“REVIEW”: RovyVon Aurora A8 UV – 350 Lumens – Nichia 219C – Keychain Light

Hi BLF!

This is a review of the RovyVon Aurora A8 UV. You can find the Aurora A8 for sale on RovyVon’s page (non-affiliate): https://www.rovyvon.com/collections/keychain-flashlight/products/a8 .

I bought this light with a 20% discount on their site, between 18-20th January, and it arrived today to my home! Nice shipping/transportation time (took about 13-14 days)! :wink:

In December I reviewed 2 similar lights from RovyVon, the Aurora A2 and Aurora A5. Review can be found here: “REVIEW”: RovyVon Aurora A2 & A5R – Keychain Lights – 550 Lumens [PIC HEAVY]

NOTE: The RovyVon Aurora A8 also results from the fact that RovyVon is listening to their costumers recommendations/suggestions in order to improve their products. So, in this pretty little light, they opted to do some changes in Specs and UI. Let’s see them in the review… :wink:

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GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
Model: Aurora A8 UV (*)
Material: Polycarbonate + Stainless Steel bezel
Colour: Semi-Transparent
Main Emitter: Nichia 219C R9050 (4500K 5000K, 90+ CRI)
Side emitters: UV + RED + White
Lens: TIR Optic
Battery: 130mAh Li-polymer - 4.2V
In-built charger: Micro-USB
Charging Time: 45 minutes (350mA / 5V)
Switch: E-switch
Max Output: 350 lm
Candela: 780 cd
Max Beam Distance: 60m
Max Runtime: 2.5 hours
Waterproofness: IP-65
Impact resistance: 1,5m
Low Battery Indicator: RED switch - 2.8V
Low Voltage Cut-off: 2.4V

(+) Besides this A8 UV version there is an Amber / RED / BLUE version.

According to manufacturer, there is also mention to a “built-in temperature controller”, what makes sense due to the high output and (of course :person_facepalming: ) temperature that these small lights reach!

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PACKAGE: THE FLASHLIGHTS & ACCESSORIES

The package/box for the Aurora A8 is no different from the ones of the Aurora A2 and A5. The RovyVon branded box contains the identification of the model (front) and overview of the specifications of the flashlight (back).

[NOTE: this time I opened the box through the bottom :smiley: :innocent: ]

As for the flashlight itself, I won’t present “glamour shots” as I’m without “my” phone currently and the one I have is not so good! Here’s the RovyVon Aurora A8!!

As for all the RovyVon lights I already own, the A8 has a nice “finishing”, with no flaws in terms of construction. Also, I think this particular model has an excellent “functional finishing” due to its UI and illumination characteristics, as I’ll point below!

A little comparison with its siblings A2 and A5. Please note the differences between the A8 and the A5. Despite the same shape, the A8 has the 3 side emitters at sight, and its body is not luminous, doesn’t glow in the dark.

The side emitters are (from bezel to tail): UV > RED > WHITE

Inside the flashlight box, besides the Aurora A8 we find the following accessories:
1 Nylon Lanyard + 1 Beaded Chain (“neck lanyard”) + 1 Stainless Steel Clip + 1 USB port cover (rubber) + 1 USB/Micro USB cable + 1 User Manual + 1 Warranty Card.

I won’t get into detail on these, but they in this pack we find all that is necessary to use this flashlight (well, apart from a charger!!!), from the lanyards, to the cover, to the cable and the documentation! I guess we can’t ask for more!

Only the User Manual deserves a reference as it contains the information about the flashlight’s functioning and specifications. Despite the Aurora Series are somehow similar, RovyVon created specific manuals to embrace and reflect that variation, what is a positive thing for he buyers/users, to avoid mistakes in the lights use.

About the weight and size, the Aurora A8 is similar to the Aurora A5. Meaning that it is small and very lightweight :smiley:
Weight: 11,7g
Diameter: 14,5mm
Size: 54,8mm

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USER INTERFACE, OUTPUT, RUNTIME & CHARGING

The User Interface of this flashlight is one of the things that makes me love it on the first day :heart_eyes:

So, simply put these are the modes this flashlight has:

FRONT EMITTER

  • Press & Hold from OFF – Momentary High

+ Double click + clicks to advanceMoonlight > Low > Medium > High > Low > Medium > High > …

NOTES:
a) Moonlight mode is not in the L-M-H cycle.
b) If the light is turned ON for more than 3 minutes, a single click will turn it OFF.

SIDE EMITTERS

  • Triple click + clicks to advanceUV > Constant RED > Blinking RED > UV…

+ 4 clicks – White LED (reading light)


About the Output vs Runtime, here’s a close up from the User Manual!

