Acebeam T35 Black#

Specifications
Introduction
Torch in use
Build quality
LED, bezel, lens, reflector and beam
Size and comparison
User interface
Batteries and charging
Performance
Beamshots
Conclusion
Price
Product page

Specifications#

Brand/model	Acebeam T35 Black
LED	Luminus SFT40 6500K
Maximum lumens	1,900 lm
Maximum beam intensity	36,100 cd
Maximum throw	380 m
Battery	118650 Li-ion, 2CR123A
Onboard charging	Yes (USB-C)
Material	Aluminium
Modes	5
Blinkies	Strobe
Reflector	Smooth
Waterproof	IP68
Review date	July 2024

Introduction#

The Acebeam T35 Black is a tactical looking torch with a cool white 6500K Luminus SFT40 emitter and smooth reflector. It has a Tail Switch to turn the light on and off and Side Switch to change the mode. Built-in USB-C charging, an included 18650 battery and a holster makes this a complete kit.

Acebeam provided this torch for review. I have not been paid for this review nor have I held back my opinions of this torch.

Packaging#

The Acebeam T35 Black comes in an orange box with a window to see the torch.

The following was included in the box:

Acebeam T35 Black
Acebeam ARC18650H-260A 15A 2600mAh 3.6V Li-ion cell
Pocket clip
Lanyard
Two spare o-rings
Spare USB-C cover
USB-A to USB-C cable
Warranty card
Product certification card
User manual
Holster

Torch in use#

The Acebeam T35 looks and feels like a tactical torch.

The high frequency strobe mode and the aggressive looking strike bezel are nice tactical features.

A holster has been included. The torch is kept secure with velcro and there is a loop to thread a belt through.

The included lanyard can be attached to a hole in the pocket clip.

The torch cannot tail stand due to the Tail Switch.

Despite looking and feeling like a tactical torch, I would regard this as a torch for general outdoor use because there is no shortcut to Turbo.

Build quality#

The build quality is excellent.

The Acebeam T35 Black is made of aluminium and it has a matte black anodised finish. There are no sharp edges.

Knurling on the tube and the tail provide additional grip.

The torch can remain still on a flat surface and not roll away due the rectangular shape of the head.

The one-way pocket clip is securely attached to the torch.

A protective film came attached to the glass lens. This must be removed before using the torch.

The strike bezel appears to be made of steel.

The Tail Switch gives a satisfying click.

The Side Switch also gives a satisfying click. It has an indicator LED for the battery status and the charging status.

Anodised threads for the tailcap came well lubricated. There is an o-ring to help with water resistance.

It is relatively easy to take the tailcap off and put it back on again.

Springs at each end of the tube allow flat top and button top 18650 cells to be used.

It is worth noting that Philips screws have been used for the USB-C port cover and the tailcap PCB. This makes it slightly easier to repair. Torches like the Acebeam E75 require torx bits or allen keys.

LED, bezel, lens, reflector and beam#

The Acebeam T35 Black has a cool white 6500K Luminus SFT40 emitter with a smooth reflector.

There is a glass lens with a blue anti-reflective coating.

The strike bezel looks aggressive but it is not sharp.

CCT, CRI, and duv#

I have taken Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) and Colour Rendering Index (CRI, RA of R1-R8) measurements with the torch positioned one metre away from an Opple Light Master Pro III (G3).

The CCT is around 6100K, the CRI is around 66 and the Delta u, v is positive (green).

The beam produced has an intense white hot spot, a wide corona, and a moderate-sized spill given the small size of the reflector. The beam looks a bit like three circles overlapping each other when shining it on a white wall.

Mode	CCT (K)	CRI (Ra)	x	y	Duv
Ultra-Low	5866	65.2	0.3239	0.3501	0.0084
Low	5851	65.3	0.3242	0.3493	0.0079
Mid	6018	66.4	0.3209	0.3427	0.0061
High	6264	67.6	0.3166	0.3343	0.0040
Turbo	6584	69.1	0.3119	0.3243	0.0012

Calculate Duv from CIE 1931 xy coordinates

Dimensions and size comparison#

Dimensions#

I took the following measurements using a digital caliper.

Measurement	Unit (mm)
Length	137.6
Head diameter	25.92
Tube diameter	22.97
Tail diameter	25.1
Battery diameter	18.6
Battery length	70.8

Weight#

I took the following measurements using a digital scale.

Weight	Unit (g)
Acebeam T35 Black	90.87
Battery	47.65
Acebeam T35 Black with battery	138.52

Size comparison with its competition#

From left to right: Acebeam T35 Black, Acebeam T35 Coyote, Acebeam Defender P16 Gray, NEXTORCH TA30C, Amutorch XT35, SPERAS EST

User interface#

The Acebeam T35 has a forward-clicky Tail Switch to turn the torch on and off and an electronic Side Switch to select a mode.

The main group has five modes: Ultra-Low, Low, Mid, High, Turbo. And one blinky mode: Strobe.

State	Action	Result
Off	Click the Tail Switch	On (mode memory)
On	Click the Tail Switch	Off
On	Click the Side Switch	Cycle (Ultra-Low, Low, Mid, High, Turbo)
On	Hold the Side Switch for 0.5 seconds	Strobe

Mode Memory#

Strobe is not memorised.

Strobe#

Strobe has a constant frequency of about 140 Hz.

Battery Level Indicator#

The indicator LED in the side switch will display the following when the torch is on.

Colour	Battery level
Green	> 20%
Red	10% - 20%
Red flash	< 10%

The indicator LED is not too bright.

Low voltage protection#

The torch has low voltage protection.

