This review is of the Acebeam TAC 2AA flashlight / torch with the new Luminus SFT-25R HI 6500K LED. TN LED 6500K HD LED versions are also available. With both 'tactical' and 'everyday' modes, this 1400/1600 lumen EDC light is compact and lightweight, useful for dog walking, home security, emergencies, camping, and hiking.
Disclaimer
Acebeam sent me the TAC 2AA for an honest review.
Design and Construction
The Acebeam TAC 2AA is a pen-like flashlight that uses either the included 14100P Li-ion battery or 2xAA batteries. It is the brightest 2xAA flashlight currently available, and also the first consumer flashlight with the new Luminus SFT-25R HI 6500K LED. Specifications are as follows:
Length: 149.9mm.
Width: 20mm (body), 22mm (head).
Weight: 106g (incl. battery).
User interface: Side and Tail Switch (see next section).
LED driver: constant current.
Weatherproof: IP68.
Impact resistance: 1.5m.
Retail price at time of writing: US$52.90
The light arrived in a branded box, with the light, lanyard, Li-ion 14100P battery, instructions, USB-C charging cable, red and white diffuser, and warranty certificate.
The SFT-25R HI LED version is available with a blue body. The TN LED 6500K HD LED versions are available in green and black bodies.
The 14100P rechargeable 1600mAh Li-ion battery is the length of 2xAA/14500 batteries (141000). It has an integrated USB-C charging port. The 14100P battery is far too long to fit into Li-ion chargers, so it is not possible to analyse battery capacity and internal resistance. The TAC 2AA is a "dual fuel" light, and can also be used with 2 rechargeable AA batteries in series, including rechargeable NiMH, 1.5V Li-ion, or non-rechargeable Lithium and Alkaline. The TAC 2AA is not compatible with 2x14500 Li-ion batteries Just make sure batteries in series are of equal charge/voltage, and don't mix and match! It is important to note when buying EDC class lights that an 18650 light will have double the battery capacity than the 14100P, but with no dual fuel option. 2AA lights are longer but thinner than 18650 lights. Thus your EDC purchasing decision may depend on ergonomics, battery capacity, or dual fuel capability.
The red and white diffusers are potentially useful for light painting photography, and as a low brightness camping lantern (e.g. inside a tent) or for use during power outages. For light painters, the TAC 2AA's head size is too small for the Light Painting Brushes Universal Adapter, but does fit Light Painting Paradise Round Adapters, and easily fits into all T8 tubes.
User Interface
The Acebeam TAC AA has a dual switch setup with a side e-switch and tactical (forward clicky) tail switch with momentary functionality. The user interface (UI) is as follows:
Tail switch (Tactical Mode - side switch light is off):
Full click > Turbo on/off.
Half press and hold - Momentary on.
Tail switch (Daily Mode - side switch light is pulsing/standby):
Full click - turns off/exits Daily Mode.
Side switch (Tactical Mode - side switch light is off):
Single click - Nothing.
Single click after tail switch on > Off and enters Daily (side switch mode)
Side switch (Daily Mode - side switch light is pulsing/standby):
Single click - On/Off.
Hold from on - cycles through modes Low>Mid>High.
Double click from on/off (or moonlight) - Turbo.
Triple click from on/off (or moonlight) - Strobe.
Hold from off - Moonlight.
The user interface combines a useful Tactical Mode with momentary control, and Acebeam's popular side switch UI (Daily Mode). However, it can be confusing if you are in the opposite mode to the one required. For example from off in Tactical Mode, you have to turn to the light on in Turbo to change to Daily Mode to access Moonlight mode. Likewise to access Tactical mode's momentary on from Daily Mode, you have to turn the light off standby first and then back on. I would have preferred a two switch UI similar to the Sofirn SP31 V2.0/V3.0 which allows for on/off/momentary in all brightness modes, and less chance of confusion. However, the world would be boring if all UIs were the same. The light also had a low battery (<30%) indicator on the side switch.
The strobe is constant frequency - yay! Unfortunately for light painting photographers, it isn't accessible from the tail switch.
