This is a searchlight. It is designed to blast a wide beacon of daylight over a very long range. It just happens to be in a package small enough to carry with one hand. Considering most lights of this power are mounted to vehicles, that is truly impressive.
I took the AEX35/50 out to a piece of open desert after the sun went down to see just how big of a punch it was packing. With the lithium-ion battery fully charged I twisted the magnetic rotary power switch to the higher of the two settings for 50 watts of power. Just like any other HID ballast, the AEX35/50 took a few seconds to "ramp up" to full output, but once it got there it was awe-inspiring.
AE claims 1,500 meters of beam distance at 5,300 lumens, and I don't doubt that one bit. For those of you doing the math in your heads, that's a beam almost a mile long. The beam itself was somewhat focused but at maximum distance provided an abundance of light. The bezel does get pretty warm but that is to be expected in a light with this level of output. AE claims a runtime of up to 160 minutes in the highest power setting and over 220 in the 35-watt mode. The battery pack is in the handle and can be easily hot-swapped for an almost endless runtime. Charging the depleted batteries takes almost 6 hours so you'll likely want to keep a couple of spares around.
The AEX35/50 comes standard with one high-capacity battery, ABS plastic carry handle with tripod mounting threads, shoulder strap, charging cord, and Pelican case. Additional batteries, chargers, colored lens filters, and bulbs are available, as is a law enforcement and military discount. You'll have to contact AE for the deal. If you have a need for a ridiculous amount of light in a handheld package the AEX35/50 is tough to beat.
AE Light AEX35/50 HID Searchlight
