“REVIEW”: RovyVon Aurora A2 & A5R – Keychain Lights – 550 Lumens [PIC HEAVY]

CRX · 2019-01-03T22:50:43.000Z

Nice review

MascaratumB · 2019-01-03T22:54:49.000Z

CRX:

Nice review :+1:

Thanks mate

xevious · 2019-02-21T16:23:27.000Z

Great review, MascaratumB! Your details were very influential on my decision to buy the A8. I wrote a review on the A8 A/B/R.
I also like your outdoor shots. By the way, given your location being Portugal, have you been to Madeira? Looks beautiful.

You did a fine job of taking photos of the PWM effect. I do see some of it in my A8, but I consider it mild. When looking at the illuminated subject and moving it, like a hand, I don’t notice PWM. It’s only when the reflector is in view and I move my eyes from side to side that I can see the PWM pattern (for moonlight and low). It would be nice if that wasn’t present at all, but I have seen worse PWM by some lights by other brands. My feeling is that if RovyVon can hide it altogether, it would create a better “feel good” among the flashlight community. But obviously, the average person who buys this isn’t going to notice it.

I have been in touch with them and I made the suggestion for a possible larger battery in the next release of the A8 (or A9).

MascaratumB · 2019-02-21T16:38:51.000Z

xevious:

Great review, MascaratumB! Your details were very influential on my decision to buy the A8. I wrote a review on the A8 A/B/R.
I also like your outdoor shots. By the way, given your location being Portugal, have you been to Madeira? Looks beautiful.

You did a fine job of taking photos of the PWM effect. I do see some of it in my A8, but I consider it mild. When looking at the illuminated subject and moving it, like a hand, I don’t notice PWM. It’s only when the reflector is in view and I move my eyes from side to side that I can see the PWM pattern (for moonlight and low). It would be nice if that wasn’t present at all, but I have seen worse PWM by some lights by other brands. My feeling is that if RovyVon can hide it altogether, it would create a better “feel good” among the flashlight community. But obviously, the average person who buys this isn’t going to notice it.

I have been in touch with them and I made the suggestion for a possible larger battery in the next release of the A8 (or A9).

Thanks xevious!
I went to comment your review already! I had different expectations for the A8 ABR , namely the UI, as I mentioned there!

Hum, I get what you say about PWM! I don’t notice it unless I use the camera/cellphone! But when I do…it is somehow annoying! Specially to compare beams.
They may increase the battery, but that will also make the flashlight bigger. I have no problems with the battery so far, as this is a keychain or neck light, not the primary one! But I do get your point!

I also read about your thoughts about the host. I’ve been carrying the A5 (luminous) in my keychain and so far the scratches is minimal. The bezel has some tips there, but barely noticeable! It is still a winner for me
The A8 is more secured below my shirt, so no risks of host scratching :+1:

xevious · 2019-02-21T17:33:32.000Z

MascaratumB:

Thanks xevious!
I went to comment your review already! I had different expectations for the A8 ABR , namely the UI, as I mentioned there!

Hum, I get what you say about PWM! I don’t notice it unless I use the camera/cellphone! But when I do…it is somehow annoying! Specially to compare beams.
They may increase the battery, but that will also make the flashlight bigger. I have no problems with the battery so far, as this is a keychain or neck light, not the primary one! But I do get your point!

I also read about your thoughts about the host. I’ve been carrying the A5 (luminous) in my keychain and so far the scratches is minimal. The bezel has some tips there, but barely noticeable! It is still a winner for me
The A8 is more secured below my shirt, so no risks of host scratching :+1:

You’re welcome, and thanks for your comment. I made an update already.

I wouldn’t mind the body being increased slightly. It’s already so very small, that perhaps 2mm wider would still be fine. I had tucked it in my pocket with keys for half a day and when I looked at it under magnification, I could see a few small nicks in the polished polycarbonate directly over the side emitters. So that had me a little concerned. I am going to put some vinyl film over it for protection.

I’m also impressed by how the head doesn’t get too hot to handle even after running for several minutes on high. Thermal regulation works well.

Supposedly the Samsung LH351D emitter is more efficient than the Nichia, so perhaps that could be installed in a future version for even longer runtimes. But again, overall for the mini-EDC purpose, the A8 is a brilliant light. RovyVon is a very small company compared to the “big league” light makers, but I hope that changes. More people need to know about the Aurora line. It probably would have taken a lot longer for me, if my Nitecore TIP CRI fiasco hadn’t happened (2 bad lights in a row, which forced me to look elsewhere).