Beam, Output, and Runtime
The Acebeam TAC 2AA is available with a couple of emitter options, the TN LED 6500K HD, and Luminus SFT-25R HI LED. The latter option was tested, and is a new "state of the art" LED. The LED is placed in deep smooth reflector, which results in a throwy general purpose beam profile with intense hot spot, and relatively narrow spill beam. I personally would prefer a wider spill beam for general purpose use. The TN LED option has slightly more maximum lumens at 1600lm, but a lower peak beam intensity and throw at 8190cd. The SFT-25R option has slightly less lumens at 1400lm, but much higher peak beam intensity and throw at 23104cd (304m).
Lumen output and runtime for the SFT-25R HI LED (14100P battery unless otherwise specified) is claimed to be:
Turbo - 1400lm (500lm after stepdown at 1 minute*), 120mins. Measured 1270lm (520lm after stepdown at 5 minutes, 110 minutes.
Turbo (NiMH AA batteries) - 550lm/430lm/280lm (step downs at 10mins and 85mins), 201mins.
High - 350lm, 180mins. Measured 356lm.
Mid - 100lm, 9.8hrs. Measured 108lm.
Low - 30lm,. 30hrs. Measured 31lm.
Moonlight - 1.5lm, 177hrs. Measured 1.89lm.
Maximum output is very impressive for 2xAA format flashlights, although the measured output is slightly under specification. Brightness step-down took much longer than specification at 5mins vs 1min, which resulted in the light getting too hot for a consumer orientated light. Two other reviewers have verified my findings on other samples. One of these was tested with a thermal imager, showing the light stepping down after 5 minutes, and 61.8C head temperature. This is hot enough to cause skin burns within 5 seconds. The light was designed to step down at 55C. It thus appears that there is a widespread issue with a batch of lights.
Addendum: Acebeam did offer to send a replacement and return the original sample due to the step down heat issue. However due to manipulative and abusive behaviour by their customer service representative, I will no longer be performing any more testing or reviews for Acebeam.
The extended time until step-down also slightly reduced the FL1 runtime to 110 minutes, though the light continued for another 15 minutes on Low, with 125 minutes of useable runtime.
Peak beam intensity on Turbo mode was tested at 30,398cd, though my Opple Lightmaster 3 Pro tends to overestimate by around 25%, which would be close to the claimed 23,104cd . This is also excellent throw for a 2xAA format flashlight.
Correlated colour temperature (CCT), colour rendering index (CRI), and tint (DUV) were measured at:
Turbo - CCT 5764K, CRI 64.5 Ra, Tint +0.0100 DUV.
High - CCT 5617K, CRI 63.6 Ra, Tint +0.0120 DUV.
Mid - CCT 5544K, CRI 62.9 Ra, Tint +0.0130 DUV.
Low - CCT 5503K, CRI 62.6 Ra, Tint +0.0134 DUV.
Moonlight - CCT 5382K, CRI 60.9 Ra, Tint +0.0145 DUV.
Hotspot CCT is around 5300-5800K, coolish white. The spill beam is noticeably cooler. The CRI is poor (even compared to the "usual" 65-70 CRI flashlights), at only 60-65 Ra. Thus, the TAC 2AA does a below average job of rendering illuminated colours. The SFT-25R HI LED has a slight green tint at all brightness levels, more noticeable at lower brightness levels. This probably isn't an issue for most flashlight buyers, and is not really noticeable when you are away from other light sources. However, the tint makes the light unsuitable for night photography.
Conclusion
Positives:
Impressive throw for the light's size.
Impressive maximum and sustained output for the light's size.
Good build quality.
Both Tactical (tail switch) and Daily (side switch) modes.
Momentary functionality.
Moonlight mode.
Included 14100P Li-ion battery is safer than two 14500 in series.
"Dual fuel" - can also use 2x NiMH, 1.5V Li-ion, Lithium, or Alkaline AA batteries.
USB-C charging.
Optional white and red diffusers.
Negatives:
Light gets excessively hot before step-down on Turbo mode.
Switching between modes can be confusing.
Strobe is not accessible from the tail switch.
Slight green tint and <65 CRI at all brightness levels.
The Acebeam TAC 2AA flashlight is useful as a "throwy" general purpose EDC flashlight, with a long and narrow 2xAA format. It comes with an included Li-ion battery. Whilst the 14100P battery has less capacity than 18650 battery EDC lights, it has the added capability of also using most AA battery types for off-grid use. Acebeam need to fix the step-down heat issue on future batches of the light. Acebeam also need to stop bullying flashlight reviewers into more positive reviews.
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