s already my most favorable EDC light. The UI is good; the beam is good and the E-switch works perfectly.

The deep carry pocket clip feels good and works as intended. The flashlight itself isn’t very heavy, so it is very easy to carry your breast pocket. It can also act as an anti-roll feature when placed horizontally.

It does not come with a lanyard, nor does it come with a magnetic tailcap, but it does tail-stand very well, which combined with the TIR optics is ideal for small indoor jobs.

Build Quality, Threads, O-rings and Anodization

The Acebeam TK16 has an excellent grip, because of the shape of the knurling, which is a great choice. It feels like a light that won’t slip out of your hands easily; the knurling provides more than enough grip; it feels like good sturdy knurling, balanced between grip and protrusion (or roughness) of the knurling.

Acebeam delivers the TK16 in different versions, including bare copper and aluminum, I received the aluminum version with Osram LEDs. The anodization is well done, I couldn’t find any blemishes or uneven spots anywhere on the light. It is very consistent and spot-on, even after turning the pocket clip, there were no marks or scuffs.

The threads are square-cut and well lubed, because of the size and pitch it sometimes requires some extra effort to get the head-on, the threads are smooth and well finished, Acebeam really has paid attention to detail!

LEDs, Lens, Bezel and Reflector

LED: ( 3 x Osram KW 1.1TG, color temp around >5500 K, CRI >90)

The Acebeam TK 16 comes with clear Carclo 10507 optics. Below the optics, we can see 3x Osram KW CSLPM1.TG LEDs which really work very well with these Optics. The beam is as we can expect from a typical triple LED beamand clear Carclo 10507 optics. These TIR optics give a nice and even output, with a perfect balance between throw and flood, but with the majority begin flood.

The tint of the LEDs is cool white, I personally own another flashlight with the exact same LED in a reflector, and this gives a completely different result in beam and tint. This reflector gives a very focused, narrow, cool white beam, almost blueish, (which is the opposite of the TK16 that gives a ‘whiter’ floodier beam), way more useful and practical for an EDC flashlight.

I opened the head by unscrewing the Gold plated smooth bezel and unscrewing the screws on the driver side, but the optics did not come out easily, also the driver was kept in place. Since I did not want to break the light I quickly assembled the TK16 again.

Dimensions:

Length:

  • Head diameter: 23 mm / 0.905 inch
  • Length: 66.5 mm / 2.618

Weight:

  • Empty: 37 grams / 1.305 oz
  • With cells: 56 grams / 1.98 oz

Size comparison:

Picture 1: From left to right: Acebeam TK16, Jetbeam 1 MK, Skilhunt M150, Reylight Pineapple, Reylight Tan, Jaxman E2L, BLF Q8.

Picture 2: From left to right: Acebeam TK16, Enogear AA, Jetbeam Jet 1 MK, Amutorch SS.

acebeam-tk16-18
acebeam-tk16-19

User Interface:

5 Modes: Moon, Low, Medium, High, Turbo

From OFF:

  • Press and hold 3 seconds: light enters moon-mode
  • Press and hold 5 seconds: the light will enter Lock Out mode. (it will blink 3 times to indicate the lockout mode.
  • Single-click: last used memory
  • Double click: turbo
  • Triple-click: strobe
  • 4x click: N/A

From ON:

  • Press and Hold: Cycling through L M H
  • Single-click: light turns Off
  • Double click: Turbo
  • Triple-click: Strobe

You always have to press and hold the switch to run through the modes.

Lock mode:

From the OFF position, you should press and hold the switch for 5 seconds to enter the Lock-out mode. To deactivate the lock-out mode: press and hold the switch for 5 seconds.

Eco mode and Power Mode program

There are 2 power modes on the Acebeam TK16: ECO mode and POWER mode. To switch between modes you first need to enter the Lock-out mode. Within the Lockout mode click 10 times to change modes. It will show the mode program by giving a low + high output blink (for Power mode) or a Hi + Low blink (ECO-mode).

Mode memory:

  • The light features mode memory. With a single click from Off, you enter the last used output mode.

Low voltage warning: (LVW)

  • The light features a Low Voltage Warning: it blinks 3 times every 5 seconds whenever the battery is below 3.1V.

Strobe/blinkies

  • Triple-click for strobe, which is the only blinky mode on this light.

PWM

  • I couldn’t detect any PWM in any mode. Check out the pictures below to show that even the camera didn’t pick up the PWM.

Batteries and charging:

The Acebeam 16340 cell that comes with the TK16 seems to perform rather well, it is a button top cell.
I have tested the light with a flat top 16340 cell as well, which the light also accepts. without any problem.
There is no magnetic-, nor USB charging or whatsoever. You just have to charge it on a normal lithium charger.

Performance:

Lux readings were done with a UNI-T UT383S lux meter, I record temperature readings with an infrared Noncontact thermometer, type Benetech GM-320

Amp measurement Due to the design of the light, current draw measurements are very difficult (if not impossible).
This light utilizes an E-switch in the light’s tail, which asks for a different design and approach compared to a classic ‘clicky’ switch since the e switch has to be fed separately. The design uses 2 tubes, with the inner tube being anodized and press fitted into the outer tube. The anodization of the inner tube is used as an isolator to prevent any shorts with the outer tube. The ends of both tubes are non-anodized and aren’t flush. The inner tube protrudes more than the outer tube to create an extra circuit for the e-switch.
The outer tube connects with the head as the ground and the inner tube for the e-switch connects to the head by use of a leaf-spring placed on the driver.

But according to this test http://budgetlightforum.com/node/63255 we need approximately 1.5 A per LED which makes ≈ 4,5 A total for all three LED’s combined to reach a maximum of 1300 Lumen.

Runtime graph

Acebeam (manufacturer) claims the following runtimes for each mode: LED option 2: OSRAM
Power Mode

  • Moonlight: 0.5 lumens; 6 days
  • Low: 20 lumens; 355cd; 37 meters; 12 hours Measured 14 Lx @5m
  • Med: 100 lumens; 1950cd; 88 meters; 3 hours Measured 71 Lx @5m
  • High: 478 lumens; 11000cd; 210 meters; 50 minutes Measured 377 Lx@5m
  • Turbo: 1300 lumens; 28500cd; 338 meters; 45 minutes
  • Strobe: 478 lumens; 1 hour

ECO Mode

  • Moonlight: 0.5 lumens; 6 days
  • Low: 20 lumens; 355cd; 37 meters; 12 hours Measured 14 Lx @5m
  • Med: 100 lumens; 1950cd; 88 meters; 3 hours Measured 71 Lx @5m
  • High: 478 lumens; 11000cd; 210 meters; 1 hour 15 minutes Measured 377 Lx@5m
  • Turbo: 780 lumens; 18200cd; 270 meters; 1 hour
  • Strobe: 478 lumens; 1 hour

In the test I have used the original acebeam battery, fresh off the charger. The test is done without any cooling and done at exactly 5 Meters distance.
The results show that the claimed runtimes cannot be achieved, also we see a huge drop in output in POWER mode after just 1 minute, which is necessary since the light gets really HOT! Nevertheless, the output is still fairly high after the dropdown and the beam of the TIR combined with the small Die Osram emitters gives quite a narrow beam.

In the outdoor shots on the white garage door, it becomes very visible that the die size and shape makes the difference in the beam, especially since the Jaxman E2L uses the same TIR, where the Acebeam uses the Osram LEDs the Jaxman uses Nichia 219C 4000K LED’s, where the beam of the Acebeam is clearly more narrow.

The Other photo shows the TK16 vs a Convoy S2+ with an XPL-HI LED in a 4B tint (+- 4500 ~ 4700K) and a smooth reflector.

Take notice:

Another useful thing to mention is the fact that the High mode might actually be more useful than turbo, since the high mode will sustain the same output until the LVP kicks in. The high mode gives about 470 Lm, which is almost double the output after the massive dropdown after Turbo. Also, note that high mode is exactly the same no matter which mode program you are in (POWER or ECO mode) is chosen (which is the same for Medium and Low mode as well)

Overall conclusion

Pros:

  1. Ideal size for Every Day Carry
  2. High lumen output in small size
  3. Great design and finish
  4. Mechanical + electronic lockout possible
  5. Moon mode directly accessible
  6. Package includes a 16340 cell

Cons

  1. Runtime is short on Turbo
  2. Get’s very hot on Turbo
  3. Quite a dropdown after Tturbo mode
Reviewer Peter
Author: Peter

Overall Rating: Excellent ★★★★★

With the TK16, Acebeam has done a great job, you receive a high-quality product that gives you a premium feel. Personally, I wasn’t a big fan of small lights, since I thought it would not deliver enough power and runtime.
But I changed my mind.
Actually, I like the small size because it makes it ideal for EDC, I like the design, I like the grip, I like that it comes without a crenelated bezel, the operation of the E-switch is flawless, the UI is simple and good, the output is actually very good, the attention to detail and finish is perfect, actually, it’s my favorite EDC!
And that says something! I rate the Acebeam TK16: 5 stars out of five.