I tested low voltage protection by connecting the driver of the torch to a bench power supply and then by lowering the voltage from 4.2V to 0V.

Mode	LVP?	Cut-off
Ultra-Low	Yes	2.70V
Low	Yes	2.72V
Mid	Yes	2.72V
High	Yes	2.72V
Turbo	?

I have not tested LVP for Turbo.

Pulse Width Modulation#

There is PWM but I did not notice any visible PWM (flickering).

I measured the PWM of the light with a Zoyi ZT-703S oscilloscope.

Ultra-Low, Low, Mid, High, Turbo

What I like about the UI#

It is simple to use and intuitive.
On/Off with the Tail Switch and select the mode by clicking the Side Switch. This is a common user interface for this dual switch design.
The user interface is suitable for general outdoor use.

What could be improved#

A shortcut to Turbo from off would be nice if this is to be a tactical torch.

Batteries and charging#

Battery#

A button top Acebeam ARC18650H-260A 15A 3.6V Li-ion 2600mAh cell was included inside the torch. It arrived with a voltage of 3.83V.

The cell was isolated with a piece of plastic to prevent accidentally turning the torch on.

I tried the following cells:

Cell	Top	Compatible?
Acebeam ARC18650H-260A 15A 3.6V Li-ion 2600mAh	Button	Yes
Acebeam ARC18650H-310A 3.6V Li-ion 3100mAh USB-C	Button	Yes
Sanyo NCR18650GA 3.7V Li-ion 3450mAh	Flat	Yes
Sofirn 18650 3.7V Li-ion 3000mAh	Button	Yes
XTAR 18650 3.6V Li-ion 4000mAh	Button	Yes

Charging#

The Acebeam T35 has built-in USB-C charging.

Power supply: PinePower Desktop USB-C
USB Meter: AVHzY CT-3 (recommended by LiquidRetro)
Room temperature: 11 C

The battery took 3 hours 39 minutes to charge from 2.93V to 4.15V at a rate of 5V 1.6A.

The charging profile looks a bit weird. The charging current kept going up and down.

The charging status indicator in the button is red while charging and it turns green when charging is complete.

Power supply compatibility#

I tried the following power supplies with the built-in USB-C charger:

Power supply	USB Type	Protocol	Does it charge?
Apple 61W Power Adapter	USB-C	PD	Yes
Google Pixel Power Adapter	USB-C	PD	Yes
PinePower Desktop	USB-C	PD	Yes
PinePower Desktop	USB-A	QC	Yes
PinePower Desktop	USB-A		Yes

USB-C to USB-C charging works.

The torch can be turned on when a battery is disconnected and a USB-C cable is attached. It draws 5V 0.3A and it appears to be in stuck in one mode.

Performance#

Specifications from the manual:

FL1 STANDARD	Turbo	High	Mid	Low	Ultra-Low	Strobe
Output (lumens)	1,900 + 800	800	360	100	3	1,900 + 800
Runtime	60s + 1h 30min	1h 35min	3h 50min	16h	400h	3min + 3h
Beam Distance (metres)	380	235	163	99		380
Beam Intensity (cd)	36,100	13,806	6,642	2,450		36,100

Lumen measurements#

I measured the current at turn on for: Ultra-Low with a UNI-T UT139C digital multimeter; Low to High with a bench power supply; Turbo with a UNI-T UT210E clamp meter.

Mode	Amps at start	Specs	Lumens @turn on	Lumens @30 sec	Lumens @10 min
Ultra-Low	8.8 mA	3	1.7	1.7	1.7
Low	0.13 A	100	84	82	82
Mid	0.60 A	360	327	322	318
High	1.59 A	800	746	733	701
Turbo	6.83 A	1,900 + 800	1,768	1,599	683

Standby drain#

There is no standby drain. This torch has a forward-clicky tailswitch.

Runtime graphs#

I used my own DIY lumen tube with a TSL2591 sensor and forked bmengineer’s project RuTiTe to record runtimes.

Note: Lumen measurements may be off by 10% with my DIY lumen tube.

The room temperature was approximately 9 C.

Runtime#

Here is a summary of the runtime results:

Mode	User manual	Runtime	Turn off	Final voltage
Turbo	60s + 1h 30min	1h 25min 33s	1h 36min 35s	2.93
High	1h 35min	1h 33min 20s	1h 43min 46s	2.90
Mid	3h 50min	4h 15min 56s	4h 15min 56s	3.18
Low	16h	17h 17min 59s	17h 17min 59s	3.16
Ultra-Low	400h	10min+	10min+

“Runtime” is the time until the output reduces to 10% of the output at 30 seconds (as per the ANSI/PLATO FL1 2019 Standard).

“Turn off” is the time until my DIY lumen tube no longer detects more than one lumen.

“+” indicates that the light remained on after recording had stopped.

The runtime results are pretty close to what Acebeam claimed.

The output looks well regulated.

Throw#

I took lux measurements with a UNI-T UT383BT at 30 seconds. Low, Mid, High and Turbo were measured at five metres. Ultra-Low was measued at one metre.

Mode	Specs (cd)	Specs (m)	Candela measured (cd)	Distance (m)
Ultra-Low			40	12
Low	2,450	100	1,500	77
Mid	6,642	163	6,400	160
High	13,806	235	14,750	242
Turbo	36,100	380	33,875	368

Beamshots#

I went to a local park and aimed the Acebeam T35 Black at a tree 70 metres away while using Turbo.

Beamshots were taken using a Sony RX100M2 using 3.2", f3.2, ISO 100, 5000K WB.