“REVIEW”: RovyVon Aurora A23 Black – EDC – 1000 Lumens - Rechargeable [Beamshots Post #17]

Hmm. While very bright for its size, I feel like this Rovyvon is finally too large for the magic to hold up. Compared to the TK16 (18350, more battery capacity and greater brightness) it seems to lose on all counts. The Thrunite T1 is probably a similar story. And even the OTR 311/Olight S1® which are 16340 lights, have comparable brightness and runtime abilities. For me, Rovyvon’s advantage was using super high output LiPoly and tiny lights to still achieve high burst outputs. Now the A23 is limited by the XP-L like other lights in that size. I’m also very much not a fan of the UI on this one.

What I do like: They’ve finally made lights you can take apart. Their catalog has expanded quite a bit since I first bought a few muggles some Rovyvon lights. They are fantastic gift lights for non-flashaholics because they’ll get clipped on a keychain and are easily charged. So now I have muggles I know carrying fantastic EDC lights on their person. And the A1 was cheap, too.

I’m not sure how appropriate I find their lights for flashaholics. Better, now, I guess, if they’re able to be opened. But the UI… Well, it will be interesting to see how their higher-priced options fare.

Well, you have some points on that, specially for the relation size/output/capacity !

The 16340 lights you mentioned are pretty well capable of being better in that relation ^ but this light has a market for itself!
The one of people that doesn’t want to carry spare batteries nor extra proprietary cables, for those that prefer a different design, and for those that want a light with quick access to some levels (specially turbo, as I do :partying_face: ) :wink:

As I mentioned, and as you also mentioned, there are some things in the UI that could be improved, but it is not the most terrible one :wink:
I’ve seen more expensive lights and more acknowledged brands making lights with worse UIs. But it has a margin to improve and I hope RovyVon can keep on considering the community suggestions !!!

I guess many of us here would like to have an Olight type of UI in this flashlight and it would be great. :wink: But I don’t find it that bad in the end.

And while you say this may not be a light for flashaholics (specially people who mod and want different tints and CRI), I am not sure if this is a straightforward option for “muggles” too (unless they don’t need ML that much :stuck_out_tongue: ).

As for the ability to open it, it is a plus, although RovyVon structure can sometimes be intricate, as zeroair shows on his review!

If I open mine, I will post it here to let you know what can be done on this :+1:

Wow, looks impressive.

I'm not too keen on the XP-L2 tint, or the high price tag, but otherwise it looks amazing!

...

EDIT:

There's one that is much cheaper on Amazon.com:

https://www.amazon.com/keychain-rechargeable-flashlight-emergency-gift-giving/dp/B07ZHDW76C

Wow, nice find :wink:
I guess it is only for US customers (at least it cannot be shipped to my country), but it is a really nice price, almost half the value!!!
Great :wink:

Maybe the Nichia version can look a little better than the XP-L2 in case you wanna try one !! :wink:

For this reason especially, I like your comparison to the OTR 311, which has built-in USB-C charging. And for modders, the driver is independent of the charge circuit (the charger is in the body tube, in fact) so you don’t have to put up with their UI either!

That one’s definitely on my list for a future build - maybe even a gift build.

Oh, yeah, the 311 :wink: I was thinking only on the Olight and Acebeam. :person_facepalming:

The OTR 311 is probably one of the most verstile to be modded, and being charged by a USB-C cable, no extra cables are needed :wink:
Led is an easy mod, the driver is yet to be known. I have it on my to-do list (probably a 17mm single sided driver from Lexel, with short and very flexible spring) for contact on the charging platform!

I don’t completely dislike the UI (and the possibility to configure it) although Bistro will be better on that one!

If you’re on the fence to get one, I would say BUY IT :smiling_imp:

Good review. I enjoy my RovyVon *x lights despite the proprietary battery and gift them out to people. They are high quality, I just wish they came in more CCT like 3000 and 4000k.

