The BEST Tactical Lights? (Acebeam P17/P18)

[@PiercingTheDarkness]

As a flashlight business owner of "Piercing The Darkness" here in New Zealand, I was fairly interested in becoming an Acebeam dealer for those tac models, but now knowing they don't have a shortcut to turbo from off is a major issue for law enforcement. Instant turbo and strobe are an absolute must have for law enforcement, they'd be a good duty light though. Thanks for the video mate.

[@ethan-lumencraft-]

Glad the video was helpful :) I personally don't like instant turbo or strobe but understan why they're valuable to may users, I know a lot of potential buyers were put off by that missing feature

[@matheusmf4135]

P17 has instant strobe or instant HIGH pressing the mode buttom

[@johnmpifer]

I don’t understand what he’s talking about when he says there’s no direct access to turbo. I own the P18 and there is absolutely direct access to turbo from “off”. There are 4 modes - low, med, hi, turbo. When you turn it off, it comes back on in the mode it was in when you switched it off. If that’s turbo, then it comes on in turbo.

[@PiercingTheDarkness]

@@johnmpifer he does cover that actually. That's not what's classed as direct access to turbo. Direct means even if you're on low when it was last in use, not memory mode.

[@johnmpifer]

@@PiercingTheDarkness I see what you mean. I would actually prefer the paddle switch to offer direct access to turbo, rather than direct strobe. That is an oversight by the designers. I do agree with him that the sleeve covering the charging port is the best solution for onboard charging. I have seen a few other lights like that, but this is my first that I own.

[@sentinel7122]

Dang, I forgot you started making videos over here, time to catch up! I went with the P17 for both personal and SAR use after coming to the same conclusion you did. The P18 seemed like overall the slightly better light, but the form factor was the differentiator. On my rescue pack it wouldn't matter, but the extra size of the P18 puts it just over the threshold of comfort for a pants/jacket pocket which would have me leaving it behind far more often in personal use. Since I have spare usb-c batteries anyway, I dont miss the charging port either. Great video!

[@Steve-Goff]

Excellent reviews. Gave all the important information and showed the beamshots. I’ve never had anything bigger than keychain flashlights from Acebeam

[@relayerrelayer8226]

Hi Ethan, re-watching this P17 & P18 vids after watching an old vid about Acebeam T36; i think Acebeam engineer should use the T36 as a platform for their 'tactical design in the first place. T36 has forward ts' and a side switch. Direct last use mode,moon/eco, turbo,strobe from the side switch; but the ts' Always default to Turbo and override the ss', this is easily applicable to their new design with dual ts'(eliminate the third mode group, or make it turbo by default). Its a drawback 'UI-wise' for an already good quality duty/tactical flashlight. This just my 2cents (Matt once reviewed the acebeam L16, you should check the T36 should theres a chance to get one, i'd love to hear your perspective. I enjoy your work👍🏼. Thank you,Cheers🔦

[@bruschi8148]

Excellent review! Great lights

[@kueyteow8663]

Can i use this flashlight on my bike? Will it blind incoming traffic?

[@ShouldaWaved]

Does the fenix tk22 have any advantage as a tactical light when used in the woods? Or any other advantages. Thanks ao much for making these priceless videos

[@dkin]

Look up both lights and compare the lumens, candela, and distance. Not sure if you were referring to tk22r or the tk22 tac.

[@Ratchman_5000]

No lumen output measurement test? I like to know something is what it's advertised before buying.

[@ethan-lumencraft-]

The output numbers in this video are the results from my testing.

[@norgtube]

You have a typo in the title, acbeam instead of acebeam :)

[@ethan-lumencraft-]

Thanks, fixed

[@alimetin7360]

Her seferinde turboya ulaşmak için klarus xt12gt pro tavsiye edebilirim, p17 ve klarus var bende, güç anlamında p17 biraz iyi ama geri kalan her şeyde klarus, uzun atım, her pille çalışması, tam taktik olması, bi bakın derim

[@gonzalez7805]

Good comparison

[@johnmpifer]

I don’t understand what you mean when you say there’s no direct access to turbo. Having the flashlight switched off, then switching it on in turbo doesn’t count as direct access to turbo?

[@ethan-lumencraft-]

You can definitely do tha if you leave the light on Turbo before turning it off. However, the other light I showed will always activate to Turbo regardless of the last used mode - it does not have memory. Many people prefer that for tactical lights as they don't have to worry about the last setting, they can just always trust it will provide the max output.

