ACEBEAM Keylite 500 and ACEBEAM UC3A LED Flashlights Review: Two Tiny EDC Lights, but One Shines Brighter

Small EDC flashlights are one of those gadgets that are easy to overlook until the power goes out, a noise wakes you in the middle of the night, or you need to find something at the bottom of a bag. These two ACEBEAM EDC flashlights are made for those everyday moments, but they take very different approaches. The tiny, colorful ACEBEAM Keylite 500 is a simple USB-C rechargeable keychain light with a maximum 500-lumen output. The ACEBEAM UC3A is a larger 900-lumen pocket light with a removable battery, pocket clip, and an RGB sidelight that doubles as a mini lantern. After trying both, I have a clear favorite.

What Are They?

The ACEBEAM EDC flashlights in this review are compact rechargeable lights designed for pockets, keychains, bags, emergency kits, and general everyday carry.

• ACEBEAM Keylite 500: A lightweight 500-lumen USB-C rechargeable keychain flashlight with white and multicolor lighting modes.
• ACEBEAM UC3A: A 900-lumen compact flashlight with two front LEDs, a removable rechargeable battery, a pocket clip, and a color-changing RGB sidelight.

What’s Included?

ACEBEAM Keylite 500

• ACEBEAM Keylite 500 flashlight
• Lanyard
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• Instructions

ACEBEAM UC3A Flashlight

• ACEBEAM UC3A Flashlight
• 10440 Battery
• USB-A to USB-C cable
• Metal keychain
• Extra O-rings x2
• User manual

ACEBEAM Keylite 500 Design and Features

The Keylite 500 is the smaller and more basic of the two ACEBEAM EDC flashlights. The pink version tested here has an all-metal housing, a lanyard hole, front-facing LEDs, and a single top button that is raised slightly above the housing. It is very lightweight and small enough that it will disappear into a pocket, bag, or keychain.

One especially nice design detail is the little flip-up cover protecting the USB-C port. It is practical, but it is also one of those little fidgety details that is oddly satisfying to open and close.

The top button is easy to locate by feel, which matters when the room is dark and you do not want to fumble around. A single click turns it on at the last used brightness level, while holding the button toggles between the high, medium, and low brightness settings in a decreasing direction.

ACEBEAM Keylite 500 Brightness Modes

The Keylite 500 offers 6 light modes that include:

• Turbo: 500, 260, then 50 lumens for 20 seconds, 5 minutes, and 35 minutes
• High: 200, 150, then 20 lumens for 3 minutes, 15 minutes, and 42 minutes
• Medium: 60, then 20 lumens for 25 minutes and 80 minutes
• Low: 10 lumens for 4 hours
• Moonlight: 1 lumen for 12 hours
• Strobe: 500 lumens for 70 minutes

Those stepped outputs are worth keeping in mind. The brightest settings are brief bursts, then the light reduces output to extend usable runtime.

ACEBEAM UC3A Design and Features

The UC3A is the more feature-packed option of these ACEBEAM EDC flashlights. It has more heft, two front LEDs, a strong pocket clip, and an RGB sidelight on one side. It is still compact, but it is noticeably larger than the Keylite 500.

The battery compartment unscrews to reveal the included 10440 rechargeable battery. The battery itself has a USB-C port for charging, so charging requires removing it from the flashlight. The included O-rings are a nice touch for maintaining the threaded compartment.

The ACEBEAM UC3A has separate controls for the main flashlight and the RGB sidelight. Clicking the main power button turns the front flashlight on and off (defaults to the Med brightness each time it is powered on). Long pressing the power button while the light is on cycles through low, medium, and high brightness settings. Double pressing the power button switches to the high setting, and triple pressing goes into strobe.  This light doesn’t have a memory feature.

The RGB button activates the 270-degree sidelight, turning the UC3A into a little lantern. This is a fun feature for a tent, a tabletop, or hanging the light from its lanyard as a mini lantern. But it has extra color modes too. You can watch me demonstrate this in the See it in action video below.

ACEBEAM UC3A Brightness Modes

The UC3A’s listed front-light modes are:

• High: 900, 400, then 90 lumens for 15 seconds, 14 minutes, and 26 minutes
• Medium: 210, then 30 lumens for 30 minutes and 1 hour
• Low: 80 lumens for 1 hour and 50 minutes
• Ultra Low: 4 lumens for 23 hours

The UC3A RGB Sidelight Is Pretty Cool

The RGB sidelight is what makes the UC3A different from a typical small flashlight. Repeated double-clicks cycle through white, red (flashing), green (flashing), blue (flashing), multicolor flashing, and a rainbow effect. Solid red, green, and blue modes can each be adjusted between two brightness levels.

Double-clicking cycles through a surprisingly fun set of color modes:

• Red and flashing red
• Green and flashing green
• Blue and flashing blue
• A red, blue, and white flashing mode
• An oscillating rainbow mode
• White light

When using a solid color, holding the button changes between two brightness levels of that color. The flashing modes do not appear to offer the same brightness adjustment.

I can see this feature being useful for emergency signaling, in a tent or during a power outage, but it also gives the UC3A a little more personality than most pocket lights.

How These ACEBEAM EDC Flashlights Perform in the Dark

The real test for any flashlight is how it works when there is no other light around. The Keylite 500 was tested in a dark stairwell at low, medium, and high levels. Even the 10-lumen low mode was enough to make the stairs visible, while the 60-lumen medium level and 200-lumen high level provided progressively more usable illumination.

The UC3A naturally delivers a brighter result. Its 210-lumen medium setting lit the stairwell well, and its 900-lumen high mode was extremely bright. The 80-lumen low setting also provided plenty of useful light for getting around safely.

See Them In Action

Final Thoughts

Both ACEBEAM EDC flashlights are well made and useful, but the Keylite 500 is my favorite. Why? It is tiny, lightweight, simple to operate, and easy to carry all the time. It takes up almost no space, the button is easy to find with a thumb in the dark, and the direct USB-C charging is convenient. It is a basic little light that gets the job done.

The ACEBEAM UC3A is also a good light. It is brighter, has a pocket clip, and the RGB lantern feature is genuinely neat. However, the two buttons are positioned very close together. In a stressful moment, such as waking up during a storm or hearing an unexplained sound at night, it would be easy to hit the RGB sidelight button instead of the main flashlight button. That could result in an unexpectedly bright sidelight right in your face, which is not ideal.

If you want the smallest, simplest everyday option, I would choose the ACEBEAM Keylite 500. If you want more output and enjoy the idea of a tiny hanging lantern with color modes, the UC3A is the more versatile choice.

Either way, both of these EDC flashlights are well made and fairly priced.

The ACEBEAM Keylite 500 retails for $16.90 and is available directly from the manufacturer and other retailers, including Amazon. The ACEBEAM UC3A retails for $34.90; they are available directly from the manufacturer and other retailers, including Amazon.

Source: Manufacturer-supplied review samples.

What I Like: Keylite 500 is extremely compact and lightweight; Direct USB-C charging on the Keylite 500; Easy-to-find Keylite 500 button; UC3A has a strong pocket clip; UC3A includes a fun RGB lantern-style sidelight

What Needs Improvement: UC3A buttons are too close together and can be confused in the dark