“REVIEW”: RovyVon S3 Black – 1x16340 - Triple – 1200 Lumens & High CRI (Nichia) – USB-C Rechargeable

Video Review here! See it in action…above table :smiley:

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Bravo!

excellent video and very informative written review

Thanks for your words, jon_slider :wink:


Some more info on this light.

- There is a black o-ring “under” the bezel, and a white one between the bezel and the LEDiL optic.

- There is a bit of glue on the bezel, to keep it in place. I needed some ring opening pliers to open rotate the bezel by using the grooves it has.

- There seems to be a brass structure that is pressed in or screwed in from the top of the flashlight. It acts as shelf and pill at the same time.

- The MPCB os quite thick and also has a good amount of thermal paste below it.

- The wires are relatively thin and have an outer tube protection, eventually to avoid any damage and short in case they are teared open.

- The LEDiL optic is taller tha the Carclo, and larger. As example, it fits in the bezel of the FW3A, but it doesn’t fit in its head.

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Excellent review! I considered getting the Titanium version, but a couple things held me back:

  • No electronic lockout - I currently own one Rovyvon also with metal sideswitches. The switches don't take much pressure to activate and have no lockout. I don't consider that light suitable for pocket EDC due to risk of accidental activation and this new Rovyvon looks to have the same issue.
  • Strange Clip - At first glance, it looks deep carry, but I don't think it is. The cylinder in the clip with threads for tripod attachment would clearly get in the way.

Top shelf review indeed. Thank you for taking the time. I have their small glow-in-the-dark model. Amazing to me how much flashlight they are able to cram into such small form factors.

Thanks for your words Firelight2 :wink:

Hum, I get you concerning the switch, but actually this is one that inspires me confidence! That raised edge around it prevents acidental activation, unless something is making pressure onto the center of the switch directly (which can happen, of course).

And, because single click always takes to the lowest mode, and press&hold only gives momentary, I guess I wouldn’t worry a lot.

As for the clip, depeding on the fabric thickness, it can be deep carry or not (only if it is reaaaally thick). The tripod hole structure can actually act both ways:
a) hindering deep carry, as the fabric could stop below the protruding part
b) providing deep carry, because it would prevent the flashlight from falling due to that protruding part (that would make more pressue on the fabric)

I didn’t try to remove that part for the tripod mount, because it may become helpful.


There are 2 things I forgot to mention on the review above:

  • The first is a not so positive aspect:
    • there is no physical lockout, because that pin on the bottom of the structure only breaks contact with the tailcap when it is almost 100% unscrewed. I would not implement electronic lockout to avoid parasitic draining , but having physical lock-out would be nice
  • The second is:
    • the flashlight can be used without battery but with the charging cable plugged into the tailcap. Turbo will not work properly, but the other modes will. The LED indicator on the tailcap, while being used in this situation, will lit up in a mix of blue and red, becoming “purple”.
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Thanks fourbyfive :wink:

Their keychain lights are still my favourite ones, and I have several. This one was a surprise, despite being larger than the others.
RovyVon is innovative and I guess they will be even more in the future, as they keep presenting different solutions and structures :wink:

An interesting light. A bit pricey for me, and I’m not sold on the UI. And the Ti is priced beyond my comprehension

Hum, I do agree that the price may be higher than what a “budget” light can be considered!
I believe that the explanation may come from both the innovation and the company size, which is probably smaller than other brands. Still, a budget is a budget :wink:

Can you please elaborate on the UI, please?


As for the UI, you reminded me of something I forgot to mention in my appreciation:

- as a thing to improve, I would like to have direct access to continuous Turbo from any mode or state (ON & OFF), which is not possible unless you turn the flashlight on that mode and then can access it through a double click from OFF.

I tried to measure parasitic drain on the flashlight.
The multimeter “said” 25.2-25.3 µA / 0.02 mA. I guess this is nice, right?

Really great review, MascaratumB. I see you’ve amassed quite a RovyVon collection!

For a long while, the E300S had grabbed my eye and I almost bought it when on a steep sale, but… it’s rather superfluous for me now. I’m heavily into Anduril now as well. But I have to say the E200 caught my eye. It has a kind of Nitecore look about it (rectangular box with 2 parallel reflectors). This new S3 looks nice, but I feel like it is priced out of reason when considering what else is available on the market. And while competitors are putting out 16340 lights with 18350 compatibility, alas this is just 16340.

RovyVon keeps getting better. I truly liked the original Aurora A8, but was not happy about the miniscule battery. At least now the new version made a good 200mAh leap forward. I have the A5 and I’m very happy with how it evolved. Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see what RovyVon does with the S3 going forward.

Great review. I just purchased an S3 Ti with blue trit.

Many thanks.

Thanks xevious :wink:

Yup, I am a fan of RovyVon lights, like those from OTR :blush: They make small lights, with good quality and versatility. I do like these companies and I guess that they are still improving so I try to support them, even if I get some free lights for review.

I also bought the A8X, that I didn’t find to review yet, and I am not disappointed with any of their lights (depsite they are not perfect) :wink:

Hum, I hear you about the 16340/18350 compatibility, but I still find it nice that some lights can only take these smaller cells, otherwise, we only have larger lights making a bulk in the pocket :stuck_out_tongue:

Yes, the S3 seems a bit overpriced, but I guess it will have to do with the fact that they are a small company, and don’t have as much profit as brands like Olight, Nitecore, Fenix or others. And, compared to these, RovyVon is ahead, offering High CRI options :smiling_imp:

The E200 is a cool light, but those XP-G3 are not the best. Also, I would probably prefer a non-UV verison for the side leds, as it will gain more versatility.

