Rofis G01 Review
!
!
Hey folks today we will be reviewing a first for myself the Rofis G01. Please note i can not edit my photo right now so they are a tad rough sorry its mainly over exposure like i do at the beach! I will be hiding sexual innuendo through this review enjoy this one is on the house.
The Rofis G01 is a weapons mounted flashlight it is meant to be handgun mounted I think. Yes I just confirmed that Rofis say for handgun use! The only time I use a weapons light is on battlefield. Please do not quote me on this lol. The G01 was sent to me by Rofis for review I do not have a have a weapon the G01 can be mounted on unfortunately unless it can be modded to fit an a rifle. Can i mount it on my biceps? Mateee weapons of mass construction right there! Once I am done with the review I will try and give to some one else who has a handgun to review. In a general sense its a 16340/CR123 flashlight just with the brackets to mount the G01 on a weapon. I have had the G01 for 2 weeks now and its been great fun.
!
!
Form factor of the G01 is a weapons mounted flashlight for sure. You would not have much other use for the G01 because of the way it is designed. Yes it can be used as a standard flashlight for sure. Its just the sizing of the flashlight with the housing makes it bigger then most 16340 flashlights. Well actually without the housing its a smaller sized flashlight its a tad smaller then the Rofis TR10.
Dimension of the Rofis G01
- Length: 74mm (2.91in)
- Width: 25.8mm (1.01in)
- Height: 41.4mm (1.63in)
- Weight: 69 grams (2.43oz) Without the battery!
So from the specs you can see the Rofis G01 is still very impressive size wise. Its actually shorter then the Rofis TR10 by a substantial amount which is really impressive.
The Rofis G01 weights so little coming in at 69 grams that is in the weight range of the S2+. Even with all the brackets Rofis have managed to keep weight down which is what you want from a firearms flashlight. The weight is also one of the reason I would not recommend the G01 if you don’t need a weapons flashlight. You can get smaller and lighter and 16340 flashlights. Check out the Rofis TR10 if your after a standard 16340 flashlight.
!
!
!
!
The Rofis G01 is built to Rofis flashlight standards. Every thing is very well finished. The G01 is using hard anodizing type 3 and is made out of aircraft grade aluminum alloy.
On a side note I have seen a carbon fiber flashlight the other day I want to buy one and test it. This has absolutely nothing to do with the review If you own a carbon fiber flashlight let me know how it is?
!
!
The G01 also features an anti-reflective mineral glass lens always good to see extra lumens. As a weapons light the G01 will be put to its paces in a lot of different ways. Guns are used in a lot of different environments so its important that the G01 can keep up! The G01 features a IPX6 rating making it resistant to heavy rain. This is not as good as other Rofis flashlights I am not sure why they chose the IPX6 mark.
As i say below i will water test the light sat in here for a few minutes
!
!
The G01 only has one access point where the battery is placed and that is protected by a O-ring. This makes the G01 fairly water resistant. I would rate it better then IPX6 I will dunk it in some water and take pics wish me luck! Actually who puts there handgun in water? Silly me now I know why it has this rating!
!
!
For some reason Rofis has not put a drop resistant rating in the manual am not sure why? On the box it says the Rofis G01 has a drop resistance of 1.5m which is ample considering it will be using a boost driver. If you drop your gun that far you had better be a good dancer. I will take beam shots first juts in case. I will do my own drop test to double check and take pics which wont matter to you.
Drop tested from 1.5 meters and its okay!
!
!
You can not take the mounting system off. This is the best way to build the G01 its a uniform body which will make it stronger then using screws to hold the flashlight itself to the body. After looking at other flashlight I can not see many lights that can be unmounted I guess this helps keep the sizing down. You can still get mounts and attach a 16340 flashlight your self.
I guess there is pros and cons to using this method if it was a screw in system you could use the G01 as an EDC. All thought the G01 is so small it manages to stay very cool even when left on for an extended periods of time. This is a bonus to having such a big body it acts as a giant heats sink. Giant is probably an overstatement its small and compact but the G01 stays much cooler then most of its 16340 equivalents.
!
!
Continuing on with the Rofis G01 body the threads are well cut and Un-anadized so no manual lockout also no electronic lockout. The threads that hold the G01 while in place on a gun are very well cut and are easy to thread. The included mounting bits seem of decent quality I really dont know what i am looking at lol. The screw is the same size as the one from line trimmer carby and i need one.
Their is only rear access to the battery compartment this seem similar on most handgun flashlights. The G01 uses a single side switch so there is no mechanical clicky. The side switch feels like a clicky and offers good feedback. I am not blowing air up your behind but it feels better then most other electronic switches.
The G01 has no tail magnet not that it should be needed. Also the G01 has a tail cap spring but it doesn’t have a front spring on the driver so its incompatible with flat cells. Raised cells are diffidently needed. Nipples i mean button tops will be the best bet.
Cells that can be used
- Button top: okay
- Raised cells: okay
- Flat tops: No
!
!
I have done some research on pistol mounted flashlight the G01 is fairly well placed in the specs department. The IPX rating of 6 is standard for a handgun flashlight the drop resistance is a little better then other brands and the output is about top of the line. Yes i know a few are brighter but then most are not as bright. I have had to school my self on these lights its my first. Even for a standard 16340 flashlight the G01 does very well in the output department. I measured the G01 at 545 lumens coming fairly close to the stated 600 lumens.
