REVIEW: Rofis R1 Flashlight/Headlamp

I don’t think there’s much difference in how the two heads rotate. I’ll PM you a link to a post with the TR10 and R1 together (it’s on an external website).

“Non-acute angle design” is really just an overly-scientific way of saying “the R1 adjusts to angles down to 90 degrees,” since an acute angle is an angle +under +90 degrees.

Continuing down the rabbit hole, an “obtuse” angle is >90 and <180 degrees. Since the R1 adjusts to exactly 90 and exactly 180, that means it adjusts to a +straight +angle, +right +angle, and +obtuse +angle — but not an acute angle.

I don’t have any discount codes; maybe someone else can provide. As you do the price comparison do keep in mind that the R1 comes with a 16340 battery while the TR10 does not. (I assume you own a charger already, but if not, that’d be another cost to add to the TR10.)

The only other thing I’d say is that the two lights have different moonlight levels and mode rotations. The R1 has moonlight at 0.5 lumen (0.3 per my test) while the TR10 has 3.0 lumen moonlight. The R1 rotates between Low, Med, and High in normal rotation - with Turbo accessible with a double-click and Moonlight only accessible with a long press from off. The TR10 has all 5 modes in a normal rotation.
My preference is for the R1 on these items (I like direct access from off to Moonlight, and that to be <1 lumen, so it’s inoffensive when turned on in the middle of the night. In my use I’d never think “I just used Turbo, let me bump down to Moonlight now” so it not being in the normal rotation is fine.) You’d have to consider your own needs/preferences…

EDIT: I realized I failed to address your LED topic… The TR10 has an orange peel reflector so it scatters the light and reduces a lot of the intensity from the HI. The R1 has a domed emitter but a smooth reflector. I think the beam distance ratings are 139 for the TR10 and 150 for the R1 so there’s not a lot of difference. Now, if the HI was paired with the smooth reflector (which it isn’t), then you’d probably gain a good amount of throw.

Very nice review bdm82! Looks like a great flashlight/headlamp, although the lack of a neutral tint would deter me from buying. But other than that, it appears to have great features, such as moonlight, internal charging, pocket clip, and low voltage protection.

Nice review thanks. I have just bought the TR10 which I intend to give away as a gift. I will probably buy the R1 soon for myself to use as an EDC.
As you say they could do with swopping around the charging connection and switch it would be much more convenient. On the TR10 the clip gets in the way of the switch but its still accessible with the R1 it completely covers it, very annoying. I think its a good EDC and work light though with its magnetic base and multi angle head.

bdm82 thanks for posting your helpful reply.

I’m very intrigued by this light. I’ve been using a (fixed) angle head light for years as a regular flashlight, first with Skilhunt H02 and now with Nitecore HC30. More recently however I’ve often been carrying two flashlights, a straight and an angle head. So now I am seriously considering one of these. I’ve often had an eye on the Rofis swivel head lights but have stayed away because of no NW option. At least it has a magnetic tail, which is a “must-have” feature for me, I had to improvise one for my HC30.

I’ve come to the conclusion this R1 has way more advantages over the TR10:

1. New swivel head design allows using any position without a “point” sticking out.
2. Although CW the hotspot is more towards neutral than the TR10’s. (Pending further feedback, as seen in the comparison review on another forum)
3. Far better UI - especially the quick access to Turbo & Moonlight from off, plus neither of those being within the normal cycle.
4. Clip much deeper than TR10
5. Larger rubber switch boot.
6. Stainless steel bezel ring.
7. Built-in charging.
8. Battery included.
9. Headband included.

Also for the TR10 the OP reflector seems counter productive to the XPL-HI emitter. I think for this type of light I would prefer a regular XPL in an OP reflector.

To bad about the clip blocking the switch when positioned rearwards, since I often use my angle head light belt mounted for hands free. The top mounted switch of the HC30 is perfect for this type of use. I would prefer XPL in this light instead of XM-L2, and for the built-in charging I would have preferred a magnetic docking base system like Olight’s R-series or Nebo’s Mag-Dock.

Rofis: Make an XPL NW option, move the switch to the top, add mag dock charging = the perfect flashlight!

I have seen a lot of reviews of the TR10 saying it does not have anodised tail cap threads but mine does. It just takes a quarter turn of the tail cap to lock it out which is much more convenient than the electronic lock out. And it really does need this I find the switch very light and it turns on by mistake easily.

Thanks, since you just bought yours I assume Rofis upgraded the threads so I removed that from my list. I also noticed TR10 doesn’t include a headband accessory and the R1 pocket clip is much deeper carry so I added those points.