My hope for a next evolution of the S3 is something more configurable in terms of UI, and eventually less large. But, don’t get me wrong, the body of this flashlight is strong and thick, so it can take some drops and beats.

Thanks weklund :wink:

Cool, that will add a “bling” to the flashlight, the “Ti and Tri” is a great combination and I am sure you’ll like it :wink:
Let us know what you think when you get it!

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Thanks weklund
Cool, that will add a “bling” to the flashlight, the “Ti and Tri” is a great combination and I am sure you’ll like it.
Let us know what you think when you get it!

……

Will do. I’m looking forward to it.

20% off today.

RovyVon - Flashlight | EDC Gear | Knife

I agree. I have been impressed with RovyVon quality. I must admit I’ve been getting tempted to buy the slightly larger A28 with 600mAh battery.

Glad you mentioned this. It’s easy to forget context. And I do like the idea of supporting the smaller company, especially if it can provide a competitive product with something unique.

What is with Ken and those XP-G3 LEDs? I sometimes feel like he bought a massive batch for a nice discount and thus has used them in so many of his flashlights. At least he has employed Nichia quite a bit… but he does need to branch out. I’d gladly pay a little more for a better CRI LED.

Yes, I really think he should differentiate himself from Olight and just support Anduril. Good to know that the S3 is very solid.

Received my Titanium S3 with Nichia a couple days ago. My impressions:

  • Big hunk of titanium. It’s thicker and fatter than some 18350 lights like the Jetbeam RRT-01. Much thicker than most of my other 16340 lights. Not too thick or heavy to EDC, but definitely more than I expected from a 16340 light.
  • It feels good in the hand and build quality is great. :person_with_crown: :heart_eyes:
  • True USB-C charging. This is unlike my Rovyvon E200s, which only had USB-A to USB-C charging. The new S3 features true USB-C charging and charges just fine from my Samsung phone’s USB-C cord. :sunglasses:
  • Charging port cover seats securely into its slot. It’s unlikely to come out by accident which is good. However, it is also quite tiny and I suspect it won’t last too long with repeated use.
  • Doesn’t tailstand well. The S3 tailstands … barely. Between the charging port cover and the ceramic glass breaker it is extremely unstable. Better than nothing, but except on the absolutely flattest surface it probably won’t tailstand at all. I do wonder if the ceramic glass breaker actually does anything. I would thick glass would break just hitting it with a chunk of titanium. The extra hardness of ceramic seems unnecessary.
  • Nichia LEDs and Ledil optics produce excellent tint with good CRI and beam pattern. The beam is floody, but looks great. Well done. :heart_eyes:
  • No lockout of any kind. Maybe the aluminum version has tailcap lockout, but the titanium version does not. :open_mouth:
  • Pressing and holding the button down turns the light on in turbo for as long as the light is held down. This is convenient for operation, but not good for pocket carry. In my experience, when I get accidental pocket activation it is because a light shifted in my pocket and the button became held down by my keys or a fold in my pants … possibly for an extended period of time before I notice. The choice of UI is exactly wrong for preventing turbo mode accidentally in the pants. At 1200 lumens, I don’t think the Nichia S3 is bright enough to burn pants, but I think it could quickly drain the small battery.
  • High risk of accidental pocket activation. The light has a metal sideswitch. There is ring around the switch, but it’s not tall enough to provide much protection against accidental pocket activation. I think this light is probably ok for carrying around town loose in a pocket. But I wouldn’t want to carry it on an airplane where chances of pocket activation are high. The switch feels the same as on the Rovyvon E200s, which I felt had the same problem. :weary:
  • Uses flat or button top cells. The battery compartment is double-sprung. The light comes with a 650 mAh cell, but that can easily be replaced by a 900 mAh Vapcell for extra capacity.
  • Good clip. The clip fits securely onto the light and has just the right amount of tension to securely hold to a pants pocket. It works well even though it is not deep carry due to the screw threads for the tripod attachment. On the titanium version, the light has slots so clip can attach to either the head or tail. From the pictures, it appears the aluminum version uses the same clip, but only has a slot for it to attach at the head.
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Firelight2, thanks for your insight on the titanium version :wink:
I hope you like the flashlight, it seems a premium light for sure, despite being a “big hunk” :stuck_out_tongue:

I would like to focus on some aspects you mentioned in your post:

True USB-C charging - Thanks for checking this, as I a not used to use true usb-c charging I didn’t check it but is good to know that it has it :wink:

Uses flat or button top cells - This another thing I didn’t mention, I probably left it “undercover” on the mention of the spring in the driver, but thanks for stressing it :wink:

No lockout of any kind - I later added the information in another post saying that the version I have (aluminium) also doesn’t have it since the conductive pin prevents that physical lockout. Only unscrewing all the tailcap (to the point it can be removed) can prevent the light from turning ON.

High risk of accidental pocket activation - Well, yes, specially for moonlight and momentary turbo, since that for the regular modes it needs double click or activation. Still, this is probably a light to use clipped against something flat and not “loose” in a pocket or backpack.

Good clip - I confirm that on the alu version, it can only be used in the head on that specific groove.

BTW, I measured parasitic drain on it and it is around 25.2-25.3µA / 0.02mA.

Thanks again for sharing the information on yours :wink: And I hope you enjoy it! :sunglasses:

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I received my S3Ti. I’m not to happy with the UI and the light turns on easily when carried in my front pants pocket. Would be more tolerable with electronic or mechanical lock out. Unfortunately I will be returning this one.

^ That’s what trounced my interest as well…

I have sent three emails to Rovyvon customer service regarding the return of my S3Ti with no response. Go figure.