Maratac Defender P16

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Maratac Defender P16 specs

Brand & Model	Acebeam & Maratac Defender P16
Flashlight category	Tactical, EDC
LED	Luminus SFT40
Max. output	1800 lumens
Max. beam distance	484 meters
Max. beam intensity	58,564 cd
Battery config.	1x 18650 or 2x CR123
Onboard charging	No
Main modes	4
Blinkies	Strobe, SOS
Waterproof	IP68
Review publication date	November 2023

Let’s be honest, there are an awful lot of flashlight brands. Some of them get a lot of attention on enthusiast forums like BudgetLightForum and Reddit’s r/flashlight, some don’t. We see a lot of less-expensive options (Sofirn, Wurkkos, Astrolux, etc) and plenty that are just great values, even if they’re a little more expensive. When it comes down to it, though, you usually get what you pay for. Don’t get me wrong – I love budget lights and have a ton of them; but usually corners have been cut, especially in terms of driver quality (cheap FETs vs buck/boost). This is where my appreciation for some of the more expensive brands comes in. Brands like Acebeam tend to put out high-quality lights with good drivers that help maximize efficiency and runtime. The recent Acebeam E75 is a good example of that – not cheap, but a truly amazing flashlight.

On the review menu for today is another entry by Acebeam. However, this is a special collaboration light with CountyComm to commemorate their 33 anniversary. To celebrate, they created a co-branded Acebeam/Maratac OD Green Splash version of the Acebeam Defender P16. This serialized flashlight is a limited edition with only 1000 pieces available. This tactical/daily flashlight is built around a 18650 battery, uses dual tail switches for control, and features a pretty nice TIR.

To get up and running with the Defender P16, just pop in a battery, remove the protection film from the TIR, and you’re off to the races!

Package quality.

When I received my first couple of Maratac flashlights, I was a bit shocked at their packaging. Everything was tightly crammed into a little, clear, plastic square tube. I wasn’t sure if it was just those models, but this is my fourth flashlight that has arrived in the same manner. So apparently that’s just Maratac’s thing. In the clear plastic tube was:

• Acebeam/Maratac Defender P16
• Lanyard
• Spare O-rings
• Manual

The Acebeam/Maratac Defender P16 utilizes an 18650 battery, so it’s a bit on the smaller side, but not too much so. It’s a very comfortable size to walk around with, in your hand and stow in a jacket pocket. The P16 comes with a large 2-way clip preinstalled. The pocket clip is actually mounted to the battery tube underneath its connection to the head, a secure design with no movement of the clip. So you could remove the clip by unscrewing the head and then popping it off if you wanted to.

The dual switches are located on the tailcap, as is fairly common with tactical-ish flashlights. The most prominent button is a forward-clicky switch that is used for on-off (and momentary) purposes. The second is an e-switch that is situated toward the rim of the tailcap; it provides mode-switching and shortcut capabilities.

Anti-roll protection is provided by the pocket clip. The protruding tail switches rules out any possibility of tail-standing. The only attachment point that I see for the provided lanyard is a hole in the tail end of the pocket clip – perhaps not ideal, but it works.

When it comes to build quality, I have yet to be disappointed by anything built by Acebeam or sold by CountyComm (Maratac is the house brand of flashlights by the CountyComm company). The P16’s body is built from the usual “aircraft-grade” aluminum and boasts a Type III hard anodizing. I would call the finish to be nice and matte without being chalky. The OD Green Splash is a break from the typical black or grey finish and is pretty neat looking.

The Defender P16 has two UIs, the choice of which would be influenced by how you intend to use the flashlight. If you want the light for tactical-ish duties, the Tactical Mode provides one-touch strobe access which could be good if you’re concerned with encountering an attacker (strobe is better than nothing, I suppose). The Daily Mode swaps that shortcut for one-touch Low mode, which is a nice offering. In general, this would make a good around-the-house kind of light with its long-running dependable output. It would be right at home in the woods, camping, hiking, or for general outdoor activities with its throwy beam. However, with the lowest mode coming in around 50 lumens and it having a pretty tight beam, I would reach for other flashlights for general “inside the house” tasks.

Warranty coverage: “Full 365-day warranty on all items we sell from defect or failure. We stand behind every product we sell 100% from watches to flashlights, we have you covered!”

The business end of the Defender P16 is protected by a blacked-out stainless steel bezel ring. It’s crenulated; not terribly sharp, but could probably do some damage to pants pockets after extended use. Maratac says that this “strike bezel” can also be used as a glass breaker in an emergency.