[@TrescoFresco]

Cycle to turbo before shutting it off... and youll always start in turbo. Also.. im not really an enthusiast when it comes to these.. but the P17 is bright.. just pointing it over a friend's hand on turbo mode.. it took them a few seconds to regain sight. Point it at the ceiling in a dark room.. and the enitre room illuminates like it has full lighting. I can stress enough.. even tho the P17 is the lil guy here.. its not a joke. This thing is bright.

[@ethan-lumencraft-]

That's why I don't consider it an issue personally. However, if turbo is super important to you, than you want a gaurantee that it will always turn on to that level regardless of the memorized mode, as trying to cyle around modes and remember how it was set is distracting and impractical in high-stress situations.

[@troyf1]

Thanks for the vid. Sub'ed and liked. Input here, both lights have pocket clips. Would be nice to see how they look in a pocket.

[@m3nathan]

Thsnk you for this video

[@blakeolson2036]

P16 still wins the size its so nice and can edc easily!

[@billybobthorton2026]

YESSSS, finally someone copied Fenix on the collar USB-C. I really hate rubber flaps, that are either insanely tight, or just a dinky flap that barely squeezes into the channel. The collar is the superior USB cover imo.

[@wesolowskimatt]

I agree. But wuben did this before acebeam, I mean, wuben copied fenix as first 😅. I really like this solution as well.

[@ShouldaWaved]

Yes and threads that aren't anodized

[@crazylittlebigthings]

Why can’t companies prioritize momentary turbo than strobe? Big flashlights like these should have the turbo function ready.

[@Locoedc909]

Hey what happened to Matt Smith?? Did someone take over his channel???

[@DinnerForkTongue]

LuxWad is working with him while he focuses on making products for Lumencraft.

[@GoldenDuck0]

see this video for explanation kzbin.info/www/bejne/inzEi4uoaZlpjLM

[@Locoedc909]

@@DinnerForkTongue oh ok well that makes sense! Thank you for letting me know! I wasn't sure what was going on! So what do you think about the young man that is working with Matt Smith??! I think he's doing a great job! What about you??

[@DinnerForkTongue]

@@Locoedc909 He's _fantastic._ I've been a sub on his own channel for a while and was one of the fans that goaded him to contact Matt for the spot. He has always put out top-notch content on flashlights, his appearance in Lumencraft is pretty much an extension of his usual gold.

[@Locoedc909]

@@DinnerForkTongue yeah I have been a sub for the channel for a while too and I love all the flashlights that he shows on his channel!!!! what is your favorite flashlight to EDC?? And have modified any maglites? and how many flashlights do you currently own at tht time!!??

[@ThatCrazyRCGuy67]

It was a FAIL to me... No straight to turbo...only mode memory I wanted them bad...but if its a tac light i want it like the Nitecore p23i..ect.......were its straight to turbo

[@PiercingTheDarkness]

Absolutely, it's not really a tactical flashlight without instant turbo. Many brands think that adding a tail switch or two automatically turns it into a "tactical" flashlight. You can't just have the switches, you have to have a suitable UI to go with it.

[@relayerrelayer8226]

​@@PiercingTheDarknessWell J, i've set my 'poormans tactical m21b xhp50.2 6v5a to mode 11 and no memory, boom!; direct turbo and a s21b xhp70.2 mode 11memory set to strobe everytime im going out afterdark 😉

[@Dayzthoseweres]

Maybe im wrong but this is what LuxWad looks like…?

[@wesolowskimatt]

You are absolutely right 😅 It's him.😮 😂😂

[@Brennonicolini]

4600Lm from 4 sft40? A lot of lost potential. Could’ve reached 8000lm easily.

[@PiercingTheDarkness]

Yeah, and then it hits 50°C before the 30 second mark to obtain the ANSI spec, steps down to 1000 lumens and has to then be spec'd at a 1000 lumen flashlight lol. It would be a pro for some and a con for the ANSI standard, which is what most brands aim for. I'm not personally sold on burst lumens for a few seconds. As the owner of a flashlight company, short high bursts only sell well to enthusiasts, most others will avoid them and go for a model that provides a much longer runtime at max output.

[@Dayzthoseweres]

@@PiercingTheDarkness im subscribed to your channel and your knowledge of flashlights is incredible

[@meFatuations]

Another review which completely missed the point of the P18 versus P17. Why is it that all these reviewers actually don't know what they are talking about? The P18 has twice the candela as the P17 which means the hotspot of the P18 is twice as bright! No, these lights are do not have similar performance. One is way brighter. Okay, done with this dumb review.

[@ethan-lumencraft-]

I definitely did cover that in the video.

[@davidseychell]

sory the p17 is better and

[@picklewiickle.1583]

just say alloy if you cant speak english