Contents

• Pricing & Availability
• What comes in the box?
• Design & Construction
• Size & Measurements
• User Interface
• Emitter & Beam
• Mode Chart
• Runtime
• Driver & Regulation
• Switch
• Carry & Ergonomics
• Batteries & Charging
• Competition
• Conclusion

Pricing & Availability

Acebeam sent me this light in exchange for an honest review. Here is the official product page where you can see current pricing.

What comes in the box?

T35 comes in a retail-ready box with a window showing the light. Inside the box is:

• The light itself
• Battery (inside the light)
• User manual & paperwork
• Short USB A-to-C charging cable
• Wrist lanyard
• Belt holster
• Spare o-rings & port cover

Design & Construction

T35’s design is pretty traditional for a dual-switch “tactical” light. There are some shallow fins for cooling and the knurling on the body tube and crenellations are fairly tame. The crenellations on the bezel aren’t huge but they’re a bit sharp, so it might wear a hole in your pocket. I really like the black steel accents from that bezel and the side switch.

Build quality is good. It feels nicer than budget brands but not quite as nice as Acebeam’s more expensive lights. My only gripe is that the anodizing scratches really easily if you remove/reinstall the clip. The finish may not hold up to normal wear and tear very well, but it won’t affect functionality. I haven’t had the light long enough to know for sure.

Size & Measurements

Surefire G2X Pro | Olight Warrior 3S | Acebeam T35 | Sofirn SP31 V3 | Mini Maglite

Measurement	Measured (mm)
Bezel Diameter	26.0
Maximum Head Diameter	29.8
Length	137.6
Tail Switch Diameter	16
Lens Thickness	U/M
Lens Diameter	U/M
Reflector Hole Diameter	U/M
Reflector Diameter	U/M
Reflector Height	U/M
MCPCB Size	U/M
LED Footprint	5050
Body Tube Diameter	23.1
Pocket Clip Slot Width	4.7
Pocket Clip Slot Diameter	21.5
Tailcap Diameter	25.0
Tailcap Length	25.8
Driver Diameter	U/M
Included Battery Length	70.5

Weight without battery: 86g
Weight with included battery: 139g
Holster weight: 11g

User Interface

This UI is simple but cumbersome.

Operation:

• Tail switch: clicking turns the light on or off. If you half-press from off, it will turn on momentarily and turn off when you release the switch.
• Side switch: When the light is on, click to change modes (Moon-Low-Med-High-Turbo) or hold to activate Strobe.

What they got right:

• There are no fast-click shortcuts. That makes the light predictable. You can blink the tailswitch all you want and it won’t change modes on you. You can cycle through the different modes quickly and accurately without accidentally activating Strobe or something.
• Mode memory is present in the Normal mode group. That means you can set the light to the mode you want and it will always come back on in that mode unless you change it.
• Strobe is hidden behind a long hold of the side switch. That means you don’t have to cycle through it and you’re unlikely to stumble into it by accident.

What they got wrong:

• No moonlight shortcut. Dual-switch lights typically let you hold the side switch and then press the tail switch to jump straight to Moonlight. No such feature here. If you’re on Low and want Moonlight, you have to cycle all the way through Medium, High, and Turbo first.
• The switches aren’t independent. This one is more odd than “wrong”. Most other Acebeam dual-switch models have a Turbo-only tail switch and an independent side switch that can do everything. That switch/UI design works better for most use cases. T35 has old-school “dependent” dual switches where each switch only does one thing and must be used together. The only benefits I know of are simpler/cheaper design and the ability to blink lower modes.
• Too many modes? This light has 5 modes, and normally I think that’s the right amount. However, with no shortcuts, clicking through 5 modes feels like a lot.

Emitter & Beam

Acebeam chose a Lumimus SFT40 here and that’s an excellent choice. It’s bright, efficient, and intense. This is a “tactical” light so I don’t think there’s any need for a high-CRI emitter option. The black version comes with a 6500K LED and the brown version comes with a 5000K LED. I appreciate that Acebeam provided separate performance numbers for each LED color, because the 5000K version is not quite as bright. Some other manufacturers only advertise the brightest LED’s specifications. I was unable to remove the bezel.

The beam is interesting. It’s clean with no artifacts and it has two hotspots! The main hotspot is fairly small and intense. Then there’s a much wider, dinner hotspot around that. Finally, there’s spill around the second hotspot. Neat!

In the beamshots below, camera settings are fixed and the wall is 2.8M away.

In the beamshots below, camera settings are fixed, the basketball goal to the right of the hotspot is 39M away, and the power pole in the center is 185M away.

Mode Chart

Disclaimer: All of my measurements are taken at turn-on. Lumen measurements were taken on a Texas Ace 3.5″ Lumen Tube. A candela measurement was taken at 10 meters with an Opple Light Master III on the highest brightness, and other candela figures were calculated relative to that. CRI, CCT, & DUV data were taken for each mode from a few feet away at the center of the hotspot with the Opple Light Master and Waveform DUV Calculator. Runtime tests were performed with the Ceilingbounce app on my smartphone. These tests were performed with a fully charged included battery unless otherwise specified. I cannot measure moonlight directly, so moonlight readings are calculated based on the brightness relative to the next-lowest mode. None of this is professional equipment, so take these measurements with a grain of salt.

Above are the official specs, followed by my own measurements below.

Level	Lumens	Candela	Throw (Meters)	CRI (Ra)	Color Temp. (K)	DUV (Tint)
Turbo	1600	32000	358	69	6692	0.0015
High	710	14200	238	68	6340	0.0040
Medium	310	6200	157	66	6330	0.0060
Low	77	1540	78	66	6050	0.0070
Moonlight	2.1	43	13	65	5970	0.0080

Mode Spacing is not too bad, but it could be improved. There’s a big jump from Moonlight to Low, and Turbo/High/Medium feel a little close together. I think 1, 10, 100, 500, 1600 would have been better.

