Preface Official Specs Versions Price Short Review Long Review What's Included Manual and Packaging Build Quality and Durability Size Retention Power User Interface and Operation Modes LED and beam Tint vs... Beamshots, Runtime, etc table. Comparisons Conclusion What I like What I don't like Up Next Notes
Preface
I was fortunate to continue the discourse with RovyVon, and they sent two more of these tiny Aurora keychain lights. This time it’s the A2 and A3. I’m reviewing them together because they really only differ in body material. But they’re different from the A5 I already reviewed in that they don’t have secondary emitters. Read on to see how they act!
Official Specs and Features
Versions
There are a bunch of body colors and finishes of these lights, but the guts of the A2 and A3 are the same. The A2 is all stainless steel, and is available in PVD Blue (seen here), Sandblasted, Silver, Matte Black, Gold, PVD Space Grey, and a PVD Space Grey Special edition. The A3, which is aluminum, is available in Gun Metal (seen here) and red.
Price
Prices for these start at around $30 (A3), and $40 (A2) and go up depending on the edition chose.
If you purchase this light on RovyVon’s official site, you may use the coupon code zeroair for 10% off! Not just this light, but from your whole order on the site!
Short Review
I like these just like I liked the A5. I’d love to see a better emitter in there, like a Nichia 219c. The UI could lose the strobe mode, but still, this is a fantastic keychain or hat light!
Long Review
What’s Included
The package between the A2 and A3 is the same. But of course they’re sold separately
- RovyVon Keychain Flashlight (A2 and A3 seen below)
- Charge cable
- Spare charge port cover
- Lanyard
- Neck chain
- Paperwork
- Pocket clip
Package and Manual
These RovyVon lights ship in a display-ready package with a window showing the actual product.
The back of the package has specs and info, but is covered with a product specific barcode.
A fine manual accompanies these lights.
Build Quality and Disassembly
These tiny lights are very well built and quite sturdy. Particularly the stainless version, is weightier than you’d expect, and feels very high quality.
The tail-end has some RovyVon branding, including the URL.
Unfortunately I wouldn’t call this light the least bit disassemblable. The bezel seems to be glued, and the rest is ‘unibody’ construction, so nothing to take apart.
Size
Officially these are 53.9mm x 14.5mm. The A2 (stainless) weighs 28g, and the A3 (aluminum) weighs 14g. As I said, the stainless adds quite a bit of heft!
Here are all 3 RovyVon lights I have, compared. They’re the same in size.
Not the smallest keychain light I own, but probably the brightest!!
Retention
There are a number of ways to carry this keychain light. First is the pocket clip, and this is one place where these two lights differ. The A3 has only two connection grooves for the clip, whereas the A2 has five. This means the A2 can be carried deeper, and in more positions overall. Still, the carry is generally the same.
Another option is the chain which connects through the tail loop. The lanyard attaches here, too. I’m surprised to say that I like using this light on the chain. It’s very useful, and carries well this way.
It’s possible to put the clip on the front or back of the light, but in some orientations it can obstruct the switch or the charge port.
Power
The battery is built in and not removable. It is charged via micro-USB, which has a push-in rubber cover. This cover stays attached. The plug is a little harder to manipulate than most I’ve used, but it works just fine.
Here’s a runtime on the highest mode with the A2. I reset the runtime at about 4 minutes, and near-high output was achieved again. The output drops very quickly, and eventually settles at around 75 lumens (equivalent to Medium mode). The light never switches off, but does switch to very low.
The runtime with the A3 looks about the same. The temperature does seem to stay a little lower on the aluminum version, which is likely a testament to how much better aluminum deals with heat than stainless.
The charge port is on the tail of the light, and has a pull-out rubber cover (and a spare, in the package). The cover fits into the port, and should provide reasonable waterproofness.
It’s a little finicky to get this cover out, and even more so to get it back in, but it works fine once you get the hang of it
Charging on both proceeds at around 0.3-0.35A. The charge graph looks good, and overall this is good charging. Also very quick, at only ~ 30 minutes.
User Interface and Operation
There’s a single side switch for operating the Aurora A5. It’s a clicky e-switch.
Here’s a UI table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | No Action |
| Off | Hold | On |
| Off | Double Click | No Action |
| On | Click | Mode Advance (L,H,M,Strobe) |
| On | Hold | Off |
The manual says when the light is on, a triple click will get strobe, but that’s not true. Or it’s only true from Low, but that’s really the action of three quick single clicks (not a “triple click”).
Modes
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens |
|---|---|---|---|
| A2 High | 550 | 38m | 398 |
| A2 Med | 230 | 55m | 225 |
| A2 Low | 22 | 150m | 22 |
| A3 High | 550 | 38m | 383 |
| A2 Med | 230 | 55m | 282 |
| A2 Low | 22 | 150m | 25 |
LED and Beam
A huge fly in the ointment with this light is the main emitter: it’s a Cree XP-G3, and rated at 6000-6500K. That’s much too cool for my tasted. And the light can’t be disassembled, so it’s not easy to change the LED (I won’t say it’s impossible.) The emitter is behind a TIR optic, and provides a nice spot with little spill.
A2 Beamshots:
A3 Beamshots:
Tint vs BLF-348
A2:
A3:
Beamshots, Runtime, and Lux Measurements
| Rovyvon A3 Gun Gray | |
|---|---|
| Emitter | Cree XP-G3 |
| Emitter Notes | 1A S5 |
| Cell | Internal |
| Runtime | Chargetime |
| LVP? | ? |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 550 |
| Lux (Measured) | 87 lux @ 4.116 m |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd | 1473.9 |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 76.8 |
| Throw (Claimed) (m) | 80 |
| Rovyvon A2 IP Blue | |
|---|---|
| Emitter | Cree XP-G3 |
| Emitter Notes | 1A S5 |
| Cell | Internal |
| Runtime | Chargetime |
| LVP? | ? |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 550 |
| Lux (Measured) | 89 lux @ 4.219 m |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd | 1584.2 |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 79.6 |
| Throw (Claimed) (m) | 80 |
Random Comparisons and Competitive Options….
There’s a glut of 10180 lights I could mention here. I love the many body materials available, and all the finishes available on those materials. The initial output, and the output up to 2 minutes is exceptional, and sets these lights apart!
Conclusion
What I like
- Great micro-USB charging
- Over 700 lumens at startup is ridiculous for this tiny light!
- I like this style TIR better than any other style
- So many finish options!
- So many metal options!
What I don’t like
- Can’t be disassembled
- Very cool white
- Low modes aren’t quite low enough for me.
- Mode order, and inability to avoid strobe is annoying
Up Next
I hope to wrap up a keyboard review for tomorrow (something fairly special and interesting!), and I have lights all week!!
Notes
- This light was provided by RovyVon for review. I was not paid to write this review.
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.wordpress.com. Please visit there for the best experience!
- Whether or not I have a coupon for this light, I do have a bunch of coupons!! Have a look at my spreadsheet for those coupons. It’s possible to subscribe and get notifications when the sheet is edited!!
