The Acebeam Defender P16: An Excellent Tactical Flashlight

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEFENDER P16

SPECS

PRICE

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I have been extremely impressed with Acebeam’s build quality. The anodized aircraft-grade aluminum with steel belt clip and steel bezel has what I would call “Good weight” to them. Meaning that you can tell the Defender P16 is built using high quality material simply by the way it feels. Cheaply made dollar store-worthy items are abnormally lightweight and flimsy due to being made from cheap and bad material.

The Defender P16 comes in a well-constructed and pricey-looking box with high-quality foam holding it in place on the inside. Acebeam provides a couple well well-placed little finger grooves so you can get the P16 out easily.

To reiterate, when you pull the P16 out of the box for the first time you really see how sturdy it is in your hand, and you know right away that it can take a beating. My team and I were highly impressed with the overall high quality of construction.

The tactical switch has a stiff detent which feels great when you press it. It makes it easy to do a semi or half-press to get the “momentary on”, followed by a hard click at the bottom to get the “constant on”.

The function switch as well as a slight detent and solid feel to it although there is much less of a detent than the tactical switch. Both switches provide confidence to the user in their level of quality.

In the package with the Defender P16, Acebeam includes a wrist lanyard, so you don’t drop or lose it, a charging cable, two extra O-rings for the rear cap seal, and decently detailed instructions.

FIELD FIRSTS

The first time I took the Defender P16 out at night to use it I was shocked by how far the beam throws especially out of such a little package. The 58,564 candela really stood out as I was lighting objects up, you can know a number but to see it is totally different.

The P16 performed fantastic even in the cold of a Canadian winter, even though the aluminum body would be hard to hold after a little while due to the cold. Even with gloves on however the switches are prominent enough to use with no problem.

With the addition of a tail switch the Defender P16 would make a perfect rifle-mounted flashlight thanks to its compact size and high beam intensity.

QUALITY AND DESIGN

BELT CLIP

The clip on the Defender P16 works well as either a belt clip or a pocket clip. Being a two-way clip with P16 can also be attached in either direction, whichever best suits your needs. Both ways the stainless-steel clip holds quite tight preventing it from falling off whatever you have it.

I find it carries best using the outer clip keeping the head down. Worn this way in your pocket gives you a deep carry and, on your belt, it keeps it out of the way of your plate carrier a bit better.

BODY

The body of the P16 is made from aircraft-grade aluminum making it very strong, very tough, and very durable. Acebeam has also coated the entire flashlight in a hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish.

The anti-abrasive finish feels great in the hand and takes away any of the slipperiness that would normally be felt by aluminum. Acebeam has also placed knurling on the head, tail, and main body of the P16.

Knurling is that cross hatched diamond texture which help to provide extra grip. This is the same texture you would see on barbells and dumbbells. It is very effective style of texture which really help an object stay firmly in hand.

COOLING FINS

Having a light that is throwing out 1800 lumens will naturally produce a fair amount of heat. In order to deal with this issue, high-quality tactical flashlights have what’s called “cooling fins”. These fins help to dissipate the heat produced by the light to prevent the user from burning their hands.

The Defender P16 isn’t too bad for heat, but after a few minutes on high or turbo it does start to get hot. The cooling fins work well, as they’re supposed to, but for prolonged use, I would advise using it on the low or medium setting as in the end the cooling fins only help with the heat but don’t get rid of it completely.

SWITCHES

As I mentioned before the switches on the Defender P16 feel great. The main tactical switch has a solid detent followed by good snappy click at the bottom. This really helps when you only want to do a half press for the “momentary on” or a full press for the “constant on”.

The function switch has a much lighter press but still has a distinct click at the bottom, which again is nice as it lets you know when you’re pressing the switch. When in the dark and you’re unable to see the switches is when the switches press quality really matters.

Cheaper flashlights can have soft switches, making it difficult to stop at that “momentary on” position. As well, with a cheap flashlight, a soft press switch could be broken, and you wouldn’t even know it.

Each switch also has a distinct texture, this is more icing on the cake as it offers more aid in finding the switches on the P16 when in the dark.

STRIKE BEZEL

The end of the Acebeam Defender P16 has a solid stainless steel serrated strike bezel.

