Acebeam TK17 Review
In my early years as a gear geek I was an avowed fan of Quickbeam’s site: FlashlightReviews.com. I have no idea who or what owns the site now, but the current content pales in comparison to Quickbeam’s original content. If you want a modern Quickbeam, go visit ZeroAir’s site. One of the things that Quickbeam talked about, what I think as the Flashlight Design Conundrum, is this: long runtimes, small size, high output—choose two. Its worth remembering that I was reading Quickbeam’s site in the early 00s and so lights were transitioning between incans and LEDs. 100 lumens was a screamer. Days of runtime were unheard of. Now of course, the LED names were way cooler, but the specs we take for granted were impossible. Which would you rather have, based solely on the name: a Nichia 519A or a Osram Golden Dragon?
Over the years something has changed, in part because, the Design Conundrum is no longer much of a conundrum. The readily-available 47s Mini Turbo Mk III hits 650 lumens, is the size of your thumb, and on low can run for days. Of course, you can always scale the numbers, but for most people, these numbers are good enough and the Flashlight Design Conundrum has been solved. For me, the interesting part of flashlights is more design-oriented. I just don’t care about specs anymore because almost all lights have more than acceptable specs. Well…almost always. The specs for the TK17 are impressive even for today’s kilolumen environment:
High: 2300 lumens…
That’s a huge wallop of photons from a light that is, in the grand scheme of things, not terribly large. There is one other thing—there is no a whiff of Anduril anywhere. You can find more lumens, though not much more in an 18350. Most of the time though you have to take Anduril as your poison pill. And so here I am, avowed Lumen Agnostic, reviewing a photon turbocharger. At least hypocrisy is interesting.
Here is the product page. The TK17 costs $73. There are quite a few blinged out version including a polished Ti version for significantly more money. Here is a quick blurb from EDC, as I struggled to find written reviews. While I am not moved by bling all that much, I do think those versions are especially good looking. Here is a written review. Here is a video review. You can purchase the TK17 at Amazon here, with all of the proceeds benefiting the site.
Finally, here is my review sample:
Twitter Review Summary: A very good modern light.
Design: 2
The flashlight world is wide and wild with new brands popping up all the time and new custom makers machining new tubes to lust after regularly. Keeping track of what is out there is hard. So when I lost my trusty 47s Mini Mk. III Turbo, I went on a mission to find a replacement, and this light floated to the top of the list because it was small(ish) (see above with the HDS Rotary, BOSS 35, and 47 Mini Mk. 3) and VERY bright. Getting a review sample in hand, confirmed this. I still prefer compact lights, but if you don’t need your torch to fit in a coin pocket, you are going to be hard pressed to find something this bright and still this small. Outside the BOSS 35, I couldn’t find anything. This combination of relatively compact size and high lumens count matters, even to a crusty reviewer that has long since given up the lumens ghost.
Fit and Finish: 2
The TK17 is not a subtle design. There are crenellations, grooves, fins, and chamfers everywhere. It has that industrialized look that a Hinderer has. Personally, I am not a fan of this look, but it does show off a bit of machining prowess. Here this translates into really superb fit and finish. If you are used to Chinese brands like WE or Reate, Acebeam’s machining in the flashlight equivalent. This is a spectacularly well made light and the Ti versions are real gems.
Grip: 2
With all that fins, vents, chamfers, and “X”s this is a very grippy light. The strange thing is that all together they make really grippy surfaces without being all that abrasive or aggressive. The light also has two flared ends—one for the head and the other for the tailcap making for that pleasing hourglass shape.
Carry: 1
The first think I really dislike—the clip here is thin and weak. It works and it doesn’t cause a hotspot but I have bent it out of a shape a few times and it is not easy to replace because it is color matched to the copper highlights throughout the light. I’d love to see a beefier clip here.
Output: 2
This is the headliner for the light and it does not disappoint. Finding a light under $100 that is pocketable (come on folks…we need to be more realistic as to what is pocketable…yes I can put a soda can in my pocket but it basically cripples me to do so) and this bright is very, very difficult. Even to a lumens agnostic, this light is meaningfully bright. It also happens to have a real moonlight low, with a minimum output of 3 lumens. That span is basically unprecedented outside something like the BOSS 35.
Runtime: 2
Runtimes, like output are great. Turbo is listed as 45 minutes, but I know there is a step-down here. The high of 1000 lumens is listed as 1 hour and my use of the TK17 on Night Hikes proves this is accurate. We did a lot of mid-winter hikes this year and the TK17 came with me a lot and it never gave up the ghost, even on the longer ones. I know it odd to think about this at the dawn of summer, but there are few things as serene as a hike through knee deep snow. There is quiet and then there is freshly-fallen-snow-at-night quiet.
Beam Type: 2
This is all flood all the time. There is no real throw here other than sheer horsepower. If you are looking for a spotlight or a thrower, go someplace else. If you want a wall of photons this is a great choice. They really leaned into the wall of photons and a scale like mine rewards committed choices.
Beam Quality: 2
2300 lumens AND 90 CRI? Of course you don’t get those in the same emitters, but there is a TK17 for everyone. I opted for the 2300 lumen model and honestly the color rendering is pretty good here too. The optics are on the squashy side, but the remain free from artifacts or distortions.
UI: 2
Glorious—a click without Anduril. This is a pretty straightforward click, click again set up and it takes very little memorization and finger speed to get to the mode you want. This is not a South Korean Starcraft player with 650 APM UI and for that I am grateful. Simply no Anduril is an upgrade for me.
Hands Free: 2
With more crenellations than a castle this light will not roll away. It also tailstands like a champ and is still small enough to be held in your mouth in emergency situations that require both hands.
Other Considerations
Fidget Factor: Very High
The click is nice and tactile and the overall shape and feel of the light is quite good.
Fett Effect: Moderate
I guess the ano will wear on the corners in a few years, but overall, this light is pretty much going to the look the same now as it will in a few years.
Value: High
With a super high high and a wide range, you will be hard pressed to find a light that is more versatile than the TK17. Add to that very solid, slop-free fit and finish and you have a true value even at $73.
Overall Score: 19 of 20
This is an extraordinary light from a company that has really moved to the front of the pack in terms of enthusiast grade flashlights. Acebeam is to lights what Reate or WE is to knives. The light is compact, bright, and shaped nicely. The threads are smooth and slop-free. The clicky is responsive and the UI is intuitive. Overall, this is one of the better lights on the market if you want to move up from the compact range but don’t want to carry an 18650 pocket anchor.
Competition
Surefire’s E1B is roughly the same size, a bit bigger in fact, and it puts out significantly fewer lumens and costs 50% more. The HDS Rotary is also more money for fewer lumens. This is a pattern you will notice. Only the BOSS 35 is smaller with a similar lumen count, but it is, of course, both more money and very hard to find. For competition you need to leave the high end and go to the realm of Chinese produced lights (of which this is one) and there you will find, as I mentioned above, a dilemma—similar lumens (over 1000 lumens) counts can be found on stuff like the Thrunite T1S but they are cursed with Anduril, a larger battery format, lower highs or all three. In the end, there is no other light on the market that is: 1) this small; 2) this bright; and 3) does not use Anduril that I could find. As a result, if lumens trumps compactness by a little bit, the TK17 is clearly better than the competition.
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