The full review is available here
English review at BLF
German review at my website
Summary
You don’t hear much about JETBeam. That’s a shame, because the long-established company has some interesting flashlights in its portfolio. The new JETBeam E26 (“Kunai”) has just been released.
The E26 was announced a few months ago via a Kickstarter campaign and was successfully funded after just one day. I had the opportunity to test the flashlight before it was officially shipped.
JETBeam made a successful start with the E26 “Kunai” into the world of flat flashlights: white light, UV light and a green laser, combined with intuitive UI using a rotating ring and two buttons, fast charging via USB-C and an ergonomic, practical design.
For the perfect experience I miss direct access to the lowest level, which could also be a little lower. That, and if the flashlight was a little shorter, it would be the perfect EDC flashlight for me. But even as it is, it makes a very good impression.
This review was sponsored by flashlightgo.com, a Chinese shop with a large selection of flashlights.
You can’t call something the “Kunai” and not put a big old thumb ring on the back. Not doing so is just… rude.
And you can’t call something E26 without it fitting into an E26 light bulb socket
With some imagination the lanyard could be seen as a ring.
On the other hand, I just tried to stab myself and it didn’t hurt. Definitely no real kunai.
JETBeam made a successful start with the E26 “Kunai” into the world of flat flashlights
TIL there is a world of flat flashlights. Wow :)
If it’s as bright as that picture I assume this gets insanely hot very quickly. Is their data on that?
It’s mentioned in the review. It reaches 38°C in turbo, or 43°C if you activate turbo again. That’s rather moderate for a modern flashlight. Usually I set my limit to 55°C - not because the flashlight would be damaged, but that’s the limit I can comfortably hold in my hands.
I have a different brand but yes it does. The torque test channel on YouTube has a video comparing a bunch of these kinds of flashlights with actual data if you want to look into it.
Where is battery?
I have a similar flashlight as my every day carry from OLight and the battery is just integrated into the flashlight and rechargable. Can’t speak for the one op posted but I get pretty good runtime, only charging it every few weeks under admittedly light use. (I work retail and use it for looking in between shelves mainly)
I imagine they could use the same batteries they used in cell phones. So many built and wasted.
It’s built-in. The back cover is secured with four screws, so I assume you could replace the battery once it’s dead. But the seal didn’t want to release the cover without force, so I stopped to not damage it prematurely.
That’s unfortunate, and something I’m disappointed to see omitted from the review.
deleted by creator
It’s mentioned several times in the review that the battery is built-in. Not sure what you mean with “omitted from the review”.
“Built-in” is not the same thing as “not removable”.
If a place or piece of equipment has built-in objects, they are permanently connected and cannot be easily removed:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/built-in
I would’ve preferred two high-CRI SFT-40’s and the green laser in the middle.
