The new addition to my flashlight inventory is the Aurora A8 G4. It is replacing a lost A5 G2 that had a neutral/warm emitter. Please note in the photo above that the older A5 G4 (to the left) has a filter glued onto it that has received some micro scratches over time and wasn’t cleaned up before photographing. It looks worse than it actually is!
I’m a big fan of RovyVon’s Aurora line. Particularly the versions with side emitters.
There have been enough reviews about these lights that I’ll just add my perspective on the generational and model differences.
Firstly, the A5 and A8 are essentially the same flashlight with the A8 having more side emitter choices and the A5 featuring a GITD polycarbonate body. The option with red/blue and yellow side emitters is still available, and not offered on the A5. As of generation 4, they both offer a choice of white/UV and white/red emitters, except that with the A8, white/red includes UV.
What I do like about the A8 is that the UV and red emitters are in the same menu bank. You click 3 times and the UV turns on. Then single click to advance to full red, slow flashing red, then cluster flashing red. And the red LED is very bright. This can make a great backup light for cycling. Or for road side emergencies.
In the A5, the polycarbonate body introduces a little diffusing to the clear portion over the emitters. This causes two things: 1) it alters the tint to be a little warmer and a bit more diffused, and 2) it weakens the output of the UV emitter. You can easily see on the A8 that the one lone side white LED is brighter than the dual side LED’s on the A5, and it’s probably closer to 5700k.
I don’t have a light meter device to measure output and temperature… so my apologies in not being able to provide numeric data. So my observations are subjective. Output wise, the SST-20 6500k is rated for 700 lumens and the Nichia 219C 5000k is rated at 420 lumens. And while this kind of difference is supposed to appear to be more like 20~30% different, it looks to me more like 50%. This video ends up auto-corrected by the camera in 2 respects: 1) the brightness of the A5 causes the A8 to appear more dim, and 2) the tint of the A5 looks a little colder than it is actually.
I glued a filter on the front lens of the A5 that tones down the harshness of the 6500k emitter. And it looks better to the naked eye alone. Next to the A8 (Nichia 219C 5000k), it does look noticeably cooler though.
Just some criticisms:
- The A5, A6 and A8 look virtually identical. The only way you can tell is by looking very closely at the body and noticing that the A8 has the more clear looking polycarbonate (or shine a light on the A5 and it glows green). It would be nice if RovyVon applied something unique to differentiate them… like on the A7 that has a bronze colored metal bezel. The model number could be printed in a large font and glued to the battery, visible through the polycarbonate body.
- The A5 GITD polycarbonate looks amazing for the first 30 seconds after blasting it with UV or intense light. But then it fades rather dramatically. It’s still visible in dim light for a good 5 hours, which isn’t bad… but I’d prefer it be brighter. And actually, RovyVon doesn’t need to do the whole body. Why not just the tail section, with a more intense GITD application? And instead of doing it for just the A5 and A7, do it for all polycarbonate models. Note that the A8 doesn’t have GITD.
- All of these models still employ the 3 minute primary emitter memory. That means for whatever brightness level you’ve got on for 3 or more minutes–that’s what’s stored in memory (what brightness is set when double-clicking from off). And the only way to clear it is… by leaving the light on a different brightness level for 3 minutes. Ideally, there should be a way to force the memory to the lowest setting. Like 5 clicks and hold for 2 seconds.
- There is no power level indication, except for the very end when the battery is nearing exhaustion. The charging LED will turn on red. The light will work for about another 10 minutes on moderate levels before shutting off completely to protect the battery from deep discharge. It would be nice to know the actual battery level. Some makers have solved this a few ways. One is that first turning on the light, a colored LED will flash for the rounded off voltage level. That might be annoying with the usual use of a light like this. I’d say program in a 6-click function that causes the blue charging LED to flash.
- The rubber cover for the USB-C port is very soft, and rather fragile. It doesn’t take too much force to pull a little too hard and yank it out. Putting it back in is a major chore. And eventually… the very tiny segment that anchors the plug into the body will break and then it’s gone. RovyVon should come up with a better material for it. Ideally, it would be great to see them make a micro version of FireflyLite’s magnetic cover.
Overall? Despite the nits I’ve mentioned, I love these lights. Sure, at the manufacturer’s normal pricing, they’re quite expensive relative to what you get. And now there’s a number of clones available for a lot less. HOWEVER… when RovyVon Aurora models do go on discount, they’re a very good value (I got my A8 for $33 USD). What you’re paying for is quality in miniature. These lights are very well made and they last if cared for. The design has evolved nicely over the past 6 years… but I’m hopeful that RovyVon will continue to make newer models with some improvements as I’ve outlined above.