Also, from the “runtime vs output” graphic in the user manual, it can be inferred that the max output of this light decreases from above 450 lumens (at turn ON) to around 60 lumens in about 120 seconds.
This is consistent to what’s on RovyVon site about the Aurora A5R:

This said, it is obvious that this flashlight will not be able to keep the highest output at its max for a more than some seconds, both due to the battery, the body construction and other factors!

It must be said that the RED led of this Aurora A8 is much brighter (12lm) than the one from the Aurora A5R (0.8 lm), but it’s expected runtime will also be for a shorter period of time.


As for Charging, this light has a charging ratio of 350 mA / 5V. It will charge in 45 minutes according to specs.

When the flashlight is charging, a RED is ON. When charged, a BLUE Light turns ON.

The charging is done through a micro-USB cable. The silicone cover needs to be pulled to uncover the USB port and to plug in the cable.

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SPECIAL MENTION: SIDE EMITTERS

One of the reasons that guided me to buy this flashlight was the side UV emitter, that another model (Aurora A5U, in glowing body) also uses.

So here are some photos of the 365nm UV emitter!!

This is a comparison of the A5R under the my Lumintop Tool AA with Nichia UV 365nm + ZWB2 lens (left) and under the Aurora A8 UV 365nm (right). As you can see, there is a significant bigger amount of light coming from the A8.

And just a glimpse of the other emitters, WHITE and RED !!
White emitter in comparison with the A5R model. And the Red emitter!

And now the A8 under UV (top right) against the A5 with CW XP-G3 S5 (down left)

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BEAMSHOTS
As I mentioned above, my phone is not the best to take photos, so I’ll stick to some close range beamshots from the front LED, and compare it with other lights, and some photos of the side LEDs illumination. I may add some other photos later in outdoor environment to capture how good it looks due to the high CRI beam :wink:

Some information I can give is about the range of illumination, specially on the lowest modes: Moonlight reaches the 2-3 (max. 4m) meters with good visibility, and Low goes well above 5-6 meters (maybe 10m max).

Also, about the side WHITE emitter it has an range a illumination range a bit bigger than moonlight, maybe reaching 4-5 meters with good visibility (not much more than that).

Tint Comparison
Left will be the Aurora A5 and Right will be the Aurora A8.


PWM
All levels have PWM. For me it is not visible at naked eye, but my phone and also my computer cameras capture it pretty well. From Moonlight (left) to High (right). As you will see in some photos below, it is very visible even in the comparison with other lights.

Some beamshots now!

SIDE EMITTERS: [the UV and White can’t be seen in the second row, due to the awesome lack of quality of the my phone. Still, in real the light CAN be seen against the white wall]

UV > RED > WHITE

FRONT EMITTER:
From Moonlight (left) to High (right).

Comparison:
Please note that the photos were not “calibrated”! If I can, I will replace them later to a better view of the beam and tint of the Aurora A8 :wink:

On Moonlight mode
Oligh S1R Baton >>> Aurora A8 UV

Sofirn SP10A (XPL-HI) >>> Aurora A8 UV

On Low mode (or single mode)
Wuben E05 (Luxeon V 4000K) >>> Aurora A8 UV

Sofirn C01 (Blue, 5600K) >>> Aurora A8 UV

Sofirn C01 (Black, 3200K) >>> Aurora A8 UV

On Medium mode
“BLF 348 clone” (Nichia NVSW219BT) >>> Aurora A8 UV

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GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

What I liked:

Honestly??? Everything!!!

There isn’t a single thing I didn’t like about this flashlight! Yeah, I can say that the PWM is a bit boring but I will not use the Aurora A8 for photography, so it will not bother me at all, as I am not sensible to it! :wink:

Explaining my points for that “Everything!!!”:

1) The things I “disliked” in the A2 and A5 that I have were changed, namely:

- the introduction of a *LED that has awesome tint and produces a beam without shifts or artifacts!

- the removal of Strobe (at all!!!) from the flashlight

- the introduction of a Moonlight mode and removal of the L-H-M sequence (of the A2)

  • the introduction of a NW side emitter instead of CW emitters

2) The things I liked in the A2 and A5 remained:

- the quick access to turbo

- the extra options of the side emitters (RED & White)

- the overall construction, the design, the reliability and the output

- the size/weight

  • the accessories :smiley:

For all this, I have no motives to say a bad thing about this flashlight! I guess it was a very very good improvement that RovyVon made by taking some steps and gathering users perspectives/suggestions. :+1:


As I mentioned before, this is another manufacturer that must to be recognized by the community, at least for the “innovative” or fresh input in flashlights’ world and their “friendliness”! And, there was an easy and friendly communication with Kay! Which is big a plus for me!