I asked Rofis if they were planning to offer this in NW and they replied that it already is, with a color temperature of 5000K.

EDIT: Found out today I miss interpreted their response, (lost in the translation) it seemed worded strangely so I asked for clarification. Here’s their updated response:

“Now the color temperature of R1 is 6500K, and we will launch 5000K color temperature R series products around March 2018, including R2-14500 and R3-18650. At that time, customers can choose R1 R2 R3 flashlight with two color temperature values(6500 and 5000”

So the current tint is actually CW 6500K

I revisited the review here and I’m baffled by the extreme tint shift (4800/5000K in hotspot and 6500/7900K out in the spill) What could be causing this?
I’m aware there usually is some tint shift between spill and spot for Cree emitters in a reflector setup, but I have several NW XML2 and I’ve not seen anything this extreme before.

It does look pretty disgusting in this photo:

This actually was preventing me from purchasing this otherwise awesome little light, but now looking over some other reviews with outdoor beam shots of some green vegetation it doesn’t look so bad.

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So I have to wonder if it’s the AR coating that’s causing this?

Supposedly an AR lens over NW will make the hot spot more greenish by reflecting some of the blue spill into the yellowish hot spot.

I’m going to try and look through some more reviews and see if anyone’s been successful in removing the bezel, if I buy one of these and hate the cold spill I’m going to want to try a clear lens if it’s a size that’s available somewhere.

I’d love to see someone else chime in here; I’m but one guy with one sample to review. There is always variation in samples and testing so more data is better!

That said, AR coating can cause tint shift. To this level I don’t know but AR coating does have an impact.

On white wall or ceiling it is obvious like in the picture. But to be honest I only noticed the neutral center at first. It wasn’t until I hit the ceiling with it that I notice the cool spill. Based on that cool spill I thought of it as a cool tint overall, but the hotspot - as pictured and as described by Rofis - is neutral.

If you see the one outdoor shot I took, you can see the railing in the nearby spill is cool, but the snow on the boat dock in the hot spot is creamy neutral. Our snow is melting so I should be able to get some outdoor shots in the next couple of days to update the OP.

In the meantime, hopefully another owner can comment or you can find the shots you need elsewhere!

I Found out today I miss interpreted their response, (lost in the translation) it seemed worded strangely so I asked for clarification. Here’s their updated response:

“Now the color temperature of R1 is 6500K, and we will launch 5000K color temperature R series products around March 2018, including R2-14500 and R3-18650. At that time, customers can choose R1 R2 R3 flashlight with two color temperature values(6500 and 5000”

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So the current tint is actually CW 6500K

(Edited my previous post above)

So NW versions are coming! :+1: :+1: :+1:

Hopefully the new NW won’t have a tint shift issue like the current CW ones.
And hopefully they change to XPL instead of XM-L2.

Thank you for the Great review.
This is a cool and unique little light there are a lot of thing to really love about the design.

That beam pattern and tint though……maybe this would be best without a battery inside. that way you could show the cool design to your buddies and tell them you forgot the battery so they don’t see the awful beam. :sunglasses:

I predict the tint issue will be corrected with the upcoming NW version, (see my previous post) at least for those who prefer NW.
I also suggested to them to change the emitter to XPL.

Well I just got the R1 a couple of days ago so I can now compare it to the TR10 before I gift it to a friend.

The first thing I have to say is wow. The quality of the TR10 is good but the R1 takes it to a whole new level, even the packaging impressed me.
Apart from its rotating head the TR10 is a pretty generic looking light although obviously well made. With the R1 ROFIS have machined off a lot of excess metal from the torch no doubt to reduce its weight but the way they have done it (check the pictures in the first post) adds a huge amount of style to the torch and the stainless steel bezel with its smoked effect really finishes it off. This is supposed to be an EDC for me but it almost seems to good to carry about and risk marking it. A few times I have found myself taking it out just to admire it.

The U.I. is a good improvement as well as the xml emitter which I think is better suited for the kind of work it will do.

As for the tint well the TR10 does have a slight green tint to it and the R1 is actually worse although to be honest its not that bad. I used the R1 around the house and went out walking with it one night through some woodland and I never noticed the tint, it was not until I shone it at a white ceiling to see how the beam compared to the TR10 that I realised. I think unless you’re a real tint freak then most people wont even realise.

There’s probably only two things that I think could be done to improve the R1. One move the switch so it not covered by the clip or head band and two increase the medium brightness from 60lm to 100lm. With high providing about 70 mins runtime if you need light for a longer period of time you have to use medium and when I went out walking with it I kept thinking I could do with just a little more light. Sure it would reduce the run time but it would still last for hours.