Runtime

Performance is good. Sustained output is excellent at 700 lumens. Total runtime is sub-par, but that’s due to the 2600mAh battery. Using a higher capacity 3500-4000mAh battery would yield significantly more runtime.

Thermal regulation seems to be present, but it doesn’t do much. Just a ~1-minute bump in Turbo time and a ~100lm bump in sustained brightness when the light is actively cooled by a desk fan.

LVP (Low Voltage Protection) is present and works well. When the battery gets low, the light will dim sharply and the switch LED blinks red rapidly. Then after a few minutes, it will shut off. It can be re-activated in an emergency even after low voltage shutoff.

Driver & Regulation

I couldn’t access the driver because the body tube is glued on, and the driver is covered by a black disc. Based on the regulation testing below and Acebeam’s history, I believe this is a Buck driver.

Regulation performance is good and about average. Turbo is affected by battery voltage, but it’s not very noticeable. All the other modes are unaffected until the battery is effectively empty.

PWM: No PWM is visible to my eyes or camera, nor audible to my ears. My Opple detected some sawtooth on Moonlight mode, but no PWM. The rest of the modes are constant current.

Parasitic Drain: There is no parasitic drain because this light uses a mechanical switch. mechanical lockout (loosening the tailcap) works great.

Switch

T35 has a switch on the tail for on/off and another switch on the side for mode changes.

The tail switch is a forward clicky mechanical covered by a large rubber boot. It’s got good action and it’s easy to use. It’s partially protected on all sides by the tailcap, but not enough to allow tail standing. Don’t think it will activate accidentally.

The side switch is an e-switch covered by a black steel boot with a transparent circle in the middle. The action is tactile but not loud. That transparent bit in the middle allows the battery indicator to shine through. Any time the light is on or plugged in, that indicator will glow.

When on, green means >20% charge, red means 10-20% charge, and blinking red means <10% charge. When plugged in, red means charging, and green means full. This indicator works fine, but I prefer more granularity, like 25% increments.

Carry & Ergonomics

Ergonomics are ok. Those “dependent” dual switches limit grip options somewhat. A reverse grip is best if you have large hands because you can actuate the tail switch with your thumb and the side switch with your pinky. I usually push the side switch into my palm and that works too. A cigar grip works fine if you aren’t changing modes, and a forward grip works fine if you can use your other hand to turn it on/off.

The clip is refreshingly good. Most lights these days come with a bidirectional clip that lets you clip the light to a hat… even if the light is way too big. Those clips get snagged and bend more easily than a simple one-way clip. Acebeam fitted T35 with a tasteful one-way clip that’s strong and has a wide enough mouth to slide into the pocket easily. They also kept the knurling on the body tube relatively tame, so it shouldn’t shred your pockets. The only thing I’d change is to make it carry a lot deeper.

Acebeam also advertises that a Thyrm Switchback 2.0 fits this light, though they don’t call it by name. I tried my Switchback 2.0 on T35 and it fit reasonably well. It’s my favorite flashlight accessory, but it’s pricey at $20. I’ve also found unbranded clones of it on Aliexpress for a couple dollars. They’re a lower quality plastic but they work fine.

The Holster is extremely basic. It’s made of thin nylon with a Velcro closure and one, fixed belt loop. Unlike most holsters, this one doesn’t add much bulk to the light.

Batteries & Charging

Battery: Acebeam includes a 2600mAh, protected, button-topped, 18650 battery. I expected a higher-capacity battery at this price. It also supports two CR123As, but those cannot be recharged.

Charging is facilitated by a USB-C port on the side of the head. It’s directly opposite the switch under a rubber flap for water resistance. That port cover is held on with a screw instead of a rubber tether. That will make it a lot easier to replace if you ever need to. Both A-to-C and C-to-C cables work.

It can be used while charging, but only in Medium mode, the battery must be connected, and you turn it on/off with the side switch. There is no powerbank function, but I don’t think that’s necessary on an 18650 light. Charging is slow at 1A or less, and it takes three hours to charge the included battery. You do not have to click the tail switch for the light to charge.

Competition

Here are some lights in the same class and how they compare.

Olight Warrior Mini 3:

• more expensive
• similar brightness, less throw
• smaller size
• higher capacity, proprietary battery
• same LED
• excellent independent dual-switch UI
• excellent two-stage tailswitch
• convenient, proprietary magnetic charging
• magnetic tailcap

Sofirn SP31 V3:

• about half the price
• performance
• marginally more lumens, less throw
• possibly worse quality driver
• smaller
• very similar switches and UI (with a moonlight shortcut)
• very similar USB-C charging solution
• marginally worse clip

Nitecore MH12 Pro:

• more expensive
• significantly more lumens
• significantly further throw
• similar USB-C charging
• same dependent dual-switch setup
• excellent battery indicator
• larger 21700 battery with 2x the capacity
• better UI with moonlight shortcut and optional Instant Turbo function

This section is not comprehensive. If I didn’t include a particular light here, it doesn’t mean it’s bad or doesn’t deserve to be here. I simply cannot list every possible competitor.

Conclusion

T35 is kind of boring, and I think that’s the point. It doesn’t do anything special, but it does everything you need reliably and intuitively. This is a dead-simple, compact, reliable, tactical light at a reasonable price point. Just be careful with pocket carry because the bezel might tear up your pocket.

Thanks to Acebeam for sending me this light for review!