I never put too much stock into these, as I have seen many videos that show how useless most “glass breakers” truly are. But this is actually more along the lines of a baton than a glass break tool. As much force as you can muster is how hard the teeth at the end of the P16 will hit the glass.

I was able to test it on some single pane windows and it worked fantastic. Thicker windows would probably take a few more swings and safety windows like those in a car might take a few more still, but with the P16’s strike bezel it is doable.

For someone such as a police officer needing to enter a home through a window or anyone needing to forcibly enter through a window to help someone in need, the strike bezel is an effective tool.

BATTERY

The battery in the Defender P16 is Acebeam’s ARC18650H-310A Rechargeable 18650 Lithium-ion battery which has a built-in low and high voltage warning letting you know when it’s time to change batteries.

It is charged directly using a USB-C charger, which Acebeam includes in the box. When fully charged the 310A battery can provide a maximum of 22 hours runtime, which isn’t the best on the market but is pretty darn good.

LIGHT

Acebeam uses a Luminous SFT40 LED in the Defender P16. This LED was specifically created to be an extremely powerful light source with the direct intent to deliver an extremely intense beam over long distances.

Acebeam also used a TIR (total internal reflection) optical lens in the P16. TIR lenses collimate light, which means they direct all the light into one single high focused beam. The SFT40 LED and the TIR lens come together to produce the extremely intense beam that the Defender P16 throws out.

The lens on the P16 is a toughened ultra-clear glass lens with anti-reflective coating on it. Again, these simply aid the P16 in throwing out as much light as possible.

FUNCTIONALITY

The Defender P16 has proven itself to be a highly effective and functional tactical flashlight above and beyond what I and my colleagues expected.

Its body is strong and tough making it suitable for any environment. The anti-abrasive finish and knurling help to keep the flashlight situated firmly in your hand at all times and the steel bezel is a great aid for both self-defence and window entry or exit in emergency situations.

The highly intense beam and 484-meter throw distance is sure to completely blind and disorientate any adversary you happen to encounter. The extremely long beam throw is also ideal for hunters in the woods or adventurers in the wild.

With Acebeam’s tactical palm switch and Picatinny rail mount system as well, the P16 can be turned into an extremely effective firearms light for police or soldiers needing to operate in the dark.

Thanks to the daily mode, the Defender P16 can also tone down the tactical for a bit and be used as a common everyday flashlight for around the home.

In the end, the Acebeam Defender P16 is a highly functional flashlight no matter where you want to use it.

Although figuring out how exactly to use all the functions can seem overwhelming at first, it is actually highly intuitive and becomes quite easy after you spend a few minutes playing around with it.

WHAT I LIKE BEST

I am a fan of the P16 in general, but there are a couple of features that just stand out to me, features that make me really excited about it.

One is the size. I like how compact the P16 is and yet it doesn’t feel to compact. It’s nicely within the size limit to be a tactical flashlight, yet still big enough to be used as a physical tool. The second feature I really like is the max beam throw. 484 meters is an enormous throw with very few tactical lights getting much beyond that.

Among everything else I have mentioned, these two qualities specifically aid in making the Defender P16 a tactical flashlight.

CONCERNS AND CRITICISMS

The only thing I would want to see changed would be the battery life. As I said before, 22hrs max runtime isn’t bad, but it’s not great. Some of Acebeam’s other tactical flashlights such as the L17 Tactical flashlight have much longer run times, and many of Acebeam’s competitors have tactical flashlights that are comparable to the Defender P16 and have up to twice the max run time.

If you are working in an urban environment and are constantly able to keep the battery charged, this isn’t an issue. If you’re operating out in the wild and do not have a method to constantly charge your flashlight, then it becomes a huge issue.

CONCLUSION

Overall, I was highly impressed by the Acebeam Defender P16. It checked all the boxes I believe a flashlight must check to be considered a “tactical flashlight”.

It’s compact, tough, and has a great max throw. The P16 would be an asset to any police officer, solider, or ordinary individual in high stress tactical situation. And one of the greatest aspects is that it doesn’t break the bank when it comes to the cost.

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For more ideas on tactical flashlights check out my article “The Best Tactical Flashlights On The Market Now: 2023“.