Thanks lazerEagle :+1:
Seems like the Auroras are really popular as gift lights! Nice :wink:

I too wish there were more warm white leds on these flashlights, but maybe the “non-flashaholics” were not so interested then, they wouldn’t be “so briiiight!!!” :stuck_out_tongue:

I carry the A8U and A5R on my neck and keychain. The A23 will go to my pocket :wink:

The bargain is now gone.

Maybe it was a pricing error?

:zipper_mouth_face: Maybe it was a bad pricing indeed, or a “flash” price drop sale?
Sorry you and others couldn’t get it for the price, in case it was the intention :zipper_mouth_face:

I was messing around with one of my 10180 lights a few months back (I think my DQG Hobi+), and my sister-in-law (who is currently the tenant of my basement) pulled out the Aurora A1 I’d forgotten I got her and said “Mine’s brighter!”

Indeed it was, though it was marginally larger. Had to grab the D4 to assuage my wounded pride…

I’ve got both the A4 and A24 in titanium, both are fantastic lights.

Ahahah :smiling_imp: That is evil :stuck_out_tongue:
It is so funny when “they” think they have bright lights :smiley:
The A8 packs a punch if you judge it by the size, but so does a D4.

This weekend when I was taking the outdoor beamshots at night my dad was outside and asked me what was “all that light”! I guess he was impressed when I showed him the A23, so small if compared to the other lights I have at home :smiley:

It is probable that you made me feel a bit jealous :stuck_out_tongue:
I would love that the A23 black had the logo engraved on the head as your does :blush:

As promised on the review, and as habit on my reviews, here are some outdoor beamshots! :sunglasses:




For a small flashlight, it has a strong beam as you can see on the photos. I also think that it has a good level spacing!
It was definitely a good buy I did, I like it :wink:
Stay safe folks! Day and night :+1:

That’s actually pretty funny because I wish the A24 had some milling or anything on the head like the A23 does. It can get REALLY slippery with the smooth head.

Well, I can tell you that this anodizing is also slippery :stuck_out_tongue:
The thing that helps me grabbing it in a better way is the pocket clip!
I believe that these versions below (A23 pro, A25 and A28) are probably better in terms of grip, as both yours and mine needed some thing to help on that!

I would love if the head of my A24 had the same milling lines as those.

I guess that maybe it was a good change to propose to RovyVon, in case they “modify” the A23/A24 as they are (host).

But the TI as it is, despite the smooth surface, is a gorgeous light :blush:

Today I decided to “get into the head” of the RovyVon Aurora A23.
To mod it, of course :smiley:

How’s the head? Pretty simple.
It is supposed to look like this:
(pic is a link for a portuguese site of flashlights)

It is not glued. With some pliers the inner part of the head can be unscrewed.
It is constitued by:

- a transparent o-ring

- the TIR optic (standard size, not a “special one”)

- brass pill

- 1mm thick vs14mm diameter aluminium PCB with XP-L2 Cool White emitter

  • contact board with 2 screws (glued with red glue).


The mod:
I replaced the whole PCB for a led4power 16mm x 1.5mm MCPCB with a Luxeon V2 4000K. I had to file/sand/dremel it on the sides to shorten the diameter for less than 15.20mm

I also replaced the original TIR because after the mod there was a huge tint shift from corona to the center of the hotspot. I used other clear TIR, but with a larger diameter in the led opening, to reduce that shift.

Ideally, a pebbled optic would be better for that, but then it would lose a lot of throw! I opted to maintain it.


BEFORE > AFTER

Comparison with the OTR 311 also with Luxeon V2 4000K (OP reflector)

Nice mod, much more juice in the spot :+1:

The design, especially around the switch, reminds me on the Armytek Prime. And momentary turbo is known from the Tube, a really nice feature I wish more lights would adopt.

The heatsink is interesting, but I imagine heat dissipation suffers from the brass-aluminum junction.

Thanks for showing :slight_smile: