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AceBeam E75: first impressions
The excellent build quality of the E75 quad-core high-performance flashlight is immediately obvious as soon as you release this beast from its box. Although it’s only five inches long and weighs less than eight ounces (making it easy to carry in the pocket of a hiking backpack, daypack or jacket), this nifty torch from Chinese brand AceBeam feels really solid in your hand.
• List price: $99.90 (US) / £100 (UK)
• Weight: 216g / 7.6oz
• Length: 12.8cm / 5in
• Battery requirements: 21700 15A 3.6-volt battery, rechargeable via a USB-C port
• Lumens: 3000
• Range: 210m / 690ft
• Modes: Moonlight / Low / Medium 1 / Medium 2 / High / Turbo / Strobe
• Run time: 1hr 50min / 26 days (High / Moonlight settings)
• Ingress rating: IP68
• Body colors: Gray (6500K only) / Green (6500K only) / Black (5000K only) / Teal (5000K only)
• Inclusions: Wrist lanyard, charging cable, spare washers
Even at these fairly diminutive dimensions, I personally think it’s a little too chunky to be considered a natural everyday carry item (the excellent little Acebeam H16, which can be used as a headlamp or a mini flashlight, is better suited for such use) but as a handheld torch to take camping or keep in the car or your backpack, the E75 feels like one of the best flashlights on the market.
And that’s before you even turn it on, because once it’s fired up, the E75 has a Raging Bull-esque ability to punch above its weight and completely KO the darkness.
The AceBeam E75 flashlight is available in two very slightly different iterations; I’ve been testing the CR190 version, which is fronted by four 5000K LED bulbs that can cast a beam way beyond 200m on the Turbo setting. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with this version of the E75 (which supplies everything I’m every going to need from a torch in terms of power), but the other model is even stronger, with four 6500k cool-white bulbs offering a maximum range of 260m.
AceBeam E75: design and specifications
The AceBeam E75 has six white-light settings, starting with the very subtle one-lumen glow that AceBeam has rather poetically named Moonlight. You can keep the flashlight on this setting for 26 days before the battery gives up the ghost.
The more useful settings are Low (50 lumens, small range for 2.5 days), Medium 1 (150 lumens, 58m range for 16 hours), Medium 2 (450 lumens, 58m range for 4 hours 40 minutes) and High (1,000 lumens, 128m range for 1 hour 50 minutes). There is also a 3,000-lumen Turbo mode that throws light 210m for short bursts of time, and a strobe setting.
The battery is charged (and subsequently recharged) via an included USB–C cable.
This tough little flashlight can survive almost anything you (or the elements) might thro at it. Fully dust-, shock- and waterproof, it has a lab-tested ingress protection rating of IP68 and can be fully submerged to a depth of 2m.
AceBeam E75: on the trails and in camp
I’ve been using the AceBeam E75 flashlight during night hiking and overnight camping escapades during the last few months, as well as for more prosaic tasks such as walking the dog after dark, and it’s difficult to be anything other than super impressed with this hardy little lightsaber.
While the Moonlight setting is limited in its usefulness (it’s good as a nightlight and to find your way out of the tent or dorm room without waking everyone else up), the strength of the beam on the other levels is brilliant. With a single button to negotiate, it’s really easy to toggle through all the various light modes, and the turbo and strobe features are just as simple to activate, by giving the button a double or triple click.
You always know where you are with the battery, because there’s a charge indicator beside the operating button. All the time you have plenty of juice left in the bank this glows green, but when the remaining battery life goes below 20% it changes to red, and if you let it drop beneath 10% it begins to flash as an urgent reminder.
Herein lies one of my few criticisms of the E75: you are very reliant on being able to reach somewhere with a USB outlet in order to recharge the torch. I prefer the option of being able to take a stash of standard batteries along with me on longer trips and remote expeditions, just in case the rechargeable one runs out or fails.
My other grumbles include the absence of a color bulb (useful for preserving night vision when reading maps out on the trails, and sometimes for emergency comms) and the lack of a lock to prevent accidental activation.
However, these quibbles aside, I really love this flashlight. Besides its toughness, premium performance levels and high degree of functionality, I have been particularly impressed with the extra features that facilitate hands-free use, including a clip that have allowed me to attach the torch to clothing or tent pockets (making it an alternative to a dedicated camping lantern) and a seriously powerful magnetic base that allows you to position it on the side of vehicles, or pop it on anything else metallic. (You do need to be aware that the top of the torch will get hot on high beam after a while, however, so don’t leave it in contact with anything flammable while it’s activated.)
I don’t especially need this feature while exploring the trails and moors around Devon and the South West of Britain (and carrying an item with the intent of using it to cause injury here is illegal) but AceBeam points out that the E75 flashlight’s robust metal build makes it potentially useful as a self-defense tool if you feel threatened or even get attacked while out and about in the dark.