RichH · 2019-07-24T10:40:02.000Z

I’m just looking at getting an A5 with the red side emitter and tempted to opt for the Nichia 219 version. For me with small pocket lights with limited runtimes and usage I tend to go for the cool whites as I’ll get better illumination and I choose the neutral tints for harder working bigger lights.

Couple of questions, does anyone know if the Nichia runtimes are the same as the cool white version?

Do the white side lights get the glow working or does the shell need sunlight or another light to charge it?

And, am I being daft choosing the Nichia and effectively losing about 200 lumens? I know I’ve regretted choosing neutral before now for small, occasional lights.

And does anyone have an estimate on how many charge cycles a lithium polymer battery will supply before it’s worn out?

MascaratumB · 2019-07-24T11:04:03.000Z

RichH:

I’m just looking at getting an A5 with the red side emitter and tempted to opt for the Nichia 219 version. For me with small pocket lights with limited runtimes and usage I tend to go for the cool whites as I’ll get better illumination and I choose the neutral tints for harder working bigger lights.

Couple of questions, does anyone know if the Nichia runtimes are the same as the cool white version?

Do the white side lights get the glow working or does the shell need sunlight or another light to charge it?

And, am I being daft choosing the Nichia and effectively losing about 200 lumens? I know I’ve regretted choosing neutral before now for small, occasional lights.

And does anyone have an estimate on how many charge cycles a lithium polymer battery will supply before it’s worn out?

Hey RichH!
So, about the comparison on the Cree vs Nichia versions, I did a comparison here: “REVIEW”: RovyVon Aurora A8 UV – 350 Lumens – Nichia 219C – Keychain Light - #14 by MascaratumB
One is the A5R and the other is the A8U.
If you ask me the major differences and advantages, I’ll tell you what I think:

-If you need a brighter light and for a longer range illumination, choose the Cree.
-If you will need it for closer works/needs, and need better colour rendering and less tint shift, go for Nichia.

-The RED side light on the A5R is dimmer than the A8U
-The WHITE side light on A8U is more pleasant than the one in the A5R.

About charging I can tell you that in about 8 months using them, I only charged them twice, but I don’t use them constantly. I carry the A5R in my home’s keychain and the A8U in my neck. Both are used almost everyday, but for short periods. And because of this I cannot tell you much about runtimes too, as I don’t use them for long periods of time.

They have a new flashlight, the A23 with XP-L and Nichia LED that has a battery with bigger capacity (1000 lumens, 600mAh). Take a look at it here:
https://www.rovyvon.com/products/a23?variant=29510580273255

I hope this helps on your choice

MascaratumB · 2019-07-24T11:07:19.000Z

About the side leds being enough for making the GITD body glow, here’s an example.
If you turn it ON and OFF quickly (5 seconds) it will lit them a bit. If you leave them ON for a longer period, they will be glowing longer too.
Sometimes I take my keys out of the pocket before entering home and within that period (it I have natural light) normally the GITD body will start glowing.

RichH · 2019-07-24T12:25:52.000Z

Thanks for your replies, the photos of the A8 and A5 together have convinced me it’s usually a smart decision with these tiny lights to go for the extra lumens and not worry about colour rendition too much. I’ll save my high CRI choices for the bigger lights that I use in woodland walking the dogs at night. An extremely bright high lumen cool white isn’t the best option for this application.

I think it’ll have to be the A5R with Cree.

I’ve no idea still on li-polymer battery life over time, so I’ve emailed RovyVon for an estimate. It’s an expensive light if it’s going to be useless in a few years.

Thanks again. I shall be sitting on a beach in Alvor in a couple of months time, we went two years ago and loved the little town and spectacular coastline.

MascaratumB · 2019-07-24T13:48:09.000Z

RichH:

Thanks for your replies, the photos of the A8 and A5 together have convinced me it’s usually a smart decision with these tiny lights to go for the extra lumens and not worry about colour rendition too much. I’ll save my high CRI choices for the bigger lights that I use in woodland walking the dogs at night. An extremely bright high lumen cool white isn’t the best option for this application.

I think it’ll have to be the A5R with Cree.

I’ve no idea still on li-polymer battery life over time, so I’ve emailed RovyVon for an estimate. It’s an expensive light if it’s going to be useless in a few years.

