Acebeam K1 hands-on: EDC flashlight with red/white light comes with optional laser

Acebeam's compact K1 flashlight with a removable USB-C battery is coming in a new version. At the company's headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, we also had a brief opportunity to take a look at both new versions on the way back from Computex.

Until now, it was only known that the regular K1 would launch with a combination of white light, red light, and green laser. We had already reported on this from IWA in Germany. Now, however, Acebeam has also shown us the special edition with a cyan laser combined with a red light. The red light replaces the K1's UV light.

Apart from the red light, nothing has changed about the design. In use, the K1 with the red light behaved as expected. With its two levels, the red light naturally appears much brighter than the UV light, even when pointed at a white sheet of paper.

The cyan laser was interesting, as it was the first time we could compare it directly with the green laser. However, we were shown the Chinese model with a 3R laser class. In Europe, the weaker Class 1 version will be shipped. The cyan laser appears slightly dimmer than the green laser, but its distinctive look makes up for that. Laser pointers are usually green or red. The unusual cyan was actually appealing. However, the surcharge is quite steep.

Nothing has changed about the flashlight's construction. The controls are unchanged as well, as is the process of unscrewing the head to charge the USB-C battery.

According to Acebeam, pricing is not expected to change either. The K1 with white/UV/green laser usually costs around $55 on Amazon but is currently marked down to $40. The version with red light instead of UV light should therefore also cost $64 once it becomes available. According to Acebeam, that should happen in a few weeks, around the end of June.

The special edition with the cyan laser will also be available then, but with one limitation. It will only be sold through the company's own website. That was already the case with the previous model, which retails with UV light for around $90.