!
!
The G01 is the first Rofis flashlight I have seen that does not use an XPL-HI. This is also the first Rofis I have tested with another emitter. The Rofis G01 uses a Cree XPG2 in a cool white tint some where around 6000k-6500k. Not the worse white tint I have ever seen but it is white. Rofis state the XPG2 is a S3 so its a top bin although one model older I believe i just bought a bunch of these from fasttech for some throwers. I know Rofis always use a good bin LED but i dont find many bad stated in flashlight specs.
!
!
The beam pattern is super flood heavy but the G01 does have a bit of throw using the XPG2 and an SMO reflector you expect a tad bit of throw. The beam is actually uniform its not ringy at all which is awesome to see. Using the XPG2 will help to give you a longer run time compared to other emitters these XPG2 are very efficient when being run at a lower current. Compared to other 16340 flashlight the throw is on par if not a little better even thought the reflector is fairly narrow. I can say it hits the tree at 100m easily which is a good effort for a 16340 flashlight. Output is amazing overall coming in at 600 lumens with the 16340. This make the G01 a top tier 16340 flashlight full stop. I am adding info after more testing the 545 lumens puts it on par withe markets leaders for the 16340 catagory. This output number is a good mix between output and run times I guess they could have pushed more power but with no other modes it would be pointless.
I will put the output figures in a chart it seems to be easier to find.
Throw stats
- 138 meter throw
- 4665cd
Output with 16340
- Max output 600 lumen @ 0.8 hours
- Strobe 510 lumens @ 1.2 hours
Output with CR123 Manual states 510 lumens with the Cr123 seems to be an error i will contact Rofis
- Max output 160 lumen @ 3.1 hours (measured)
- Strobe 160 lumens @ 1.2 hours
!
!
The G01 is using a different driver to the rest of the Rofis flashlights I have tested I have tested almost all of their range. This driver in the G01 Is capable of using a CR123 (which are of the shelf batteries) and also the rechargeable 16340s or you can call them RCR123s. This would mean the G01 is using a buck driver which should be good for constant current output. Using 16340s will give the best output performance at 600 lumens max. The Rofis G01 only has 2 modes we will talk more about this later. While the CR123 only give you 160 lumens max a big difference in total output. The manual does say 510 lumens but its not. Of course their is always a catch their is a huge difference in run times. The CR123 holds more Mah capacity so although the output is less the run time is much more. The strobe is also runs at the same output as the maximum settings with both cells.
The run times are great on paper but to achieve these results the G01 would need some drastic output drops which is to be expected. Even if the light itself didn’t drop output the batteries cant keep the output that high for that long so naturally the light will dim. The light is running just above 1.5amps which puts it right at the 600 lumen mark well Cree say like 570 some thing lumens. At full power an IMR 16340 700mah will last about 25-35mins max. I will have to do extra testing and see how much the output drops.
!
!
This new driver by Rofis in the G01 is very good its a simplistic UI for a weapons mounted flashlight. The G01 only has 2 modes they are the brightest setting i should just say on and a strobe but it does feature a momentary activation. This simplifies the UI which comes in handy in the situation it will be used in. You know you need to do a barrel roll no need to change modes right? The driver in the G01 comes with reverse polarity protection.
Standby Current
- 42 μA (milliamps) Good!
- Tail cap current 1.5amps
Modes
- Max 600 lumens
- Strobe 600 lumens
The UI is intended to just get the job without mucking around unlike my damn reviews. Simply push and hold for 0.5 seconds turn on and push and hold for 1 second to turn off. Clicking the side switch once the G01 will let you switch modes. Being only two modes this is the most simplistic UI I have ever seen. The G01 also has a momentary but that only last 0.5 seconds ( yes i can fit it in that is what she said) before it fully activates to on mode. I personally feel the G01 could have used a 200 lumen mode for extended run times. I can understand why Rofis went this path a lot of other tactical firearm flashlights use a similar UI.
!
!
Included In the Kit
- Rofis G01
- Panasonic Cr123
- Hex wrench
- Screw Bolt
- Spare o-rings
- Warranty card
- Instructions
!
!
Overall the G01 is a great flashlight it took me a while to understand why its built the way it is. Now I have seen the G01 in action and it has one purpose and the G01 fits that purpose perfectly. When ever I go out fishing or hunting I take a few lights because no one light can do two jobs good exception i guess would be a zommie but i hate zoomies if i drop it its dead. The G01 is good as a weapons flashlight because that is all that it is a weapons flashlight. Its a task specific flashlight built like a brick with the output to pack a real punch.
Beam shot time! These pics where all taken at ISO800
Well this is a bit bland it only has one mode.
Rofis G01
!
!
G01 has a fairly tight hot spot and i cut my lemon tree.
!
!
G01 at a different angle and i also redone the string on the clothes line. I am sure its the same pic lol
!
!
G01 100 meters top the tree
!
!
G01 with the Included CR123
!
!
Rofis G01 to the left and Klarus XT1C to the right
!
!
Left Rofis G01 Right Jetbeam Jet MK I
!
!
Rofis G01 Left and Klarus XT1C Right
!
!
Rofis G01 Left and Jetbeam Jet II MK Right
!
!
Rofis G01 Left and Rofis TR10 Right
!
!
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Regards Chris