Thanks again. I shall be sitting on a beach in Alvor in a couple of months time, we went two years ago and loved the little town and spectacular coastline.

I forgot to mention one thing!
The A5R (Cree/Nichia) has a UI of Low > Medium > High > Strobe within the main cycle.
The A8U (Nichia) is Moonlight > Low > Medium > High.
So, you may take this into account when getting the flashlight!

I’m not sure if this light will fail us soon. I do get the point of the relation price vs material vs spcs but it seems decent so far. You did well sending them message, as maybe only them can do the proper referral about these lights!

Ahah, nice place to go, always a good time and nice beaches over there! Hope you enjoy it again
I’m from the North so I don’t go often to Algarve, but it is always a nice place to be at!! :sunglasses:

RichH · 2019-07-24T14:55:41.000Z

Another question if I may. The GITD body is a key aspect for me, so unfortunately I will lose the moonlight mode of the A8 to the glowing A5 that is Low/Med/High.

Is the UV sidelight fitted to increase the glowing of the body? Otherwise it’s uses are a bit limited unless checking money, looking for scorpions, or investigating unsavoury hotel rooms

I could easily live without a red light if the UV really got the thing glowing well.

MascaratumB · 2019-07-24T15:13:47.000Z

RichH:

Another question if I may. The GITD body is a key aspect for me, so unfortunately I will lose the moonlight mode of the A8 to the glowing A5 that is Low/Med/High.

Is the UV sidelight fitted to increase the glowing of the body? Otherwise it’s uses are a bit limited unless checking money, looking for scorpions, or investigating unsavoury hotel rooms :confounded:

I could easily live without a red light if the UV really got the thing glowing well.

Hum, I’m afraid I cannot answer your question well.
The A5 I have is the A5R with White + Red led, not the A5U with White + UV Led.
The only UV I have is on the A8U (UV + RED + White) but that doesn’t have a GITD body. I had to add a bit of GITD tape around the flashlight to give it some glow.
So I cannot be sure how the UV Led works on the body.

Please check this post, though, as I think it will be more clarifying: Photos of your new arrived lights - #749 by charles_lin

About checking stuff with the UV Led, on the RovyVon Aurora A8U thread I posted these:

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

Hum, I guess the following pictures will answer your question, but in general, NO! The light doesn’t seem suitable for that! This is a comparison between the A8U (left) vs Lumintop Tool AA with Nichia UV 365nm ZWB2 UV filter (right)+ . [image] [image] [image]

This is a comparison between the A8U (left) vs Lumintop Tool AA with Nichia UV 365nm ZWB2 UV filter (right)+ .

The UV Led is not completely suitable for checking money or “rooms”. The type of LED it uses doesn’t allow us to see some things that, for instance, a Nichia 365nm does. And it doesn’t seem to be due to the body of the flashlight, but due to the LED of the A8U itself.

Hope this helps

RichH · 2019-07-24T22:28:29.000Z

All very helpful information, thanks. I have a Lumintop Tool, a lovely little copper AAA clicky (very definite clicky clicky) that rivals my Maratac AAA copper twisty for space in my pocket or keyring. Most used just now is, of course, an Olight S1R. Top of the game are Olight just now for me.

I’d read about the UV led not being a useful wavelength for most UV applications, so that’s another question for Rovyvon. If the UV has been fitted mainly to charge the GITD, then that’s the light for me.

I see the appeal of the other RovyVon products, the designs are beautiful, but for this kind of money I would almost always go for a battery powered option. I have a couple of DQG lights, a brass Fairy and another (Hobo?) but the 10180 batteries don’t really cut it now the AAA battery is available in Nickel Metal Halide. Still have a 4Sevens Mini CR2, that’s been a super little light. Even to this day it performs as well as its more modern cousins.

Recently grabbed a Manker E04, I see PWM being mentioned regards the Rovyvon lights. You’ve seen nothing until you see the Manker PWM nightmare in low modes, I’m tempted to do a video of the moonlight settings and post it here on BLF, you can almost count the flashes in lowest. A lovely design, very cute, but it has a terrible circuit or driver, or whatever the thing is called. It’s made my “Most Annoying” list.

All totally off topic really in your review thread, apologies for that, but they’re all keyring/small pocket lights. I’ll let you know which A5 I buy and my thoughts on it, but if those UV sidelights are solely for charging the GITD body, then that’s relevant info. Otherwise, what are they for if the wavelength isn’t correct? Maybe it’s a rave torch, just lights up t-shirts and teeth.

Good to see you have a €5 note left from the light fund to get yourself a Sagres or Super Bock, it’s suddenly got full on Summer heat in the UK, we’re not used to 30°C.

MascaratumB · 2019-07-25T11:20:45.000Z

RichH:

All very helpful information, thanks. I have a Lumintop Tool, a lovely little copper AAA clicky (very definite clicky clicky) that rivals my Maratac AAA copper twisty for space in my pocket or keyring. Most used just now is, of course, an Olight S1R. Top of the game are Olight just now for me.

Thanks Hum, you’re using the “old” S1R Baton or the new? I have one of those (old) but only use it seldom, at home.

RichH:

I’d read about the UV led not being a useful wavelength for most UV applications, so that’s another question for Rovyvon. If the UV has been fitted mainly to charge the GITD, then that’s the light for me.

I don’t think it was only for charging the glowing body as the A8U doesn’t have glowing body. Still, it lights the whites, but it is not enough for fake money detection :zipper_mouth_face: I like to play with it though, most people are not familiar with the UV light , specially in a small light pulled out from the neck

RichH:

I see the appeal of the other RovyVon products, the designs are beautiful, but for this kind of money I would almost always go for a battery powered option. I have a couple of DQG lights, a brass Fairy and another (Hobo?) but the 10180 batteries don’t really cut it now the AAA battery is available in Nickel Metal Halide. Still have a 4Sevens Mini CR2, that’s been a super little light. Even to this day it performs as well as its more modern cousins.

I only have a CR2 light (Nebo Micro Redline) but those are expensive cells, hard to find and I guess we don’t find them as rechargeables :zipper_mouth_face:
I seem what you mean about this! The new Rovyvon A23 has an advantage regarding the other lights they have, as it has a replaceable 600mAh battery!
It is almost as capable as some current and old 16340s in terms of capacity.

RichH:

Recently grabbed a Manker E04, I see PWM being mentioned regards the Rovyvon lights. You’ve seen nothing until you see the Manker PWM nightmare in low modes, I’m tempted to do a video of the moonlight settings and post it here on BLF, you can almost count the flashes in lowest. A lovely design, very cute, but it has a terrible circuit or driver, or whatever the thing is called. It’s made my “Most Annoying” list.

I don’t know about the E04, but believe me that the A8U has some nasty PWM through a camera. My naked eyes don’t see it, but it is hard to get some beamshots with that light :zipper_mouth_face: Only comparison I had was the Tool AA v1.0 and the Sofirn SF10 in the 1st versions…

RichH:

All totally off topic really in your review thread, apologies for that, but they’re all keyring/small pocket lights. I’ll let you know which A5 I buy and my thoughts on it, but if those UV sidelights are solely for charging the GITD body, then that’s relevant info. Otherwise, what are they for if the wavelength isn’t correct? Maybe it’s a rave torch, just lights up t-shirts and teeth. :person_facepalming:

Lol, I guess rave torch is a good definition You can also light paper with it

RichH:

Good to see you have a €5 note left from the light fund to get yourself a Sagres or Super Bock, it’s suddenly got full on Summer heat in the UK, we’re not used to 30°C.

Ahah, I believe you mean something like this? [ NO SAGRES for me :confounded: ]
Fortunately with 5 € I may drink at least 10 mini Super Bocks in some bar around here

RichH · 2019-07-25T13:49:22.000Z

It’s the new baton, the Mk2. It’s a good little light.

Here’s a reply from Rovyvon.

“Thanks for the email. And yes, the UV on the A5U is mainly for charging the GITD casing. Thank you.”

MascaratumB · 2019-07-25T14:41:25.000Z

RichH:

It’s the new baton, the Mk2. It’s a good little light.

Here’s a reply from Rovyvon.

“Thanks for the email. And yes, the UV on the A5U is mainly for charging the GITD casing. Thank you.”

Hum, seems a nice light yes I modded mine (old version) but lost the “normal” moonlight during the process! :person_facepalming:

And so it is confirmed, the UV is to poder it up! Well, maybe that was the reason why they did the A8 version, to be a more usable LED, despite has its “downs”!
Thanks for confirming

RichH · 2019-07-26T00:27:27.000Z

MascaratumB:

RichH:

It’s the new baton, the Mk2. It’s a good little light.

Here’s a reply from Rovyvon.

“Thanks for the email. And yes, the UV on the A5U is mainly for charging the GITD casing. Thank you.”

Hum, seems a nice light yes I modded mine (old version) but lost the “normal” moonlight during the process! :person_facepalming:

And so it is confirmed, the UV is to poder it up! Well, maybe that was the reason why they did the A8 version, to be a more usable LED, despite has its “downs”!
Thanks for confirming

It really is a good light, mega knurling, and such a brilliant charging system. I won’t clutter your thread with pics, but the Titanium Winter version is on my list, to couple with the grey and blue G10 Benchmade Griptilian I have. Lovely edc combo.

The email reply has set my mind on the UV version. All my lights are fitted with trits or have locator moon modes. As you mentioned somewhere in a review,the point of a torch to see in the dark is defeated if you can’t find it. Cheers for your time, it’s been a pleasure.

Blackbeard · 2019-07-26T02:46:18.000Z

Got A1 recently, If they could improve the battery it would be a home run, but as it stands now I give it a triple.

xevious · 2021-10-19T19:34:21.000Z

I picked up the latest RovyVon Aurora A5x (A5u) in the recent anniversary sale ($22). It has a 330 mAh battery in it, almost triple the original 130 mAh that RovyVon had been using in the first release of the A5 and A8 (as noted in the review).

Size-wise it’s a good bit thicker, maybe 40~50%. Based on the original size this is still a small keychain EDC. The Cree XP-G3 pumps out 650 lumens, while the Nichia puts out a modest 450 lumens. Frankly, for a keychain light, you really don’t need much more than a few hundred lumens for max.

I wonder if any improvements had been made to the GITD version of the polycarbonate casing. I bought my A5u with UV LED. It’s actually just one LED and it’s flanked by two white LED’s that all come on at the same time. No, this really isn’t designed for verifying currency. However, I did note the “black light” effect, where things like Post-It notes and white towels “popped”. Anyway, the main idea was to use it for boosting the GITD output. In fact, RovyVon recommends it for that purpose. And in the initial moments it’s nicely bright. But wow… it fades off very quickly. Within 10 minutes it’s very faint. After about an hour, you can barely detect the GITD glow. This is a stark comparison to the GITD inserts I use on my FW3A. So really, in essence, this feature is something you use for “the moment”. Such as putting down your light (with keys, supposedly), hit the GITD with UV for a few moments, leave it… then come back within a half hour expecting the GITD to help make retrieval easy. Or, if you’re carrying a bunch of things for a distance in the dark, illuminate it with UV to charge, then if you manage to drop the A5 along the way you’ll find it easily.

Maybe it’s the limitations of this premise—using GITD polycarbonate for a flashlight casing, where part of it needs to be transparent for side LED’s. I know for a fact that totally opaque GITD flashlight bodies perform better than this.

One other thing that surprised me… is the LED status indicator for charging. Instead of using a dual color LED (or two very small ones side-by-side) for red and blue, charging and charged respectively, RovyVon decided on going with a single blue LED. While charging it “breathes”. When it’s done, the blue LED is constant. And the intensity is VERY bright. It lights up a dark room. Frankly, that’s a disappointment. Why ruin a good thing? The red LED for in-process charging is a standard for most flashlight makers. And it doesn’t need to be so blinding bright. At least RovyVon didn’t muck with full use of the A5 while it’s charging. All functions operate.

Big win: NO visible PWM! That was my real pet peeve with the original A8. So nice to see it gone. I’m presuming that means it’s also gone in the latest A8.

One oddity, though: When you double-click, it turns on the light in “memorized mode.” By default this is “low.” And the instructions don’t say anything about how to set it. Turns out it’s done by leaving the light on for 3 minutes. That includes turbo. So guess what? If you’re an “ultra low” kind of person, and you use a brighter mode for more than 3 minutes, you have to let the light sit on ultra-low for 3 full minutes for that to be restored as the default.

RichH · 2021-10-18T22:17:49.000Z

I asked RovyVon direct if the UV was for charging the glow and not dedicated UV and they replied it was just to charge the GITD of the polycarbonate.

“Hi Richard,

Thanks for the email. And yes, the UV on the A5U is mainly for charging the GITD casing. Thank you.”