Situated under the bezel is a nice TIR lens that is protected by a sheet of anti-reflective glass. The TIR sits atop a Luminus SFT40 LED, a domeless, high-output emitter. While this is a 70-CRI cool-white offering, as almost all SFT40 LEDs are, you can occasionally find 3000K 95-CRI SFT40’s around. Perhaps I’ll mod my P16 with one of these emitters, but I digress…. The domeless SFT40 LED and narrow TIR lens produces a very concentrated beam with a clean, small hotspot and wide, faint spill. The beam is overall very throwy for this size of flashlight.

Spectral measurements: 

I used an Opple Light Master to measure the flashlight at 5 meters distance. 

Mode:	CCT:	CRI Ra:	duv
Turbo	6165 K	68.7	+0.0022

Dimensions: 

	Millimeters	Inches
Length	131 mm	5.2 in
Head diameter	32 mm	1.3 in
Body diameter	23 mm	0.9 in

Weight: 

	Weight in grams	Weight in oz
Without battery:	110 g	3.9 oz
With battery (Samsung 30Q)	155 g	5.5 oz

Flashlight size comparison with its competition:

Group 1: Maratac Tri-Flood Pro, Acebeam/Maratac Defender P16, Maratac Mini LEP Cosmos

Group 2: Olight Baton 3 Pro Max, Acebeam/Maratac Defender P16, Nitecore P20iX

The Acebeam/Maratac Defender P16 uses a constant-current buck driver for excellent output regulation. The dual tail-switch design pushes the P16 towards the “tactical” realm, but it actually offers two (slightly) different UI modes that you, the user, can switch between: Tactical Mode and Daily Mode.

When talking about the UI, the forward-clicky switch is referred to as the Tactical Switch. The e-switch is called the Functional Switch.

Available modes: 

• Low, Med, High, Turbo

Available blinky modes:

• Strobe, SOS
  

Tactical Mode

From OFF:

• Tactical Switch, press and hold: momentary on
• Tactical Switch, click: on
• Functional Switch, press and hold <3 seconds: momentary strobe
• Functional Switch, press and hold >3 seconds: strobe 

From ON:

• Tactical Switch, click: off
• Functional Switch, single click: change brightness
• Functional Switch, press and hold >1 second: strobe

Daily Mode

From OFF:

• Tactical Switch, press and hold: momentary on
• Tactical Switch, click: on
• Functional Switch, press and hold <3 seconds: momentary low
• Functional Switch, press and hold >3 seconds: low

From ON:

• Tactical Switch, click: off
• Functional Switch, single click: change brightness
• Functional Switch, press and hold >1 second: SOS

Mode memory:

• Daily Mode: the manual explicitly states that it uses mode memory (which is correct)
• Tactical Mode:
  • The manual doesn’t call out mode memory for Tactical Mode, whereas it does for Daily Mode, which leads to believe that it shouldn’t have mode memory
  • CountyComm’s website explicitly states “one-touch strobe, turbo and low activation”, which further makes me believe that Tactical should default to Turbo mode, as there is no other action in the UI depiction that would lead to one-touch turbo.
  • Acebeam’s own website uses the same “one-touch strobe, turbo and low activation” language to describe the UI.
  • Despite all of this, I don’t see any way to do one-touch turbo. Tactical Mode appears to have mode memory, just like Daily Mode does. To me, this seems like a UI oversight/goof-up.

Shortcuts:

• To Low: in Daily Mode, press (or press and hold) the Functional Switch
• To Turbo: missing
• To Strobe: in Tactical Mode, press (or press and hold) the Functional Switch

Low voltage warning/protection:

• The output will step down as the battery power gets low, and will eventually shut off
• I don’t see it mentioned in the manual, but the light also blinks every 30 seconds after it steps down to the lowest mode

Strobe/blinkies

• Strobe: accessed in the Tactical Mode by pressing (or holding) the Functional Switch
• SOS: accessed in the Tactical Mode by pressing and holding the Functional Switch for >1 second while on

Lock-out mode: 

• CountyComm’s website mentions a lockout mode without saying how to activate it. There is no mention of a lockout mode in the manual. I don’t see any way to electronically lock out the P16. You can slightly unscrew the tailcap for physical lockout.

PWM

• There is no PWM

Additional/summary info on the UI: 

• To switch between Tactical and Daily modes, turn the flashlight off. Press and hold the functional switch for 3 seconds. While continuing to hold down the Functional Switch, click the Tactical Switch. The main LED will begin “breathing”. At this point, release the Functional Switch and then click it. The light will then enter Strobe mode to indicate that it is now in Tactical Mode, or SOS to indicate that it is in Daily Mode. Click the Tactical Switch to exit.
• With how the UI stands, the main difference between Tactical and Daily Modes is that Tactical provides one-touch strobe while Daily provides one-touch low.
• I feel that the apparent missing one-touch strobe feature that is advertised is a big oversight, and one that detracts from this being an appropriate “tactical” flashlight.

If you were to buy the Defender P16 from Acebeam, you would receive an included USB-C rechargeable 18650 battery. But with buying this special commemorative edition from CountyComm, you’ll either need to add one to your CountyComm shopping cart or provide one of your own. There are springs at each end, so the Defender P16 should be pretty forgiving in terms of overall battery length compatibility. In my testing, I used a flat-top Samsung 30Q that I had on hand.

Charge type	Fits	No fit	Charge time
N/A	All (?) 18650 batteries	–	N/A

Lumen measurements

How Lumens are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards How Lumens are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards: The ANSI FL1 standards specify that output in lumens should be measured 30 seconds after turning on, as this is the standardized time for measuring brightness according to the industry standard. This is why we focus on this part in our measurements.

Lux was measured by a UNI-T UT383 BT at 5 meters. Lumens were measured in a homemade lumen tube using a VEML7700 sensor, calibrated with a calibration light provided by 1Lumen. A Samsung 30Q battery was used for testing.

Mode	Specified	0 sec.	30 sec.	10 min.
Low	50 lm	37 lm	37 lm
Med	260 lm	244 lm	244 lm	241 lm
High	900 lm	861 lm	853 lm	665 lm
Turbo	1800 lm	1,633 lm	1,532 lm	661 lm
Turbo at 3.6V*		1,230 lm	1,154 lm	236 lm

Parasitic drain:

• N/A – couldn’t measure due to dual-tube design

As with the past few Maratac flashlights that I’ve reviewed, this one just doesn’t hit the claimed output in my testing. On one hand, I’m not all that surprised. On the other hand, this is essentially an Acebeam P16 with a special exterior finish – so it should perform up to Acebeam levels, which I think more highly of. To be fair, my Samsung 30Q is several years old and could possibly not hit quite as hard as it used to. While I was not able to hit the claimed output, I’m not using the same battery that Acebeam used in their testing to get their specs. The output on Turbo very likely is highly dependent on your choice of battery. Even though this is a buck driver, I wouldn’t doubt that those ~2 minutes of Turbo are unregulated, and then it drops down to regulated output.

Maratac Defender P16 Battery Life: Runtime graphs

How Runtimes are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards About ANSI FL1 runtime standards: The runtime is measured until the light drops to 10% of its initial output (30 seconds after turning on). This does not mean that the flashlight is not usable anymore. The last column shows how long the light actually works till it shuts off. If there is a + symbol, it means that the test was stopped at that particular point, but the light was actually still running. This happens on certain occasions, with certain drivers, firmware, or batteries.

Mode	Specified runtime	Measured runtime ANSI	Time till shut off
Low	22h	–	–
Med	5h 8min	5h 24min	6h 4min
High	2hr	1h 55min	2h 52min
Turbo	1h 36min	1h 52min	2h 51min

While I got slightly lower lumen output values, the runtimes were well within spec. When the output dropped to the lowest mode because the battery was near depletion, the output would blink every 30 seconds to remind me that the P16 was almost out of power. It went on that way for around an hour; which is plenty of warning before shutting off. 

Peak beam intensity and beam distance measurements

About Peak beam intensity: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards About peak beam intensity The calculated value of distance in meters at which the flashlight produces a light intensity of 0.25 lux. (0.25 lux is about the brightness of a full moon shining on an object). This means that the intensity has decreased so much, it becomes difficult to see darker objects, or objects that don’t reflect light. The columns ‘Meters’ and ‘Yards’ use rounded numbers.

Throw was tested at 5 meters with my UNI-T UT383 BT

Mode	Specs	Candela measured	Meters	Yards
Low	2,756 cd	1,300	72 m	79 yd
Medium	8,464 cd	7,275	171 m	187 yd
High	25,760 cd	25,550	320 m	350 yd
Turbo	58,564 cd	46,950	433 m	474 yd

Nothing too surprising to see with the beam intensity results. They’re roughly in line with specs, but lower by a decent margin, just like the lumen output measurements. They’re not terribly far off, so battery strength could be a factor here.

Camera settings and distance: 

Beam shots of the building are taken at 30 m (33 yd) using a Pixel 7 set to ISO 800 with 1/10 second exposure time

Beamshots of the following flashlights compared:

• Acebeam/Maratac Defender P16
• Olight Seeker 4 Mini
• Fenix E35R

Please note that beamshots are mainly intended to showcase the beam pattern and beam quality, rather than overall performance. These images are typically taken directly after activation, and do not fully represent its overall performance. For accurate performance metrics, such as output, beam distance, and runtimes, you need to look at the performance section of this review.

Disclaimer: This flashlight was sent to us for review at no cost by Maratac Defender P16. We have not been paid to review, nor have we been holding back on problems or defects.