Anyone thinking of buying either of these torches but cant decided, really it comes down to price. There are a lot of discount codes around for the TR10 at the moment making it a fraction of the cost of the R1. But hurry because I think they are just clearing old stock and you might not be able to get it much longer. I wanted a TR18 also but everywhere has been out of stock for over a well over a month now and even the TR20 seems to be drying up, in readiness for the new models I guess.

There’s also a coupon code for the R1. :wink:

But right now the R1 is on sale at Banggood for $46.69, which is about the same price as using the coupon code.

The Banggood sale runs for about 4 more days:

Thanks for posting the feedback, now I can’t wait until the NW versions become available! Hopefully there will be a code or deal on it then too.

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I agree, it’s very elegant looking and unique, makes the TR10 look Plain Jane.

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I’m curious about the bezel color, you say yours has a “smoked effect”
I notice the photo on the package the bezel appears black, and the photos on their website show it with both a black and a bright bezel.

The photos in this review show a bright one. So I guess they have changed from bright SS to Smoked black since this review?


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I see the TR10 has an XPL-HI, I agree no need for the HI, but I’m thinking it would better if they equipped it with a regular XPL (not HI) instead of XM-L2.

This is a really great review. Pretty much all my questions were answered. :+1:

At first I was skeptical of the rated 900 lumen turbo, especially when you said you measured higher than the rated output. I was thinking you were yet another guy with a homemade integrating sphere who’s calibration was reading way too high. Then I saw the 3.3A draw on turbo and thought, those lumen numbers sound right! Lol

I’ve got a few 16340 lights and never saw such high amp draws. Assuming good efficiency with the driver, reflector and lens then it certainly could do 1000 lumens at turn on.

This R1 really does look like the Cadillac of this light style, even if it didn’t have a rotating head! Lol

Now to go find a good deal on it.

Thanks Jason! I respect what you’ve done on BLF so it means a lot coming from you!

I’m pretty new on BLF and not that active, but I’ve been reviewing on another forum for a while. When I was getting started I didn’t want to misrepresent numbers so I got pretty deep into the data before posting. I compared all of my measurements on dozens of lights with the measurements other reviewers posted. I then bought a couple other lights (used) directly from other people who had tested them, one of which was professionally tested, and compared those as well.
When it was all said and done, and after doing hundreds of tests, I felt pretty confident within about a 4% margin. About 2% variation tends to be condition related; a few degrees of ambient temperature, a battery rested a few hours more or less, or the hours on the light can change results. Unfortunately I can’t always test in absolutely perfect conditions, though I try to minimize these variances. The other up to 2% I consider accuracy margin of error. Even when I have perfectly identical conditions, or at least I think I do, I see a variation of up to a couple percent. Even which direction the light is oriented (especially true for multi-emitter lights) has an effect.

Since I calibrated initially I have occasionally checked against other tested lights, and re-tested lights I tested before, and all has stayed in line. I’m not saying mine is perfect; I know it isn’t. But looking at the data, I do see some reviewers tend to run high(er).The other thing that I don’t feel like gets covered enough is the 7% variance that Cree allows (per their datasheets) per bin. Normally I don’t think there’s that much variance, but I have studied my own data against other reviewers and occasionally I have seen some atypical results where things stand out like “his results are 2% higher than mine on average but this time he’s 7% lower; he got a bad sample”. Sometimes it’s the opposite.

Now, do I get into all of that in a review footnote? Nah, few people care. But bottom line, I try not to be sloppy. :slight_smile:

I think Cree’s tolerances are wider than you think.

Most of Cree’s bins scale in 7% steps (I say most as I have not studied the data sheets for all their emitters), but for any one particular bin they say the variance is plus or minus 7% which means a 14% range. I guess they document it this way to cover themselves in case a particular emitter happens to be way out of spec or to account for all the variables during testing.

I should have been more clear that the 7% is a plus/minus, but as you say, that’s what every data sheet I’ve seen says. 14% total range, as you say. (Which is actually pretty huge…north of 100 lumen difference for a 1000 lumen light, for example.

Nice review, as Jason said before I got here… all questions clearly answered with excellent photo’s.

I was looking on Amazon a few minutes ago at other lights and ran across this one, did a Google Search and found this review. Really have to pick one of these up now. :slight_smile:

Thank you bdm82, much appreciated. :smiley:

Does anyone know what the diameter of the glas lens is? AliExpress sells 17mm and 20mm TIR lenses with a wide variety of beam angles for single XM-L flashlights. If these lenses will fit then the beam will be a lot like the Olight S1R Baton I and II.