This said, feel free to comment or ask things folks :+1:

P.S.: This Aurora A8 UV will now be on my neck, while the Aurora A5R will be my keychain light and the Aurora A2 will be on my backpack together with my tools! :sunglasses:

Do you know what are the differences between A8 and A6?

Bit of a bummer that the typo/mistake about the CCT made it as far as being printed all over the packaging.

Either that or they really managed to get 4500K 219Cs, which have never existed AFAIK.

Looks like a superb light. :slight_smile:
Thanks a lot for the review. :slight_smile:

Thanks for the review. :+1:

I’ve been looking at these models for a while as an EDC light but was initially put off by cost. However, I just ordered the A8, with a 20% discount code that runs to Feb 11th. The codes is on the Rovyvon site:

I also used the code Rovyvon supplied to BLF members, for 10% discount across their products, but the codes do not stack so I stuck wit the 20% Chinese New Year discount.

:+1:

Well, I guess the major difference will be in the User Interface. I guess the A6 has the “Low-Medium-High-Strobe” UI, instead of the ML-L-M-H.
I also don’t know about the side lights, but I guess that on the A6 the White emitter on the side is Cool White, instead of Neutral as in the A8.

I’ll confess, I am not a Nichia expert mate, so in this case I didn’t go for further research about the type of LED vs Tint vs CRI. I believe that it may not be 4500K. Still, in comparison with the Nichia NVSW219BT the one in the Aurora A8 is not so much on the “cool” side. But you can see that it is still away from the 4000K of the Luxeon V, so maybe the 219C is near the 5000K.

Thanks Agro! I know you’re a fan of these small lights as well! I guess this is a better/the best one, so far :wink:

Thanks alchemi!!
Thanks for posting the current discount link :wink: I confess I didn’t search for one while doing the review, but I guess that members who may want this light have a nice opportunity to get one with that discount! :beer:

Thanks CRX :beer:

And thanks all for your comments and questions :+1:

The A6 was their first Aurora model with Nichia. It uses the same UI as the A5, but has some slightly different side emitter functions depending on which version you choose. The A8 is basically a progression of the A6 with a new UI implemented thanks to community feedback (I still don’t like long press for off but the new UI is a significant improvement over the old one). FWIW the 219C in both should be 5000K (not sure why they continue to list it as 4500K).

Thanks for confirming this Jay !

Guess I will change the information about the tint on the review, so it is not misleading!
BTW, the “longer” press for OFF doesn’t bother me so much in the overall perspective of this light! Still, a single click for OFF (maybe with press & hold to change modes, Olight style) would be nice too!
:+1:

Ahh man! Wish I would have waited til the A8, Strobe on the A6 SUCKS!

I get what you mean mate!!! This light ends that “suffering” to bear strobe in the middle of the UI! If even it was “hidden” as a special mode… This A8 is, for sure a very nice light :wink:

Nice review. I just received mine today using the same discount, but I went with the amber side light. I knew it was going to be small, but was still surprised how tiny it was! Perfect for a keychain.

Thanks. Didn’t know they were making A8 not long after I purchased discounted A6.

Here are some (better) photos comparing the RovyVon A8U and the RovyVon A5R!
I’ll show the front and the side emitters and how they perform (mostly in outdoor environment).

As mentioned above, the A8U has a better tint than the A5R, even if it implies less output on the front LEDs.
On the contrary, on the side the A8U Red and White emitters are stronger than the ones from the A5R.

RovyVon A5R (left) >>>>> RovyVon A8U (right)

FRONT Emitters

Top A5R >>>> Down A8U

_
_

SIDE Emitters

RED

WHITE

:beer: :beer: :beer:

Thanks for the review.

If the clip actually works to attach to a hat brim, I’ll likely order one.

What is the current best deal for this little gem ?

Thanks :wink:
Hum, actually I didn’t try it yet, but 99,9% sure it will work pretty fine on the cap/hat brim! The clip is strong so it will have enough grip to stay put . Also, as it is a side switch if you leave the button towards the top or bottom (depending on how you prefer to use the light) you’ll have a good pressure point with index or thumb :wink:

I’m not sure if RovyVon has a discount on this currently, but try leaving a message to Ken/Kay through their e-mail and see what you can get :wink:
I’m sure they take care of their BLF fellows :blush:

Some photos in my cap :wink:

Thanks for the pics on your hat brim. It looks like it works well enough. My hat also has a thick brim.

I guess that if the brim was thinner, it would go further into the clip, but this a thick one and I don’t have a thinner cap around! Still, you can have a notion on how it fits :wink: